Originally Posted by
Uplinker
The problem with LUCAS* was use of poor quality (i.e. cheap) materials and connectors open to the elements, which corroded in a car/bike environment after only a few years
...
Look at a modern Audi or Porsche for example, and the electrical connectors are fully enclosed and sealed against water and dust ingress by rubber seals.
The key word is "modern". Lucas components that were low-draw and low-voltage did indeed have rubber seals by the late '70s, but putting rubber seals around some high-draw, high-voltage components was a no-no for many years because the rubber compounds available at the time released hydrofluoric acid (which is *really* corrosive, nasty stuff) if they were burned. More modern compounds were developed that no longer had this dangerous property.
*Not only LUCAS. The Jaguar XJS for example should have been a wonderful car, but it was ruined by the use of cheap poor quality components.
Jaguars used Lucas electrics, as they were a part of the BMC/BL group until the late '80s if I recall correctly. The real problem with the XJS was that it drank like a rugby team.
The "facelifted" XJS of the mid '80s, as with the Rover SD1, had most of the build quality issues sorted out - unfortunately too late to rescue their reputations.