Felt? strips found in door

[AdrianH]

Newbie with quite a few questions many answers I have found on this message board - a really great resource.
Had car for a few weeks and got caught in the rain a few days ago - pleased that there were no visible leaks. 2 days ago found one of the door cards bulging at base so quickly removed both which were damp. Weighted them on flat surface and hope bulge will go when dried out. There were no membranes fitted! I found, laying loose at bases 2 pieces of felt about 12 inches long over the centre drain holes and stuck down in places with blobs of underseal. Also found a bunch of rusty car keys and some other rubbish! My question is - what are these bits of felt and where should they go?
many thanks
Adrian

[King Kenny]

I think that they should be stuck to the the window bump stop to prevent the glass from rattling. As for the membrane, I used double sided tape to stick down pieces cut from sheet of plastic. I know these door cards are expensive, I just bought new ones for my Traveller.
It is always nice to find treasure hidden away. When I took the gearbox cover off my car I found a pair of mole-grips in the cassis leg.

[ManyMinors]

I don't recall finding felt inside the doors in the past
I wouldn't think that anything which can absorb water would be a good idea inside the doors. On later cars the door cards were encased in plastic but earlier ones were just hardboard or millboard which, as you say, get damp. You can tape a plastic sheet over the inside of the door if you wish.

[AdrianH]

Many thanks - just looked at metal lip where window glass comes down and no seals or buffers just a small bit of what looks like old string! I guess thats where they come from so will get something to replace them.

[svenedin]

The felt goes either side of the glass to stop it rattling. It is not a seal of any kind although misleadingly ESM call them "weatherstrips". Water will always run into the door which is why the drain holes at the bottom must be clear and you need the membrane.

https://www.morrisminorspares.com/body- ... r-p1238411

Stephen

IMG_3452.jpeg (929.1 KiB) Viewed 5873 times

[jagnut66]

I think that they should be stuck to the the window bump stop to prevent the glass from rattling.

Yes, I have them on my frames as well, luckily still in place rather than blocking the drain holes and, long term, causing the bottom of the door to rot out.....

Also found a bunch of rusty car keys

Once cleaned up (wire brush / wet and dry sandpaper), do they fit your locks / ignition?
If so it'll save you purchasing a spare set. (Tight fisted and proud of it! lol )
Best wishes,
Mike.

[jagnut66]

The felt goes either side of the glass to stop it rattling. It is not a seal of any kind although misleadingly ESM call them "weatherstrips". Water will always run into the door which is why the drain holes at the bottom must be clear and you need the membrane.

We may be talking about two different things here (with regard to what he found at the bottom of the door) but regarding the weather strips, I replace the outer ones on my doors with these:
https://www.morrisminorspares.com/body- ... ls-p828214
Obviously if you want total originality stick with the felt though.
Best wishes,
Mike.

[AdrianH]

Keys did not fit but I kept the San Francisco keyring! The window glass has the 2 strips fitted and in good condition - the ones I found are not long enough so suspect they may have been the old 'bump stops'? Got a couple of small issues to sort out but under bonnet has been sprayed with something and most of the wiring has a black lacquer like finish so unable to determine colours without scraping the stuff off - still it helps to pass the time

[jagnut66]

Got a couple of small issues to sort out but under bonnet has been sprayed with something and most of the wiring has a black lacquer like finish so unable to determine colours without scraping the stuff off - still it helps to pass the time

As a side issue, wiring looms are readily available, not too expensive and quite straight forward to install on the Minor, so if you are having issues and the wiring is at all hard or brittle in places, that may be the way to go. After all the youngest Minors (1972) are 54 years old now (52 years old for New Zealand built cars, before someone mentions them. lol ).
Best wishes,
Mike.

[svenedin]

Got a couple of small issues to sort out but under bonnet has been sprayed with something and most of the wiring has a black lacquer like finish so unable to determine colours without scraping the stuff off - still it helps to pass the time

As a side issue, wiring looms are readily available, not too expensive and quite straight forward to install on the Minor, so if you are having issues and the wiring is at all hard or brittle in places, that may be the way to go. After all the youngest Minors (1972) are 54 years old now (52 years old for New Zealand built cars, before someone mentions them. lol ).
Best wishes,
Mike.

Totally agree. It makes a huge difference having a new loom. All of the wires are easy to identify and all of the connections are secure and electrically sound. Don't forget though that switches may be very worn and corroded inside. I have a new loom but a worn out ignition switch still caught me out.

Stephen

[Propshaft]

Yes a good idea regarding the new wiring looms but not all connections are good this is my third loom on three different moggies and I find the bulb holders in the speedo not nearly as good as the old ones

[AdrianH]

Thanks for all the information - now seriously thinking about a new loom - is it a difficult or complex job? It all looks quite crowded behind the speedometer

[svenedin]

Thanks for all the information - now seriously thinking about a new loom - is it a difficult or complex job? It all looks quite crowded behind the speedometer

It's not that difficult. It just takes time, patience and checking against the wiring diagram.

Firstly make sure you buy the correct loom. There are many variants and it is vital that you start with the correct loom. Secondly, consider what new grommets you will need to order, best to use all new grommets and the 2x metal covers for the main wiring loom grommet through the bulkhead. You might also want to consider new earth points (ESM WRC129) and new switches if these are worn out (especially the headlight switch which takes quite a high load).

A tip I was given on this forum, which is a very good one is to cut the old loom off leaving the connectors in place with a couple of inches of wire. Then you can readily identify the colours which will be identical in the new loom. Be aware that the new loom does not come with absolutely everything. There are "sub looms" available separately for each headlight (sometimes called headlight pigtails), the small sub-loom to the headlight dip switch and to the rear lights, number plate light(s). Take good photographs before taking things apart. There are a few bridging green wires on the back of the speedo that are not part of a new loom as well. Keep the old loom if you can. Usually they are fine in the middle (it is the exposed ends that wear out) and that is a useful source of the correct colour coded wire for any future repairs. Also some people don't like the speedo bulb holders on the new looms and you may prefer the old ones. Do clean up all of the terminals before you make connections to the new loom.

If there is any wiring you had planned to do e.g fit a hazard switch or maybe a USB charging socket, this is the time to do it with both gloveboxes out......

A handy tool is a bullet insertion tool. You can manage without and push the bullets in with a screwdriver but since you will be doing a lot, the tool makes it easier. Use new bullet connectors if any are corroded inside.

Stephen

[jagnut66]

Some tool and bullet connector options for you:


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/144120186256?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143252988789?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143688614732?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/197078752745?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/322911242719?

Best wishes,
Mike.

[jagnut66]

It all looks quite crowded behind the speedometer

It can look more daunting at first than it actually is, this was my first loom too.
When I got it I laid it out on the floor, then, as Stephen advised, take your time to look over the wiring diagrams (find the right one for your car) and colour code list.
Get yourself a good 'workshop manual' (link to one below), I find a Haynes is more 'general' and only covers things to a certain depth. That said I still have one of those too.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/198411320727 ... R-STnJPVZw

The wiring diagrams and colour code list are in section 'N'.
Colour codes at the bottom of page N.22
The wiring diagrams follow on from there.
I also found a couple of highlighters useful as well, I highlighted the colour code list in yellow and used a couple of others on the diagram for my car, to highlight the colour number and the name of the component it went to. Each colour has a corresponding number, which is what is used on the wiring diagram itself.
I found it made referring back a lot quicker.
Relax, deep breath, then dive in.....
Best wishes,
Mike.

[svenedin]

There are a few things that caught me out. I had never fitted a new loom either. Mostly, due to the way the loom is made, connections sit more or less in the right place so are fairly obvious. I had some faults where a female spade connector had not correctly engaged with the male terminal and in fact the male blade was just sitting inside the female terminal insulator rather than correctly engaged in the female metal spade. Faults like that are annoying to trace so be purposeful and careful with every single connection. Switches can be difficult because you need to be able to see the terminal numbers which is more or less impossible if the switches are fitted in the dashboard. Lucas switches need a special tool for the bezels. Some people improvise with needle nose pliers or drifting with a hammer and screwdriver but if you want to avoid slips and gouging your dashboard the proper tools are much better. The ignition switch needs the larger tool. You need to get the switches out to clean up the terminals properly anyway or to replace if necessary .https://www.moss-europe.co.uk/en-gb/swi ... l-384--960

Download the workshop manual AKD 530 as a pdf, find the correct diagram and print it out. You can enlarge the parts of the diagram that are difficult to read.

Be very careful with the wiper motor. The original loom has a special winged connector that only goes in one place. The replacement loom does not have the special connector so it can be connected incorrectly.

Leaving the connectors on with a short length of wire from the old loom should make it easy providing everything is wired correctly as it is now.

Be prepared for some fault tracing and don't be discouraged. Some spare fuses and a multimeter on hand!

Stephen