Wiring Loom repair question

[rover3l123]

One of my summer repairs is to replace the headlining on my 1965 P5 Mk 11c as it was damaged by mice or some other rodent species. I have the replacement headlining courtesy of David Green but, the wiring loom that runs around the outside of the roof area is damage where the mice have chewed away at the insulation.

I can carry out local repairs, but I have found about 12 damaged areas so far. The other option is to replace the complete loom in the roof area.

Does anyone have any thoughts about how best to approach this. I already plan to buy 4 new interior lights as the wiring on these is damaged also.

I am going to be in the UK from June 14th to June 30th with my job in the Kent area and so I thought I might be able to purchase what I need in the UK and then bring it back with my to the US at the end of June.

One thought is to buy a used loom from someone like David Green and then connect it into the main loom in the roof area. However, I am not sure how many connections I will need to make and whether this is the best approach.

Any advice would be appreciated

David

[Phil Nottingham]

A used loom is a verr sensible option as they last well and are in PVC. Its separate too from the rest. Its also easy to make up your own really

[Warwick]

When I've rewired cars in the past, either partially or completely, I've used trailer cable. In Australia it comes as a 5 or 7 core cable in a black PVC outer sheath, with each wire colour-coded. If necessary for the higher current wires I pair up wires or use a relay.

[enigmas]

I wish I'd thought about that earlier Warwick! The trailer loom is purchased from Trailer building shops?

[Warwick]

I think I bought it from Ryans at the top of Elizabeth St - now no more. But any caravan and trailer equipment supplier should stock it. I would expect Carac in Frankston Rd. Dandenong should have it. I haven't bought any for years. I had a spool of it.

It's surprising how many areas of a car can be serviced by one or two 5 or 7 core cables; often leaving you with a spare wire or two.

When I did up my 1970 504 in the mid '80s, I completely rewired the car. I mounted a pair of 5-pin flat trailer sockets on a bracket off the block (inclined engine) and wired all engine associated components to them, except for (of course) the heavy alternator output wire, and the starter motor to battery cable.

My homemade CD ignition unit was in a diecast alloy box beside the radiator and plugged into one of the sockets using a 5-core trailer cable and plug, while the other socket (starter solenoid, oil pressure switch, temperature switch, etc.) had a short cable with a flat trailer plug on one end and a small round Utilux type trailer plug on the other. The engine loom connection to the car was via a matching Utilux trailer socket mounted through the bulkhead. It was also the perfect engine immobilizer. You could unplug the engine loom and take it with you.

If anything went wrong with the CDI (and it did once), I simply unplugged it and inserted another plug into the socket. That plug had its terminals bridged so that the ignition system reverted to normal. The dummy plug lived in the glovebox.

[Warwick]

Vince,

I stopped at Super Cheap on Saturday to get a drum of oil and while I was there I checked their electrical section. They have spools of trailer cable but it is very small diameter. You would be hard pressed to run anything but LEDs with it. This isn't what I bought from Ryans in the past, or what I'd expect to find at Carac or other trailer/caravan places.

The cable I've used is as thick externally as a decent 240V extension lead with similar size wires within it. In fact I've even used 2, 3 and 4-core 240V flex in cars in places where I wanted better abrasion resistance than what you get from typical 2-core automotive or audio wire.

[enigmas]

Thanks for the info Warwick.