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MG MGB Technical - Wiring into door

Hi

A while back I asked for any ideas on how to run wires into the door of a B. I received many replies, which basically proposed a wiring loom through the hinge. I felt that this approach could cause problems with the wires being jammed in the hinge works and have contemplated other means. The one that appealed most to me was to have a flexible rubber boot between the door and the body, as used in cars today.

Well I finally did something and went to the local wreckers and after checking out dozens of car doors and not finding a suitable boot, I finally found what I wanted in a Hyundai hatch. The rear door (tailgate) had two nice boots that were the correct length.

Before I chop holes in my B I thought it would be prudent to check if there are any issues with doing this that I may not be aware of, so any comments?

A picture of the boot and how it will be fitted is attached. Note the boot is only taped into place to see how it will work.

Thanks

Herb


Herb Adler

It's not going to get crushed when the door is closed is it? Measure how far out from the A post the end of the courtesy light switch is when it is depressed (you should be able to see rub marks showing how far it is pushed in) and compare that to the depth/height/thickness as you will of your boot.

Going over the top of the top hinge and down past the outer side has never been a problem for the factory solution, nor my similar arrangement.
Paul Hunt 2010

Goodday from the tropical north, Herb - you raise an issue that has bugged me for some time. I'm keen to do something similar on the BGT where there is currently no wiring - but also, how often do you see a horrible piece of bodgery, where some PO has stuck wires to the door jambs with a nondescript goo,and slapped paint over it,still leaving unprotected wires to bridge the gap and then enter the door, with or without a grommet! I've scoured the usual rubber factors up here, and can only find "normal" grommets -surely someone must manufacture a range of concertina grommets to suit the myriad applications - door-shuts,tailgates,boots etc. I'll be following responses to this with great interest - thanks for posting the idea. Regards, John.
J.P. Hall

Hi,

Paul,

Yes, there will be some slight crushing, the space between the door and A post is about 5/8" (16mm)whilst the height of the boot is about 3/4". I feel that this is acceptable. My biggest problem with running through the hinge is that I have a minimum of 5 wires, probably 7 to give me a couple of spares. This is rather a thick bunch to feed through the gap at the top of the hinge. I also wish the finished job to look professional, as if that is how it is meant to be. All the photos etc of cars that I've seen, with the wire through the hinge, look tacky. Sorry.

John,

Thanks for your comments. I'm sorry that I didn't note which model of Hyundai the boots came off, but if you wander around the wrecker's yard, lifting tailgates, you will find suitable ones, might even be off a different make. The distance from centre to centre is the critical size, 140mm. The other advantage of finding some at the wreckers is that they are cheap, mine cost $5 for the two.

Herb

Herb Adler

Hi

I am going this route
http://www.jegs.com/i/Painless/764/40024/10002/-1

The holes are cut but I have yet to install them.
One site I checked out mentioned they have a 5 wire kit. These are the same type of things which are used in the vans on the sliding doors.
MGBV81

Hi,

Well I've done the dirty and fitted the corrugated boots.

Unfortunately, to cut the hole in the doors requires them to be removed as there isn't enough room to get a hole saw in with them just open.
The whole process of fitting the boots, door lock actuators and the wiring took me just on 4 days. I had to do some other things while I was at it, like reposition the hinges, replace the wing mirrors etc. With the wiring from the door I stuck some gaffer tape along the inside panel, then neatly placed the wires over it and put another layer of tape over the top. This is to protect the wires from possible abrasion.
The only surprise was that the A post is about 4 layers of metal, which was much thicker than the boot is designed for, so I had to glue it in with silicon rubber, otherwise the whole thing went fairly smoothly.

While I was at it I also fitted door switches for future courtesy lights.

See photo, below.

Herb

Herb Adler

This thread was discussed between 14/05/2010 and 06/06/2010

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