• h14
    13 October 2013 at 16:25 #50471

    I’m thinking of buying a new loom for my drophead.

    Can any of you let me know your experiences of buying one, in terms of how correct it was for your car, and what modifications if any you had included (eg perhaps to include flashing indicators).

    Mine is a very late car, first registered December 1940, so has a low fuel warning light…if looms available today are generic, it’s unlikely that wire will be included as earlier V12s had a manual reserve tap instead.

    Laurence

    DavidLG45
    14 October 2013 at 08:22 #50472

    Hi Laurence,

    Have you read this thread?
    http://www.lagondaforum.com/showtopic.php?id=123&q=Loom

    Not specifically V12 but I suspect typical.The safest way would be to send them the old loom. Note prices on the attachment are out of date.

    Autosparks will make or add whatever you want, or braid your own wiring if you tape it together.

    Bear in mind you can have fit problems adding wires in areas that are a tight fit. I added wires for flashing indicators and couldn’t get the dashboard loom in as it was too fat (not a V12, though).

    David

    bill
    14 October 2013 at 18:18 #50473

    Hi Laurence
    Have you thought of making your own wiring loom ?
    It is not as difficult as you think as long as you are methodical.
    The advantage is that you can incorporate improvements ie indicators and also spare wires (eg front to back). There is a major advantage also by going to a more modern wiring system as you can then use relays – these will protect 80 year old switches from carrying high voltage and excess heat. If the old switches are not very good and the internal contacts are not brilliant you should be able to avoid future problems.
    The old switches then just switch the relays which carry the load. The relays are switched with only a minute load thereby preserving the old switches. There is no need to see the relays which can be hidden away out of sight.
    Once you have made up your own loom you can then take it off the car and get it braided to give it a “professional touch”.
    In my view I think it would be silly to follow an original wiring diagram. If you go to a modern relay based system you can also incorporate a good selection of fuses on the different circuits. That is the advice I was given some years ago by someone who knew far more than me and is one of the best ways of protecting your Lagonda.

    h14
    18 October 2013 at 09:21 #50476

    Thanks for replies and link.

    Removing & sending the original loom sounds best, but it’s a case of finding the time to do that….really what I want is to buy a loom now to collect when I return briefly to the UK in November, then have it ready to swap over.

    Making up my own loom; perhaps, but living in France, the logistics would favour buying something ready made, tailored as accurately as possible for my car.

    Point taken regarding the use of relays, but I think all my switches are sound. If some prove not to be, I’m quite happy to dismantle and improve them myself.

    Laurence

    Dick Jones
    20 October 2013 at 14:16 #50478

    Laurence,
    Instead of removing the loom you can always document the loom by creating a loom tree noting where the important components are and more importantly length of runs in relation to the chassis ( including height dimensions).
    If you then call Roger at Autosparks he will associate the correct loom for you and advise on the best materials and any extras you may wish to incorporate.
    If you wish to stay ‘original and use cotton covered, then you will have trouble squeezing the loom into the flexichannels etc and may need to replace the original grommets. This is not impossible but will ake patience.
    An alternative is to use the modern plastic cable but still get it cotton covered.
    You can then get this made ready fr the Spring.
    Good luck..

    h14
    20 October 2013 at 18:03 #50479

    Hi Dick,

    That might be a good option.

    I was thinking of having the loom braided as original, but using plastic colour coded wiring. I’m a stickler for originality, but cotton covered rubber has to be the daftest thing to fit. The rubber degrades, and the cotton fades, if not it gets oily and cleaning less easy. Didn’t realise you could get cotton covered plastic. Admittedly that would look more “correct” but I think I’d prefer the practicality of plastic.

    Laurence

    Colin M34
    20 October 2013 at 19:14 #50480

    Hi Laurence,

    I agree with Dick. The cotton covered plastic cable is the right thing to use. You can get it from Vintage Supplies. It is not rubber but PVC, is pleasant to use and looks great!.

    Autosparks are also very helpful. Apparently the braiding is done using a machine derived from those used for making socks!

    Colin

    Dick Jones
    20 October 2013 at 21:41 #50481

    Hi Laurence,
    Firstly today’s cotton covered is actually plastic wire underneath which is why it increases the diameter of the loom.
    It uses the same machine as Colin describes and there are a few companies still supplying.
    Now if you were really enthusiastic and could persuade a supplier to cotton cover the high current wire as used on racing cars then your excess diameter problem may go away. It would be expensive to do adecent job with the correct colours due to Min Order etc.
    Dick

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