By "Edwards, Ray" <Ray.Edwards@ccc.govt.nz>
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998

Rewired from scratch. Its easy, dont buy a new loom. To expensive and then who knows if it will fit as Lotus continually changed things on a daily basis. I have never seen two Plus 2 looms/electrical layouts the same.

Here is what i did.

First i removed the entire loom. I labelled all plugs with what they attached to (I am not an electrical genius). I then laid out the loom on the kitchen floor (my wife tolerated this) in the basic layout of the car, and removed the plastic tape wrapping.

Next I tested all wires. The most high tech apparatus I used was a car battery with a bit of wire and a 12v bulb. I dont own a voltmeter or anything flash like that. I tested each positive wire by putting current through it and checking to see if it lit the bulb at the other end. If the bulb did not light then the wire was split inside somewhere and this wire was replaced.

All existing earth wires were removed. Any wire that had the plastic coating go hard was also replaced.

I then bought all the new componentry that I wanted to replace. This included a new indicator flasher gizmo that worked at constant speed regardless of engine revs, and new solenoids for the headlights and driving lights (I have an S130/5). I then spent a bit of time working out where these would fit in the car. I also bought a new high output Lucas alternator and a reconditioned starter motor. The latter was the best thing I ever did.

Back to the loom, I cut off all of those stupid Lucas black connectors which are just pieces of shit, and replaced them with modern plugs which have a clip on them so they cannot come off on their own. Please note that a Lucas connector is not designed to be undone. I replaced the other side of the plug on each electrical component as I went.

I also placed plugs in the main loom in the following locations:

• Where the loom passes through the bulkhead
• Where the loom goes to each door
• Where the loom enters the boot.

The reason for this is that I find it far easier to work on the mechanicals of my car with the body off. With the loom split as above, It is real quick to disconnect the relevant bits of the loom in one hit and then raise the body. People gasp when I take the body off. I can do it on my own in three hours. I dont have a hoist either! It takes more than three hours to get the diff out with the body on!!!!

I also fitted extra wires for car speakers, the stereo system, and ultimately for central locking and an alarm as I go. These will then be taped into the loom so they don't look like an aftermarket add on. My Plus 2 will have all the features of a modern car.

I then added the extra earth cabling.

The headlights are earthed to the chassis at the nose mount points. The engine bay is earthed to the chassis bolts on either side of the engine bay. All dasboard stuff is earthed to the chassis via the transmission tunnel chassis bolts. All boot stuff (tail lights etc) is earthed to the boot chassis bolts. Make sure you scrape paint off the chassis at all earth points (it does make a difference, I found out the hard way), and then coat the exposed metal with paint or grease once the earth is connected.

I then reinstalled the loom in the car without it being taped up. I reconnected everything and tested, tested, tested. The headlights did not go as yet as I had not wired them through the new solenoids.

I then added the extra wiring for the light solenoids. From the back of the alternator add some cable (not wire) to the positive feed for the solenoid. Connect an earth directly from the front chassis mount bolts to the solenoid. Connect the low current positive feed from the light switch to the solenoid. Make new heavy gauge wire earth feeds from the chassis mount bolts to each headlight and driving light. Make new heavy wire positive feeds form the solenoid outputs to each headlight and whoola!

Loctite all chassis bolts being used for earths!!!!!! VERY IMPORTANT!!!

Once you are happy that everything is going right, then remove the loom again and tape it up.

Fit halogen or Xenon bulbs at your leisure. Halogen can cause problems as they run hot and can blow more regularly with low speed use. Xenon produces a whiter light and runs cooler. I have yet to buy Xenon bulbs.

Just a little extra wire (in the right colours - see the holden classic car parts web site), the plugs, the solenoids, etc and a bit of time.

See above.

As a side issue, the layout of the Plus 2S 130 loom is a disaster. With a bit of thought the loom can be redirected so that it is less exposed to exhaust heat and water. I removed my loom from the outside top of the bulkhead and redirected it down the inside of the footwells and along the bottom edge of the engine bay towards the front of the car. A quasy hidden wiring technique as used by the hot rod fraternity. It looks far better.