Lights - Part 1

I have chosen the Lucas L488 style Indicators and Stop Lights for Project Snake as I preferred the flatter profile of the lens glass to the alternative domed style lens.

Lucas L488 Style Indicator

These were fitted as original equipment on many British cars in the 1960s and 1970s.  I bought my units from S&J Motors and they still appear to be as per those original units, even down to needing to use Lucas brass bullet connectors to connect the wiring!

The rubber backshell holds the lens glass and the chrome trim ring in place and protects the wiring connections.  There are three holes in the backshell for wires to pass through.  However, these holes were much larger than the diameter of wire that I was planning to use (20AWG thin wall insulation from Car Builder Solutions) so I decided to add some wiring pigtails from the bulb holder to a weatherproof connector and seal the wiring with heat-shrink to keep it watertight.

Disassembled Light Unit and a Lucas Brass Bullet Connector

Using a special tool, the Lucas brass bullet connectors are crimped onto the wire.  I wrapped the wires around the bulb holder a few times to allow the bulb holder to be pulled out from the backshell in the future should the need arise.  I passed all the wires through one of the holes in the backshell, the other two will be plugged with Tigerseal or similar to keep water out.

Bullet Connectors crimped onto wires

I used a short length of heat-shrink tubing around the wires as they exited the backshell.  I also used a small piece of adhesive-lined lined heat-shrink to seal around the exit from the backshell and the wires; the adhesive melts and forms a weather-tight seal around the wires.

A (hopefully) weather-tight seal as the wires exit the backshell

For the connector at the end of the wiring pigtail, I have gone with Deutsch DTM connectors.  These are one of the 'go-to' electrical connectors in the high performance automotive market and offer great reliability and ability to endure harsh environmental conditions.

They use a Size 20 solid-barrel contact which is rated to 7.5Amps and can accommodate 20-24AWG wire.  

Typical DTM connector parts - Size 20 pin and socket contacts

Contacts are crimped with a special tool - note the pairs of indentations around the base of the contact

The pins are then inserted into the rear of the connector body, passing through a silicon wire seal, until they click into place.  A wedge lock is then inserted into the front of the connector body, which holds the pins or sockets in place and prevents them from coming loose.

Again I used a short length of adhesive-lined heat-shrink around the end of the connector body to seal around the body and the wires to keep it all weather-tight.

Full set of indicators and weather-proofed wiring pigtails