Installing aftermarket wiring harness...hmmm

[cartoon14]

Hello
New to the forum.

I'm preparing to install a new wiring harness in my 73 TR6 and was wondering if anyone has done one and have some suggestions or do's and dont's that could be helpful.

[Moppie]

Wow, new harness into a TR6 should be fun.
Putting a new harness into a car is one thing Iv never done, but I would lay it our completely, making sure everything is labeled first (not that there is that much to it, being a 73 TR6).

Then make sure everything in the car that needs to be out, is out. Carpet, seats, rubber gromets in firewall etc.

Then find the start point. My best guess would be fuse box, or somewhere under dash, and work your way out from there.

[curtis73]

Good advice, moppie. Solder and shrink wrap connections, don't use crimp connectors. Any grounds, use emery cloth to get down to bare metal, use a star washer, then paint or undercoat over it to prevent corrosion.

Take your time and make it neat so you're not chasing down wires later. Also take the time to make a wiring diagram with the location of each wire. That's something that a factory diagram doesn't do... it just tells you its the blue wire but it doesn't say that it runs in a wire loom under the carpet

[cartoon14]

All good advice. I've done this kind of thing before but this one is for a practicle/resto so I'm a little aprehensive. The car has been a frame off resto with chassis leg repairs and severe body repairs : floor boards, rocker panels, battery tray, rear inner fender wings and a host of small repairs all done by me and in my garage (8 months so far).

dam my speling sucks...

[Moppie]

Originally Posted by cartoon14

dam my speling sucks...

Get firefox, has a built in spell checker


Anyway, Im a real Triumph fan, would love to have a restored TR6 one day, and not a US spec one either, we got the proper Fuel injected 150hp ones here
They are not terriably compliated cars fortunatly, the wiring is pretty simple, if its like I think it will be, then there will be several seperate grounds.
One for the tail lights, usualy a light mounting bolt. One or two under the dash for the dash lights and accessory wiring etc.
One for the head lights, and another for the front running lights and indicators.
And of course one for the engine, and the battery.
If its got and O/D box in it, there will be one for that too.

Although Iv never worked on a TR6, I did own a 2500TC and a Hearld based kit, and they both had everything earthed to the body or chassis, and I can't imagine the TR6 would be any different.

Since its a rebuild you might consider replacing the old fuse box, unless you want to keep the car totaly orginal of course.
If its anything like the 2500TC box, it will be pretty simple, and use the old glass fuses. Since they are not used anymore in new cars, they are getting harder and harder to find.
You should be able to pull a modern fuse box out of a wrecked car from the 80s, and retro fit it if you have some basic soldering and wiring skills.

[cartoon14]

If I could figure out how to post pictures I could show you what I've done so far. But I do have some of it on a photo share site (Kodak).

Yeah the original harness is fairly simplistic with only 4 fuses and circuits, I'm installing a Painless Mico panel 12 circuit harness, this thing has built in relays and flashers and wire marked every 3 inches, should simplify things considerably. I did an MG a couple of years ago and did my harness from scatch...won't do that again...it came out ok, lots of fun. Thsi one is a retirement gift for my wife.

[Moppie]

Thats a crazy retirement gift!
I would have given here the MG and kept the real car for yourself

If you have photos on the kodak site, then try posting them here inside image tags. You post the link to the photo, inside tags like these

[img]post ling here[/img]

Or, you can upload them to www.photobucket.com (you have sign up first) and they provide the image tags under any phots you upload, so you can just copy paste them in.


If you've done an MG from scratch, and not have a premade, labeled loom for the TR6, it sounds like you won't have any problems though.

[cartoon14]

The TR6 was the first car she ever owned, when we got married back so many years ago. We sold it when our first was born and she never forgave herself, whne I found it in Texas it was a no brainer. The MG was fun but just not quite there. I built two BMW 2002's (68 & 73) and had a lot of fun with them, my son has the 73 and drives it daily. the 68 was sold and now I'm chopping a 64 VW beetle (6") for a hot rod play around thingy...

ahhhhh retirement!!!!

[cartoon14]

hey that works realy well, thanks