Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Sorry but another wiring question for a elan +2s 1972, 4 fuse type loom.
The dash loom has a 6 pin multiplug with the following wire colours .

Green+blue stripe = to engine temp sensor
Brown+yellow stripe = alternator lamp
Black+White stripe x2 = pressure switch
Yellow+green stripe = cooling fan and wipers
Green x2 = power to reverse and stop lamps via switches
White+brown or purple stripe = ????????

I am connecting this to a self made front loom, and have fitted the dash to the car and now I find I can't trace or find where the White and brown stripe wire goes to ?
Due to poor a tight fit behind the dash I can't see where it even comes from.
Any idears ?
Thanks
Brett

Dont know if you have this Lucas wiring code but it may help
http://www.jcna.com/library/tech/tech0014.html

Hello Bret,
White/Brown should be electrical type oil pressure sender unit to gauge. Check if you have an electrical oil pressure gauge, if so, that should be where it'll go, with a plain white wire on the other gauge terminal to supply ignition switched live. If you have a piped pressure gauge you may find your white/brown wire is simply spare/not used any more.

Regards, Tim

I got this from an old lotus site

White Ignition switch or starter solenoid to ballast resistor
White Brown Oil pressure switch to warning light or gauge, or starter relay to oil pressure switch
White Blue Choke switch to choke solenoid (unfused) and/or choke to switch to warning light, or electronic ignition distributor to drive resistor
White Red Starter switch to starter solenoid or inhibitor switch or starter relay or ignition (start position) to bulb failure unit
White Purple Fuel pump no 1 or right-hand to changeover switch
White Green Fuel pump no 2 or left-hand to changeover switch
White Light Green Start switch to starter interlock or oil pressure switch to fuel pump or start inhibitor switch to starter relay or solenoid
White Yellow Ballast resistor to coil or starter solenoid to coil
White Black Ignition coil contact breaker to distributor contact breaker, or distributor side of coil to voltage impulse tachometer
White Pink Ignition switch to radio fuse
White Slate Current tachometer to ignition coil
White Orange Hazard warning lead to switch

Thanks all
It all seams to point to it being a wire avalible incase a electric oil gauge is fitted !
Hence why I can't find a wire to join it to in the engine loom and why its not shown on the lotus wiring diagrams.
Mine has a capillary type gauge fitted and so I guess not required.
Were electric gauges ever fitted ?
Were all cars wired this way ?

Brett

I've got an electric oil pressure guage - 1968 +2
Baggy

Baggy2 wrote:I've got an electric oil pressure gauge - 1968 +2
Baggy

Mine is electrical as well Brett. 1969 Plus 2 Federal. I thought all the Plus 2's were electrical oil pressure and two seater Elans were capillary oil pressure, but can certainly stand corrected, particularly regarding early Plus 2's. Sounds like the immediate mystery solved for you anyway. Perhaps a previous owner retro-fitted a non-stock gauge.

Minor point of correction, at least for my Federal car. The other side of the gauge behind dash is powered by a Green - Hot in Run/Start Fused, not white, which is Hot in Run/Start - Unfused. In any case, the electric oil pressure gauge is not fed from the 10v Voltage Stabilizer output like the fuel gauge and temperature gauge, but is fed by full 12v.

Guys,

The oil pressure sender was electric in the earlier Plus 2's and capillary in the later ones. Not sure when the changeover happened though.

Cheers

Robbie

stugilmour wrote:

Baggy2 wrote:I've got an electric oil pressure gauge - 1968 +2
Baggy

Mine is electrical as well Brett. 1969 Plus 2 Federal. I thought all the Plus 2's were electrical oil pressure and two seater Elans were capillary oil pressure, but can certainly stand corrected, particularly regarding early Plus 2's. Sounds like the immediate mystery solved for you anyway. Perhaps a previous owner retro-fitted a non-stock gauge.

Minor point of correction, at least for my Federal car. The other side of the gauge behind dash is powered by a Green - Hot in Run/Start Fused, not white, which is Hot in Run/Start - Unfused. In any case, the electric oil pressure gauge is not fed from the 10v Voltage Stabilizer output like the fuel gauge and temperature gauge, but is fed by full 12v.

My 69 +2S had electrical type gauge but my current 72 +2S 130 has capillary type gauge.

With regard to wire colours, the Lotus manual shows a white wire to the 'live' side of gauge for both federal & home market models (+2S) & that would tie in with the usual colours assosiated with an oil pressure light on British vehicles of the era, they all used a fairly standardised colour scheme, well, except Ford, but then, thery're not realy British.

Regards, Tim

As it was at hand i have checked the service part list.
This shows a oil gauge and switch (sender ?) listed for the +2 and the +2 fed.
And just a oil gauge listed for the +2s, +2s fed, s130 and s130 fed.
So hopeful mine is correct (for its day of manufacture) and the extra wire was their just in case a electrical gauge was fitted due to stock levels
I wonder what was the lighter or cheaper
either way the extra wire had me scratching my head
Brett

Interesting. I stand corrected for the later models. I looked over my other wiring diagrams, and it looks like they went back to electrical oil pressure on a Plus 2 S RHD Alternator (Non Federal) with clock, so it would be a six minor gauge set-up. Might account for Brett's extra wire. I also see the white supply wire on several of the models after mine.