Hi John
There is a lot to unpack here and i’m not clear on what you really need. Forgive me for thinking out loud in this long post….
Looms. My car is from 1968 and cars from around that time are notorious for ‘loom rot’. A rubberised coating was used the wires and it perished and fell off. rather than try a repair, i opted to by a replacement loom. i ordered it through citroen classics but they’re actually made by christian Fahrig who runs a company called ‘oldtimer’ in Germany. 1970s Ds (after 70?) had wire with plastic coatings and don’t suffer the same problem.
There is no reason why a manual gear change car can’t be converted to semi-auto – provided you get all the right parts. In terms of the electrics, the looms are actually very, very similar in almost all regards with just a couple of differences. If you had a good manual looms it’s far cheaper to convert that than buy a new loom BUT i recall you have previously had all sorts of problems with your loom.
Again, if someone has changed the wiring under the bonnet, it shouldn’t be hard to restore to to ‘stock standard’ but (again) i recall you had problems behind the dash with indicators and ignition. If your current loom really is such a mess that you don’t know what’s what, then the options are to buy a new replacement, or track down another old loom – which is of course where you find yourself.
If Darrin cannot help you, your best bet for sourcing a second hand loom is someone like Jamie at DS Workshop, or perhaps Adie Pease who trades as Peacock engineering over in Norfolk. You might also try Pallas Auto. Your search may be easier if it’s LHD you are after, though of course in the UK many scrapped cars might be RHD…. Don’t pass up on a good loom from a manual car as (as i say) they are not really that different. If is is LHD you are after, then i can put you in touch with Mark Rueneuf in Holland. he’s a respected parts trader who may well have a second hand loom.
Fuse boxes – you’ve removed them but lost them?? If you want original looking, you can buy reproductions from Franzose. have a look at their parts 14668 and 14164. if you need the metal fuse holders that go inside the boxes, you can get those too. see Franzose part 14608. Of course Jamie, or Adie may be able to supply a second hand fuse box (or two). mark Rueneuf will definitely have them.
I don’t really understand where you are with your ignition/ solenoid problem.
Ignition unit things. Yes – the ignition unit on a manual gear change car is different to that on a bvh. On a manual car, the key connects the coil wires AND twists against a spring to power a cable down to the solenoid ON THE STARTER that connects the fat battery cable to turn the starter.
On a bvh there is an additional solenoid up by the battery. The car key connects the ignition coil and power to other circuits, but you move the gear stick to operate the solenoid (by the battery) that connects battery to starter.
The way the DS bvh solenoid works is this: a thin wire goes from the battery positive to the winding of a solenoid. The other end of that winding goes off to one of the contacts on the gear lever switch. The other wire from the gear lever switch is earthed to the chassis. When the gear lever is moved to close the switch, that provides a path through the solenoid winding to earth. The solenoid winding excites and lifts the ‘bridge’ inside. That bridge connects the battery positive to the starter and the starter motor turns….
I’m not sure what you ‘2 pin’ solenoid is or how it works? I’m expecting a solenoid to have four connections: two (in and out) for the fat starter cable and two (in and out) for the wires that operate the winding inside? I can see how a solenoid might have a common ‘in’ – taking off a secondary wire internally on the input side for the winding, but for a DS bvh system you still need two ‘outs’ – one for the fat cable to the starter and one to the gearstick switch? So that’s at least 3 pins???
On a bvh car, even without the ignition key in and on, you can move the gearstick and the starter will turn. That is because the thin wire to the solenoid winding comes straight from the battery. Moving the gearstick grounds it and operates the solenoid. However, the car won’t start unless you have the ignition key in and on – as THAT is what provides power to the ignition coil.
So how far have you got? You mention having a slim long key with the ‘original ignition loom’ ????. And you state you need an ignition lock. What’s the significance of the slim long key? Have you got a key but no lock for it?? Is you need for an ‘ignition key’ actually a need for an ignition unit (and key)? Do you plan to replace the big, odd shaped original ‘Simplex’ branded unit that is ignition and steering lock with a simpler generic ignition unit? Is that the plan?
As you have fitted a semi-auto box, you must have fitted the semi-auto gear change lever and so already have the contacts on that which – when closed – operate the solenoid by the battery that connects battery to starter. Subject to your 2 pin solenoid being adequate, you should be able to move the stick and turn the starter regardless of the ignition key unit.
So (if doing away with the Simplex unit) all you need is a basic unit that (1) turns power to the coil on and off and (2) connects all other ‘switched’ circuits. It COULD be wired up so that it also provided winding power to the solenoid on the battery but – as i’ve said – that’s not how bvh Ds are wired.
