Never too old

Started by Paul1953, May 28, 2026, 11:52:33 AM

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Paul1953

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Buggy Prince
Posts: 3,464
MANX SWB
Location: Newton Aycliffe, Co Durham
Here is something for you electrical guys to ponder upon. Not sure if anyone with a buggy would utilise such a facility but with the intensity of modern led lights maybe you should  ;D
I thought I had come across just about everything old school wiring over the decades but no...  have never come across this before. Not my buggy but my Stag. Baffled since it came into my hands. Bright rear lights and rear indicators during day. Much dimmer by night. Whilst crawling around, which thank goodness I can do once again.... it`s the getting back up off the floor   :'(  :'( ,  First thoughts were something weird with wiring connectors, poor earthing and the usual but no. Came across extra wiring at lighting switch, a relay etc.
Took a look at a Haynes manual I recently borrowed an lo and behold the lights are doing what they should via a selectable night dimming feature. In todays world towns, motorways, dual carriageways are all lit up like christmas trees. Back in the 60`s/70`s they were not so maybe the rear lights did appear overbright back then. (Although this could never have been said about any Beetle lighting especially the 6 volt vehicles)..

Take a look at the photo. The relay has 3 sets of contacts with  a resistor in parallel across the movable contact. When the relay is de-energised  the contacts are closed and the lamps operate at full intensity. When the relay is energised the contacts open and the resistors are "in circuit" reducing lamp intensity.
Now the clever bit... R3. an additional resistor to keep flasher unit current constant in order to maintain the correct flasher frequency. Clever or what ?




SmilesPerGallon

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Full Member
Posts: 72
LWB JAS
Location: Aberdeen
Now that is way over engineered! I like it but dont think I would implement it.
BL did have some clever wiring back in the day.
They say money can't buy happiness, but I bought a pile of car parts to build my happiness

Doon L001

Forum Moderator
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Buggy Queen
Posts: 4,972
DOON LWB
Location: Nr Leek Staffordshire
Want to see some amazing British cars go the the British Motor Museum.
Went to Rustival show, great show, which included access to the museum and the Jaguar museum which us not normally open to the public.
Far too.much to see in a day so going to Rustival September show, hopefully with the buggy.
Dave - Doon LWB Name "Weather Permitting"
Poco Loco!

Paul1953

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Buggy Prince
Posts: 3,464
MANX SWB
Location: Newton Aycliffe, Co Durham
Triumph , right from day 1, utilised Lucas electrical parts exclusively. From way back when I was a lad Triumph wiring/electricals had a really dark reputation for absolute unreliability.  But..... all switches and electrical gear, including relays, can be taken to bits and be brought back to life. To me that`s a real plus so well done to the Lucas guys.
Like many British marques everything went pear shaped when British Leyland was formed.

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