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MG TD TF 1500 - TD Wiring

I'm rebuilding a 1950 TD which had been stored in a good
Lock-up for 32 years the wiring had disappeared! My only are of doubt is how the wires go from the chassis to the number plate light. I know it goes through the horizontal tube to the light,but what is its route to there?
Regards.
D.S. Olivant

On which side is your number plate light? Mine is at the right side for RHD.
Bela

From underneath the car, up behind the spare wheel, and than into the horizontal tube. That is, in my memory...

Jasper
JL Nederhoed TD3966

attached is a merge of TD11272 from Chris' site showing the wire path on the rear. Tail light extension is hanging down on the floor.
Second frame is my TD (I don't think its mine but I cannot give credit) showing path under tire and up to the hole in the upper cross bar.
Just as Jasper noted.

Jim B.

JA Benjamin

This is not a very good picture because it doesn't show the wire exiting from the pipe that holds the tag and tag light but on mine the wire simply exits the pipe and is then attached to a terminal on the tag light fixture. The unpainted stuff is an LED marker light that I mounted to be a high brake /turn signal light. Jud

J. K. Chapin

The car is an original UK car so RHD with the number plate on the Right side. I have fed the cable through the horizontal tube and out for the light. The question is, how is the cable routed to the spare wheel carrier from the chassis?
D.S. Olivant

If you look at the frame on the left in the posted montage, You can see the harness way on the left. A pigtail loops over the frame and finds it way to the left fender taillight, The main harness which is coming out under the frame, is then held onto the round tube with a flat metal strap, going under the spare tire carrier clamp, then to another flat clamp, the license plate light pigtail breaks off, there is a third clamp and the harness loops down and then over the frame to the right fender and the tail light

As JK noted I did not show the other end. There the wire(s) should be encased in a rubber tube.

Jim B.

JA Benjamin

Thank you all, I'll go tomorrow to the barn (-6°c) and have a good day following your comments.
Aren't classics fun!
D S Olivant

DS I was always under the impression that the harness entered the spare wheel carrier at the chassis level & so was not visible in front of the fuel tank. It traveled upwards inside the vertical leg of the spare wheel carrier & then entered the horizontal piece leading to the number plate light. This differs from the path shown in the pic of the red car in Jim's post above. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

I think you'll find that it comes up against the center of the fuel tank and enters the tubing at the upper horizontal tube. At that point it can go either left (LHD) or right (RHD). From Lazarus: Bud

Bud Krueger


D.S.,

Don't forget to leave a drip loop before the wire enters the tube from the light.

Jim

James Neel

I can't guarantee that is left the factory that way Bud but when I stripped the old wiring out about 45 years ago mine was inside the carrier as I described above. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

You're absolutely correct, Peter. I can only say that the (apparently OEM) wiring was that way when I began the restoration. Another thought - I can think of no other reason for the hole in the middle of the upper tube. Bud
Bud Krueger

It is basically impossible to thread the wiring harness up through the vertical tubing and then exit to the tailight area. Ask me how I know? That is the reason there is a hole in the cross tube for the harness to access on its way to the tailight from behind the spare wheel.
John...Sydney
John Walton

If you were going to do it Peter's way I think you would have to run a thin wire across the tube the license bracket goes into (removing the plug at the other end). The wire would need to stick out about 3 feet on both sides. Then you would have to slip a firm wire with a hook in it like a coat hanger into the bottom and hope you could snag the thin wire. Then pull down to drag the thin wire out the bottom of the tube. Then use this as a fish wire to pull the lamp plate wire back up the tube. The bend would be interesting.

I can tell you that fishing the lamp harness wire into the provided elongated hole in the center is hard enough, even when I used a fish wire first.

Jim N: What is this? "Don't forget to leave a drip loop before the wire enters the tube from the light."
Christopher Couper

Chris this is pretty standard wiring practice for power feeds. The idea is that rain is able to drain down one leg of the U shaped drip loop in the cable & is thus prevented from entering the carrier tube. The cable is left overlong & a U is formed to make the drip loop. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Peter: I guess I need a picture. Do you mean that bigger rubber tube should go around in a circle first?

We are talking about a 18 gauge wire with a 6 watt bulb. :-)
Christopher Couper

I struggle with computers Chris so I can't provide a drawing. A half circle would be more accurate. Using the image of a U, with the half circle at the bottom, the top of the right side would enter the light arrangement & the top of the other side would enter the carrier tube. Rain would drip off the bottom of the U. I'll dig through my archive of pics & see if I can find one that illustrates this. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Here's one installation that doesn't illustrate what Jim & I are on about. Obviously rain could easily run along the wire & enter the tube. If a U was formed in the wire with the bottom of the U BELOW the carrier tube it would lessen the quantity of rain entering. Of course it wouldn't eliminate it entirely. Cheers
Peter TD 5801

P Hehir


Thank you Peter, you have it exactly correct.

Jim
James Neel

But that appears it would do the job. The rain drops would have trouble going up even that small bit of slope and when they hit the edge of the tube they would be stopped.
Christopher Couper

Just.. Maybe. It was the only image I had Chris. I used it to illustrate the concept of the drip loop. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

This thread was discussed between 23/02/2016 and 27/02/2016

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