Thread: Gav's 101.

They are mounted on their side - the panel to the right of the pick is actually horizontal

I have relays for the ignition, horn and lights mounted in the tunnel just behind the grill where they are exposed to the elements and have not had any issues but they are waterproof.

Garry

Well, what a fuss. Thanks for all the kind words and concern. Ok, to put any confusion to bed, the relays are mounted upside down... Why? The wiring worked out easier that way and the relays are easier to get to - they are the only reasons. The 101 lives under a carport, and won't ever go for a swim. Yes, I thought about condensation, and it is a minor concern. All relays are the same, and cost a few bucks each. I'll always have spares or two with me, and be able to swap one around if I get stranded.

By the way, I have upside down relays in other vehicles, not perfect, I know, but I've never, EVER had to replace a relay in my whole life, some of which have lived upside down for 20 years without issue. Even if I have to replace them it's no big deal, they are very easy to get to.

Bottom line is that I now have ALL circuits protected by fuses, and a maximum current draw of just over 3 amps behind the dash, down from 12 amps. There is no high current switching done by anything other than those relays. I do this for a living, and I know what I have done and potential risks. I wouldn't normally do this, and I have never done this for a paying customer.

This vehicle will be with me for life and is willed to my son, so I'm the only one that has to worry about the potential consequences for the time being anyway.

Thanks for all your concern, but the relays will live for quite a while like this, they don't care about gravity and I'm happy I'll get a few years out if them. It is still a far superior install than LR or Lucas could ever have done

Cheers - Gav

Edit - oh, I forgot to mention that the only electrical fault I have had with this is the factory fitted auxiliary relay - mounted the right way up, but still corroded...

Looking good Gav. Any more pics of behind the dash and how you've used plugs to make it removable?

Originally Posted by stuee

Looking good Gav. Any more pics of behind the dash and how you've used plugs to make it removable?

I'll post a few pics on the weekend when I put the mechanical gauges back in, and put it back together for good. Basically the loom is now solidly attached to the back of the dash, and the loom now comes out in a different position. All the plugs down near the old fuse box are gone, and I have used some larger plugs and sockets (20amp jobbies) for the higher current applications, and a 24 pin multiconnector off a D1 for all the low current stuff. Everything seems to still work OK, so that was a bonus.

In the end, I left the flasher unit where it was, as there is just one plug and loom that runs to it now and that can be undone and threaded back easily if required.

Cheers - Gav

I will send my 101 down to you to rewire for me while everything works and is reliable - it is full of secondary runs and and relays here and there and 24v to 12v cross overs. As well all these runs use red wire for positive and black for negative with no other colour coding so makes tracking issues difficult - but I have been over everything that makes it run on a day to day basis so am familiar with all the jury rigs. The original military wiring for mil gear is a bit of a mystery though.

On the relay side of things, because I have a number mounted in the tunnel where they are exposed to the weather I chose relays that are waterproof - the plastic casing is resin sealed around the connectors and casing so no water can get in. the connectors can still corrode but I have sprayed them with lanolin so they remain OK - if I had used the older style relays where the contacts just stick out of the plastic and the case is just crimped on I would have been more worried.

If your coil etc is still on the inside of the front passenger wheel arch I would consider getting it moved somewhere - you will find in deep water - water come in from the tunnel along the top of the chassis rail causing possible issues electrical. Likewise water hits the front axle and is thrown up directly into the ignition system or into the fan and then the ignition system causing issues. Since I went to electronic ignition I have no water issues but I will be moving my amplifier and coil away from the inner guard to somewhere drier.

Garry

It does have an electronic dizzy on it now, with the coil mounted in the original location. I hadn't thought about moving the coil, but it seems like a good idea. The amp module is built into the dizzy so not much I can do there. Sounds like yours has more work arounds in the wiring than mine did, but I ripped them all out. One of the ones that made me realise someone didn't know what they were doing was a new power supply had been run to the fan heater switch, and the factory wire had been removed. The only fault on the factory wiring was the inline fuse was blown...

The coil wiring also bypassed the factory wiring for some reason and there were other add ons.

The wiring for all the accessories was also very poorly done - I still have torpedo all that, but they will all run to a separate fuse blck mounted in the battery box.

Everything did work before so I could have left it, but crap wiring really gets on my nerves, so was the first thing to get done...

If the 101 was 24 volt and has been fitted with a 12 volt electronic ignition, some stuff would have been by passed to fit it.
Yes the 101 original suppressed dissy was 12 volt, it used 24 volt while cranking.
My experiences with the igniton system is similer to garrys ..........where the stardard coil is fitted will stop the vehicle.
I personally have not found another location for the coil.

I'll be back at it this morning and I'll have a look regarding the coil. Mine is a 12 volt version from the factory - the extra wiring has been done to bypass faults they have been unable to locate I think.