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Wiring for GT6 mk3 o/drive switch.


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Not impressed with the connectors on the looms available from the usual so I made my own. Aforementioned connectors offered next to no retention. I made my own loom using Japanese bullet connectors which fitted perfectly into the round recesses of the switch  and, using a blade to open the connector a few thou to aid push-on, the retention on the switch is perfect too. I bent the ends a tad which helps to guide the wires u/neath the switch and into the lever. The whole lot runs through 1/4” pvc sleeving which goes through the lever and does a splendid job of protecting the wires. 

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Exactly what I did Adrian, as the old O/D wires in the loom had become very brittle due to age but probably more so from transmission heat.

The only difference is I used heat shrink to contract the outer casing against the 2x wires for the loom purely to ensure it threaded through the gear stick and was fully protected at the inlet (base of stick) and the outlet at the top.

This system works perfectly well, despite its critics, PROVIDED you ensure the 2x cables are properly protected against scuffing for its full length.

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  • 2 weeks later...

So long as there is room for the harness to move easy with gear shifts it shoukd be fine  may be a tyrap to firm the harness to the base of the stick to stop the hole in the stick chafing

I would get some grease on the sperical cups  and ball of the gear stick   looks  a  bit dry 

Pete

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Well done!   I'm amazed you got such thickly insulated wire up the stalk.   The hole was so narrow that Triumph used wires "insulated" with varnish, which always eventually shorted out.   I got so fed up (and too lazy to fit a steering column switch) that I put a switch on the steering wheel, on a length of 'curly-whirly' cable, al la flappy-paddle gear changers.    See pic.

John

 

Wheel mounted O-drive switch.jpg

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49 minutes ago, JohnD said:

Well done!   I'm amazed you got such thickly insulated wire up the stalk.   The hole was so narrow that Triumph used wires "insulated" with varnish, which always eventually shorted out.   I got so fed up (and too lazy to fit a steering column switch) that I put a switch on the steering wheel, on a length of 'curly-whirly' cable, al la flappy-paddle gear changers.    See pic.

John

 

Wheel mounted O-drive switch.jpg

John, it was easy, once I found out that automotive cable has much thinner insulation than any other type. I used some 1/4” od pvc sleeve, not shrink-wrap, which goes through the 1/4” hole in the stick, and allows the cables to move slightly. As I had a mk2 before and knew how good the column switch was I wanted that too so, I have both on mine, wired in series. There’s an access hole in the tunnel to access the connections at the inhibitor-switch so if the lever switch or wiring fails I can quickly change the wiring and run column only. 

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Nice job Adrian and a neat adaption of those bullet connectors. Automotive cable will also have a higher temperature rating (105'C) than standard "household flex" (70'C or 85'C) as I discovered when my OD shorted out one day having melted inside the gear stick! For my replacement, instead of 2-core flex, I used high temp (tri-rated - also 105'C) wires and an outer sleeve of high temperature glass fibre reinforced silicone tube. The sort of stuff used to protect cables in cookers and such like and good for 175'C. It all fitted in the gear stick

Cheers, Richard

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3 hours ago, rlubikey said:

Nice job Adrian and a neat adaption of those bullet connectors. Automotive cable will also have a higher temperature rating (105'C) than standard "household flex" (70'C or 85'C) as I discovered when my OD shorted out one day having melted inside the gear stick! For my replacement, instead of 2-core flex, I used high temp (tri-rated - also 105'C) wires and an outer sleeve of high temperature glass fibre reinforced silicone tube. The sort of stuff used to protect cables in cookers and such like and good for 175'C. It all fitted in the gear stick

Cheers, Richard

Richard, tri-rated is the same as what we use at work for panel building etc. But that isn’t thin-wall insulation, how did you get it through? Did you reduce the csa? Also, please advise what and where from for that silicone tube. It sounds marvellous. 

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9 hours ago, JohnD said:

Well done!   I'm amazed you got such thickly insulated wire up the stalk.   The hole was so narrow that Triumph used wires "insulated" with varnish, which always eventually shorted out.   I got so fed up (and too lazy to fit a steering column switch) that I put a switch on the steering wheel, on a length of 'curly-whirly' cable, al la flappy-paddle gear changers.    See pic.

John

 

Wheel mounted O-drive switch.jpg

John, also, I’m guessing your car's somewhat non-std. 

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12 hours ago, Adrian Saunders said:

Richard, tri-rated is the same as what we use at work for panel building etc. But that isn’t thin-wall insulation, how did you get it through? Did you reduce the csa? Also, please advise what and where from for that silicone tube. It sounds marvellous.

Ahh! I forgot - and it's important - that I've separately fused the overdrive circuit so it's protected by a much lower current fuse. Even so, I didn't think I'd used particularly low-current cable? It's all several years ago now.

As for the tubing, friend bought it but I should think it was from CPC and one of these two:-

Silicone Varnished Glass Sleeving 4mm Bore Size

Varnished Glass Insulated Sleeve 6mm x 5m

If it wasn't one of those, then there's loads of similar sleeving out there from other vendors.

Cheers, Richard

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  • 2 months later...

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