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cloth braided vs. plastic wrapped wiring (series 2)

mightyohm

Donation Time
The majority of the wiring harness on my series 2 is wrapped in plastic or vinyl tape that is in fairly good condition. However, a few sections, namely the headlight connections and the generator harness, use a cloth braided wrap that is very brittle and disintegrating. The wire in these sections looks much older than the rest.

I'm curious, was the entire wiring harness for the series 2 originally cloth braided? I'm trying to figure out if my car had its wiring harness replaced at some time in the past. It was repainted in the 80s, and the suspicious lack of paint on the harness makes me think that it may have been replaced.
 

Tom H

Platinum Level Sponsor
I have no answers but am interested in the answers, as I am curious. My SIV and later SV hade all vinyl insulation. The only place that got brittle was the vinyl near the alternator, from the heat of the manifold. And I ended up splicing in new wires there. I suspect the wire on your SII at the generator was replaced at some point.

Tom
 

mightyohm

Donation Time
Tom - actually, my theory is the opposite - the generator and headlight wiring is original and everything else was replaced!
 

johnd

Donation Time
The SII I owned back in 1971 had vinyl/rubber shielded wires. I recently re-wired the SII I presently own I believe the wires I replaced to be original, and they also were rubber/vinyl shielded.
 

loose_electron

Donation Time
Recently finished yanking and replacing SII wiring end to end in my 1963 - The harness is an early form of plastic insulation. However there are a few electric fixtures in the car (light bulb sockets largely) that use cloth wiring.

That's all gone, the sockets used the bakelite insulation inserts, and I opted for modern replacement sockets and LED lights. Can't see them so opted for a modern replacement.

The original wiring design of the car was not well thought out. British electrical...
 

George Coleman

Gold Level Sponsor
It was a combo of both, my Alpine V had cloth but the vast majority was vinyl tape. Take a look at all the wiper motor units they all had cloth. :cool:
 
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