I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU

CBS provided me with a pair of budget headlamps and I got two pairs of short stem, bullet indicators from an Ebay supplier. I also got several metres of ten core 21 amp cable with which I would connect it all up.

I mounted the headlamps and decided where to drill through the shells to mount the indicators, they needed to be as far forward as possible otherwise the curve of the shell would have them pointing at the sky. That done I peeled back the tough outer sheaf of the cable, selected what colour cables I would use, seven of them and cut off the remaining three. I soldered together the wires for the headlamp and indicators and crimped on connectors for the side lamps.

Above photos shows right shell fully connected with lamp dangling and work in progress with the left. I fitted lamps and the peaks, but I didn't like the way the mesh covers fitted, they protruded too far out and for the moment I will dispense with them, maybe I will try to shorten the clips, but more important things to do first.

I ran the cables in split corrugated, sheaf, back to the electric box, cable tying securely as I went. Once in the box I exposed the coloured cables and started to join them together with crimp on connectors. The only cables I won't connect together are the two green and the purples ones as they are for the indicators, green for the left and purple for the right

I am only temporarily connecting into the eight way block until I am certain that I have the main and dipped wires the right way round and I will only be sure of that when the column mounted indicator/dip switch is fitted, guess what? that is the next job.

LESSON LEARNED

I didn’t forget to earth the regulator, that was the first job and then I went on to the lighting switch.

The new light switch just had screw down terminals so I only had to trim back the insulation and insert the wires. I knew that there was going to be a problem with the supply to the sidelights which was separate from the main lights, but after trying several alternative ways of connecting it, I simply fed the side lights from the headlamp feed, via the switch. I can still run on just sidelights, but only with the ignition on, so I can’t use them as parking lights, but who does these days?

The supply to the starter button and the new instrument lights I connected to the sidelight position on the switch and the now redundant supply to the sidelights I diverted to power my little, side mounted spot light.

Next was to run a couple of supplies from the ignition switch to the auxiliary fuse box, first one was to power the voltmeter, fuel gauge and the fuel pump, but only when the ignition switch was fully turned on, just one wire would do and then piggy backed to the other two fuse inputs.

 The other supply came from the permanently live position of the ignition switch and was to supply the 12v power socket and the clock. Here I made a big mistake, having fitted an isolator switch; I failed to turn it to OFF whilst making the connection. The result was, when I checked the circuits I had no power anywhere. After I spent an age puzzling what I had done I separated the main connector block to find that the connection of the main supply wire had melted, obviously there must have been a short circuit and this was weakest link in the circuit, there being no fuse up to the ignition switch. The only way to resolve this problem was to cut the wires both side of the block and bypass it. It was a fiddle, but when done full power was restored.  Lesson learned, when working anywhere on the wiring, ensure the switch is OFF.

The photo immediately above shows the red wire that now bypasses the main connector block and the empty block is awaiting the bunch of cables that will go to the column mounted indicator, dip/main switch, almost the next job.

DOWN TO EARTH

It has been a time of highs and lows. I completed the connections to the isolating switch. turned the switch to on, turned the key in the ignition and there they were, four bright lights shining on the dash board, oil pressure, generator, neutral and low brake fluid warning lights. I pressed the start button and the engine cranked over, yippee!!!! Just to be sure I pressed the button again and once more the engine cranked. I turned to get my camera to record this momentous occasion and all but the brake fluid light had gone out and no more cranking engine.

Bum!! I spent the next couple of days with my multi meter ensuring that there was power everywhere it should be. I tested the relays, the fuses, everything I could think off, but no joy. I studied an enlarged wiring diagram and noticed that the body of the regulator/rectifier was earthed, but I had mounted it on rubber riv-nuts, so it definitely wasn't earthed and then I thought that the engine was mounted to a thickly powder coated chassis, so maybe that was the problem, although I was getting a buzzing from my multi meter between engine and chassis, but thinking on, the brake fluid light was earthed to the chassis, but the other three warning lights are earthed onto the engine, so earthing the engine to the chassis seemed the obvious thing to do.

The original black cable that had connected the starter solenoid to the battery on the bike, was lying unloved and unused on the bench and it was exactly the right length to connect between a gearbox bolt and the new chassis earthing point for the Lucas battery. What do you know, all warning lights back on and engine cranking. I loved that bit of cable. The mystery though is why did the lights come on and the engine crank over in the first place, still happy enough that they do now and I can get on with the rest of the wiring, not forgetting to earth the regulator.

CONNECTED

After a week clubbing in Ibiza, work on Marjorie recommences. Well actually we weren't clubbing but celebrating my wife's son's wedding to his beautiful fiance and a great occasion it was.

The lights for the new gauges and the starter button have now been connected, I didn't take any photos as they would have been meaningless and anyway, somebody would tell me that I shouldn't have done it that way, but I do know I have got a good earth and as long as they all light up, I'll be happy.

The ignition switch and starter button have also been connected, but there is a slight complication with the light switch. The switch on the bike has two inputs, one from the headlamp relay, to switch on the headlamp and the other from the ignition switch for the sidelights, but the new switch for the car has only one position for input. To determine how I could resolve this issue I decided I needed to power up the system, so I ordered a Lucas 038 12v battery, Yea, I know Lucas don't exist any more, but the price was right. I also ordered terminal clamps and insulating covers. They all arrived yesterday, so I set to work.

I had to remove the left side silencer and front louvred panel to get the battery into position, but the whole side panel had to be removed to allow access to the isolating switch. I used my large step drill to cut a sizable hole in the foot well bulkhead, fitted a grommet and after soldering on a 6mm terminal on one end and a 10mm onto the other end of a length of 16mm2 red battery cable, I passed it through the grommet and connected the battery to the isolating switch. The original earth cable was just the right length and a 6mm riv-nut was fitted into the lower chassis rail to which the end of the cable was bolted to.

Battery was now wired up, including the link back to the starter motor. The above photo, looking up to the underside of the isolating switch shows the connections, not complete yet, as I still have to bring two wires through the grommet from the electric box, these wires come from the rectifier and the hazard light switch and need to be connected to the isolating switch, but I am one, 10mm ring terminal missing, Halfords here I come.