How can i get wire from engine to inside car ?

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Dormouse
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Re: How can i get wire from engine to inside car ?

Post by Dormouse »

How about a remote control bluetooth switched relay

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254793957124 ... SwX3BfEXxN
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Re: How can i get wire from engine to inside car ?

Post by Dormouse »

A quick search for winch remote on ebay UK found this as the cheapest.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124887050137 ... Sw8YZhNbi3

Something like this would take away the need for direct wiring. It might need a relay to match the current draw but a search might throw up a suitable relay package for say remote door locks which would have a higher current handling capacity on it's own. I saw a remote car locking set for about £14 - substitute fan for door lock solenoids, hey presto, high current remote relay.
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Re: How can i get wire from engine to inside car ?

Post by Dormouse »

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264162671267 ... SwkXBd6MtG

Because these things have multi functions you would be able to control more than one circuit.
Opera Snapshot_2021-09-17_083536_www.ebay.co.uk.png
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Re: How can i get wire from engine to inside car ?

Post by stan21 »

Dormouse an excellent idea indeed but i can find no such thing in my country SA and if there is such a thing it would be very expensive.

Ordering things from overseas is a hit or miss with our postal system :(
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Re: How can i get wire from engine to inside car ?

Post by stan21 »

How about drilling a hole in the floor of the vehicle where my feet rests.. will it be hard to drill through ? Are there any wire or hydraulic pipes running in the floor ?
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Re: How can i get wire from engine to inside car ?

Post by Dormouse »

Could work. Best place would be the forward footwell just near where all the panels meet to form the upstand from the front floor. It will be fairly accessible and there will be stuff there on the floor inside and out but you can see most of it from the wheel well so picking a spot is best after you check under the carpets as well as underneath.
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Re: How can i get wire from engine to inside car ?

Post by stan21 »

Ok thanks i guess this will be my best option.
I looked behind the glovebox and it seems impossible and the bonnet lever cabke grommet i cant even see



Last edited by stan21 on 17 Sep 2021, 20:40, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: How can i get wire from engine to inside car ?

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Re: How can i get wire from engine to inside car ?

Post by Paul-R »

stan21 wrote: 17 Sep 2021, 07:57its an automatic so i guess no clutch cable...
But it doesnt make things easier i guess... #-o
Well maybe it is. Is there now a blanking grommet in the bulkhead where the clutch cable would go through on manual gearbox cars?
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Re: How can i get wire from engine to inside car ?

Post by white exec »

:-k Aha! Great thinking, Paul...
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Re: How can i get wire from engine to inside car ?

Post by gwest »

I need to get a wire from the engine compartment on my 207CC petrol auto to under the dash- I want to fit a low coolant alarm with the sensor wire connected to a s/steel screw driven into the expansion tank. Which I realize is a tad adventurous but I see that it is done in the UK on Bongo vans!
I will get 12V from near the under-dash fusebox which doesn't help that much with the expansion tank on the RHS. Any suggestions on where I might breach the bulkhead would be most welcome- I do note the comments on grommets for the bonnet release cable and a possible clutch cable. I am hoping to avoid removing the dashboard!
My paranoia about losing coolant was heightened when the plastic fitting at the bulkhead end of the top heater hose broke inside the end of the rubber hose- it was just a fluke that I only took it for a short run. The pool of water under the car the next morning gave it away.
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Re: How can i get wire from engine to inside car ?

Post by white exec »

You won't be able to use a simple 'coolant bridging' arrangement between a couple of contacts (screws) in the coolant tank to directly power up an indicator (LED, lamp, sounder) as the current that will flow between the contacts, even if only a few mm apart, will be very tiny. Coolant isn't that conductive.

You'll need a small transistorised circuit, that will be triggered by the lack of a conductive path (as the level drops), as this will be able to respond to the very tiny current (or lack of it). Some original level sensors (the sort with a couple of prong contacts) have the amplification stage built in, but others don't, and rely instead on an external box/module to trigger the warning.

There are a good few aftermarket coolant level warning kits on the market, which might be worth looking at.

One other avenue is to use a mechanical (magnetic) level switch, but many of these are unlikely to appreciate the near-90°C conditions inside the tank!

Before you drill the tank, do plenty of experimentation with the level of the 'probes', as it's unlikely to be got right first time.
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Re: How can i get wire from engine to inside car ?

Post by gwest »

Thanks Chris. The alarm kit that I plan to use only uses a single stainless steel screw inserted in the coolant, so it must work on conductivity. Apart from the alarm going off when the probe is in air, I have had it go off when I have only had tap water in the system, prior to adding corrosion inhibitor. Typically the company provides plastic inline adaptors already fitted with a metal probe, that fit in the upper radiator hose, but I would prefer to use the expansion tank because you get an earlier warning. However, I am nervous at just putting a self-tapping screw into the PP tank below the waterline, as the UK company does with its bongo van kit. There is a small circular recessed window in the tank at about the right height, and I am thinking of threading a s/steel bolt through that, and then taking it to a plastic welder to have the recess filled with molten PP.
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Re: How can i get wire from engine to inside car ?

Post by wheeler »

Are you talking about the Haydin alarm?
They work really well. If anything when its really cold they can be a bit over sensitive.
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Re: How can i get wire from engine to inside car ?

Post by white exec »

The small circular recess in the tank could well be the location for the level sensor, on models where they are fitted.
Usually a 'bayonet fit' for the sensor widget.
That would be another approach (if you didn't alteady have your kit) - just swap the tank for one with a sensor already fitted, and add the electrics.
Chris
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