6 replies to this topic

[henryS]

With a 30+ yr old wiring loom in the Mini I was wondering whether or not it would be worth replacing the loom rather than reusing it and repairing as necessary....

 

Couple of options then:

 

1 - New loom - what do people tend to buy if replacing a 'standard' loom (Carb and Dizzy) ?

 

2 - Reuse the loom - is this likely to be 'okay' for a good amount of time? While I have it out of the car I could renew any bad connections or damaged wires but the loom does feel a bit stiff and I'm not sure if I want to trust 30yr old wires not to present faults in the future....

 

3 - Build a custom loom - I have recently build a bespoke loom for my other project car and the Mini's loom doesn't look too complicated.

 

Thanks!

 

Also - I did find this thread which suggests if going for a new loom that the MiniSpares looms are good.

[ac427]

I think new looms are around £150.  Could you make one for less ?  Is it worth the time ?

 

You could renew all the connectors (because that is where the corrosion will be) on the current loom but i guess that is only doing half the job and once again time is a factor.

 

re-fitting a loom will take a while too.

[henryS]

Thanks for the reply.

That was my thought regarding just replacing connectors, I think I may have narrowed my options down to New or Custom.

I'll inspect the loom (it's 90% removed) and also take a look at the spare one I have. 

 

I think going new/custom was more for peace of mind. I have been there before with old looms where you can spend ages trying to find a fault and it's a dodgy connection somewhere due to the age of the loom etc.

 

Other than the usual Mini suppliers, are there any new looms anyone has tried and found to be good?

[ac427]

From your link it seems like the Minispares looms are well received. Using a pullcord for the roof might be a bast though.

 

Perhaps you could replace all the connectors in the engine bay.  The rest of the loom will probably be ok and this would save you pulling the car apart.

 

Replacing loom connectors would be quicker, cheaper and you won't have to do it all at once. So you could use the car in meantime.

 

I have never liked those push connectors behind the front grille. Perhaps a decent waterproof multi pole connector would be a better replacement for them, depending on how original you want to keep the car.

 

These guys have everything http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu

[Stevie W]

Hi,

 

As above, the Minispares looms are of excellent quality.

 

I've carried out both ideas with my Mini. During it's restoration I stripped back the loom tape on the original loom, replaced a few old rusty connectors and re-taped the loom. If you go down this avenue, arm yourself with a good quality crimp tool and connectors. I shielded my crimp connectors from the elements with heatshrink tubing, which also made the repairs look professional!!

The first time I connected the battery, everything worked as it should and the car gave many years of trouble free motoring. This was on a '72 Mini with a dynamo.

 

During a later restoration, I decided to go for an alternator to beef up the electrical system so it performed better with the lights, wipers etc running. I purchased the loom from Minispares and had no issues with it. It was very well made.

 

So the choice is yours really, both avenues work well, it depends on what time/money you have and how long you can stand having the car off of the road! A new loom can be fitted in a matter of a couple of hours if the car is stripped out, but can take a lot longer on a complete car.

 

When I took the old loom out, I used the Haynes manual wiring diagram but also labelled each connector as I took it off it's terminal. You can do the same sort of thing with the new loom...

 

Hope this helps!!!

 

Cheers, Steve.   

[henryS]

Thanks for your input Steve. I think I shall give it some thought. I'm quite happy to spend the time repairing the loom, I'll just have to do some investigating to see how good/bad it is. 

 

At the moment the car won't be on the road for many many months so time is on my side when it comes to the loom.

Thanks,

[Stevie W]

No probs Henry!!!

 

Good luck with it :)