Loom tape

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cliffa

cliffa

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Hi all,
One of the many jobs I want to do over the winter is replace connectors and tidy up the wiring. Can anybody recommend a good loom tape?


Cheers,

cliffa.
 
I use self amalgamating tape, it's rubber and will fuse to itself if it's stretched to double its length as you wrap it around, takes 24hrs to fully fuse but then it's good until you cut it. Oil gets into normal electrical tape and makes a soggy mess as it dissolved the adhesive.
 
I am a big fan of 3M Super 88. I don't disagree that the self-fusing tape is nice stuff but if you want to get into the loom it is hard to get off. I would prefer instead to keep oil out of the loom. This is actually more of a function of routing than solving oil leaks.
 
cliffa said:
Hi all,
One of the many jobs I want to do over the winter is replace connectors and tidy up the wiring. Can anybody recommend a good loom tape?


Cheers,

cliffa.
Click to expand...
Evening Cliff, Yes, the non sticky pvc tape available from Vehicle wiring products ltd is the stuff to use.
http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu/product.php/428/tape-non-adhesive
Beauty about it is it can be unwound and the loom modified if it is required. I use the self amalgamating stuff only to finish the ends off. You have to cut the self amalgam off, it is a one use tape.
On another topic, I will be posting your disc back to you when i get to the post office on Friday.
Regards
Peter
 
When I do any wiring working work or rewiring complete wiring harnesses I use heat srink, I have never had oil in my wiring as my Norton don't leak oil lol and if it did I fix it straight away, but then my Featherbed/Commando only has 4 main power wires and 1 earth wire, thats the good thing about running a maggie.

Ashley
 
THe self amalgamating stuff is used in the marine industry as rigging tape to hold to stainless rig cabling and fittings. If you find it in marine stores, expect to pay 3-4x the going rate of same stuff packaged as "plumbers tape" in local hardware stores ;-)

Also, is anyone using the expandable mesh type electrical coverings now available in many automotive and electronic fittings stores? I've had this stuff on some components I've bought for my Bonneville and it seems really nice...has the advantage of fully removable/re-usable when needing to re-work the wiring etc.
 
The Non-adhesive PVC tape like dobba99, in combination with heat shrink in some areas, for example the two wires to the contact breakers/ign pick ups.
 
first step is to get better wire. these day the big auto makes are using wire with a Cross-Linked Polyethylene jacket . it has better resistance to water oils etc and is commonly found in modern engine compartments. one supplier i have found... https://www.wirebarn.com/TXL-Automotive-Wire-by-the-Foot_c_129.html

for the jacketing i prefer to have a cover that will not hold water or oils for example
http://www.directindustry.com/prod/moltec-international/product-69279-833191.html

you should be able to get this stuff in europe.

Loom tape
 
I would rotate those relays so they are not drinking water.
 
As Dobba says, vehicle wiring products in U.K. is the place to go. They’ve loads of good stuff that you don’t realise you need until you see it.

These days I prefer to use their expandable sleeping, using shrink wrap on the ends. It makes a really neat job and is very chafe resistant.

If you get kitted out with all the right bits n bobs, and the right tools like crimpers etc, wiring actually becomes a strangely satisfying job.
 
There’s thousands of old bmw’s going strong that were wires wrapped with plain old friction tape. Keep it simple.
 
Be careful using the expanding mesh sleeving, it catches fire very easily, and spreads amazingly quickly. Not good for Amals with ticklers....
 
If you are going for the original look make sure that you get the right sized bullets for the thin wall wiring.
 
Fast Eddie said:
Blimey. I didn’t know that!
Click to expand...
Earlier this year, I was messing around with the carbs (as one does with Amals). I has removed the seat and was just starting to remove the tank to get access to the cable adjusters when I smelt something, swiftly followed by smoke. Quite a lot of smoke actually. And then flames...
There was a direct short across the battery. I wondered why the circuit breaker had not tripped, but then decided quite quickly that this was not the time for investigation. The side panel was off, so I simply heaved on the battery, and it disconnected it's self. So far, so good, but unfortunatly the insulation on the affected cable had ignited, which in turn ignited the plastic cable sheath. As I mentioned, this burns rather well, and it travelled along the loom towards the tank & carbs.

There was no time to grab an extinguisher or anything else, so I tried playing the Big Bad Wolf and huffed and puffed as hard as I could. I had visions of the fuel seepage from the ticklers igniting, followed by by the fuel lines melting, followed by the glassfiber PR tank. Not a pleasent vision at all.

Fortunatly, it did not go that far. Must be all the practice from blowing out birthday candles I suppose - one of the advantages of advancing age is that you get more candles to train on :).

What had happened was that an earth wire had been pressed up against a sharp edge on the live terminal of the circuit breaker, and this had cut through the insulation. Since the short was between the battery & the breaker, it failed to trip of course.

I spent 30 min. doing a hasty fix with new earth wires and a spare fuse holder so that I could ride the bike home and tidy things up, which has worked fine so far. A rewire is on the list of Things To Do this winter though.
 
So, in short (no pun intended) to replace 6 inches of the loom tape I need to:
Completely rewire using thinner cable,
Fit upside down relays,
Buy a heat gun,
Buy a fire extinguisher,
Remove the Amal carbs,
Get BMW badges,
??
 
But seriously, thanks for all the suggestions. I'm probably going to use a combination of most of them, and will post some piccies when I'm done.

Cheers,


cliffa.
 
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