Which Uprated Loom?

[Owen VR6 0]

Been looking for an uprated loom on the bay and there's a few that come up but they're all from the same seller (1989corradog60)

 

Just wondering if anybody has bought one from him and if it''s any good/safe!

 

There's 5 different types as well, just different model numbers (SX1, SX2, SX3 etc)

 

Any idea which one to buy for my 93 VR6?

 

Cheers

[KipVR 1]

Probably best to ask the seller which model to buy. You can get ones with the proper plugs on them rather than the bullet connectors, but I don't know where from, I would hunt elsewhere first, it looks average quality.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I made my own loom. You just need four 30 amp relays, 4 fuses / holders and some 30 amp cable. 30 amp is the limit of practicality imo, for fitting in the plugs and bending etc and is more than enough for high power bulbs. That's a 30 amp circuit per bulb :D Sides excluded. The stock wiring can cope with 5 watts, just :lol:

 

All you do is feed each relay with the main and dipped outputs from the head light connectors, or you can cut the connectors off and reterminate them with your new beefier wires. Pins and plugs available from VW or most online auto electrical suppliers.

 

I need to do a write up, but it's really really easy and better than the shared relay looms (2 relays, 4 bulbs) you get on ebay etc.

[joebloggsVR69 0]

I found these 2 wiring diagrams ages ago (might have been on VW Vortex..)

Was tempted to make my own 4 relay loom, but never got round to it :lol:

 

2.8l 24v Climatronic system.pdf2relays.gif[/attachment:1n86wgb9]

4relay.gif[/attachment:1n86wgb9]

[paul20v 0]

i bought one off ebay from that seller (being lazy) and promptly sent it back was not impressed with it ,

i ended up making my own .

[Owen VR6 0]

Cheers for all the input, would love to have the time / knowledge to make one myself but i don't!

 

But i suppose if someone ( cheesewire) :norty: did do a write up on exactly how to do it i would give it a go.

 

Sounds like i should give the one's on ebay a miss, not suprising really as with so much on there!

[KipVR 1]

I made my own loom. You just need four 30 amp relays, 4 fuses / holders and some 30 amp cable. 30 amp is the limit of practicality imo, for fitting in the plugs and bending etc and is more than enough for high power bulbs. That's a 30 amp circuit per bulb :D Sides excluded. The stock wiring can cope with 5 watts, just :lol:

 

All you do is feed each relay with the main and dipped outputs from the head light connectors, or you can cut the connectors off and reterminate them with your new beefier wires. Pins and plugs available from VW or most online auto electrical suppliers.

 

I need to do a write up, but it's really really easy and better than the shared relay looms (2 relays, 4 bulbs) you get on ebay etc.

 

Kev, do you know where you can get the male side of a plug for the plug that goes onto the headlight? At the moment I've got crimp connectors plugged individually onto the terminals and it's sh1te.

[CorradoVR6-Turbo 0]

I found these 2 wiring diagrams ages ago (might have been on VW Vortex..)

Was tempted to make my own 4 relay loom, but never got round to it :lol:

 

2.8l 24v Climatronic system.pdf2relays.gif[/attachment:3irmcqo5]

4relay.gif[/attachment:3irmcqo5]

 

the problem with the above diagrams is that there should be a fuse for each light,if one fuse blows you loose both your head lights,the diagram is fine but add four fuses!

[Mystic Rado 0]

 

Kev, do you know where you can get the male side of a plug for the plug that goes onto the headlight? At the moment I've got crimp connectors plugged individually onto the terminals and it's sh1te.

 

Not Kev, but I know the answer :) You can buy them from VAG dealers, if you do a search, the part number's actually on here somewhere, you want the plugs themselves and also a couple of pre-terminated wires for each one, which are listed on the same post - sorry, don't have a note of it anywhere obvious, but it's definitely on the forum, er, found it:

 

From VW:

2 x 357 941 165 (water proof plugs)

4 x 000 979 407 - 6mm preterminated leads

 

Hope that helps. I used silicone sealant around the wires to keep it all watertight btw.

[KipVR 1]

Ahh sorry Mystic I might have worded that badly, I'm looking for a single connector to plug into the existing headlight loom, rather than pluging in lots of seperate wires.

 

Perhaps I should just cut it off and make the headlight loom a permanent fixture.

[GlosterOx 0]

Maybe I was lucky(?) but I got the SX2 loom and had it fitted along with some +50% bulbs and have to say that I'm really happy with the difference it has made to both dip and main beam.

 

Only slightly worrying point was that in his instructions he reckoned it could be fitted in 10 minutes but it took our works electrician (who admits he knows nothing about auto electrics) approx 1.5 hours to do it properly to a standard that he was happy with.

 

Ian :D

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yeah the whole poking spades onto the headlight connector situation really bugged me. Every time you remove the headlight, you have to reconnect the damn things and remember which pin goes to which wire.

 

That and blowing 1 fuse knocking out both lights (happened 3 times!) prompted me to make my own! It was dangerous!!

 

Kip, car connectors are really difficult to track down online. I know what you're wanting, plug and play into your existing loom? Try searching for AMP and Tyco as they make most of the common car connectors. I tried the usual places (Farnell, RS, Rapid, Vehicle wiring products) and could only find 2 pole male connectors. I think sometimes you have to know the exact description of the part your looking for!! Vehicle Wiring products call it a "Connector housing" (makes sense) and Farnell call it a "Back shell" (doesn't make sense).

 

I'm fairly sure you're hanging onto your car for good, so personally I would cut off the female connectors and solder it all together as a permanent feature :D

[JMC 0]

Yeah the whole poking spades onto the headlight connector situation really bugged me. Every time you remove the headlight, you have to reconnect the damn things and remember which pin goes to which wire.

 

I'm fairly sure you're hanging onto your car for good, so personally I would cut off the female connectors and solder it all together as a permanent feature :D

 

Thats what I did Kev - makes much more sense than individual spade connectors.

[Kempy 0]

I got the sx3 loom i believe, but not fitted yet..probably just buy the better bulbs from halfords now seems like a better idea to me

[aclwalker 3]

I made my own loom. You just need four 30 amp relays, 4 fuses / holders and some 30 amp cable. 30 amp is the limit of practicality imo, for fitting in the plugs and bending etc and is more than enough for high power bulbs. That's a 30 amp circuit per bulb :D Sides excluded. The stock wiring can cope with 5 watts, just :lol:

 

All you do is feed each relay with the main and dipped outputs from the head light connectors, or you can cut the connectors off and reterminate them with your new beefier wires. Pins and plugs available from VW or most online auto electrical suppliers.

 

I need to do a write up, but it's really really easy and better than the shared relay looms (2 relays, 4 bulbs) you get on ebay etc.

Please, please, please do a write-up, and I promise I'll finish the write-up of my fuel hose replacement by adding the photos.

[aclwalker 3]

Yeah the whole poking spades onto the headlight connector situation really bugged me. Every time you remove the headlight, you have to reconnect the damn things and remember which pin goes to which wire.

 

That and blowing 1 fuse knocking out both lights (happened 3 times!) prompted me to make my own! It was dangerous!!

 

Kip, car connectors are really difficult to track down online. I know what you're wanting, plug and play into your existing loom? Try searching for AMP and Tyco as they make most of the common car connectors. I tried the usual places (Farnell, RS, Rapid, Vehicle wiring products) and could only find 2 pole male connectors. I think sometimes you have to know the exact description of the part your looking for!! Vehicle Wiring products call it a "Connector housing" (makes sense) and Farnell call it a "Back shell" (doesn't make sense).

 

I'm fairly sure you're hanging onto your car for good, so personally I would cut off the female connectors and solder it all together as a permanent feature :D

So, has anyone managed to get the male side of the connectors? What about the guy on the other thread who went AWOL for a while? Were his truly plug and play?

 

Personally I would prefer to be able to reverse the modification. Just in case.

[Mystic Rado 0]

I spent a lot of time trying to track down a suitable connector, but as far as I could see, it simply doesn't exist. I simply cut and soldered in the new loom.

 

If you want to make it a reversible mod, then I think the way to do it would be to cut the original plug off, fit a new waterproof connector to the cut wires, then fit a matching connector to the new loom and connect. Finally fit the same connector to the cut-off plug, so if you really want to, you can simply unplug the new loom and plug the old one in. It would be a hassle to do, but would be reversible. Stick the old plugs and wiring in the glovebox.

 

I'm not sure what the guy who was going to make looms was going to do. I think he ran into the same issues, but I'm not sure how he solved them. Or if he did...

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Just in case.

 

In case of what?

 

I don't understand why anyone would want to retract an upgraded wiring loom. There's no way I would sell my car with the stock wiring put back, the guilt would cost me some sleep! :D

 

Everyone knows how schitt 80s Volkswagens are for headlights. Do you yourself a favour and fix it permanently. Nothing will go wrong, it's just wire and relays.

[davidwort 0]

I...

If you want to make it a reversible mod, then I think the way to do it would be to cut the original plug off, fit a new waterproof connector to the cut wires, then fit a matching connector to the new loom and connect.

 

yep sort of what I did, I figured I might as well cut into the VAG loom and simply used a matching set of connectors (male and female) at the cut, so I could remove one or more of the relays temporarily from the circuit if needed and still power that light, say if a relay stuck or a fuse blew, until I could get a new one.

 

As an aside, I'd imagine the longevity of my original headlight switch and main beam column stalk have something to do with the fact they have only been taking a switching feed for the best part of 10 years instead of all the current needed to run the lights.

[aclwalker 3]

Just in case.

In case of what?

I thought somebody would pick up on that.

 

It's a long shot, but I'm thinking things like future MoT failures because the car's been modified, or EU meddling making DIY repairs illegal, that sort of thing. People might say "It'll never happen.", but look at how they've more or less banned incandescent light bulbs, because we're all too thick to be able to choose where CFLs are appropriate and where they are not. There are always background murmurs of banning DIY car repairs and fitting of non-OEM parts.

 

There's also the situation where the loom fails for some reason. I would obviously try to minimise this by waterproofing. I like the idea of the waterproof boxes. But if a mod was reversible, then it would give you time to revert it back to normal while you consider your options, should it fail.

 

I suppose I'm also a bit OCD and try to keep the car as original as possible. I don't like hacking things, or cutting things off or binning things. That's just me. My car is very original. I even still have my carbon cannister connected up!

 

I would be OK with cutting a wire and maybe putting connectors on so that I can revert it to near-original standard (by reconnecting the terminals fitted at the cut). I know things can be desoldered.

 

Do you see where I'm coming from? Or am I just an OCD freak?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Definitely an 'originality' freak I'd say. You're seem irrationally obsessed with the car's originality and your better judgement appears to be clouded by it aswell.

 

Do you not think seeing where you're going is more important than the ramications of cutting an 'original' plug off?

 

VW shortchanged you with that shonky wiring job. Do the car some justice and upgrade it.

[Owen VR6 0]

Do the car some justice and upgrade it.

 

Well said!

My lights are so dim it's almost dangerous to drive without full beam on and to not mod them to get the best out of them would seem a touch silly ( even if it does seem like a bit of a task!)

[KipVR 1]

I must admit, I was originally thinking I didn't wan't to cut the loom up incase I wanted to put mine back to original Storm status. Then i thought whilst reading reply's on this thread, just how original is the 3.2 motor going in :roll: ? I will be taking the snips to my plugs shortly.....

[aclwalker 3]

Definitely an 'originality' freak I'd say. You're seem irrationally obsessed with the car's originality and your better judgement appears to be clouded by it aswell.

 

Do you not think seeing where you're going is more important than the ramications of cutting an 'original' plug off?

 

VW shortchanged you with that shonky wiring job. Do the car some justice and upgrade it.

Well, indeed, I've warmed to the idea considerably! Given that it's possible to get replacement plugs and repair wires from VW, then I guess a simple snip of wire isn't too much an ask, as you'd need to do that to repair it anyway. I'd be much more willing to do it if I had real confidence in the replacement loom, but a couple of people were not that happy with the current Ebay one (while others are delighted). I suppose it's partly because I'm fundamentally lazy and only want to do this once and do it right, so I never just jump into things.

 

I also have very bad luck with faults. I literally can't buy anything in a shop without it being faulty or damaged, even inside the box. I am well known for this amongst my friends and family. I once bought a TV and opened the box to find it was the wrong TV inside it (an inferior model to what I'd paid for). I bought a 5 lamp light fitting for my living room too, and 3 out of the 5 glass flutes were smashed to powder in the box, before I'd even opened it. The list is endless. So, forgive me if I don't have utmost confidence in things I buy!

 

I'm not into super originality really. I've got the Lupo wiper mod (but didn't throw out the old ones, just in case!). Incidentally, my Lupo wiper mod never fully solved the problem. I posted about this a while ago, but it turned out that my main problem was that somebody had reassembled the wipers with half the bits missing and in the wrong order. The wiper spindles were actually nearly 1cm further out from the screen than they should have been. But even assembling it correctly, with all missing bits replaced, I still get an unwiped triangle on the driver's side, especially as it gets colder going into winter. I thought it was because my driver's spindle was a bit loose in the wiper bracket so I bought another one on Ebay which didn't have this looseness but it made no difference. I would say my wipers are acceptable, but still not perfect.

 

Perhaps I've got a negative outlook, but my experience with buying 'stuff' and getting anyone to do anything for me, be it mechanic, plumber, cable installer has just forced me to do as much as I can for myself. So of course, I'm considering making a loom myself.

 

Hope that gives you a bit of an insight into the world's unluckiest shopper and why I try to preempt as much problem potential as possible.

[Wendy 0]

Vince has just fitted Xenon lights to mine - working on both main and full beam.

 

These were bought on Ebay for approx £90, plus £10 delivery

 

They are fantastic, I can see !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

 

Looking at them - they are obiously some kind of Uprated loom too with fuses but much beafier than those previously fiited which kept burning out fuses and obvioulsy therefore potentially dangerous.

 

 

I have now finally turned off my fog lamps !!!!!!!!