14 February 2021
Remembered I had not run an earth wire for the rear lights so made up a cable, unbundled the rear loom and added the new earth wire. Up front I was undecided about how to route the brake fluid level switch wires, the coolant temperature sensor (gauge) and the right hand indicator. I was contemplating drilling another hole through the front bulkhead but sense prevailed and ran it through the large hole/grommet that the majority of the wiring runs through. Had to fiddle around with the throttle cable so I could add a p-clip to hold the wire as well. The standard Mazda throttle cable clip was not in the best position and caused the cable to rub on one of the front chassis rails, it can't be moved along the cable either. By using a p-clip I could sort that out and secure the cable from the brake master cylinder. I wrapped all these wires together and joined the brake fluid sensor wire to the wire that goes to the handbrake (required to provide a method of testing the lamp). Ready for terminating onto the multi-plug, I think that next time I will be able to get everything apart from the VSS wires terminated. 19 February 2021 Ran an earth for the RH side indicator into the loom back to the cockpit earth then secured it to the chassis with p-clips. Then I turned my attention to the main front loom, ran an earth wire for the LH side indicator into the bundle and then added p-clips to hold it in place. Terminated the 2 earth wires with a ring terminal ready for screwing to the earth bar. Back in the cockpit had to undo a few of the wires I had pre-terminated in the multi-plug as the wires would have been too long and I could eliminate some cable joints. Terminated all the wires for the multi-plug and inserted them into the holder. Put on more binding for the loom inside the cockpit which has tidied things up quite nicely. Finished for the evening and then realised I had forgotten to cater for the Gauge Wizard I am going to use to match the fuel sender to the gauge. The fuel gauge wire I have just terminated in the multi-plug will have to be cut and run to the Gauge Wizard and back again. I also need to provide power to the Gauge Wizard. Seems I have finished this post the way I started it by forgetting something. Not quite finished with the wiring in the cockpit but the end is coming into view finally.
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29 January 2022
A short afternoon in the garage but feels like a productive one. I ran the wires for the speedo sensor, reverse lamp switch, brake lamp and handbrake switch through the bulkhead, ready to be terminated on the fusebox. I finished routing most of the wires that need to run to the back of the car, fog lamp, reverse lamp, indicators, side lamp, brake lamp. I mustn't forget to run the fuel gauge sensor wire and the fuel pump wire. Prepared the the lower bulkhead panels for final fitting. Fitted them with Tiger Seal and pop rivets (the air riveter makes it so easy). The top edge is held with Cleco's for now because the top panels will overlap and I want to rivet through all of them together. I won't do the top panels until I've got the body back on the car. I drilled out a hole for a grommet and passed the wires through the rear bulkhead, ready to be wrapped and clipped when everything has been tested. 5 February 2022 An hour or two in the garage, I extended a couple of the wires so they would be able to connect to the lights. I then wrapped these wires in split woven nylon sheathing. I add p-clips for the loom going to the fuel tank and the wires from it going to the earth point. I had ordered more split woven nylon sheathing that would accommodate more wires for the run from the handbrake up to the fuse box, it took quite a while to get in place and covering the wires but it tidies and protects everything nicely. Just need to figure out how to get some p-clips to secure it to the gearbox. 6 February 2022 Added a p-clip to hold the loom on top of the gearbox using one of the bolts near the gearstick. Towards the front I used a tapping in the side of the gearbox a bit too close to the exhaust for my liking, I made up a length of aluminium flat bar with a hole in each end and bolted it to the side of the gearbox and on the other end bolted a p-clip to hold the wiring loom. Fitted the gearbox tunnel but found it fouled the p-clip I had installed near the gearstick. I removed the tunnel and moved the p-clip to a bolt further forward. Refitted the gearbox cover, I tried to put the fusebox panel back but that was fouling the earth bar I put in a while back. Luckily I was able to trim the corner of the panel to allow clearance for the earth bar. I checked all the wires going to the rear lights for continuity back to the fusebox. Now with the fusebox panel in place, I unbolted the fusebox from the panel and moved it onto to allow me access to the back. I spent a lot of time sorting out wires, this involved a lot of unwrapping and re-wrapping of the loom around the bulkhead area so that I could group the wires going to the fusebox and those to the dash connector together. The loom is slowly taking shape but it seems like I have been doing this for ages now. My plan is to get the remaining cables terminated and connected inside the car. I still need to run the cables to the brake switch, the coolant temperature sensor and the brake fluid level switch. Once that is done I will refit the dash and body so I can make the connections to the lights and horn. I want to move the car over onto my lift because I also need to replace the exhaust centre pipe (which also means swapping over the O2 sensor) with my new one. With the car on the ramp making the light connections underneath the body should be easier too. |
AuthorThis is my first kit car although I've messed about with cars all my life. Archives
November 2023
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