Where There's Smoke There's Wire (Post # 28)

For safety as well as aesthetic and functional reasons there are certain systems that almost invariably need replacement during an old car restoration.  In my last post I featured one of those systems: the five Plexiglas windows.  Rubber brake lines are another example, along with weatherstripping and various rubber and plastic seals.

As early as 1970, after wisps of smoke curled out from under the dash when I switched on the heater fan, I realized that the Alfatross' wiring might need improvement.  Later, during disassembly, it was apparent that the best course of action would be to replace the whole wiring harness.



Rats' nest or wiring harness?  Note the disintegrating insulation around the
component in the upper left corner 

Easier said than done (as usual).  There are a lot of wires in a car, even one like the Alfatross that was built almost 60 years ago.  The good news is that the wiring harness, the electrical circuits it represents, and the components it connects are moronically simple, compared to modern electronics.  The bad news is that they don't make components--or even wires--like these any more.  Time to call in the experts!

I put out a request for help in 1981 through Peter Marshall's Alfa Romeo 1900 Register and made contact with Hans Josefsson in Uppsala, Sweden.  Mr. Josefsson owned one of the Alfatross' siblings and was in the process of restoring it.  He must have been an engineer because he dissected the wiring circuits and produced a series of 9 beautiful schematics comprising the entire electrical system: instruments, starting and charging, service (wipers, heater fan, electric fuel pump), lighting, signalling, and braking!



The "Light Functions" schematic drawn by Hans Josefsson, one of 9 such
drawings covering the entire electrical system.

The layout for the dashboard electrical switches and components for 1900C SS Zagatos, taken from Josefsson's car. 

Armed with Josefsson's schematics I began the process of removing the wiring harness intact.  It would have been easier just to cut it and pull it out in pieces, but I needed it as intact as possible so I could reconstruct it.   

Removing the original wiring harness intact while labeling each of the connections was tedious, but absolutely necessary.

 Somewhere along the way I heard about an outfit called "YNZ: Yesterdays Parts"  (http://www.ynzyesterdaysparts.com/).  They supply exact replicas of original wiring harnesses and systems using identical parts and materials.  After 43 years of experience they amassed a catalog of wiring patterns for all sorts of vehicles--but not one for the Alfatross!  I sent them my original intact (but a bit tangled) harness and a check for $1,428 and in due course back came the new harness with labelled terminals along with a two-page list of circuits and clear drawings showing which wires attach to which terminals on which fuse blocks, switches, and relays.  

I asked Gene, the proprietor, to send me some photos of his shop so I could see how they make a new harness from an old one. All you need is the original to work from, a table as big as a car, about 200 nails, a whole lot of solder, and a thousand different types and gauges of wire with an equal number of terminals. 



That writhing mass of wires all over the top of the workbench is a harness for a '67 Lambo beginning to take shape. Notice how the wires are routed using nail "goalposts" to group them.



We're still a long way away from being ready to install the YNZ harness, so it's too soon to sing its praises, but I will say that it was a pleasure to work with Gene at YNZ and I will be surprised if it doesn't perform as advertised.  Their products carry a 100% refund guarantee up to 60 days after purchase.  No question, this is probably a task best entrusted to professionals!