Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) On what planet does this make sense?

OK...so have had the MOG for a month...trying to go through the electrical system in anticipation of wiring up my foglights and possibly replacing all the dashboard switches and gems.. In particular, was trying to find the elusive red/yellow 14 gauge wire that Morgan included for fog lights... I found the wire under the dash (disconnected from the toggle)...but had to dig through the loom at the front of the car to find a connection point (Yes - my car was sprayed with the "black goo" "undercoating" that typically obscures all wire colors

This is a part of electric fettling that I hate, as I inevitably break a wire or disconnect a ground in the 50 y/o loom inevitably causes hours of headache as I try to figure out what I have broken.

Well imagine my surprise when I found a bare wire in my hands near the front right turn signal. after CAREFULLY unwrapping the loom from its 50+ y/o tape Further investigation revealed this....



Yes.. those are six separate crimp splices over a 6-8 inch section of wire on both the ground and hot wire feeding the right turn signal (which incidentally was working just fine until my "exploration" of the loom...)

OK...I get it, these wires are close to the ground and are probably prone to getting caught on something and breaking....but come on...three separate crimp splices over that short a wire run! No adherence to Lucas wiring color convention. There's a 2 inch run of green/yellow between one of the crimps! Heaven knows where that short run of wire was taken from....both the the ground and the hot wire are now red...GRRRRRRR.

This is why I HATE electrical work on old cars...previous assailants can lead you astray with this kind of nonsense...and now I have very little confidence in the entire loom after seeing this.

Ah the joys of Mogging...thank heavens that the Plus 4 is incredibly simple electrically. Had a similar experience with my Alfa (the horn died) that almost led to an electrical barbecue when I shorted a wire to a relay that I though was a ground (hey it was black!). Lesson learned...I need to get better about checking coherence with a multimeter. EVERY time I mess with a loom.

I *was* planning on replacing all the switches in the dash for cosmetic reasons (everything electrical on the car works...presently) but am now thinking I should let sleeping dogs lie... found at least two burn marks through insulation on wires in the spaghetti under the dash - suggesting prior shorts. Need to go through loom and re-insulate these wires.....Ic

Plus side....I found the re/dyellow wire...

Cheers gents, happy Mogging!

Sounds like a good opportunity to correct the multitude of bullet connectors Crowbar. Interesting that later Trad Morgan's used the Lucas compliant blue/yellow wiring code for fog lights.

BTW I'm reminded of this Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy) quote:

A common mistake some people make when designing something completely foolproof is in underestimating the ingenuity of complete fools.

Undoing the bodgery of DPOs (Dastardly Previous Owners) is three quarters of the battle when dealing with old cars. I remember being amazed at the awfulness of the under-wing wiring of my 4/4 when I first got it.

Foible fatigue seems to be very much a part of Morgan ownership, as seem to be DPO`s tuning/ improvement attempts in all areas....(-: All just part of engaging with your...err... passion... ? (-: