Ford Scorpio

[ajlelectronics]

Well it is coming on slowly. My take on the colour changes is that Ford wanted every connector to have a unique colour code, regardless of the fact that many are either earth or rail references.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

So are you pulling the looms and doing it on a board or repairing in place. I hate doing soldering unless I have the stuff in front of me and I'm sitting comfortably....anything else and I just get very frustrated.

Do all the fiddly colours send your eyes funny....I have to use Optivisor magnifiers now as my eyes are shot!

http://www.doneganoptical.com/products/optivisor

 

[ajlelectronics]

No it is being done on the bench. With the weather the way it is, the job would have been impossible on the car as it is too big to bring into the workshop.

 

[ajlelectronics]

Further work today and some photos of the operation taken...

Old wire cut and insulation removed. Copper cleaned up with abrasive paper:

Then the end is formed into a hook:

Then end of the new wire is treated likewise and the two hooks are mated, then rolled to "homogenise"?

Then soldered:

Another one:

Finally the heatshrink is pushed over, all the way to the plug body, then heated.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Excellent work....I guess you just have to keep repeating the same process. I always end up forgetting to slide the heat shrink onto the wire before soldering....very very annoying!

 

[ajlelectronics]

One of my customers came in today whilst I was working on the loom. He told me about "solder sleeves" which I hadn't come across before, so I have bought some...

 

[Robotstar5]

You'll have to report back on using the solder sleeves, I've had them in my fleabay watch list for ages, but never got round to buying any.

 

[mechman]

It would seem that until June 1996, Scorpio looms were made by an outfit called Anitel and all of their looms end up like this. After that date, Ford used a different supplier and the problem went away.


View attachment 115173 View attachment 115174 View attachment 115175 View attachment 115176 View attachment 115177 View attachment 115178

The state of that wiring is shocking (no pun intended) just wondered how fords quality control accepted that carp in the first place. Palms crossed with silver maybe? ( not the palm member on here)

 

[ajlelectronics]

Another way of jointing cables which keeps the diameter down:
(Apologies for the out of focus bits)

First, cable stripped...

Push together and roll to compress...

Wrap copper wire strand around the joint as tightly as possible...

Then solder and sleeve in the normal way.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Just watched a utube vid of the solder connector with the solder ring and heat shrink built in...on perfect new wire I reckon it would work beautifully however if the wire is old and there is some dirt in there I'm not sure how well it will join. Worth a try though...would even be worth cleaning the wires with a degreaser and adding some flux yourself if the end result is a perfect looking join. Those online vids can be a bit like those magicians who ask people to name a cards...they then video 52 different people and just pic the randomly correct guesses!

 

[Cal]

My old big boss had a scorpio early 90's.
Fantastic car.

Loving your work.

 

[Gareth_16V]

Great dedication to taking on such a huge job.
May I ask if it would have been easier to use new terminals to remove all of that horrible old OE wire?

 

[ajlelectronics]

Great dedication to taking on such a huge job.
May I ask if it would have been easier to use new terminals to remove all of that horrible old OE wire?

If I could have got new terminals then yes. I have asked around for identification and nobody has come back to me. So that usually means that they don't have a clue. I have become so sick of waiting for other people that I just got on and did it. Not easy with arthritic hands and a bad back. Eyesight could be better too! So far it is about 24 hours work estimated to finish.

 

[armalites]

Top tip for cleaning those tarnished/corroded wires. Dip the ends in Wonder Wheels, cleans them up a treat but you do need to neutralise the acid after. You may find plumbers flux will do the same job too. A lot easier and more thorough than trying to do it with abrasives.

 

[ajlelectronics]

Just watched a utube vid of the solder connector with the solder ring and heat shrink built in...

First one pulled apart, possibly because I disturbed it too soon. This one seemed to work OK, but need to beware of burning the wire. Looks OK under magnification and the sleeving has conformed nicely. It also stays pretty flexible either side of the joint.

 

[ajlelectronics]

Top tip for cleaning those tarnished/corroded wires. Dip the ends in Wonder Wheels, cleans them up a treat but you do need to neutralise the acid after. You may find plumbers flux will do the same job too. A lot easier and more thorough than trying to do it with abrasives.

Bar Keeper's Friend has been seen to do a sterling job. I prefer to use abrasive paper on something that will be all loomed up though.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

I was thinking extra flux to get into the cores....that join looks really excellent. I'm going to order a set and keep them in my car electrics box. I like the way it's a straight joint without the annoying bulge that you get when you wind the wires together + it looks very professional. I'd prefer the solder area to not be transparent as it might look like the wires are exposed from a distance if you aren't familiar with those connectors.

 

[ajlelectronics]

Different cable sizes and number of cores each end.

 

[Robotstar5]

First one pulled apart, possibly because I disturbed it too soon. This one seemed to work OK, but need to beware of burning the wire. Looks OK under magnification and the sleeving has conformed nicely. It also stays pretty flexible either side of the joint.

View attachment 115301

What did you use to heat the joint (melt the solder)?.

 

[ajlelectronics]

QUOTE="Robotstar5, post: 1031445, member: 2038"]What did you use to heat the joint (melt the solder)?.[/QUOTE]

A gas soldering iron / hot air gun. I have a Weller gas iron but since that is unreliable, I switched to my Aldi special. Works fine.

https://www.aldi.co.uk/gas-powered-mini-soldering-torch-kit/p/052152004497400

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