Custom Cruise Control Loom

[Anonymous]

Sorry to sound like a stuck record but I got a used one, in mint condition, for £11!
Got to be worth a try?
That means I can pay loads for my loom, lol!

 

[Magicarcher]

Right

I finally have all the parts, with one small problem which I think I have a solution for if everybody is happy.

The connectors for the LCM are different to all the others and I cannot make them fit into a plug housing. However pushed together they form an interference fit anyway so I think they will be fine with heat shrink around them.

The male pin has around 10mm of penetration into the female socket (oh ah missues) so I can't see any issues once shrink wrapped.

Thoughts.

Looking at your wires and the crimping, the wire gauge and outer diameter look to large for the terminals, you will struggle to get these into a TE connector housing. Even with the right gauge thinwall cable, they have to be very carefully crimped in order to get the pins into the housing. It is often better with TE connectors to buy the pins pre-crimped by BMW and then solder sleeve them to your own wires. It is more expensive but the connection integrity is so much higher. I hear your point earlier about the wires all being black, but it really isn't an issue, the cruise switch connector uses three wires, one to ground, one to aux and one to the EMS ECU, they will all be different lengths and so will be error proof in installation. All you need to do is bus them through when assembled, which you should be doing regardless.

To give an indication of how much of a non issue same colour wiring is I once had to make a custom harness for a Marlin Kitcar I was building. There was no way I could have afforded multiple colour wires, so I bought a 100m reel of 0.75mm, two 100m reels of 1.5mm and 100m of 2.5mm thinwall cable in the same colour and used identification tags each end. It took longer to make than having wires in different colours, but it worked fine.

I have decided I will make my own harness so you can take me off the list. Not because of your post but because I have decided to make modifications to the Z4 distribution anyway I have an increasing number of electrical gizmos that need an aux feed, so I have a fair few custom harnesses to make anyway, one extra won't make too much difference.

 

[srhutch]

Right

I finally have all the parts, with one small problem which I think I have a solution for if everybody is happy.

The connectors for the LCM are different to all the others and I cannot make them fit into a plug housing. However pushed together they form an interference fit anyway so I think they will be fine with heat shrink around them.

The male pin has around 10mm of penetration into the female socket (oh ah missues) so I can't see any issues once shrink wrapped.

Thoughts.

Looking at your wires and the crimping, the wire gauge and outer diameter look to large for the terminals, you will struggle to get these into a TE connector housing. Even with the right gauge thinwall cable, they have to be very carefully crimped in order to get the pins into the housing. It is often better with TE connectors to buy the pins pre-crimped by BMW and then solder sleeve them to your own wires. It is more expensive but the connection integrity is so much higher. I hear your point earlier about the wires all being black, but it really isn't an issue, the cruise switch connector uses three wires, one to ground, one to aux and one to the EMS ECU, they will all be different lengths and so will be error proof in installation. All you need to do is bus them through when assembled, which you should be doing regardless.

To give an indication of how much of a non issue same colour wiring is I once had to make a custom harness for a Marlin Kitcar I was building. There was no way I could have afforded multiple colour wires, so I bought a 100m reel of 0.75mm, two 100m reels of 1.5mm and 100m of 2.5mm thinwall cable in the same colour and used identification tags each end. It took longer to make than having wires in different colours, but it worked fine.

I have decided I will make my own harness so you can take me off the list. Not because of your post but because I have decided to make modifications to the Z4 distribution anyway I have an increasing number of electrical gizmos that need an aux feed, so I have a fair few custom harnesses to make anyway, one extra won't make too much difference.

Not using that wire. That was a test loom. Wire will be same size as oem wire.

All looms will be checked for continuity before shipping, so there will be no issues with connections.

 

[Fogwan1983]

Definitely interested. Once again, idiot proof guide would be appreciated please bud.

 

[srhutch]

Definitely interested. Once again, idiot proof guide would be appreciated please bud.

The OEM guide plus my instructions will be provided. Starting production on Friday. Liking to bring some to zed fest and will be contacting those that shown an interest in the next few days.

 

[HyperGrade]

Interest!

 

[Mark-Z4]

Add me to the list please.

 

[Lewy]

I'm new on here and just got referred here as my first post was a question about this; unfortunately/fortunately (depending how you look at it) I just picked up the BMW loom today. I didn't get a response for a whIle so looked into it and got the install instructions printed off by one of the techs at BMW cooper thames ditton.
I'm not so au fait with how to use this forum but if there's a way to upload a PDF, I could scan them and do so.

The loom is really not many wires but is more about the conectors. If you solder the two in behind the light fitting you would negate the need for most of these. As someone pointed out in another post, if you want the clip in terminations that slide into the connector blocks, you can order parts #61130006663 priced to me at £2.42 or apparently #61130005197. The former is a longer wire the the connector on the end and the latter a shorter one I think.

I have just acquired a 2005 M54 3.0iSE. I'll be fitting mine this weekend all going well.

 

[Lewy]

Given that everyone on this thread is likely to own post 04 cars, it may be worth asking - does anyone have the retrofit instructions for the heated seat loom which is discontinued? I've left a request at the dealers today so they may come back but I figure, prior to the loom being discontinued, someone must have got a printout. If I can't get an old loom, I figure I could use the instructions to make one.

 

[stevo///m3]

Definitely interested. Once again, idiot proof guide would be appreciated please bud.

The OEM guide plus my instructions will be provided. Starting production on Friday. Liking to bring some to zed fest and will be contacting those that shown an interest in the next few days.

Hi Steve,
I've managed to completely miss this thread...
I'm interested in this and will also be at ZFest, will bring my wallet!
Stevo

 

[Magicarcher]

The loom is really not many wires but is more about the conectors. If you solder the two in behind the light fitting you would negate the need for most of these.

I would recommend against soldering, under vibration (which Zeds have quite a bit of, especially on runflats) it can stress fracture where the copper meets the edge of the solder. A better option is an inline splice and heat shrinking (personally I prefer glue filled shrink sleeving for greater mechanical integrity. For inline splices see here: http://www.te.com/usa-en/products/terminals-splices/splices.html?tab=pgp-story

 

[Lewy]

Ok thanks for the tip and the link. Do they sell to the public? I can use the connectors I got with the kit for now but it will be useful if I manage to get the instructions for the heated seat loom.

 

[Magicarcher]

Ok thanks for the tip and the link. Do they sell to the public? I can use the connectors I got with the kit for now but it will be useful if I manage to get the instructions for the heated seat loom.

You are unlikely to be able to get from TE, they are a manufacturer and are likely to sell in bulk. You can get them from Farnell though:

http://uk.farnell.com/w/c/connector...ls-splices/wire-splices/prl/results?st=splice

I use open barrel splices. You will need a decent crimp tool. One of the best is the TE hand crimper https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00DWIF...TF8&colid=10WL9WENIFZ41&coliid=I27H80XNR8VT7C but a little pricey. Slightly cheaper is a Japanese crimp tool https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002AVVO7U/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. The crimp form is not quite as good as the Tyco, but perfectly acceptable. I would avoid the cheap ratchet crimps that can be picked up for £20. The anvils are seldom well formed and in my experience that produce poor crimps (they are also not easy to use with small terminals). They can end up distorting the wires which causes knecking of individual strands, the strands can then fracture under vibration.

 

[Anonymous]

The loom is really not many wires but is more about the conectors. If you solder the two in behind the light fitting you would negate the need for most of these.

I would recommend against soldering, under vibration (which Zeds have quite a bit of, especially on runflats) it can stress fracture where the copper meets the edge of the solder. A better option is an inline splice and heat shrinking (personally I prefer glue filled shrink sleeving for greater mechanical integrity. For inline splices see here: http://www.te.com/usa-en/products/terminals-splices/splices.html?tab=pgp-story

Apologies if this sounds controversial but did you not suggest buying the preterminated crimps on fly leads and then soldering to them in a previous post?
I was always led to believe that a solder joint, that was done properly, was the best way of connecting copper cabling.

 

[Magicarcher]

The loom is really not many wires but is more about the conectors. If you solder the two in behind the light fitting you would negate the need for most of these.

I would recommend against soldering, under vibration (which Zeds have quite a bit of, especially on runflats) it can stress fracture where the copper meets the edge of the solder. A better option is an inline splice and heat shrinking (personally I prefer glue filled shrink sleeving for greater mechanical integrity. For inline splices see here: http://www.te.com/usa-en/products/terminals-splices/splices.html?tab=pgp-story

Apologies if this sounds controversial but did you not suggest buying the preterminated crimps on fly leads and then soldering to them in a previous post?
I was always led to believe that a solder joint, that was done properly, was the best way of connecting copper cabling.

What I was suggesting was solder sleeves, which is quite different to soldering wires together. Solder sleeves use a controlled amount of solder so it is less likely to creep up the wire, done correctly the two wires remain parallel to each other and the shrink tubing then shrinks around the wires to give some mechanical support.

The best order of selection for splicing wires IMHO is as follows:

1) Open crimp splices as I previously meant with the correct crimping tool (preferably in knowledgeable hands)
covered with shrink sleeving.
2) Solder sleeves (more appropriate if you don't have the correct crimping tools or knowledge)

The worst methods are (in order of worseness):

1) scotchlocks
2) pre-insulated terminals (those red, blue, yellow things)
3) soldering together of wires with a soldering iron

I was always led to believe that a solder joint, that was done properly, was the best way of connecting copper cabling.

I have been involved in the design and development of vehicle electrical systems since 1986 and not one of the OEMs I have worked for would condone soldering wires together. I have also seen the results of vibration testing on soldered wires that prove why they are not recommended.

 

[srhutch]

Guys, not being funny but can you take this conversation elsewhere so I can keep this thread as clean as possible.

 

[Darkangelv2]

Hi srhutch

Can I go on the list to get one of these once you're producing? (N52)

Cheers

 

[srhutch]

I will have 5 looms with me tomorrow at Zedfest. I have terminated 2 of them for S54 ///M, the others I can do on the day if somebody wants one.

 

[355Chris355]

Hi. I'm interested too (N52). Will be at ZedFest tomorrow too. Hopefully see you there.

 

[PGF]

I'd love one for an S54.

Thanks