The electric windows in the Elan are notorious for their glacial-like pace. When I bought the car six years ago, the passenger side upheld that reputation, but the driver's side needed a helping hand to close. Rebuilding the pulley system on that side improved things, but like the passenger side, it was still slow. In the intervening years, both windows have regressed, with driver's side once again requiring assistance. This year, I decided to replace the old motors with modern units using the excellent conversion kit from ae_mike on LotusElan.net. The new GM motors are much smaller and even with the mounting brackets save over 1.6 lb. per door. That's good. The bad is they made virtually no difference to window operation.
Troubleshooting commenced which included alternately bypassing the ground and 12v+ in the harness with straight connections to the battery (the switches control motor direction by alternating which motor wire receives 12v+ and which connects to ground.) This showed that although the 12v+ wiring was definitely slowing things down, it was the ground wiring bringing things to a halt. Cleaning the three chassis grounding points made no difference. A look under the dash revealed a rat's nest of wires that didn't inspire confidence given the combination of changes made by previous owners and 57-year-old wire insulation. But as bad as that appeared, the wiring in the nose of the car was worse. Insulation was brittle from the age and heat, and repairs were made using nasty connectors. Ugh.
Next, I began the tedious process of removing the dash to get better access to the wires and the back of the window switches. Checking resistance of the ground between the switch and motor showed about 3 ohms even after cleaning the connections. At this point, I realized rewiring the dash was the right long-term fix. Based on what I saw in the nose, that quickly devolved into a decision to rewire the entire car.
Next, I began the tedious process of removing the dash to get better access to the wires and the back of the window switches. Checking resistance of the ground between the switch and motor showed about 3 ohms even after cleaning the connections. At this point, I realized rewiring the dash was the right long-term fix. Based on what I saw in the nose, that quickly devolved into a decision to rewire the entire car.
This is where the slippery slope rears its expensive head. First is the wiring harness decision. Do I go with the replacement loom made by Autosparks in the UK, which is faithful to the factory loom, or do I go modern? The stock Elan only has 2 fuses for the entire car, the old school relays are spread around the car, and the wire is PVC coated: thick and subject to age and heat hardening. All these shortcomings remain with the Autosparks harness. Going modern would provide added protection in the form of multiple fuses, a single location for fuses and relays, and the option of using modern wire with thinner, lighter, more robust insulation. The downside is more opportunities for me to screw up the wiring (um, why do the hazards flash while braking with the wipers on??) and the onus is on me to create and document everything for future troubleshooting. Enter Advanced Auto Wire.
AAW has been doing upgraded looms for MGs and Triumphs for years. They now make one for the Elan. It's not perfect though. The fuse and relay box (AAW calls it the powerblock) is bulky at 7" x 7" x 2.75", and the harness doesn't have provisions for either the headlight flasher or the headlamp pod limit switches which prevent the headlights from turning on when the pods are retracted. However, neither of these are issues for me. I don't use flash to pass and the limit switches are frequently disabled by owners given they can be problematic. The benefits though seem significant. The loom should be much lighter and simpler than stock, it uses modern GXL wire in standard British/Lotus colors (except for replacing Brown with Yellow), there are twelve fuses, including four in the headlight circuit, X relays, and AAW provides excellent documentation including a color-coded wiring diagram. To top it off, support through the sales process was top notch. As a one-man shop, you are always dealing with the business owner, and Steve genuinely seems interested in customer satisfaction. The loom should be here in 8-10 weeks.
RSS Feed
