Bugrat returns to Phaeton
- Thread starter Phaeton
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Pulled all the wiring out of the channel, quite strange to find that the large main battery cable went direct to the starter motor as normal, but then there was a big cable coming off that came all the way back to the ignition switch, then on another back to the starter to get the starter to throw, all of which was not fused. In fact I'm not sure that anything other than the lights went through the fuses & one of them had been bypassed
Added a bit of extra strength into the hand brake btacket, you do often tend to swing on them harder that you should, never claimed to be a welder, but using a mig in the breeze isn't good
Then added the replacement legs, this gives me room now to bring the heater hoses up the middle & keep the brake & clutch over the other side of the channel,
Added a bit of extra strength into the hand brake btacket, you do often tend to swing on them harder that you should, never claimed to be a welder, but using a mig in the breeze isn't good
Then added the replacement legs, this gives me room now to bring the heater hoses up the middle & keep the brake & clutch over the other side of the channel,
I forget about the horn switch, whilst tapping out the wiring I found the horn push totally seized up, liberal use if penetrating oil got it to move again & it did make contact, but you had to pull the thing back. Figured that I woulda attempt to repair, other than that it was going to have to be a stalk modification from another vehicle as they are like hen's teeth.
So I pulled the end cap off the button to be greeted with
Cleaned it all up, went through a box of springs, tried cutting a few but eventually found one that seemed to work, just enough tension to pull the button back off whilst allowing contact to be made. Once again there is no fuse or relay in this circuit so when it goes back I'll be adding both.
So I pulled the end cap off the button to be greeted with
Cleaned it all up, went through a box of springs, tried cutting a few but eventually found one that seemed to work, just enough tension to pull the button back off whilst allowing contact to be made. Once again there is no fuse or relay in this circuit so when it goes back I'll be adding both.
Work continues, although the weather has been shocking up here recently, or at least when i have to time or allowed to tinker, brackets have been made for the heater, heater fitted & plumbed in it's all a little over to the passenger side, but at least it should keep my feet warm which is it's purpose.
Then some holes cut in the dash to accept the new switches & harnesses made for them, the position of where all the wiring is going to run to hasn't been decided, unfortunately some idiot put a bloody big heater in the best place. After all it's a very simple car so shouldn't be too difficult, it's just making to look 'right'
Then some holes cut in the dash to accept the new switches & harnesses made for them, the position of where all the wiring is going to run to hasn't been decided, unfortunately some idiot put a bloody big heater in the best place. After all it's a very simple car so shouldn't be too difficult, it's just making to look 'right'
Not sure what the weather is like around your way, but it's got a bit cold Oop North, we almost had to out a jumper on, the cooling system was only filled with water so I drained it & bought some anti-freeze. Problem is to effectively fill it back up the engine needs to be running so I jerry rigged up the electrics to get it started.
Got it to turn over, shot of 'Start U Bastard' got it to fire, chucking fuel down the carb got it to start, but I could not get it to run, checked all the wiring, all looked okay, spend ages going over it, then the penny dropped, no fuel in the tank
Put some in the tank & off it went, put some anti-freeze & allowed it to warm up, bled a bit of air out, the fan eventually cut in & back out again so very happy with it all. The only fly in the ointment, is that when the ignition is switched off the ignition light glows very slightly it's also only charging at 12.85V so I think the rectifier in the alternator is goosed, taken it off & will take it down to the rebuild place on Monday.
Got it to turn over, shot of 'Start U Bastard' got it to fire, chucking fuel down the carb got it to start, but I could not get it to run, checked all the wiring, all looked okay, spend ages going over it, then the penny dropped, no fuel in the tank
Put some in the tank & off it went, put some anti-freeze & allowed it to warm up, bled a bit of air out, the fan eventually cut in & back out again so very happy with it all. The only fly in the ointment, is that when the ignition is switched off the ignition light glows very slightly it's also only charging at 12.85V so I think the rectifier in the alternator is goosed, taken it off & will take it down to the rebuild place on Monday.
On the way to take the alternator to be checked I suddenly thought that this alternator has a separate regulator & I should really have brought it with me, which meant he couldn't test it fully, But as the bearings were a bit rough & it was full of spiders he suggested a rebuild anyway, picked it up today, new bearings, new bushes, new paint job.
Brought it back & put it on the buggy, started it up & the volts started to climb so it's charging now, but I still have 2 issues, one is that the ignition warning/charge light is very dimly on when the ignition is off, the other is that the engine doesn't stop when you switch off the key it continues to run
So on with the investigation as there are only the ignition charge light, the starter circuit & the oil pressure switch/light there wasn't a lot to look at. One thing I checked was that fitting a LED & a resistor instead of the candescent bulb stopped the light being on & allowed the engine to stop. Also taking the wire off the oil switch stopped the dim light & engine running problem, it would appear that it is faulty, it must be allowing a small amount of current, enough to keep the engine running. I'm glad I found it now as it would have been a barstool to find it when all the wiring was complete.
Then onto the next fun project I want to get the hazards to work on a simple on/off switch, I'm sure I've done it in the past, but it was a bit of a head scratcher, in the end I got it to work with 2 changeover relays, a flasher relay & 2 more normal relays, all a bit inelegant but working, the last 2 relays are only to keep each side of the cars indicators separate from each other so that when in normal mode only one side flashes. I have a couple of diodes on their way so I'm hoping I can get rid of those so not as bulky.
Brought it back & put it on the buggy, started it up & the volts started to climb so it's charging now, but I still have 2 issues, one is that the ignition warning/charge light is very dimly on when the ignition is off, the other is that the engine doesn't stop when you switch off the key it continues to run
So on with the investigation as there are only the ignition charge light, the starter circuit & the oil pressure switch/light there wasn't a lot to look at. One thing I checked was that fitting a LED & a resistor instead of the candescent bulb stopped the light being on & allowed the engine to stop. Also taking the wire off the oil switch stopped the dim light & engine running problem, it would appear that it is faulty, it must be allowing a small amount of current, enough to keep the engine running. I'm glad I found it now as it would have been a barstool to find it when all the wiring was complete.
Then onto the next fun project I want to get the hazards to work on a simple on/off switch, I'm sure I've done it in the past, but it was a bit of a head scratcher, in the end I got it to work with 2 changeover relays, a flasher relay & 2 more normal relays, all a bit inelegant but working, the last 2 relays are only to keep each side of the cars indicators separate from each other so that when in normal mode only one side flashes. I have a couple of diodes on their way so I'm hoping I can get rid of those so not as bulky.
Made up the final version, I removed the permanent live in favour of a live fed by the switch as it served the same purpose on Relay 1, I also changed the way Relays 3 & 4 are pulled in just for reliability, the original way meant they were pulled in on each flash this now means they only get pulled on when they are being used for the hazards.
Just need to get a new flasher relay, as the 4 I have got are all the old style, not suitable for LED's as I have a mixture, the fronts are candescent & the rears LED.
Just need to get a new flasher relay, as the 4 I have got are all the old style, not suitable for LED's as I have a mixture, the fronts are candescent & the rears LED.
Next part of the process moving forward in the buggy was the gear selector, there are some bushes on the road that goes into the gearbox, mine were nonexistent, they are unabtainable from Skoda, but somebody has started to make them. So stripped down the mechanism & replaced them, straight forward job, the only issue is how badly the base plate is bashed up, initially I'm leaving it on, there is a guy on FB who thinks he has a better one, failing that if it proves troublesome I may take it off & either weld more metal in & file back, or possibly cut the sides out & replace with fresh steel, but I would like another one first as a fallback
The component parts.
The new bushes fitted
The gate plate showing how battered it is.
The component parts.
The new bushes fitted
The gate plate showing how battered it is.
Wednesday night say a wiring drawing night, which turned into a Thursday morning nice steady wiring up of the indicators & hazards, then the side lights followed by luch, followed by a nightmare, I started to wire up the Full, Dip & Flash, only to see a obvious error which would put a full short on flash. I then spent the next 4 hours of swapping wires around, adding relays, taking out relays, I stopped when my neighbour came home from work & I was still trying under LED torch & said that I must be dedicated, my retort was not dedication but frustration 
Anyway Friday morning went back outside & within 10 minutes I saw the error, which meant once that was fixed all the rest fell into place, by the end of the day I'd got
Indicators
Hazards
Sides
Full
Dip
Flash
Fog
Brake
Reverse although the switch on the gearbox is faulty, it's a push to make, but it's stuck in the pushed position, the plunger comes back but the contacts stay connected. But in typical rip-off Britain style, €3.76 in Poland, £9.78 in the UK with £4 postage.
Horn
Radiator fan
Today saw 2-speed fan for the heater
Ignition switch
Starter circuit
Additional resistor for the alternator charge
Then the day was cut short by SWIMBO to go visit friends.
Anyway Friday morning went back outside & within 10 minutes I saw the error, which meant once that was fixed all the rest fell into place, by the end of the day I'd got
Indicators
Hazards
Sides
Full
Dip
Flash
Fog
Brake
Reverse although the switch on the gearbox is faulty, it's a push to make, but it's stuck in the pushed position, the plunger comes back but the contacts stay connected. But in typical rip-off Britain style, €3.76 in Poland, £9.78 in the UK with £4 postage.
Horn
Radiator fan
Today saw 2-speed fan for the heater
Ignition switch
Starter circuit
Additional resistor for the alternator charge
Then the day was cut short by SWIMBO to go visit friends.
Chris, I'm sure there is a post somewhere where you told me how bad these connection strips were, but I can't find it, but you were right, I did some more wiring this morning, didn't start too well with me reading the colours wrong, but got over that. Then as I was doing the dashboard connectors I thought I'd check that the hazards & indicators were still working & of course they weren't, not only that when I put the hazards on the side lights were falshing as well, then the offside indicators stopped working WTF!! Turns out the wire from the hazard relay had come adrift from the connector & was touching the side light terminal. Rectified that but now the hazards work but the indicators don't, so I expect that the switched live feed as also come adrift.
Drained the oil today to find there is quite a bit of water in there, it has a downdraft Weber, so suspect it's been left out in the rain without the carb being covered up, I have a plastic container over the top since it's been here, going to go fetch 2 oil filters in the morning & do a change now & then do another in a few starts time.
Drained the oil today to find there is quite a bit of water in there, it has a downdraft Weber, so suspect it's been left out in the rain without the carb being covered up, I have a plastic container over the top since it's been here, going to go fetch 2 oil filters in the morning & do a change now & then do another in a few starts time.
New filter & fresh oil installed today, run up until the fan cut in, seemed to still be getting a lot of condensation coming out of the rocker cover breather, but the oil looks clean now
It's that clean now you can't see it on the dipstick.
More wiring done today, very little left to do (hopefully) dashboard is nearly finished only things outstanding (I think) are the fuel gauge & brake fluid both which appear to be faulty at the remote end. Took the fuel sender out of the tank & cleaned it all up, hoping now it all works but ran out of time. Then need to look at the brake fluid switch, but not sure if there is anything that can be done, but TBH not too woried about it anyway & it's not a MOT failure issue.
It's that clean now you can't see it on the dipstick.
More wiring done today, very little left to do (hopefully) dashboard is nearly finished only things outstanding (I think) are the fuel gauge & brake fluid both which appear to be faulty at the remote end. Took the fuel sender out of the tank & cleaned it all up, hoping now it all works but ran out of time. Then need to look at the brake fluid switch, but not sure if there is anything that can be done, but TBH not too woried about it anyway & it's not a MOT failure issue.
Moving forward & ticking off the boxes, would help if I had a list but don't, the wiring I think it just about finished, but this sweatshirt weather we're having is making getting enthusiasm a bit difficult, I bought a LED light bar & was going to put it up on top like the old 4 spots were, but I've never liked the wires going up the frame, so decided to mount it lower down at the front & put a grill over most of the radiator
I then tried a new skill, vinyl wrapping, I tried to do the dashboard, it didn't end well I think I should has started on something less complex, so next option was to go with the rattle can, seems to have come out okay, just not sure how easy it will scratch.
Also did the centre console.
Seem to have a bit of an electrical issue, I'm 99% sure it's the alternator which I've just had refurb'd I intend to take it back Monday 4th to let them check. But with it connected up I have a 0.25A draw going out of the battery, it has an external regulator & if I remove the DF wire off the alternator the draw goes away. I also set it up on the bench with the alternator in the vice & there is still the draw, spinning it up with a drill gets it to charge at 13.6V but putting a load on of 55W drops it to 12.8V.
Bought a set of Corbeau Sprint seats but they are too narrow for my large arse, now got a set of seats that came out of a Cobra, but concerned even them are a bit narrow after fitting the drivers seat.
Today I changed the rear trailing arm bushes, which went far easier than I was expecting, I have a recollection that I did them before but not 100% sure I did it may have been on something else.
I then tried a new skill, vinyl wrapping, I tried to do the dashboard, it didn't end well
I think I should has started on something less complex, so next option was to go with the rattle can, seems to have come out okay, just not sure how easy it will scratch.Also did the centre console.
Seem to have a bit of an electrical issue, I'm 99% sure it's the alternator which I've just had refurb'd I intend to take it back Monday 4th to let them check. But with it connected up I have a 0.25A draw going out of the battery, it has an external regulator & if I remove the DF wire off the alternator the draw goes away. I also set it up on the bench with the alternator in the vice & there is still the draw, spinning it up with a drill gets it to charge at 13.6V but putting a load on of 55W drops it to 12.8V.
Bought a set of Corbeau Sprint seats but they are too narrow for my large arse, now got a set of seats that came out of a Cobra, but concerned even them are a bit narrow after fitting the drivers seat.
Today I changed the rear trailing arm bushes, which went far easier than I was expecting, I have a recollection that I did them before but not 100% sure I did it may have been on something else.
Not much has happened in the last month, both the wife & I have been ill, some form of flu virus, had a strange incident the other night in the middle of a bit of a storm, the headlight full beam came on, our neighbour noticed & called round, I went out & moved the stalk from dip to full, at which point the lights went off. Then 2 hours later the neighbour at the other side knocked to say they were on this time I pulled the main constant battery feed off the battery.
Bit better weather today so went out to see if I could see the reason, but there was nothing obvious, left the main feed connected all day & it didn't happen again so it's just one to keep an eye on.
The floor is solid steel with only a drain hole at each edge, so I added an extra drain hole to each panel, using a hole punch along with a flaring tool
Then put the dash in, only held in with 3 bolts for now but think it looks quite good.
Then re-did the seat mounting, when I put it in last time the back was too sloping, so took it back out & lifted the back with some large washers. also found that by angling the bolt heads right I could get more movement.
Noticed that the water had dropped in the header tank, so added extra water, started the engine but with everything so wet from the rain it was difficult to see if there was a leak, did find a small leak from a jubilee clip, but there are 50 on there. It got up to nearly 100 degrees but the fan didn't come on, so I pulled it out & tested it, it failed, tried to order a new one, only place I can find one was from Czech at a cost of nearly £30 , luckily I found a cross reference for a Hella one for £13.
this time I pulled the main constant battery feed off the battery.Bit better weather today so went out to see if I could see the reason, but there was nothing obvious, left the main feed connected all day & it didn't happen again so it's just one to keep an eye on.
The floor is solid steel with only a drain hole at each edge, so I added an extra drain hole to each panel, using a hole punch along with a flaring tool
Then put the dash in, only held in with 3 bolts for now but think it looks quite good.
Then re-did the seat mounting, when I put it in last time the back was too sloping, so took it back out & lifted the back with some large washers. also found that by angling the bolt heads right I could get more movement.
Noticed that the water had dropped in the header tank, so added extra water, started the engine but with everything so wet from the rain it was difficult to see if there was a leak, did find a small leak from a jubilee clip, but there are 50 on there. It got up to nearly 100 degrees but the fan didn't come on, so I pulled it out & tested it, it failed, tried to order a new one, only place I can find one was from Czech at a cost of nearly £30 , luckily I found a cross reference for a Hella one for £13.
The Hella switch arrived & was fitted, only to find that also didn't switch the fan on, put it on the test rig & that too failed, so ordered another, this time a Lexmark, no idea what it was supposed to be for, but the thread was correct it switches on at 88 & back off at 74. That arrived yesterday so it was tested (and passed) in the workshop before it was fitted to the car, it was fun trying to get the car up to temperature when it's only 2 degrees, but it eventually cut in & out a few times, so we have success.
One of the things that I did to try to help the car get up to temperature was to clamp off the pipe which goes to the heater matrix, which then led me to think about putting a valve in-line with it, been contemplating it for a while even if it's only to put it in in the open position & not actually make it active.
I had one in the workshop, I think it might be an MG one not 100% sure, but the angle of the inlet & out let was completely wrong, I looked at rotating the valve in the bracket, but the other option was to modify the bracket, which is the route I went down. Cut & shut the bracket but didn't get it 100% right but I think it's close enough to be able to be put in the channel, but the weather had other ideas about me testing it.
I still cannot get the hang of this new welder, never been very good but it's worse than ever with this, 100% sure it's not the welder & it's me, not knowing how to set it up correctly, maybe I should have bought a Tig for what I use it for.
One of the things that I did to try to help the car get up to temperature was to clamp off the pipe which goes to the heater matrix, which then led me to think about putting a valve in-line with it, been contemplating it for a while even if it's only to put it in in the open position & not actually make it active.
I had one in the workshop, I think it might be an MG one not 100% sure, but the angle of the inlet & out let was completely wrong, I looked at rotating the valve in the bracket, but the other option was to modify the bracket, which is the route I went down. Cut & shut the bracket but didn't get it 100% right but I think it's close enough to be able to be put in the channel, but the weather had other ideas about me testing it.
I still cannot get the hang of this new welder, never been very good but it's worse than ever with this, 100% sure it's not the welder & it's me, not knowing how to set it up correctly, maybe I should have bought a Tig for what I use it for.
So a couple of frustrating days, finished the heater control bracket, mounted it to the chassis, then mounted the control knob with a bracket.
All worked as expected pushing the knob in stopped the flow, pulling it allowed the fluid to flow back through the matrix, the only thing I noticed was that what I thought was the flow wasn't, which means the valve is mounted the wrong way around so the flow is the wrong way around. it's difficult to swap the pipes at the valve end but very easy at the engine end, resolving the issue. However there is a bigger issue, I have a leak, been there since fitting the matrix, it's been intermittent & not been able to pin it down. I'm using 5/8 ID pipe, which is effectively 16mm, so I was using 15mm OD copper with an olive soldered on, figured they would seal but apparently not. Something I did see on a youtube the other day which might explain it that if you don't use the correct worm drive clips they can leak. I was using 22-30mm the OD of the pipe is 23mm so right at the bottom end of it's range.
Means more expense bought some 16mm aluminium pipe, some 16mm silicone 90's & some 17-25mm worm clips, hopefully that will resolve the issue, once they come I can swap the pipes over then
Then onto the next frustration the rear offside brake, specifically the handbrake, the drums are supposed to auto-adjust & do appear to do so, but not at the point where I want them to, so had to get a bit creative.
Put the band around, pump the brakes to get the band tight, make sure I can still get the drum on, slacken the band, pump the brakes to get it tight again, make sure I can still get the drum on, slacken the band, pump the brakes to get it tight again, make sure I can still get the drum on. Would have been much easier with 2 people but I got there in the end, but here's the rub, as I have to replace the heater pipes I have to remove all the handbrake mechanism again, so will have to do it all again.
All worked as expected pushing the knob in stopped the flow, pulling it allowed the fluid to flow back through the matrix, the only thing I noticed was that what I thought was the flow wasn't, which means the valve is mounted the wrong way around so the flow is the wrong way around. it's difficult to swap the pipes at the valve end but very easy at the engine end, resolving the issue. However there is a bigger issue, I have a leak, been there since fitting the matrix, it's been intermittent & not been able to pin it down. I'm using 5/8 ID pipe, which is effectively 16mm, so I was using 15mm OD copper with an olive soldered on, figured they would seal but apparently not. Something I did see on a youtube the other day which might explain it that if you don't use the correct worm drive clips they can leak. I was using 22-30mm the OD of the pipe is 23mm so right at the bottom end of it's range.
Means more expense bought some 16mm aluminium pipe, some 16mm silicone 90's & some 17-25mm worm clips, hopefully that will resolve the issue, once they come I can swap the pipes over then
Then onto the next frustration the rear offside brake, specifically the handbrake, the drums are supposed to auto-adjust & do appear to do so, but not at the point where I want them to, so had to get a bit creative.
Put the band around, pump the brakes to get the band tight, make sure I can still get the drum on, slacken the band, pump the brakes to get it tight again, make sure I can still get the drum on, slacken the band, pump the brakes to get it tight again, make sure I can still get the drum on. Would have been much easier with 2 people but I got there in the end, but here's the rub, as I have to replace the heater pipes I have to remove all the handbrake mechanism again, so will have to do it all again.
The ali tube, jubilee clips & silicon hoses arrived, so Thursday it was swapping all the existing pipe work out & putting the new in, also swapping over the flow through the valve, all seems to be good now, although with all the rain it's difficult to be 100% sure.
Then unfortunately Fri, Sat & Sun were spent getting very frustrated with my daughters Auris that needed some new brake lines, getting to the ABS is ridiculous the amount of stuff you have to take off, including the wiper motor & mechanism, scuttle panel, air fliter, diesel filter etc. Then Sat afternoon I spent nearly 2 hours trying to get a single brake pipe into the ABS pump, it simply would not start, I tried everything, even using a WiFI spanner
In the end I gave up after getting angry & frustrated, went back out on Sun morning & got it connected in 15 minutes, go figure as I can't, I don't think I was doing anything different, but clearly I was.
Tonight I went out & fitted the wheels & this happened.
All seemed good, couple of issues, there was some water in the footwell, so is it the plumbing that is leaking or was it some water that was trapped somewhere & moved, I'm hoping it's the latter as after 20 minutes there wasn't anymore.
The biggest 2 issues are that it won't run without a little bit of choke, I think the Weber carb needs stripping & cleaning but I don't stripping carbs, too many little bits for my ham fisted fingers to lose.
The other is selecting reverse, there is a plate which screws onto the bottom of the selector with a gate, there is no 'down' or 'up' to stop inadvertently getting reverse, all there is is a plate screwed underneath the gear stick.
As you can see it's well worn & I think I have it the bolted on the correct way from the witness marks, reverse is over to the right & down, so that notch is in the correct place as it's the inverse of the stick movement as it's below the shaft if that makes sense. The other option which I'm considering is running without it, or making a new plate without the gate to keep the strength in the unit. I drove up & down the road & turned it around with reverse without it so I'm not 100% sure it's needed.
Then unfortunately Fri, Sat & Sun were spent getting very frustrated with my daughters Auris that needed some new brake lines, getting to the ABS is ridiculous the amount of stuff you have to take off, including the wiper motor & mechanism, scuttle panel, air fliter, diesel filter etc. Then Sat afternoon I spent nearly 2 hours trying to get a single brake pipe into the ABS pump, it simply would not start, I tried everything, even using a WiFI spanner
In the end I gave up after getting angry & frustrated, went back out on Sun morning & got it connected in 15 minutes, go figure as I can't, I don't think I was doing anything different, but clearly I was.
Tonight I went out & fitted the wheels & this happened.
All seemed good, couple of issues, there was some water in the footwell, so is it the plumbing that is leaking or was it some water that was trapped somewhere & moved, I'm hoping it's the latter as after 20 minutes there wasn't anymore.
The biggest 2 issues are that it won't run without a little bit of choke, I think the Weber carb needs stripping & cleaning but I don't stripping carbs, too many little bits for my ham fisted fingers to lose.
The other is selecting reverse, there is a plate which screws onto the bottom of the selector with a gate, there is no 'down' or 'up' to stop inadvertently getting reverse, all there is is a plate screwed underneath the gear stick.
As you can see it's well worn & I think I have it the bolted on the correct way from the witness marks, reverse is over to the right & down, so that notch is in the correct place as it's the inverse of the stick movement as it's below the shaft if that makes sense. The other option which I'm considering is running without it, or making a new plate without the gate to keep the strength in the unit. I drove up & down the road & turned it around with reverse without it so I'm not 100% sure it's needed.
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