Wiring Kit – Part A

There are a number of things to be considered when deciding which manufacturer of WWII Jeep wiring kits you should choose for your restoration.

The first and most important consideration is the individual wire used in the harness.

In the 1940’s the wire was multi strand wire that was coated with a rubber insulation compound and then a further cotton braid applied over the rubber as a protection for the insulation. However, being natural rubber, it was somewhat fragile and easily damaged.

This process was initially seen in applications such as household appliance cords, fans, desk lights, etc, as well as the actual wire run in conduits to distribute electricity throughout homes and industrial buildings.

It followed that the same type of wire was soon being used in the Automotive field. With the different requirements of individual wires in vehicles, certain color codes developed with varied tracings to assist with making connections and troubleshooting.

One very important aspect of the cotton braiding for Automotive applications is that it was lacquer coated. This is critical because the specially formulated lacquer coating (which is not unlike a ladies nail polish) protects the wire from the oils and grease found particularly in engine bays. Equally as important the lacquer coating penetrates the surface of the insulation material, thus binding the cotton to the insulation and permanently prevents the cotton braid from separating from the base wire.

Application of the lacquer coating is done in specially designed machines and between 6 – 12 coats are applied with each coat dried before application of the subsequent coat.

Modern wire is no longer rubber coated but it coated with a Polyvinyl chloride or PVC insulation which has too many excellent properties to list here.

When you look at a correctly coated cotton braided modern M.V. Spares wiring kit the lacquer coating can be seen. Unfortunately there are producers in China and India who make similar material but they do not lacquer coat the wire. Kits made from this cheap material have a limited life and M.V. Spares does not use these suppliers.

All wire used by M.V. Spares is manufactured in the USA to the highest standards and we recently set up a facility in the USA to specifically manufacture our wiring kits.

We are proud to say our kits are “Made in USA”

We hope you find this article interesting and will soon publish “Part-B” covering terminals, taping, asphalt loom used on our kits.

Happy restoring,
Darcy Miller