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PostPosted: November 29, 2016, 1:43 am 
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Location: No. Nevada
Just a note for all the "Lucas, Prince of darkness" haters out there.

Over the years I have replaced many more GM starters and alternators than Lucas despite owning far fewer GM vehicles.
Yesterday I finally tracked down the intermittent turn signal issue on my '81 Chevy truck.
Seems one headlamp had the ground and high-beam connections reversed, factory or previous owner?
Now why this mostly showed up as a turn signal failure, and only intermittently, I do not have the patience to puzzle out.
Just glad the signals now work properly!

"GM, Generally Malfunctions"

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PostPosted: November 30, 2016, 11:24 am 
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In 1999, the alternator on my 1971 MGB died. People made "Lucas jokes" all over the place, along with "British car" jokes. The friggin' thing was 28 years old, for Gawsh Sakes!!!

And yes, in a former life, I drove fleet vehicles that belonged to my employer, all GM. Can't tell you how many starters I replaced. Although I do remember one particular incident. The guy that was in charge of vehicles at the time had a company Chevy Blazer. I rolled into the shop one evening late in my Chevy 1-Ton that had a bad starter. Called my co-worker Gurney, he came to the shop and I took my starter off the truck while he took the one off the Blazer. Swapped 'em around, I went to work the next day with no problems. Mr. GM-Only, not so lucky...

:cheers:
JDK

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PostPosted: November 30, 2016, 3:10 pm 
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Location: BC, Canada. eh?
I've found that Lucas electrical devices are generally pretty darned good - it's almost always the harness that fails. The Triumph Spitfire is a classic example - only 4 circuits, 18-gauge wire, "instant-corrode" non-weatherproof connectors, all protected by 40-amp fuses. The wires melt & burn before the fuses go.

Wiper motors, alternators, switches, etc., however, seem to last almost forever. I'm using a Lucas wiper motor in my build - it's almost 50 years old, and still operates like brand new - quiet, smooth, and powerful.

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PostPosted: November 30, 2016, 5:20 pm 
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The real problem is that it took the Brits a long time to embrace the idea of fuses. I think they saw them as a point of failure, and so tended to leave them out of critical systems like headlights and horns. My Locost, which is all Lucas, has exactly two fuses. The wiring itself acts as a fuse, although at a much higher amperage, sufficient to melt insulation and possibly burst into flames, although so far so good.


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PostPosted: December 1, 2016, 1:38 am 
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My Alfa Romeo based Dio Tipo build will be using mostly Italian Magneti-Marelli components.
Starter, alternator, and gauges.
Lucas tail lamps, Hella headlamps.
So long as I wire them correctly I expect no problems.

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PostPosted: December 1, 2016, 2:14 am 
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Location: BC, Canada. eh?
Rather than fuses, Lucas employed mainly "fusible links". They were what are otherwise known as "wires", and came in many, many colors. Unfortunately, in British cars, almost all of them were green. :roll: After a short circuit, however, all of them became black. And, very crusty. With traces of copper color showing through...

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PostPosted: December 1, 2016, 2:43 am 
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zetec7 wrote:
Rather than fuses, Lucas employed mainly "fusible links". They were what are otherwise known as "wires", and came in many, many colors. Unfortunately, in British cars, almost all of them were green. :roll: After a short circuit, however, all of them became black. And, very crusty. With traces of copper color showing through...


Funny thing is, the only time I ever had that happen the car was a Ford Falcon!
Still have the scar from ripping the HOT battery cable from the fender mounted solenoid before the whole harness turned to smoke.
Saved most of it, just a few ignition wires and the solenoid to replace.

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PostPosted: December 1, 2016, 4:41 pm 
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zetec7 wrote:
I've found that Lucas electrical devices are generally pretty darned good - it's almost always the harness that fails.


As opposed to the Germans, who have excellent wiring and the electric motors are junk. I probably poked too much fun at a friend with a BMW 7-series that seemed posessed by electrical demons...


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PostPosted: December 2, 2016, 2:50 am 
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Location: Kamloops, BC, Canada
British electrics are the butt of many jokes, but I did giggle a bit the other day when one of the moms at my daughter's school fired up her fancy new Range Rover, and one of the HID headlights flickered a few times then shut off. Apparently Lucas headlights still have 3 settings, just now it'soff, flicker, and blind everyone.
Kristian

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PostPosted: December 2, 2016, 1:40 pm 
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"Range Rover" is when you don't want an American thing that the Americans build better and cheaper...

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PostPosted: December 2, 2016, 2:09 pm 
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don't forget the Italians...equal opportunity electrics bashing. I used to have a Fiat X1/9 that had had an electrical fire and was not too badly damaged, but totalled. I replaced all of the damaged components and repaired or replaced all of the wiring according to the service manual for those components. The part that had me scratching my head was all of the extra wiring and circuits that were not connected to anything or just partially connected. I just ripped all of it out with no consequences....weird. Anyway, best $500 car I ever owned. Cost me $350 to repair it, drove it for 100K miles and sold it for $1700.

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PostPosted: December 2, 2016, 9:46 pm 
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One of the early Capris I owned had lots of extra wiring behind the dash. When I removed the harness to put in a different car, I realized it was a "universal" LHD/RHD harness, and they just doubled the excess wires up and taped them.

I stripped a mid'80s Celica Supra harness once, which had dozens of wires that just stopped in the middle of the loom. Some had bullet connectors, some were just cut off. All under the original tape. I guess they used a "universal" harness for various options, national emissions controls, lighting, etc.


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PostPosted: December 3, 2016, 10:19 am 
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In the Sunbeam world, it is commonly thought that a real problem, aside from lack of fuses and fuse holder design, is that the electrical system has no reserve capacity. Add anything electrical and you overload the "fusible links".

Bill


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PostPosted: December 3, 2016, 3:45 pm 
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Use the stock wiring harness, they said... It will be cheaper and it's not hard to modify, they said...

Attachment:
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PostPosted: December 3, 2016, 5:08 pm 
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Yeah... BTDT. And that's why I have spools of wire, labeling materials, and Weatherpak connectors to build my next harness.

Do it one circuit at a time, test and make "as-installed" drawings as you go, and it's a lot less hassle than adapting a harness.

Well, less hassle for me; since I'm color blind I have to go pin-to-pin instead of intuiting that mystical "color" stuff. The VW Beetle I had in the early '70s had all white wire with numbers every inch or so; it was exceedingly simple and easy to work with...


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