S2 Wiring loom - where does it run behind the dash?

[Emma-Knight]

I'm still uncertain where to run the loom behind the dash: the part list EA page shows it above heater and choke cables, which seems too high for the light switch wires. It would do with wiper and ignition cables, though.
It would also need the loom to run between radio and instrument light rheostat - tight, but possible...
Would it run below heater and choke cables, only supported by the heater bracket second support?

Originalists, please...

Anna

[garyeanderson]

Hi Anna

These photos were taken 15 years ago when 26/4997 was pulled apart by me. The S2 had been driven for 4 years and parked with cylinder head problems. It was the road from 1969 till when I bought it in 1994 and the chassis is still of the road. Its very original and I took the body for use with 26/4597. If you have any questions email me and I'll see if I can offer a better description if the pictures don't tell you what you need to know. I might be able to get photos of 26/4045 tomorrow which is still assembled but stored off site to fill in the gaps. The main trunk of the harness is running over the air plenum, and yes its a LHD Elan.

Gary

[Emma-Knight]

Hi Gary,
I forgot to say - its a rhd car.... even though its on the continent.
Still very interesting details on the photos like the fixing of the relais.
I made a lot of photos when restoring the wiring loom. I will post them within the next days.
One thing is still not perfect: the earth connection on the right hand side / beside the radiator.
I also had to improvise the run of the generator cables where they leave the loom
It was a hot, long summer. Hardly any rain. I took my car apart... Now that it's about to run, it's a few degrees above zero

Anna

[garyeanderson]

Hi Anna
Well through the wonders of windows 98 paint we have Flip and you get pretty much the same thing as the RHD S3 dash (without Flip) in the bottom photo except I am not anywhere near as tidy.

Gary

p.s. - no RHD S2's in the colection yet...

[nhhiker]

Gary

Thanks. Great timing for these photos. They can help me with 36/7502. The wiper is now working on high and park! Slow may be not working. I get a spark but the motor will not turn.

PS One of these days, I will find the photos and CD of the car before I took it apart.

Bill

36/7502
50/2164

[Emma-Knight]

Hi Gary,

of course You are right...
I will try this way tomorrow. Above the choke and heater bowden cable!

Anna

[Emma-Knight]

Good one Gary: Car is happy, wiring loom is happy, me is happy
And lots of space behind the dash now.

Anna

[gino1]

Hi all,
Talking of wiring looms does anyone know where a complete loom can be purchased ready to fit ?
The reason to why i am asking this is because i bought a brand new harness that cam in three sections, which for a baby elan is absurd, with no instructions and no indication what went where !!
Some of the wires where wrongly coloured according to the wiring diagram in the official manual and the socket plugs were missing so the whole thing was a complete blank.
I have been told that all the uk suppliers supply this harness in this state and i fear they all source from the same supplier.

Gino
Milano Italy

[paddy]

I spoke to this company:

http://www.autosparks.co.uk/

who I believe make up their own to orignal specs. They will modify to your specification (eg +ve to -ve conversion, or generator to alternator conversion) and gave me a reasonable quote (competitive with "off the shelf" from the usual UK suppliers). I can't vouch for the quality because I haven't ordered one yet, but I think one or two other people here have used them.

Paddy

[gino1]

Hi Paddy,
I've also spoken to this company and seem very pleasant and efficient but fear that this is the only supplier that provide the loom and also supplies everyone else !
Gino
Milano
Italy

[stugilmour]

Gino:

I used one made by these guys:

http://www.premierwiring.co.uk/index.ph ... 67901-3830

It looks like they have a link to eBay to buy. I would recommend contacting them to get the correct one. The one supplied by Spyder was clearly made for a fibreglass car as it has a lot of ground wires in it already.

I purchased the loom from Spyder. It was pretty close to what was needed for the Plus 2. It has a built in fuse block, which can be mounted in the glove box.

The loom is very adaptable because it is not wrapped in loom tape, just held together with tie wraps. I modified it extensively for relays. As it came it would work OK, but relay mods for the headlights are a must and the headlight micro-switch physical location may require changes. The wire colours follow "Lucas" standard, or I guess more correctly BS-AU7a 1983 Colour Code for Vehicle Wiring, which are summarized here. I have not played with Elan Plus 0 wiring, but seeing some of the stuff on the forum it doesn't necessarily follow these standards in all circuits so can be a bit confusing on a few details. I think having a replacement loom that is configured to follow the standard is a big plus, because you know exactly what each wire is meant to do just by looking up the colour.

http://www.dimebank.com/LucasColours.html

http://www.peterrenn.co.uk/archive4.html

http://www.jcna.com/library/tech/tech0014.html

http://www.spriteparts.com.au/lucas_wires.htm


You can see Spyder installing one here for a Zetec (steps 5, 6, & 7):

http://www.spydercars.co.uk/new_project ... rt_6-2.htm

Note this is not a Lotus specific loom, but in many ways is an upgrade. A few things need to be modified; for example the turn signal and emergency flashers work off of one flasher unit rather than two units, and I had to get creative to get it to work with the simple dash switch in my Plus 2 and to correctly work with a single dash indicator bulb. I had to add wires for the power windows, two speed heater, electric fan relay, low fuel lamp, and a few other things. It has accessory power connectors so this is not too difficult. Any added wires reference the standard, and any that don't follow the standard or are not needed in the Lotus (i.e. rear fog lamps) are removed. The whole thing is presently attached to the dash and ready for installation, with two front legs to under the bonnet and one leg to the boot and interior. I will be cutting it when I install it and adding connectors as required. I expect main connectors are not included in the loom because their physical location is car specific; you need to move them about depending on the size of the car.

It does not come with a diagram, rather a detailed set of instructions telling you what each wire does and where to attach it. Some of it is a bit confusing, but I think I got through it. This is not a quick or cheep job; I worked away on it through last winter so I was not rushed and had lots of indoor space to lay it out.

Any wires, connectors, relays, wire covering, special tools, etc. I wanted to add to the loom I purchased here.

http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu/V ... mepage.php

http://www.britishwiring.com/

Another option is to just buy 3 to 8 meters of each wire colour and lay up a loom, but I think this would take a lot of patience and you need to understand what each wire does and where it is placed before you start. If one knew all this at the start, installing what you have now would be easy, and I expect you wouldn't be asking about it. I found having the Uniloom as a starting point was a lot easier in learning how it all works schematically, and more importantly, where each wire is physically located in the car.

This link has good write-up on making a loom from scratch following your existing one:

http://www.gglotus.org/ggtech/elan+2-wi ... wiring.htm