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Loom building tips and tricks?

Posted: Tue May 09, 2017 3:20 am
by Roger
Good morning,

Just wondering if you guys have some tips for loom building? Like a website of example photos?

I'm curious how to fit multiple wires to one wire the correct way. (for example multiple 12v to one connector.)
Often I see some examples of wires put together which has the result of one big knot.

Thanks in advance,

Regards,
Roger

Re: Loom building tips and tricks?

Posted: Tue May 09, 2017 3:47 am
by stevieturbo
Simple....plan, be patient, use the correct wire etc etc. The latter perhaps being most important if connectors are small and tightly packed.

As for joining multiple wires, there are various crimp options, or of course solder. Heat shrink tends to finish ok....but the heat shrink with glue inside is usually a better option again as it totally seals and secures things. And if a little too large it's easy to squeeze up the excess as it glues together. And for multiple wires leaving the same joint the same can be used to split them to a degree

https://www.rbracing-rsr.com/wiring_ecu.html


or whilst a tad more crude, but leaves things open for change Wago connectors are bloody handy. For power or grounds where you might be adding stuff later, using these makes life easy and they require no tools. The modern connector block really but a bit prettier looking lol
You certainly wouldnt use them everywhere, but can be handy in some locations where you know changes will be made in the near future.

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Re: Loom building tips and tricks?

Posted: Tue May 09, 2017 5:11 am
by Roger
Thanks a lot for the reply. I will look at that website carefully.

Can you give some advice what size wires mm2/gauge to use for the sensors/injectors etc?

Re: Loom building tips and tricks?

Posted: Tue May 09, 2017 10:23 am
by gnutz2
Glued heat shrink is your friend, it is quite rigid when set so helps support a soldered splice joint and keeps water out, I use it on all the connectors and joints, also use clear glued heat shrink over any labels which you can print out on one of those cheap label printers. I also covered my whole loom in standard heat shrink which is very cheap, no fancy dr25 here.
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Re: Loom building tips and tricks?

Posted: Tue May 09, 2017 11:23 am
by Antral
I use a western union type splice and solder then cover each joint with heat shrink to insulate and support the joint. ( If you use glued shrink it makes alterations more awkward if you make a mistake).
Google Western union splice for info.

Tony.

Re: Loom building tips and tricks?

Posted: Tue May 09, 2017 2:46 pm
by stevieturbo
Gnutz mention of the labels are good. Must admit for years I'd wondered how people achieved this..and only found out recently you can buy heat shrink tube label reels for the label printers !

They're great ! And probably best to use the glued clear heat shrink for them, I only used glue on some, and the ones I didnt that didnt shrink down tight, could still move up/down the cable if disturbed.
Also worth noting most of the glued heat shrink is 3:1 shrinkage which is handy as most non glued is only 2:1

Whilst they arent the cheapest place, CBS will sell bundles of cable which if you're only doing some small work can work out handy.

http://www.carbuildersolutions.com/uk/1 ... ble-bundle.

I was sure they also offered some 5A rated bundles too which would be thinner and easily cover any sensors. 11A would cover almost any coil or injectors though. If you needed more you could either use larger for those items, or run individual feeds/grounds to each coil for example, instead of pairing them together.

But there are very few individual components on a car engine that will need more than 11A.

In the absence of a typical colour scheme...I try to keep certain things certain colours.

eg 12v red, power ground black, 5v yellow, sensor ground grey, sensor signals can vary etc etc So not always using a huge range, but still enough to help identify certain wires quickly.

There are other connector suppliers, some probably cheaper etc too....but I like these ones. Easy to use and easy to re-pin if need be. And fairly common and cheap.

I tend to leave sensor cable ends with a 3 pin of these, simply to make any new sensor easily pluggable.

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/3-Way-Componen ... 34.c0.m322

Re: Loom building tips and tricks?

Posted: Tue May 09, 2017 2:51 pm
by stevieturbo
There are also various cable overbraids too....this type of stuff is handy. Again, choose diameter to suit. The small stuff can expand quite a lot, so dont buy too big.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Revotec-Nylon ... SwYIxYBM8Z

I've seen others use a more rubber/silicone style outer covering, not quite sure what it is, but it is very neat too. Perhaps also more size specific though.

Again, secure the overbraid at either end with some glued heatshrink

For twisting, I've seen some guys twist most "pairs" then heat shrink them. This does work well and leaves these extensions very flexible, I wouldnt use the glued shrink for that though. Twisting helps with interference, and it's easy to twist the long runs by securing the end in a vice or something then spinning the pair up in the drill to force the twist. Not too tight, but then heatshrink it all whilst retaining some tension on the run

Re: Loom building tips and tricks?

Posted: Wed May 10, 2017 5:40 am
by Roger
Thanks for al the tips and tricks. I will try to find some online shops here in Holland for the needed parts.

Took a look at some electric schemes, all the sensor grounds will go to one pin on the connector? That seems to be a bundle of wires, or did I misread something?

I will start making a loom when I've decided which engine management to use. I know, leave it to the professionals, but I need to learn is somehow.. :)

Re: Loom building tips and tricks?

Posted: Wed May 10, 2017 6:36 am
by stevieturbo
Yes, all sensor grounds and 5v supplies tend to go to 1 or 2 pins on the ecu.

It's up to you where and how you split them into the various legs.

But when doing this, create straight runs, do not create loops or ring circuits.

Re: Loom building tips and tricks?

Posted: Wed May 10, 2017 7:23 am
by Roger
Okey thanks for the reply. I'll keep that in mind.