Reverse switch Wiring

[Donels]

I'm just installing a Voigts 5 speed gearbox and need to make up the wiring for the reverse switch. The switch I have is from the old 4 speed and has two bullet type terminals. Any idea what the connector should be to these terminals and where to get one?

Dave

[alanr]

Hi Dave,
When i fitted a Voigts Type 9 last year my gearbox came from Voigts with a reversing switch already fitted.
The Type 9 reversing light switch I have on my gearbox is not the same as the 4speed switch at all and is a totally different switch.
The 4speed reversing light switch fits on the top lid of the gearbox. The Type 9 is at the back in the extension housing on the side of the gearbox. Well, mine is.
However I can agree with you that trying to find suitable right angled terminal ends is difficult and they have to be right angled due to the limited space in the tunnel.
I couldn't find any suitable connectors anywhere so I modified some ordinary bullet connectors. I stripped the plastic off, bent them at right angles in the middle, soldered the wires on and covered in heatshrink.
So far they have proved to grip the reversing switch terminals all ok and the reversing lights work just fine.

Hope this helps,

Alan.

[alanr]

Hi again Dave.
I have now found a photo I took at the time of fitting my gearbox which shows the reversing light switch on my Voigts Type 9 and you can clearly see it is not the same as a 4speed switch and is on the side of the special Voigts extension housing.
From what you saying I wonder if you have an incorrect switch?

Alan

[gjz30075]

Here are several from Summit Racing in the US. I'm pretty sure they ship world wide

https://www.summitracing.com/search/par ... %20pigtail

The switch on the T9 looks very similar to the T5 switch

[Donels]

Thanks guys.

Mine is identical to yours Alan. I'm installing the gearbox in the chassis and the wiring is the last snag to resolve.
The parts from Summit Racing look like the proper connector and should be available in the UK, so I'll have a search. Otherwise I'm back to trying Alan's solution.

Dave

[steve lyle]

1owner69 and I captured our Voigt conversions in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=37&t=46266&start=210

We both ran into the reverse switch wiring issue, and solved it much like alanr did - see pg 15 for pics of my hack, and 17 for 1owner's similar, but neater, approach. Mine has worked fine for the last 4 years and about 8k miles or so.

[Donels]

Well I’ve modified a couple of Lucas electrical connectors as per you guys, but I’ve added a couple of small spring clips as used on hoses for extra grip, see attached pic. Gearbox now in the chassis ready for the engine.

[alanr]

Gearbox now in the chassis ready for the engine.

This is the point when I did mine that I discovered when fitting the engine mounts that I hadn't got the gearbox mounted far enough back into the chassis!...All good fun but very frustrating!

Alan.

[Donels]

Yes I read through Steve’s extensive note and noted the slots in the rear mounting bracket. I measured the engine and gearbox and the gap between engine mounts and bell housing face which appeared to be 200mm on each one, but there is no wriggle room even if it’s slightly out. I’ve therefore slotted the bracket. Let’s see if it’s enough.

[alanr]

I found that even with the plate extensively slotted and modified the problem was that the actual gearbox mount itself hit the bottom of chassis strengthener at the rear. I had to take the gearbox box out again and trim the bottom lip off the chassis strengthener.
There is only just room to make it fit and I spent literally many hours and days getting it just right with sufficient clearance from the chassis.
The above assumes you have a standard +2 Lotus chassis and not a Spyder chassis.

Good luck!

Alan

[Donels]

Well the good news is that the engine is installed. It went really smoothly and no further adjustment was required to the gearbox mounting plate.

The bad news is that in wriggling the gearbox around whilst it's jacked up to get the right angle for the engine, I managed to dislodge one of the reversing light wires

I've left it for today but will try to reattach the wire tomorrow. As a fall back solution I might drill an access hole in the chassis

[alanr]

Good news...
Arrrh... but that is cheating having the body removed. Didn't realise that you have the body off. Much easier!

Have you checked underneath the clearance between the rear of the gearbox mounting and the chassis?.I don't mean the plate I mean the actual mounting itself..that is what gave me grief, in it hitting the chassis strengthener.

If you cut an access hole in the chassis for the reversing light switch I suspect you will need a corresponding hole in the body when it goes back on. The tunnel bodywork is also close in that area,


Alan.