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Post by Ben N on Feb 18, 2024 1:50:46 GMT
Où es-tu? Je pense que Ian McGee a ce moteur à Montréal. Si vous êtes du Québec, envoyez-moi un message et je vous enverrai ses coordonnées. -Ben
(Where are you? I think Ian McGee has that motor in Montreal. If you are from Quebec, message me and I'll send you his contact details.)
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Post by Ben N on Dec 20, 2022 2:12:41 GMT
Ooh, parts here in Canada! I certainly wouldn't mind a new rear bumper as the chrome finish on mine has deteriorated somewhat, mostly on the left side above the exhaust pipe. Unfortunately, Google estimates North Bay Ontario to be a 4352km drive away from where I live.
JP Smit is a good guy, he has a Viva GT he's been gradually restoring for several years and was kind enough to send me a new choke cable for my 1969 Epic.
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Post by Ben N on Feb 21, 2021 5:57:42 GMT
Later Canadian Austin 1800s came with hazard lights, by 1971 they did anyway. The hazard relay is located beside the turn signal relay behind the right end of the parcel shelf. None of the side markers (front or rear) flash though - only the turn signal lights flash. The picture is from when my tandem brake failure warning light was on - another Canadian safety thing. That Moss GSS159 kit Tony mentioned (SFB300 on some websites) would be a good 'period' choice. That style of Lucas pull hazard switch was used over here in TR6s, Spitfires, and several other British imports. I also like way they neatly tucked the relay into the housing on that kit.
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Post by Ben N on Jan 17, 2020 17:18:31 GMT
I modified one of my upper front bump stops earlier this week, after getting ideas searching this forum for the phrase "bump stop". I cut off the old badly crumbling rubber from the old bump stop and drilled a hole in the centre. I used a TR6 rear suspension buffer (part no. 136758) mainly because I already had one (and I don't have a Triumph) - it's like the Mini ones we use for rear bump stops but larger. i.e. a rubber cone with a threaded rod poking out of it. I shortened the threaded part so when I poke it through the new hole in the old bumpstop it wouldn't poke out beyond the box. I then ground a nut to be a bit thinner so there was room for it and a lockwasher in the box of the bump stop too. Lastly, I cut the tip of the rubber cone off so it would be a similar height and shape as the old one. Hopefully, my description will make sense with these pictures. One shows the nut in the box part, the other shows it beside a good bump stop from the other side of the car.
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Post by Ben N on Dec 20, 2019 18:14:00 GMT
Recently, the wipers started randomly briefly stopping mid-stroke, so I pulled the motor off to have a look. It was full of somewhat hardened grease, the cupped washer was broken, and the motor brushes were done. I had a spare MGB one that's almost identical so I took it apart too. It seemed in better shape all round so I gave it a good greasing and attached the Austin's cable to it. It's was marked 105° instead of the Austin's 110°. This appealed to me as the wipers were always either whacking the trim on the bottom or partly disappearing off the side of the windshield before. I also gave the wheelboxes half a turn while the cable was out in case that would help with the looseness.
Last night was sufficiently stormy to see how things worked out. How often do we look forward to a rainy day to drive our classic? Wipers worked better than ever, and after taking the arms off to turn them a spline they almost reach the bottom and barely touch the side. They are as quiet if not quieter than on a modern car, and they even self park. (which they never did before) Very pleased!
I've also added two fuses and relays for the headlights. About a month ago, the cheap new headlight switch I had put in my BGT melted after half an hour of driving on high-beams. (the scruffy-looking original switch never had a problem...) This ties in nicely with Chris' comment above about the quality of cheap new parts. The relays also nicely fill some of the blank space by the fusebox where the old alternator's control boxes used to be.
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Post by Ben N on Oct 24, 2019 17:19:19 GMT
That was my thought too when I looked at the grounding of the fan box, David. There seem to be several different blower setups in these cars so it might not be an issue for all models. The fan unit pictured in an Australian 1800 newsletter looks nothing like mine inside. Yesterday was the first day without rain here in weeks (and a day off from work) inspiring me to finish getting the dash back together just in time to go out for lunch... except that the car wouldn't start. Off to lunch and afternoon errands in the boring car distracted by thoughts of what I might have done wrong over the last 6 weeks the Austin has been apart. Back at home I eventually proved the condenser was the culprit. (having tried replacing everything else!) Replaced with a used spare and it fired right up. Not sure how old the bad condenser was but it sure looked shiny and new compared any of the others I have lying around. When the parcel shelf and fan unit were out, it was a good opportunity to have a go at recovering the dashboard top. The original one was a bit brittle with a chunk broken off at the front and kind of wavy on the top in a couple places. I used the black vinyl fabric one uses for the seats on motorboats. The trickiest part was the vents as there is very little material to stretch around and staple to the board after cutting slits down the centre. It's a little lumpy at the ends of the vents but overall a great improvement over how it looked before.
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Post by Ben N on Oct 8, 2019 17:32:44 GMT
Took the parcel shelf and centre console (where the radio is) thing out to better access the heater/fan unit. I've always wanted to try to recover the top of the dashboard anyway so might as well pull it all apart. Experimented with reversing the wires to the fan unit. (at the top RHS of the box, not at the switch) The fan worked but had been somewhat ineffective since changing to -ve earth. Reversing the wires to the heater/blower unit, I connected one wire first then tapped the other against the connector, big blue arc, no fan movement... I suspect there would be a blown fuse (or melted wires) if I'd held it there. Next I brought the battery inside the cabin to power the blower directly without powering/grounding anything else in the car. Connected to the blower -ve earth, it moves air but not much, connected +ve earth, it moves a lot of air quite well. This confirmed the fan motor runs in different directions depending on DC polarity. Removed the fan unit from the car and took the cover off the bulkhead side. The motor has a green wire (from the connector at the top left of the unit) and a green/yellow wire (from the switch) going into it on opposite sides. Swapped these and the motor runs the other way. I had to extend the wire to the switch to reach the far side of the motor so it was right for negative earth. The black wire goes directly from the connector on the top left side of the unit through to the switch where it is also continuous with the metal casing of the fan unit. The unit sits on four studs in the bulkhead, with rubber grommets around them. These grommets were in poor shape allowing it to rest directly on the studs, and so the fan casing was grounded to the body of the car. That's why simply swapping the black and green wires at the connector was causing a short. If the grommets were good I think swapping those wires would have worked when changing polarity. A couple pictures... as found before cleaning out the bits of old foam, etc. The heater matrix slides out. There are a couple more flaps for directing air underneath it. I've since replaced most of the foam and the four grommets.
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Post by Ben N on Sept 8, 2019 3:44:42 GMT
After some effort to solve my blinking charging system, I decided to convert to negative earth and do away with the 11AC alternator with its external regulator and relays. The spare 17ACR alternator I had on the shelf turned out to be of the battery sensing variety so I put it in the MGBGT and put its newer-looking "Lucas TVS Made in India" (machine sensing) alternator in the 1800. This made the rewiring simpler as the 1800's ignition and headlight switch are powered via one of the two big spade connectors at the alternator. (the battery sensing kind uses the second big spade to sense voltage, machine sensing uses the same lead it charges with to sense voltage) I was rewarded with a steady 14.3V on the voltmeter, much better than the bouncing needle that I had before.
The wire to the charge light on the dash previously went through a 3AW Warning Light Control box. I had a faulty one of these on hand and gutted its innards to bypass the relay inside.
Before switching over, I turned on the blower and felt a healthy amount of air coming from the side vents of the heater box. Unfortunately after making the switch, the fan still makes about as much noise but it is debatable whether any air is really coming out the vents at all. I suspect the motor's turning the wrong way.
Having read about melting wires on another thread, I am reluctant to change any wiring to the blower without thorough investigation beforehand. By removing the ashtray, I can see the wires to the fan switch - one black and one green with yellow tracer. The black wire is continuous to ground, the spade it goes on on the switch is also continuous to ground. In fact, the fan works whether the black wire is connected or not. When I have time, I'll remove the parcel shelf to investigate further and see if I can get the fan to blow properly again.
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Post by Ben N on Sept 8, 2019 3:36:07 GMT
I made the switch to negative earth with a more modern alternator and have steady 14.3V when charging. So that's sorted out my charging issue for now. I haven't made any permanent changes to the wiring, so if I ever get a good 4TR I can consider putting things back and rejoining the Positive Earth Society. As you predicted, something will now need to be done about the blower fan direction, but I'll chronicle that in another thread. (and when I get around to it!)
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Post by Ben N on Aug 28, 2019 5:56:42 GMT
David, thanks for the interesting document in your last post. The 'diagram' link in the earlier post doesn't bring me to a diagram though. Not really that confident in my individual electronic component repair abilities... I should also admit that as this problem has been so tricky to solve, I'm starting to lean toward converting to negative earth and using the known good 17ACR I have on hand.
I have one older 4TR regulator (which I drilled the rivits to have a look inside) with big components soldered on a simple board and a pot for adjusting. and I have another probably newer 4TR which looks the same from the front but with a blank metal cover and no pot on the back side. Unfortunately they both behave the same wrt my voltage fluctuations!
Work has taken me out of town for a few days so I won't be able to test anything until the end of the week.
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Post by Ben N on Aug 27, 2019 5:34:04 GMT
Thanks everyone for your suggestions and advice!
With the wire to the regulator disconnected at the alternator, there appears to be no voltage on the (now unplugged) spade connector on the alternator. This is the spot I have been checking for voltage all along... now I wonder if I have been following instructions poorly. David, is this where I should have been looking for voltage fluctuations? or should I have been checking at the big terminal on the alternator?
The wire from the alternator to the regulator has 0.4 ohms resistance. The earth wires to the alternator, regulator, relay, and warning control all have 0.3 ohms or less to the battery terminal. To try and rule out the wires being an issue, I ran temporary wires between the alt and the reg, between the reg and the relay, and from the reg directly to earth. I also tried a new wire from the alternator to earth. Then I tried bypassing the relay, by connecting the wires that go from C1 and C2 directly together. None of this made a difference, so I think it shouldn't be faulty wires, nor the relay causing the trouble.
About the 3AW warning light control, if I disconnect it, I still get the same needle movement on the meter (on the lead between the alternator and the regulator) so the 3AW isn't causing this. I also pried one open, took the can off, plugged the wires in, and watched its contact open and close. An interesting device.
I spent some time cleaning the firewall wiring plugs (from the engine bay side only) yesterday and didn't notice any wires about to break off. Any wires related to the charging components in the engine bay have been off and on so many times recently I probably would have broken them if they were close to breaking.
I turned the headlights, radio, fan, and hazard lights on and watched the DC voltmeter in the car but it's hard to guess at what RPM it starts to rise as I don't have a tachometer but not very high, and then it begins to do it's wobbling voltage thing.
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Post by Ben N on Aug 26, 2019 13:02:24 GMT
If I recall correctly, the AC voltage on the lead to the regulator when disconnected (the 3-pin connector at the 4TR unplugged) did not jump around, and the warning light was on solid. I can check again this evening and check with all the electrics on then too.
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Post by Ben N on Aug 26, 2019 4:57:16 GMT
Cleaned all connections in the charging circuit. (cleaned the connector blocks under the fuses while I was in the area) Checked continuity of the wiring between the charging components as well. Voltage (and resistance) between the battery +ve and the engine is basically nil. I had cleaned the earth strap a couple months ago chasing some other problem so that's still good.
Connected an analog multimeter set to AC voltage to the wire to the regulator, and the needle twitched in time with the flashing light. This is with one lead on earth and the other just touching the wire without disconnecting it. It also jumps similarly on the brown-yellow input wire to the 3AW, thus the warning light's flashing.
So, I opened up the alternator. It was uncooperative (or I was impatient soaking the bolts) and I broke a rusty bolt off in the housing. So, I took both alternators apart to use the end cover from the spare. (Remember they both behaved the same except one being noisier) One of the brushes was indeed short so I put in a brush from the spare. The winding measured 4.0ohms which is about right in the manual. My digital multimeter has a diode setting. It gave very similar readings for all six, and only gave readings in one direction for each.
Reassembled and much cleaner, I put it back in the car but the problem is still there. Hmmm...
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Post by Ben N on Aug 25, 2019 5:50:24 GMT
The ignition light has taken to intermittently blinking every second or so 1-2 times per second at certain RPM. I've added a voltmeter gauge to the dash and it's around 13V at low revs but at normal driving speed the needle bounces between about 14V and 15V, the dips occuring at the same times as the warning light blinks. At high revs (e.g. going 45+MPH in 3rd gear) it settles around 14V and the light stops blinking. The car is positive earth with the 11AC alternator that has the external (3-pin) 4TR regulator, an "isolating" relay, and a 3AW warning light control thingy. The car came with spares of each of these. Thinking bad diode, I swapped the alternator first, no change... then tried swapping the 4TR, relay, and 3AW but the bobbing voltage/flashing warning light remained unchanged. I've since swapped the 11AC back to the original as the spare alternator doesn't turn as freely and makes a lot of noise. Could I have two bad alternators or regulators with the same fault? Could something else in the car's electrical system cause this pulsing voltage? Here's a video of the flashing light and voltmeter: flashing lightI have a perfectly good 17ACR among my scavenged MGB parts but I'd have to switch to negative earth to try it.
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Post by Ben N on Apr 9, 2019 0:03:15 GMT
Another Austin 1800 ad...
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