1965 s2a rewire (blank canvas)

[GAHC]

Hi All, first post here. I have been building a 1965 2a for the past year and am not far off wiring. I was tempted by the autosparks looms but having rewired a narrowboat in the past (without any wiring instructions) I kinda figured a Landie with all books available and plenty of online resource should be a doddle...ahem, will prob live the regret that! So I have a few questions. The first relates to security - I can see that whatever is done the thing is gonna be easy to get into so I'm looking at making it a myth to start for the unknown! I have heard of the isolator on the coil/starter relay etc but am wondering if there is anything else that can be done? When overhauling the seat box I installed the passenger underseat battery tray with the idea of moving the battery and starter solenoid here (still with a hidden isolator) - any thoughts? Second question is one that relates to being a Landie newbie... I wont be using the truck as a daily driver but will use it for a bit of green laning and shooting (rabbiting and foxing at night) - as such I want decent headlights but don't want it plastered in spots. Can I just whack larger wattage bulbs in and switch the headlights off fused relays?? Final question relates to electrical upgrades - reading around people seem to mentioned better fuseboards, etc etc - what are the typical electrical upgrades people make when making custom looms??

 

Any reply's and advice greatly appreciated!

[Bigj66]

With respect to security there’s a number of things you can do to make life difficult for someone who’s intent on stealing the vehicle. The more the merrier however, I wouldn’t discuss what measures you take on an Internet forum. 
 

Have a read through various threads, choose your preferences and then put them in place would be my advice.

 

[Romahomepete]

For S2 wiring diagrams in glorious technicolour look on the seies 2 club forum.

I used them (with additions) to rewire my land rover a couple of years ago.

Make uase of relays for the headlights to take the strain off the aged light and dip switches and take the opportunity to fit extra fuses.

 

Peter

[Snagger]

As said, the more security measures you fit, the better your chances.  You can fit hidden switches, battery isolators, take the distributor rotor out when parked, hidden fuel valves, mechanical devices.  Steering wheel covers and pedal locks are aftermarket devices that are commonly used.

A combination of relatively simple methods is going to be more effective than a single expensive one.  But if they decide to tow or lift the vehicle, the only device that will help find and recover it is a tracker.

Since you’re modifying the electrics, the headlamp mod you mentioned is a good start.  I’d recommend the standard Wipac H4 lens and reflector units as the crystal type look very odd on Series vehicles.  I’d make sure you use negative earth and go for a good size alternator that will more quickly recharge the battery, 65A perhaps from a Defender or 200Tdi Discovery.  Make sure the alternator wiring is suitable for that current.  That should help with topping up the battery if the vehicle is rarely used.

[Cory]

I made my own wiring harness for diesel Series 2A. 

Bought some 30/40amp SPDT relays with harness, 12 blade fuse panel with wires, H4 headlight relay kit, a bunch of different color wires and sizes, 1/4 inch spade connectors with 3M heat shrink (male & Female), Earth (ground) terminal block, wire inline fuse holders and wiring butt connectors.  now put them all together and now everything is fused and working brightly!

[FridgeFreezer]

A few folks on here have posted up full threads on doing rewires with all sorts of approaches and useful bits.

For theft prevention honestly I am reluctant to go too overboard - if they really want it they'll take it and half of the anti-theft precautions only stop honest folks or make your life harder.

My classic restoration including full rewire with modern fusebox etc is here - I can't remember what page the electrics start on!

 

[Romahomepete]

For the wiring diagram, unless you want to draw your own, stick to the standard colour codes, it makes trouble shooting easier. I will plug again the wiring diagrams on the S2 club forum, they are in colour with the correct colours for the wires.  You will need to work out the cable sizes from the loads that you intend  I have 2 fuse boxes on the bulkhead, one ignition controlled and one permanent live.  I also have another fuse box at the rad panel for the headlamp feeds and the electric fan.  The relays for these are there too.

For the rear tub lights I have a connection on the chassis rail next to the underseat fuel tank.  All the cables to the rear lights run in flexible  plastic conduit inside the tub cappings, the only exposed ones are from the rea lights to the towing socket

 

Peter

[Qhriss]

Definately include a little secret usb lead to one of those cheap sms trackers you can get off ebay , then you can plug it in when you go on holiday . K

[GAHC]

On 4/5/2021 at 5:46 AM, Snagger said:

As said, the more security measures you fit, the better your chances.  You can fit hidden switches, battery isolators, take the distributor rotor out when parked, hidden fuel valves, mechanical devices.  Steering wheel covers and pedal locks are aftermarket devices that are commonly used.

A combination of relatively simple methods is going to be more effective than a single expensive one.  But if they decide to tow or lift the vehicle, the only device that will help find and recover it is a tracker.

Since you’re modifying the electrics, the headlamp mod you mentioned is a good start.  I’d recommend the standard Wipac H4 lens and reflector units as the crystal type look very odd on Series vehicles.  I’d make sure you use negative earth and go for a good size alternator that will more quickly recharge the battery, 65A perhaps from a Defender or 200Tdi Discovery.  Make sure the alternator wiring is suitable for that current.  That should help with topping up the battery if the vehicle is rarely used.

Thanks for the reply. I have a 65A alternator fitted to the engine ready - one thing that baffles me is the two wire thing - surely I can just bridge the terminals and fit a 70/80 amp rated cable?? all the diagrams however show two? can only guess it was to supplement the original (lighter) wiring? Also looked at the Wipac units - wasn't planning on changing the actual lights but it seems to make sense - was thinking of wiring to take 16amps which should service a 100w bulb (if I ever wanted to) with a decent safety factor 

[Cory]

The 2 wire alternators. They are internally regulated. The big wire goes to the battery. The small wire is powered by the dash light. That’s it. No need to jump wires or anything fancy. 
 

For my headlights. I used an H4 headlight kit from EBay. It comes with all the wires, relays and fuse to put dedicated power to the headlights. The foot button only becomes a trigger for the relays to turn on high or low beams. Less power thru the cabin switches and the relays take care of the heavy load. 

[Snagger]

There are two types of alternator wiring - one uses terminal posts with securing nuts and ring terminals on the wires.  Those allow you to use a single, heavy wire to the starter solenoid post and thus the battery.  The other type uses a rectangular plug with three blade terminals, one small terminal for the low current wire from diode pack to dash warning light, the other two larger terminals for the parallel wires to the solenoid terminal to pick up to the battery; that type will need two wires to split the load across the two terminals, as a single wire would likely overload a single terminal and perhaps not allow output from a set of field windings, halving alternator output (I’m only speculating at a potential internal configuration, but I’m not sure if that is how they are constructed).

Two medium gauge wires will be far more flexible than one heavy wire, so factor that into whatever you decide to do.