Tech Session at British Motor Care Part 1 - Lucas Electrics

[@johnburns4017]

As mentioned electrolytic corrosion was was prime reason for changing to negative ground on cars. Overloading car electrical systems applies to *any* car of any manufacturer.

[@RandallFlaggNY]

The 1976 Jaguar XJ6: The car that inspired the bumper sticker that said "Every component falling off of this car is of highest British craftsmanship."

[@GoncaloRijo]

Thank you for such a great information!

[@johnburns4017]

There was nothing wrong with Lucas electrical components. Very reliable. Blame the car manufacturers who connected them up in their cheaply made cars. They put the bare minimum in. 😞 The electrical _'systems'_ were just good enough to do the job, in cars with low profit margins. The car were not designed to last more than 10 years. Guys with cars over 60 years old expect the cars to work as new. mmmm The generators were just big enough, as were the batteries. Too many circuits off one fuse. The switches' amp carrying capacity was on the limit, so accessories needed bigger amp rated switches or extra switches. I got most of that from a guy who worked for Lucas. He said Rolls Royce used Lucas electrics and they do not fit poor quality, but RR designed the electrical systems properly using proper quality connectors splitting circuit using more fuses. In my older Lucas electrics cars I always fitted an alternator removing the voltage regulator box and when the battery needed replacing fit a larger battery. Then I bought quality connectors with weatherproof slip over covers, and a crimp tool. It would take me a few hours to replace all the old connectors with quality jobs. I did that with any car no matter who made the electrics. Any accessories would be directly from the battery with its own fuse box fitted in the engine bay. Once I bought a bigger fuse box, putting some circuits on their own circuit and fuse. I tended to buy higher quality, higher amp rated rocker switches when available or use a relay in the engine bay to keep amp loads done on the rocker switches. Sorted. US implants in the UK, Ford and Vauxhall (then owned by GM), used Lucas electrics. Their starter motors were interchangeable on many engines. Lucas made an excellent starter motor, which was cheap and reliable with parts available at any local dealer. On older cars if you can fit an LED bulb replacement it is best to do so, as they use far less current putting less stress on older electrical systems. And they give off far more light. 🙂 Blame the car manufacturers, *not* Lucas.

[@MasonFowlkesKenneth]

Excellent video from Chad! Now question is has it ever worked with a DeLorean? -VIN 4693

[@OregonMiniSociety]

Never know! Is this your ride? imgur.com/a/35GwJDy

[@MasonFowlkesKenneth]

@@OregonMiniSociety Indeed it is! 😂 that’s the day I got her off the trailer with 9,971 original miles.

[@OregonMiniSociety]

@@MasonFowlkesKenneth Excellent looking condition. How is it doing now?

[@MasonFowlkesKenneth]

@@OregonMiniSociety Pretty decent as she’s just rolled over 25k miles. There is a bit of an idle hunt with the Bosch K-Jet system that I suspected is from a vacuum leak, but once she warms up it’s smooth sailing.

[@MasonFowlkesKenneth]

@@OregonMiniSociety The reason I looked into these videos is I was wanting to reverse-engineer our wiring harnesses. To have every gauge, length, and run documented. I want to be able to remake the harnesses from scratch with fresh, non-40 year old wires. I would like to keep yo the original diagram, but use modern weather tight connectors and room for expansion. I was considering going with GM style connectors, but considering most of our connectors were paired with Lucas components, I wonder if I should reuse the connectors?

[@tombob671]

Just barely enough is haffassed