Author Topic: And So It Begins....  (Read 207993 times)

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Offline SanRemo78

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Re: And So It Begins....
« Reply #880 on: August 09, 2026, 05:54:55 PM »
No, there's aircon in the car don'tcha know!






Might not be working yet though.... :)
Hawk HF3000 - Square Arch Stratos Replica - owned since 1988.
Skoda Superb Scout 2021. Believed 1of 1 in the UK!
Fiat Panda 100HP and now -
A Lancia Beta Coupe 1981 2 Litre

Offline HFStuart

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Re: And So It Begins....
« Reply #881 on: August 10, 2026, 04:06:00 PM »
Thanks Stuart, no rush yet, still plodding through circuitry and struggling with some! I'll look into the Magajolt one though!

Hopefully the meds are taking effect....

In any case the coil mount was indeed made for me by Jason Miller and his company Millers Mule back in 2011 when he did quite a few Fiat T/C and Alfa parts. He also did my alloy crank pulley with trigger wheel. They're good items but I should note he did me for $50 extra and then refused to answer any mails.  It looks as though he's still about doing 3D printing with a different company.  You could always message him and ask for the drawings if he's not making them any more.

Offline SanRemo78

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Re: And So It Begins....
« Reply #882 on: August 13, 2026, 04:54:59 PM »
You learn something every day. Or in my case, often relearn something you forgot.... But this was a new one!

I took the Panda 100HP for its MOT yesterday (another clean pass - phew) and discussed LED lighting with the examiners I've dealt with for years and years. Apparently, if you have changeover LED sidelight/indicators the light sequence must be white changes to orange as you start indicating to off to orange to off to orange to off to white when you stop indicating. No switching back to white mid flash. That's a new one to me but it makes sense. I look forward to finding out if my front indicators are MOT compliant before the  test!

Had a delivery of wiring today plus some other bits and bobs so I may get back to that tomorrow and over the weekend if it's cool enough in the garage!
Hawk HF3000 - Square Arch Stratos Replica - owned since 1988.
Skoda Superb Scout 2021. Believed 1of 1 in the UK!
Fiat Panda 100HP and now -
A Lancia Beta Coupe 1981 2 Litre

Offline SanRemo78

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Re: And So It Begins....
« Reply #883 on: August 14, 2026, 04:51:08 PM »
Not quite the day I anticipated with wiring today! After the Panda passed its MOT I thought I'd better sort out a couple of points the examiner noted but didn't record as advisories! A slightly discoloured front indicator bulb (very easy swap) and a pinhole in the expansion tank. That too was an easy task with one screw and two clips (if you've got the Clik-R pliers). That lot got swapped over easily enough and I even saved the antifreeze in the old tank with a little careful maneuvering!

Then a visitor to the house for a pre-planned appointment and this afternoon back to fitting terminals to the instrument cluster connectors. Normally I hate spliced or joined wires. They're a weak spot and I prefer to keep connectors to a minimum. However, in this case, given the fragility of the circuit board on the back of the panel and the weakness in the edge connectors I made the decision to put three multiplugs into this part of the loom. There are 22 wires on the three blocks so I used a 6 terminal connector block and two eight connector ones (with the male/female plugs reversed on the second one so an idiot like me can't misconnect them in future). The new blocks are numbered so I just wired them in order of the gauge plugs from left to right or top to bottom. Should make mating them to the main loom much easier later on. Protection from a few lengths of cable tubing and we'll call that a job finished. There's one warning light not connected, the gearbox one. I can live without that!
Hawk HF3000 - Square Arch Stratos Replica - owned since 1988.
Skoda Superb Scout 2021. Believed 1of 1 in the UK!
Fiat Panda 100HP and now -
A Lancia Beta Coupe 1981 2 Litre

Offline lancialulu

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Re: And So It Begins....
« Reply #884 on: August 14, 2026, 05:46:15 PM »
Not quite the day I anticipated with wiring today! After the Panda passed its MOT I thought I'd better sort out a couple of points the examiner noted but didn't record as advisories! A slightly discoloured front indicator bulb (very easy swap) and a pinhole in the expansion tank. That too was an easy task with one screw and two clips (if you've got the Clik-R pliers). That lot got swapped over easily enough and I even saved the antifreeze in the old tank with a little careful maneuvering!

Then a visitor to the house for a pre-planned appointment and this afternoon back to fitting terminals to the instrument cluster connectors. Normally I hate spliced or joined wires. They're a weak spot and I prefer to keep connectors to a minimum. However, in this case, given the fragility of the circuit board on the back of the panel and the weakness in the edge connectors I made the decision to put three multiplugs into this part of the loom. There are 22 wires on the three blocks so I used a 6 terminal connector block and two eight connector ones (with the male/female plugs reversed on the second one so an idiot like me can't misconnect them in future). The new blocks are numbered so I just wired them in order of the gauge plugs from left to right or top to bottom. Should make mating them to the main loom much easier later on. Protection from a few lengths of cable tubing and we'll call that a job finished. There's one warning light not connected, the gearbox one. I can live without that!


Gearbox warning light -explainer please
« Last Edit: August 14, 2026, 07:04:23 PM by peteracs »

Offline SanRemo78

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Re: And So It Begins....
« Reply #885 on: August 14, 2026, 06:20:20 PM »
The speedometer I'm using has a warning light for the gearbox. What aspect it warns you about I have no idea. I guess I could wire it up to something else but unless there's a sender on the box for something I don't know about it'll remain unused. Maybe it's for an automatic gearbox warning? If anyone can shed any light on it please shout out!!

Cheers
Guy
Hawk HF3000 - Square Arch Stratos Replica - owned since 1988.
Skoda Superb Scout 2021. Believed 1of 1 in the UK!
Fiat Panda 100HP and now -
A Lancia Beta Coupe 1981 2 Litre

Offline Nigel

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Re: And So It Begins....
« Reply #886 on: August 15, 2026, 09:38:04 AM »
Guy,
My drivers handbook says it's the " Automatic gearbox fluid temperature warning light".

My cluster has it as well. Perhaps they all do?

Nigel
1984 2.0 Carb HPE [ex Aus] Grigio Finanza.
2007 Mazda 6 2.3 [current daily, highly recommended]
The past:
1980 2.0 HPE White in South Africa [hope it survives!]
1976 1.6 Coupe Lancia Blu [PFG 76R] [probably deceased]
oh,and an Uno Turbo 1997 also in SA [stolen,never recovered]

Offline SanRemo78

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Re: And So It Begins....
« Reply #887 on: August 15, 2026, 10:00:46 AM »
Thanks for that clarification Nigel - I think I'm going to have a look at the other two gauge sets I have and see what's there. They are orange needled ones but I prefer the white ones! Maybe this cluster came from an automatic car? It's not the original set I got with it, it's popped up from parts collected over the last few years!
Hawk HF3000 - Square Arch Stratos Replica - owned since 1988.
Skoda Superb Scout 2021. Believed 1of 1 in the UK!
Fiat Panda 100HP and now -
A Lancia Beta Coupe 1981 2 Litre

Offline SanRemo78

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Re: And So It Begins....
« Reply #888 on: August 15, 2026, 10:28:42 AM »
All three sets have the same warning light functions but the graphics are slightly different between the white/orange needle types. This light is therefore redundant on most cars. I may dismantle one set and see if the graphic can be polished off and if it can then be put to another use? Any suggestions as to what that might be?
Hawk HF3000 - Square Arch Stratos Replica - owned since 1988.
Skoda Superb Scout 2021. Believed 1of 1 in the UK!
Fiat Panda 100HP and now -
A Lancia Beta Coupe 1981 2 Litre

Offline Nigel

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Re: And So It Begins....
« Reply #889 on: August 15, 2026, 12:36:16 PM »
I failed to mention that the cluster in my car is
not the original Au version.
Nevertheless, of the 3 units in my stock, all have that symbol.

Nigel
1984 2.0 Carb HPE [ex Aus] Grigio Finanza.
2007 Mazda 6 2.3 [current daily, highly recommended]
The past:
1980 2.0 HPE White in South Africa [hope it survives!]
1976 1.6 Coupe Lancia Blu [PFG 76R] [probably deceased]
oh,and an Uno Turbo 1997 also in SA [stolen,never recovered]

Offline lancialulu

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Re: And So It Begins....
« Reply #890 on: August 15, 2026, 12:54:13 PM »
Guy,
My drivers handbook says it's the " Automatic gearbox fluid temperature warning light".

My cluster has it as well. Perhaps they all do?

Nigel

Just confirmed my manual HPE VX also has this. Every day a school day as they say

Offline HFStuart

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Re: And So It Begins....
« Reply #891 on: August 15, 2026, 10:55:21 PM »
Set it up as a gear change indicator at about 6100 rpm ?

Offline Ferrit

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Re: And So It Begins....
« Reply #892 on: August 17, 2026, 03:28:11 PM »
Here you go and yes it seems your guess is correct

Lancia Beta Coupe 2000 SA import, now project
VW Caravelle t5.1 was project
Merc EQA

Offline SanRemo78

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Re: And So It Begins....
« Reply #893 on: August 17, 2026, 04:17:11 PM »
Thanks Mark! I guess we never worry about warning lights that never even flicker!
Hawk HF3000 - Square Arch Stratos Replica - owned since 1988.
Skoda Superb Scout 2021. Believed 1of 1 in the UK!
Fiat Panda 100HP and now -
A Lancia Beta Coupe 1981 2 Litre