New 2a Owner Intro & Project Questions

[NC2AZ18]

Hello RN, I have been on this site daily (hourly) at times for the last couple months preparing to purchase my 1st Series truck and after taking ownership of a 1967 2a 88 a week ago, thought I should post to introduce myself, list future projects, and find out if there are other owners in the Phoenix, AZ area.
I am eager to do as many projects as possible but lack experience and knowledge...I will be changing both with help from this site...I hope.

The most noticeable and controversial modification to the truck from the PO of 35 yrs is the engine swap to a 229 V6 Chevy motor 10+ yrs ago.

So far...I replaced dome light, changed oil, oil pan gasket and filters, took it through and passed emissions!

1st job that fell outside my comfort zone: Tuning the carb. It was running lean( or rich?) from its previous life in Colorado.

While I had it in the shop (British shop specializes in old British cars-it had been a while since he saw an old rover, though) I had the guy look through a few things. Not to my surprise, serious concerns about all electrical wiring were brought up. I beleive the term used to describe the condition was "abortion". He suggested full replacement for $1500cash or at least making sure my fire insurance is up to date. If I move forward they were going to tear everything out and build a new harness, etc.
This could be a safety issue and did not come as a shock that this was suggested as I did notice a number of spliced and diced wires (blue wire cut and connected to a brown wire that was then connected to a red wire..). What should I be aware of on a job like this? How much of a factor should the engine conversion come into play? What should I expect to pay? I trust the guy and am going to have it done, but $1500, is a good bit of money and every dollar I don't spend their can be spent on another project!Please let me know what you think!
Sorry for such a long wordy post.

Outside of this job, I will be painting, replacing window/door rubber, any small job I can handle and lots of currently unforeseen projects.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts and hope to meet anyone in the area.

[albersj51]

Welcome!

As for wiring, these trucks aren't very advanced, so you could pick up a Series harness (britishwiring.com) for around $400 or a universal harness (ezwiring.com or painless) for as little as $185, and do it yourself. Much cheaper than $1500 and you get to know the truck a lot better and feel more comfortable with it.

[4flattires]

Welcome.....and let the fun begin.

Wiring is easy, cheap, and can be done in segments as time allows. If you have the cash, spend it. If you want to save and learn, wiring can be rewarding.

I'm in the east valley, and would be happy to offer advice, etc. We did loose a great resource here since he made his way to Switzerland, but he is online though.

J

[stonefox]

I agree with Jason. Do it yourself. Its really not that difficult. And like he said they are less than $500 clams.
Good luck with your new truck.

[NC2AZ18]

Thanks for the feedback. These are exactly the responses I had hoped for with regard to the wiring.

As mentioned, the truck's motor has been replaced with an American motor as well as electronic ignition. Should this make me lean more toward a universal or American harness or a British harness or shouLd I just buy a bunch of different wires and creat my own?

[NC2AZ18]

Welcome.....and let the fun begin.

Wiring is easy, cheap, and can be done in segments as time allows. If you have the cash, spend it. If you want to save and learn, wiring can be rewarding.

I'm in the east valley, and would be happy to offer advice, etc. We did loose a great resource here since he made his way to Switzerland, but he is online though.

J

4flattires-I'm centrally located near the PHX Mountain preserve. If you are ever working on your rover and wouldn't mind someone looking on, please let me know. I don't know much, but I'm willing to give you a hand, follow directions and learn more!

[westcoastkevin]

Thanks for the feedback. These are exactly the responses I had hoped for with regard to the wiring.

As mentioned, the truck's motor has been replaced with an American motor as well as electronic ignition. Should this make me lean more toward a universal or American harness or a British harness or shouLd I just buy a bunch of different wires and creat my own?

It sounds like the perfect time to learn the starting circuit and the charging circuit then. When you do it yourself, you will never be needing a shop for it again. Congrats on your new rover.

[siiirhd88]

As Kevin says, the only significant wiring differences from stock with the American engine installed should be for the ignition and (maybe) charging circuits, and any other additions like a tach or electric fuel pump.

Repair or replace can be determined by how bad the original harness is. If the existing insulation is cracked or brittle, and long lengths of wire have been added, it might be time to change the entire harness. If the original wiring is still flexible I'd reuse it, adding newly designed circuits as needed.

Once you learn the standard British wire insulation colors, identifying the circuits is easy.

Bob

[TedW]

Welcome to the forum!

Keep in mind that the harness can be purchased (from our hosts!) in sections as well as all-at-once: A few years ago I replaced the rear harness, which handles all the lights in the back. It routes through the frame but is exposed to weather and abrasion in the wheel wells. My old harness went "toaster" on me one night in a driving rain: the old bundle shorted out and melted together - I could smell it burning even through the rain.

Replacing the rear harness will allow you to clean up all the connections and to ground everything properly. You will discover that many (if not most) of the electrical issues you will deal with on your sled can be traced to bad grounds.

[cedryck]

There is also autosparks.co.uk
This supplier sent me a 2a harness, good quality, easy install, no problems. Under 250$ if I remember right.

[NC2AZ18]

I've been gathering info on replacing all wiring in the truck and wanted to get input on a few areas:
3 options to replace all electrical wiring, what are the positives and negatives from each and what do you all recommend?
1) Genuine replacement wire harnesses from RN,BP, autosparks.co.uk or similar outfit? This option would fit a large percentage of components but would need to be modified to fit my truck's engine conversion (see notes below on my trucks specs) and I'm not sure how I feel about me modifying the expensive new harness.
2) Purchase universal auto wiring kit? Any suggestions on brands/sites for this route?
3) Create a harness from scratch? Purchase individual wires, shrink wrap, connectors, etc. I think cost would be least for this option. I like the idea of getting to create my own coding and organization system but I'm nervous about possible complications and most nervous about the unknown, as I mentioned I am very much a novice to working on cars.

Other areas where I would appreciate input:
-relays: where should I put them?
-voltage regulator: it doesn't appear I still have one in my truck. Do i need one?
-brake lights: how can i tell if i have a hydraulic or mechanical switch?

Recap of my truck: 1967 2a 88" earlier model with c prefix in serial, originally pos earth, 4cyl was replaced with Chevy v6, alternator, electronic ignition, power steering, winch, heater

[stomper]

Most likely you have a hydrolic brake switch. Open the hood, and look down the left side of the engine. You should be able to see the frame between the battery and the air cleaner. there will be a 4 way junction on the frame with 3 brake lines coming out of it, and a little round cylinder plug with two wires coming off the cylinder. that is the hydrolic brake switch.

This instruction is assuming you still have a single circuit brake system, and it was not modified at the same time the new engine was mounted.

[TeriAnn]

First of all, welcome to the Series owner mad house. Your new truck will alter your sense of reality over time.

Second, Southern Arizona has a large active Land Rover club centred around Phoenix & Tuscon. You will find help and the companionship of similarly afflicted folks through the club.

http://www.azlro.org



I've been gathering info on replacing all wiring in the truck and wanted to get input on a few areas:

Having rewired 4 Series Land Rovers from scratch and heavily supplemented the wiring on another I would say $1500 is a reasonable price for a complete rewire. The circuits are simple but even simple takes time. Were we in close proximity I would be happy to walk you through doing it but I'm up the hill from you in Flagstaff.

A full wiring harness would be a total waste of money with your engine conversion and your desire to add relays. You would end up modifying it extensively and probably have several wires in the harness that go nowhere plus a bunch more outside the harness wrap.

The first thing you need to do is look at your rear sub harness. This is the group of wires that go from the right side lower bulkhead through the frame to the rear of the truck. The wires inside the frame are normally in decent shape. So look at the wires at each end. If they appear to be in OK condition I suggest not replacing the subharness. However if they are butchered or the insulation is cracked and maybe pealing you should replace it. The trick is to tie a cord to one end and pull the subharness out the other end drawing the cord through the frame. Then tie the cord to the new subharness and pull it though.

New subharnesses sold these days are universal. That means wires will be there for a rear fuel tank and back up lights as well a the tail, brake and stop lights. You don't need to hook up wires you don't need but do not cut them off. Just fold them back and wrap them. They will be handy if you plan to add a rear work light, rear fog light, rear fuel tank (http://www.expeditionlandrover.info/88rearTank.htm) or whatever some time in the future.

As far as the main harness is concerned, you are better off going from scratch using the British wire use colour code standard. I have a web page that provides wiring colour code info:

http://www.expeditionlandrover.info/Lucaswirecode.htm

If you are going to use the factory style bullet connectors I suggest using the grip on style and purchasing the correct crimp tool to assure that you get a good solid crimp. The correct tool will save you from a myriad of electrical troubles.

Since you have a GM engine, you most likely have a GM 3 wire charging system that does not require an external voltage regulator. I have a web page describing the GM 3 wire alternators commonly found in Land Rover conversions.

http://www.expeditionlandrover.info/Delco_Alternators.html

The page provides a wiring diagram that you will need to rewire your truck.

When I rewired my truck I added 3 relays on the right front inner wing. One for high beam, one for low beam and one for the horn. I pulled power for those relays from the alternator output terminal since it was close to the relays.

The trick to making a custom wire harness for a non stock Land Rover is to wire it one circuit at a time. Decide how you want your wire harness routed and tie wrap temporary bundles as you build the harness wire by wire.

A blue wire from the light switch to the dimmer switch, a blue/white wire from the dimmer switch to the high beam relay, a second blue white wire to the bright indicator light on your instrument panel. A blue/red wire from the dimmer switch to the low beam relay. A brown un-switched 12V wire to both relays. A black wire from both relays to frame ground. Thick blue/white and Blue/red wires from the light relays to the headlight sockets (I have a drawing of the headlamp socket wiring at the bottom of my page on wire colours). Headlamp sockets to ground and you have a working headlamps.

A brown wire from unswitched 12V to the horn. Another brown wire from the other horn connector to your horn relay. A thick black wire from the other end of the horn relay to frame ground. A brown wire from unswitched 12V to one end of the horn relay coil. A brown/black wire from the other end of the horn relay coil to your horn button and you have a functional horn.

Just focus on one circuit at a time and make sure it is right before going on to the next circuit. It is a lot easier than trying to do it all at once and then guessing which wire of a bundle goes where.

Last time I rewired a Series truck I added a barrier strip to the inside bulkhead behind the main instrument panel and used ring connectors to attach wires. This made for a MUCH neater arrangement behind the panel. I highly recommend this for anyone not wanting an exact restoration.

I also used a universal fuse block for the pronged fuses to fuse additional circuits. I mount them on the inside of the bulkhead in the cubby box area opposite the steering wheel. I like the idea of more than 2 fuses and mounting it inside protects it from splash, heat and oil spray.

Anyway, if you are game, I suggest that you do a custom wiring job on your truck instead of butchering up a stock harness.

Good luck

[TeriAnn]

Most likely you have a hydrolic brake switch. Open the hood, and look down the left side of the engine.

As a rule of thumb, if you have power brakes (a booster mounted to the brake pedal tower) you have a mechanical brake light switch mounted just behind the booster.

If you do not have power brakes you have a hydraulic brake switch mounted on the right frame rail top inside the engine bay.

[NC2AZ18]

TerriAnn, thank you!

I am going to move forward with creating my own main harness. I was going to order all wiring from Britishwiring.com, this is really the only source I have found that carries the wires I am looking for. Are there others I should be aware of?

[TeriAnn]

TerriAnn, thank you!

I am going to move forward with creating my own main harness. I was going to order all wiring from Britishwiring.com, this is really the only source I have found that carries the wires I am looking for. Are there others I should be aware of?

British Pacific (http://www.britishpacific.com) normally carries wire by the foot. It is not in their new web site but you can call them at their 800 number & inquire 800-331-4455, or email britpac@aol.com

I don't know if Rovers North carries wire by the foot. If they do I'm sure someone will let us both know.

Be sure to install all new bulkhead grommets. I think British wiring is the only one carrying the proper bullet connector crimper and you will really need one if you do bullet connectors. It is hard to do solder on bullet connectors. The insulation melts near the connector before you can get it hot enough for good solder flow.

[o2batsea]

Bullets should be crimped only, no solder. If you are detail oriented, use adhesive lined heat shrink to seal the bullet to the wire.
There are many good, sound and compelling reasons not to solder.