Headlamp relay

[Mini424]

I am installing a new wiring harness in my S3 restoration and have now got to the headlamp relay that is mounted on the wiper wheel box. Mine was mounted on the LH one but the parts manual says that it should be on the RH side. My question is it different for LH drive cars? The wiring that was in the car was butchered and I think the wiper motor may have been changed at some time as wiring is also color coded wrong. I have no way of telling which is correct and if the new one will reach?
I also have the original 3 prong R246 relay that works but shows only 15 ohms across the coil. Is this correct because I have read that the 4 prong 6RA replacement should be between 75 and 100 ohms.
Thanks in advance for any help.

[geni]

ah! si seulement le fabricant du faisceau électrique marquerait par étiquette chaque extrémitée du cablage et aussi respectrait la longueur réelle de celui ci cela aiderait énormément au remontage et il n'y aurais aucune confusion ni de fils baladeurs !
Que cela se dise ,car sait une vraie galère si ont ait hors connection dans l'électrique!
A consulter les schémas il ne sont identiques et différents ?
Qu'en penser vous ?

[alan.barker]

Geni
Please this is an English Forum not French.
In English please SVP
Alan

[Mini424]

Thanks Alan. I agree and although Canadian I don't speak French.

[512BB]

Well, I will let the geni out of the bottle with a bit roast beef humour. Yes I know, most of you won't get it.

Ah ha, my English friends, if only the manufacturer of the electrical harness would mark each end of the wiring with a label and also respect its actual length, unlike the disrespect shown to us Brexiteers, this would help enormously with reassembly, but not rejoining, and there would be no confusion or stray wires! or wives, well it is Christmas, and the mistletoe is up.
Let that be said, because it's a real hassle if you have an offline connection in the electrical sector!
To consult the diagrams, are they identical and different?
What do you think? Stick to Anglais Geni.

Best I can do, and my dinner is ready.

L & M

[Mini424]

The new wiring appears to be correct with the right colour coding. I am just trying to determine the proper location
of the headlamp relay for a LHD S3 and if I can use the original relay or purchase a new 6RA but am unsure as to what resistance it should be?
Thanks for any help.

[billwill]

I think it best to NOT dissuade anyone posting, even if they have to post in a non-English language.

It's hard enough decoding American sometimes

Anyway Google-translate will usually make some sense out of any posting in other languages.

https://translate.google.com/ converts that french to:

ah! If only the manufacturer of the electrical harness would mark each end of the wiring with a label and also respect its actual length, this would help enormously with reassembly and there would be no confusion or stray wires!
Let that be said, because it's a real hassle if you have an offline connection in the electrical sector!
To consult the diagrams, are they identical and different?
What do you think?

[GLB]

My left hand drive car has the relay on the drivers side wheel house. A word of caution. I bought a new 6RA relay from a reputable supplier but it was evidently made in china. The rivet securing the electromagnet was not secure and over time the whole assembly in the housing rotated and shorted out against the metal housing and took the whole wiring harness with it but fortunately only smoke and no flames. Still expensive and time consuming to replace again. I only use the small Bosch style relays from now on and pay extra to get the real deal. I also put some extra fuses to protect some of the unfused systems. Mounted them on the side of the wooden dash, modern style plug in fuses. Hardly noticed and easy to get to. Gary

[Mini424]

Thanks Gary. That answers one question as I know that the new harness was ordered for a LHD S3.
I was hoping to reuse the existing UK made R246 relay but unsure of what the coil resistance should be?
It would appear that according to the original parts list it was manufactured by Clear Hooters (Not Lucas) that would suggest that it was also used for horns. Yes I agree about the Chinese stuff and am trying to stay away from it.
Thanks again. Terry

[Frogelan]

Folks, I have discussed the translation issue with Gérard (Geni).

He installed one of these translation devices on his computer and when he uploads the translated text it is then unfortunately converted back into French when it appears here. He is not unwilling to try to meet the diktats of certain members.

With regard to the very important point raised by Gérard (the questionable quality of repro harnesses in LHD format in terms of wire length and connector quality) both the company in question and les garagistes are seemingly uninterested to address the problem that has existed for at least 30 years.

This is a problem which I resolved for my RHD race MGB after regularly seeing under dashboard sparks in night time events caused by inaccurate wirelengths stressing the bullet connectors (not very reassuring when you have just taken on board 100 litres of fuel). The competition loom fitted in 1998 is still working perfectly...

Electrical gremlins account for perhaps 1 in 3 breakdowns on old cars and personally I would recommend having a competition loom even on a road car.

For my project (a LHD GTS), I have designed the loom myself and will have it made up in small sections using the latest connectors, E-T-A circuit breakers and modern relays (8 micro, 4 mini). I'm also hoping that the electrician will also improve on my ideas

[Andy8421]

With regard to the very important point raised by Gérard (the questionable quality of repro harnesses in LHD format in terms of wire length and connector quality) both the company in question and les garagistes are seemingly uninterested to address the problem that has existed for at least 30 years.

The underlying problem is that the electrical design and connectors used on the Elan just aren't up to it. Its a useful exercise to look at modern car practice, the connectors all have seals on the cable entry, with an overall seal for the connector mating surfaces and positive latching for the connector. The connectors themselves are designed so that there is sufficient contact pressure to form a gas-tight seal.

None of this applies to the bullet connectors used in the Elan (which are hopeless), the Lucar (spade) terminals at least have decent contact pressure but no environmental protection.

With careful assembly using gobs of vaseline, it is possible to put together a standard Elan system that stands a chance of working with reasonable longevity, particularly given the low mileage our cars do, but to produce a 'bullet proof' (pun intended) system, a complete redesign of the wiring, proper fusing and earthing scheme and the use of modern sealed connectors is required.

The question is how far you want to go down the non-original route.

[Frogelan]

Thank you Andy for the bullet proofing!

Just an idea, but perhaps the wiring loom company could offer better connectors (as an option) and study the installation on the car (as a matter of course) ?

[saildrive2001]

When I restored my car 10 years ago I bought all new harnesses from a UK company that specializes in wiring harness products. I had no problems with the harnesses & everything worked just fine. You would certainly need a wiring diagram & the Lucas wiring code to be able to connect everything. I also used dielectric grease on all the bullet connectors. I have been driving the car for 10 years since the rebuild & have not had any electrical wiring issues.

[GLB]

I also have used harnesses from the well known supplier in the UK. Twice on an early Elan, Same car but because of the afore mentioned relay and once on left hand drive Elaln +2S. No problems with fit in either case. Lucas terminals are no worse in my opinion than any other system on other cars that I have worked on from the era. I have never had a problem with that part of the wiring but I live in a very dry place. All of the problems I have encountered have been caused by a previous owner hacking into the looms to add a device or to "improve" them somehow. Just my opinion. Gary

[RichardHawkins]

Andy,

I was horrified when I took my lotus apart, and I am not an electrical. My approach was to use the design and hardware from another car. At the time I had a VW Caddy pick up, which had the distribution/fuse board approximately where the passengers knees are. A VW Caddy and Skoda Felicia are basically the same thing. I bought an MOT failed Felicia from which I stripped all the wiring, and sold the remains on to a car breaker.

I eventually managed to make sense of the wiring with the aid of a Haynes manual, and remodelled the wires to fit the lotus, checking that everything works laid out on a large board. I noticed that all the connectors within the car were unsealed (sort of like a sophisticated Lucas spade connector) but that all connectors outside the cabin were sealed (water tight). When I needed to buy crimp terminals the literature spoke of the crimp producing a “gas tight joint” which surprised me. I also noticed the seals at cable entry to the connector and the seals between the connector half’s.

You mentioned these connectors as gas tight, why is this necessary?

Richard Hawkins