The Fascinating Evolution of Automotive Wiring...

[BrianHG]

The Fascinating Evolution of Automotive Wiring...
Long, but still fascinating on where we have come from and why wiring harnesses are made the way they are today.

[EPAIII]

Yes, I already watched it and it is a very good video. I would recommend it.

[ebastler]

Good video indeed. But the narrator struggles a bit at times -- he is clearly not a technical person but a professional voice artist, and sometimes sounds like he might just as well explain the turbo-encabulator.   

[5U4GB]

I was a bit disappointed though that, presumably due to its US origins, it never mentioned any of the wide range of Lucas Electric automotive electrics innovations: the short circuit, the intermittent wiper, the self-dimming light bulb, the light settings of Dim, Flicker, and Off, the use of the wiring harness to transport smoke from one part of the car to another, the refrigerator that keeps beer warm, ...

[Stray Electron]

   I never really understood the almost universal disdain for Lucas electronics. I've used the OEM Lucas electronics on numerous vehicles and I've never really had any complaint about it, even though it's not as fool-proof and as durable as the electrical systems on American and Japanese vehicles. But OTOH I understood electronics from a young age and I've always been capable of fixing minor electrical flaws like loose bulbs, dirty contacts, etc so I've always been capable of fixing the minor issues that seem to be common with Lucas electrical systems. And I DO appreciate the fact that most of the Lucas electrical devices can be disassembled and repaired unlike most American stuff which is usually over priced, non-repairable paper or plastic junk in a sealed can.

[jmelson]

I was a bit disappointed though that, presumably due to its US origins, it never mentioned any of the wide range of Lucas Electric automotive electrics innovations: the short circuit, the intermittent wiper, the self-dimming light bulb, the light settings of Dim, Flicker, and Off, the use of the wiring harness to transport smoke from one part of the car to another, the refrigerator that keeps beer warm, ...

In high school, I had a small side business rewiring Triumph TR-3's with rotted out wiring.  That was a SIMPLE car, but by 1968-1969 it was all just bare copper with crumbly vestiges of the insulation.  After people tried a few patches, it was on for a full-out rewiring.
Jon

[tooki]

Good video indeed. But the narrator struggles a bit at times -- he is clearly not a technical person but a professional voice artist, and sometimes sounds like he might just as well explain the turbo-encabulator. 

As a native English speaker, the narrator strikes me as decidedly not a professional voiceover artist. He’s not bad, but he’s not professional.

[ebastler]

As a native English speaker, the narrator strikes me as decidedly not a professional voiceover artist. He’s not bad, but he’s not professional.

I'll certainly go with your judgement there! But he also decidedly is not the person who wrote the script. At times he clearly sounds like "What the hell am I talking about here?".

[langwadt]

   I never really understood the almost universal disdain for Lucas electronics. I've used the OEM Lucas electronics on numerous vehicles and I've never really had any complaint about it, even though it's not as fool-proof and as durable as the electrical systems on American and Japanese vehicles. But OTOH I understood electronics from a young age and I've always been capable of fixing minor electrical flaws like loose bulbs, dirty contacts, etc so I've always been capable of fixing the minor issues that seem to be common with Lucas electrical systems. And I DO appreciate the fact that most of the Lucas electrical devices can be disassembled and repaired unlike most American stuff which is usually over priced, non-repairable paper or plastic junk in a sealed can.

I suspect it was just the electrics that was put into cars in factories that had not yet discovered quality control

[tooki]

As a native English speaker, the narrator strikes me as decidedly not a professional voiceover artist. He’s not bad, but he’s not professional.

I'll certainly go with your judgement there! But he also decidedly is not the person who wrote the script. At times he clearly sounds like "What the hell am I talking about here?".

I honestly didn’t really get that vibe. Just sounded like a typical all-purpose narrator.

[soldar]

   I never really understood the almost universal disdain for Lucas electronics. I've used the OEM Lucas electronics on numerous vehicles and I've never really had any complaint about it, even though it's not as fool-proof and as durable as the electrical systems on American and Japanese vehicles. But OTOH I understood electronics from a young age and I've always been capable of fixing minor electrical flaws like loose bulbs, dirty contacts, etc so I've always been capable of fixing the minor issues that seem to be common with Lucas electrical systems. And I DO appreciate the fact that most of the Lucas electrical devices can be disassembled and repaired unlike most American stuff which is usually over priced, non-repairable paper or plastic junk in a sealed can.

I think it may be a combination of factors. People tend to simplify. A lot. Such brand is good. Such brand is bad. Etc. People love memes and stereotypes. Chinese stuff is junk. Etc.  Once the meme gets rolling it is very difficult, if not impossible, to turn around and it just reinforces itself. So it is very probable that Lucas had some bad quality things at one time and the reputation for bad quality just grew and grew outside of any reasonable proportion or objective basis.

[globoy]

As a native English speaker, the narrator strikes me as decidedly not a professional voiceover artist. He’s not bad, but he’s not professional.

I'll certainly go with your judgement there! But he also decidedly is not the person who wrote the script. At times he clearly sounds like "What the hell am I talking about here?".

I honestly didn’t really get that vibe. Just sounded like a typical all-purpose narrator.

I was pretty darn impressed when he blew through all those different plastic chemical component names!  I speak English as a native language and I wouldn't want to try that. 

Seriously though, this was an interesting video.  To see the development of wires, something most of us take completely for granted.  Would have been interesting to see some idea of where automotive wiring harness are going.  I get that there has to be so much backward compatibility since car electronics are supplied by many vendors but there also has to be a lot of desire to simplify and the technology certainly exists to enable that.

[mendip_discovery]

Lucas did some agreements that today would be classed as illegal. I can't remember the details but there was agreements that they would stay out of the US if a US firm kept out of the UK.

So you ended up with a bit of a monopoly and not much choice so you bought stuff that wasnt that great. This was also before the days of quality control and warranty stuff.

Lucas the Prince of Darkness.

See cross licensing and reputation sections. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucas_Industries

More in depth stuff here,
https://web.archive.org/web/20110726164814/http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/1960_1969/fulltext/025c03.pdf