Lucas Electrics

**DeeJay** · 4th May 2006, 04:58 PM

This should probably be on the jokes thread, but they are too true to be there

As Land Rover Owners, we have come to appreciate the marvels of Lucas electrics. For those less familiar, the following may help shed some light (as your Lucas lights are unlikely to shed much).

The Lucas motto: "Vado domus ante noctis' or 'Get home before dark'.
Lucas denies having invented darkness. But they still claim the 'sudden, unexpected darkness'.
Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. Thomas Edison created the light bulb. Joseph Lucas is the patent holder for the short circuit.
Lucas - inventor of the first intermittent wiper.
Lucas - inventor of the self-dimming headlamp.
The three position Lucas switch - Dim. Flicker. Off.
The original anti-theft device - Lucas Electrics
If Lucas made guns, wars wouldn't start either.
It is not true that Lucas, in 1947, tried to get Parliament to repeal Ohm's Law. They withdrew their efforts when they encountered too much resistance.
Back in the '70s, Lucas decided to diversify their product line and began manufacturing vacuum cleaners. It was the only product they offered which didn't suck.
The Lucas Q&A Department called Engineering to advise problems with their design shorting out, so engineering made the wires longer.
Lucas systems actually use AC - it just has random frequency, that's all.
Why do the English drink warm beer? They have Lucas refrigerators.
Headlamps by LUCAS - Like Underpowered Candles And Starlight.
LUCAS - Lord of Utter Chaos And Shadows or Landrovers Unreliable Circuits And Switches.
(courtesy of Review, magazine of the Land Rover Owners Club of Victoria, Inc)

**rangieman** · 4th May 2006, 05:04 PM

oh yeah many a fond memories of the prince of darkness electrics

**Omaroo** · 4th May 2006, 06:33 PM

LOL!! An oldie but a goodie

**George130** · 4th May 2006, 07:10 PM

Thats how my rig got its name.
George Lucus - Price of Darkness

Friend named it after my lights operated according to the patent.

**camel_landy** · 4th May 2006, 10:56 PM

You missed the most important one:

The cure for AIDS. They've given it a Lucas part number and now no f***er can get it.

Boom... Boom...

Coat please.

Mark.

**one_iota** · 4th May 2006, 11:03 PM

Originally posted by camel_landy
You missed the most important one:

The cure for AIDS. They've given it a Lucas part number and now no f***er can get it.

Boom... Boom...

Coat please.

Mark.

I've moved on from Lucas.....

I now blame Bosch...

Hieronimous....

It's just a nightmare

**JDNSW** · 5th May 2006, 05:56 AM

But the interesting question is - what is it about Lucas electrics that makes them so bad? Poor design? poor manufacture? bad materials? bad quality control?

Looking at my 2a the problems seem to be largely system design - unfused circuits, badly designed connectors - the contemporary Citroen (designed before the S2) I owned with Marchal electrics never had bad contact problems - it used far more effective bullet connectors with silver plated contact surfaces.

On the 110 the main electrics problems have been switches - plastics disintegrating and burnt contacts in the headlight switch (- no relay). But I have to say the only major components that have given trouble have been the alternator and starter solenoid, both of which are Nippon-Denso!

**PhilipA** · 5th May 2006, 07:21 AM

When I pulled the 27 ACR alternator from my 81 model apart many years ago to replace the bearings, I found the bearings were made in wait for it Yugoslavia.
Now Chezcoslovakia I could understand but Yugoslavia???

My guess is that BL specified low cost over everything else like reiability and that is why particularly 70s -80s Lucas is just crap.

Having said that my 92 Magneto Marelli 65 amp lasted only 80k. Lucas was bought by MM and the design is Lucas. Sparky's reckon that the diode pack is underspecified.
So its a combination of crap design and crap materials.
Regards Philip A

**JDNSW** · 5th May 2006, 08:13 AM

Originally posted by PhilipA
(snip)

My guess is that BL specified low cost over everything else like reiability and that is why particularly 70s -80s Lucas is just crap.

(snip)
Regards Philip A

That is probably right - BL wanted lowest cost regardless. And this probably puts the blame back where it belongs to some extent, with the manufacturer. But this does not explain the problems of pre-BL Landrover electrics. Some of it is that they stuck with 1940's (which really means pre-war in many cases, modified by wartime and post-war shortages) specifications as with the rest of the vehicle - why change when they were selling more than they could make? And the original was a short term project. Add to that the fact that Landrovers tend to last a long time, giving a lot of time for the electrics to deteriorate.

**Redback** · 7th May 2006, 09:00 AM

Aaaaahhhh Lucus, my first encounter with Lucas electrics was in my 1970 650 Triumph Trophy, combined with Amal carburetors, made for some fun times

trying to start the bloody thing :roll: :roll:

Baz.

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