And So It Begins....

[SanRemo78]

No, there's aircon in the car don'tcha know!






Might not be working yet though....

[HFStuart]

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.

[SanRemo78]

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!

[SanRemo78]

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!

[lancialulu]

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

[SanRemo78]

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

[Nigel]

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

[SanRemo78]

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!

[SanRemo78]

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?

[Nigel]

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

[lancialulu]

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

[HFStuart]

Set it up as a gear change indicator at about 6100 rpm ?

[Ferrit]

Here you go and yes it seems your guess is correct

[SanRemo78]

Thanks Mark! I guess we never worry about warning lights that never even flicker!

[SanRemo78]

Well there's not much to report! After a visit to Gerry's last week I'm back with an injured back which is preventing me from accomplishing anything. In addition I may have to pop back to Gerry's to man the fort if he goes into hospital to have a pacemaker fitted....

And I really need to be here to remove the remains of a hedge we chopped down to make way for a new veranda on the back of the house due at the end of September/start of October!

The only notable event to report was a visitor today!

[Ferrit]

Did you count your spanners after he left? ;-)

[SanRemo78]

There's a metal detector in the doorframe. Nobody leaves with anything they didn't bring. Mwahahaha.

Frequently they don't even leave with things they brought.....

Kidding! Visitors welcome anytime!

[A Ross]

I was after the IP!   

[SanRemo78]

A few weeks since anything got done at all! Alex visited shortly after I got back from Gerry's having put my back out badly whilst down there and I'm just beginning to get back to some semblance of order. Not been able to do anything for 2 weeks except sit in chairs with heated pads, feel miserable, piss Andrea off and watch the telly to stop me surfing the interweb. That can be expensive. And I couldn't help myself....

Bought a couple of inner CV Joints but failed to buy outers, the seller listed a pair but after giving them a reg number they said they didn't fit. Back to the search. I've got used ones but all show minor wear and I don't want to fit them only to have to pull them within a year.

I've also been watching column stalks on eBay and finally succumbed to the temptation to but a new set from DG Rally which arrived today. Tomorrow I may find time to check them against the original set and investigate the connections through the switch for the wipers that didn't seem to make sense on the old LHD set I've had on the shelf for a couple of years. I want to nail it into the car too and see if the action is as good as it feels when it's solidly in place. Anyone else bought a set of these?

Guy

[Nigel]

Yes Guy,
I got mine from DG Rally a few years ago.
The 'feel' compared to the original was much more positive.
I found the fitting, documented on my page, challenging. Also I'm
not convinced they are necessarily Beta-exclusive, as a large white
connector on the left side doesn't clear the LHD cowling.

Nigel