Electrical connectors.

[cass3958]

I started a topic about the dislikes on our cars and this is one of my dislikes but it is a necessary modern add on, not an original design.

During my rebuild I had to replace some of the wiring under the bonnet and replace some of the old male and female spade type connectors. I now have bits of blue plastic sticking up all over my engine bay as the only insulated spade connectors I could find at the time were blue ones. I seriously dislike this look as it is obviously not original.

I have decided to buy these black insulated covers to replace the blue ones and to use them wherever I need to replace a connector on the car.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Quality-Blac ... 0923569892

[Glyn Ruck]

I used slightly opaque clear covers to follow Jaguar practice & those on my new harnesses.

UXCELL-35Pcs-6-3mm-Female-Spade-Wire-Terminal-Connector-Insulated-Cap-Sleeve-Cover-Clear.jpg_640x640.jpg (35.75 KiB) Viewed 2020 times

[Albion]

Actually this is a bit of a dilemma. As previously told I only renewed the harness underneath the bonnet, reason being the cloth as it looked rather scruffy. This project I started a few years back and can't really say that 'I am experienced in restoring classics'. Even though I have owened such cars for a long time. I firmly believe in reusing as much of the original upon rebuilding, thus electric connections are a real issue here especially with these Lucas connectors which offer twice or more the possibility of a loose connection. In hidden places where nothing will be more visible I thought of replacing these with normal spade type connectors, but no. Once I am at it I want my S Type to be as close as possible to how it rolled out of the factory on the very first day. For such reason I even replaced the lug connecting the power socket underneath bonnet with the original one from my old wiring even though there is no way of seeing it. The new one came without grommet. They may be small things, but..... This, brings me to the point that I am verymuch disappointed with the lack of quality of parts being sourced from reputable suppliers. Nothing compares to originals.

[cass3958]

Nothing compares to originals.

This is so true as the majority of parts are made in China. That is not to say China does not produce good products but because they are made on a budget they do tend to use cheaper materials than the original parts and they do not seem to be as robust or of the same quality as the original parts. During my rebuild I used many of the original parts and those I changed were nearly 50 years old. I find I am now having to go back and replace the parts I replaced five years ago and yet the original parts I used are still going strong. Sometimes it is better to by an original second hand part then a new one in a box.

[Glyn Ruck]

Even many repro parts made in the UK today are rubbish. Some UK rubber work as an example is not what it should be.

I used spade connectors where Jaguar used spade connectors & bullet connectors where Jag did.

The new harnesses I used are particularly accurate right down to the correct blue fleck in the fabric.

[Orlando St.R]

I bought a crimping tool and, for spade terminals, used 6.3mm brass spade terminals like these, covered with the insulation covers Glyn posted. They're not quite the same as the original Lucar ones, but near enough. They seem to work perfectly well.

kojaycat_6.3mm_no_lock_brass_terminal_50_pack.jpg (64.73 KiB) Viewed 2004 times

The bullet terminals seem to give trouble more often, because the connectors seem to either become too loose or break internally. The new ones seem okay, but often benefit from tightening up with a pair of pliers before installing. I always solder the bullet terminals, as crimping seems less satisfactory than for spade terminals.

bullet-connector-auto-electric-supplies.jpg (34.85 KiB) Viewed 2004 times

Whilst on the subject, a few years back I wondered why one headlamp wasn't working. I found the answer! Not everything lasts 50 years!

five-way-bullet-connector.jpg (127.29 KiB) Viewed 2004 times

[Glyn Ruck]

Yes ~ My 5 way bullet connector blocks pretty much melted/deteriorated as did their mounting brackets. Fortunately both still available new.

Ditto to soldering bullets!