1500ti restoration. Ex racer

[rsfruitbat]

As Dave says, a cut out lower front panel, slightly over size could be fitted , then just rivet or screw the overlap to the front of the car.

That sounds like good plan

Rsfruitbat

[junior]

Well I seem to have consensus there !

Best get busy then. Many thanks for your thoughts and advice.

[Alfasixnut]

Looking very good! Do you have a completion date in mind?

[junior]

I am hoping the idle screw will drill out successfully at the end of the week and then maybe an MOT next week, but depends if any other oddities appear.

The wiring is causing us hassle as the firm literally gave up and said `its finished'.

Yet when I got there it blatantly was not. Now we are finding why as the mistakes they made are causing a range of problems. I think they realised this and just wanted to be rid of it. Best not to dwell too much on such matters.

I am not going to drive it anywhere with out the engine fan and such working.

Still I am enjoying the excitement of being at the 95% there and having some very good help.

[Kegsti66]

Hang on in there mate. 5%to go☺

[Spacenut]

The wiring is causing us hassle as the firm literally gave up and said `its finished'.

Yet when I got there it blatantly was not. Now we are finding why as the mistakes they made are causing a range of problems. I think they realised this and just wanted to be rid of it. Best not to dwell too much on such matters.

This sort of thing seems to be happening all the time now - I've had the same issue with Brake Caliper Specialists (they just gave up, and in the end so did I), and just recently the people I contracted to make the polycarbonate windows terminated my order, but only after 2 months of waiting.

I hope that you can get to the bottom of the wiring issues. There is nothing worse than trying to figure out somebody else's wiring loom.

[junior]

That seems to be very true as my great electrician who has stopped doing it (sigh) said I would find it harder now to find someone willing to help solve the newly created problems.

[junior]

IMG_4808.JPG

The screw at the bottom of the dark hole is the problem, but the engineering firm I have been bothering the last few days has offered to make a steel sleeve to fit in there and then drill it out.

They don't expect to damage the seat and then I am just hoping who ever screwed in in so crazy tight has not done so already.

Got to wait a week, but just glad they can do it.

Hub done now and fitted it this morning with all four threads helicoiled for £32.

As they were all a bit damaged and the price was so good I got the lot done.

Odd that the other side is fine.

Not a idle screw, but an air by pass screw. I am informed that it should be left screwed shut on it seat.

Are others finding this is correct ? Trying to find out who is correct. Thanks

[junior]

Carb back on and screw successfully drilled out. Setting up carbs, tracking and bedding in brakes today.

Great success last night as put the front wheels on a 4 post lift took the car up to the point that the exhaust dug into

the concrete. Or `it was sat on its arse' as the professional on the job described it.

Must be a technical term as I did not relate it to cars!

Then with me doing the pedal with my left arm we bled the front brakes again and finally after much effort

we have a pedal.

Much relived. last major hurdle......I hope. Shame I forgot my camera.

[junior]

And in case anyone needs engineering assistance. Teme valley engineering at Lentwardine did the work and were excellent and sympathetic.

[junior]

Did not want to cut up a good panel for the front so asked a local firm to cut me out an alloy piece to fit in the cap at the front of the car. Very pleased with it and a real bargain as they charged me 20 notes

Not fitted yet as went to do it and a tyre had gone down so had to split the rim and find the fault and there went the rest of the afternoon.

Sorting out a few wiring problem the auto electrician left me and have wired up the fan and sender. So we now have a red light on the dash. Any thoughts of what it will be ? Water Temp ?

From the fuel tank sender I have a bluish wire and a white and black one...Anyone know which connects to live and will and I do any damage if I just try connecting them ?

Also How does the rev counter work as there are no wires to it. What connects to what. I have distributor with electronic ignition.

[KevJTD]

red light could be low temperature warning light, goes off after a few minutes running which then gives you the go ahead to use a few revs

rev counter takes its' feed from the coil

[junior]

red light could be low temperature warning light, goes off after a few minutes running which then gives you the go ahead to use a few revs

rev counter takes its' feed from the coil

That makes sense, a low temp light as we have hardly warmed it up as setting up carbs, tracking and most importantly the fan and sender. many thanks .

Any ideas on the fuel tank wiring anyone ? Or if it is safe to just connect up to see what happens ?

[KevJTD]

Tank just has one wire for the sender, yellow springs to mind. Earth is usually grounded on a large self tapping bolt near the N/S tank strap bolt fixing, near the passenger rear wheel.

[KevJTD]

Just checked the wiring diagram on a Haynes manual, don't know why I thought of yellow

A Violet wire and a white/black I think, my eyes aren't what they were with fuzzy printing.
They do run down the passenger side sill area though

Not sure which one does the light and the gauge, just earth the one of them and see if the light comes on or the gauge goes up, that will tell you which one is which.

[alfadave]

Have a look at P7 of this Technical discussions section.
My post of Wed Sept 21 2016
Kindly answered by Gary Orchard.

Dave

[alfadave]

If your tank is already fitted.....you may have to lower it to connect the 2 wires to the sender, and do the earth connection.
Hopefully its empty?

Dave

[junior]

Thank you gents as always.

Yes, I fixed the earth when the tank went in and the wires were led up into the car, but the electrician did not connect them to the harness he made !

Or did he realise as has just passed through my mind that I need power to both wires as one is the gauge and one is the light ? Been looking at the diagram and its not going in Will just try it and see as Kev suggests.

May just get some time this afternoon,

[junior]

Electric's how I hate them. Just all magic to me !

Nothing from the fuel tank wiring so going to get it on the lift as soon as possible and check the earth lead from the tank.

The low temp warning light , would that come on when you switch the ignition on or when the engine starts ?

Front alloy panel in place which makes the front of the car look much better. Very glad I did it. Much better than electrics and the split rim that was leaking air is cured. Hurrah.

[KevJTD]

I'm with you on electrics mate, baffles me how it all works. I'm not so bad on this old stuff but newer electronics...no thank you!


The gauge and low warning lamp will come on with ignition, doesn't need to have the engine running.

Have you got 2 wires running from the sender?

If you had the tank out it'd be easier but if you have the 2 wires attached to the sender then you just need them in the car, assuming the guy ran wires from the gauges down amongst the light loom down the passenger side...

[junior]

Yes I put two wires on the sender and they come up through the floor, then an earth lead off to the body as it was originally.

He ( I could think of a better name) has two wires coming out of his harness at this point one of which is live, but when I connect it to either nothing occurs. So speedo pod out next and see what is up there.

Thanks for your help as it does at least show what is clearly wrong, which is a partial relief.

Engine runs better each time we run it up and aside from a little lean should be good.

[KevJTD]

Fairly sure, but stand to be corrected as I'm not very good with electricity, but I think the wires merely provide an earth for the instruments...
Power to the bulb at the speedo head, then the earth wire is at the tank end, variable resistor is what the tank gauge basically is so provides anything from zero to full earthing for the gauge. Likewise the warning lamp completes the circuit when the fuel level drops enough for the little switch in the sender to complete the circuit.
As I say, could well be barking up the wrong tree as it's been a few years since I did mine.
So if you put one of the wires to earth (on your new loom) it should either make the gauge go up to full, or put the low level warning light on...I think

[junior]

I see what you mean, and that sounds logical. so if I try the wire which has not got power to it I may atleast get one working easily.

Thanks as always.

[Spacenut]

Hi Junior - the fuel tank sender wire should have approximately +12V on it with the ignition on. Connecting this wire to ground (watch for sparks close to the fuel tank) should send the gauge full-scale. The fuel sender uses a variable resistance to give you a reading somewhere between zero and full-scale.

Good luck!

Lauren

[junior]

Well hope to get over tue pm so will give it a go then. Many thanks for the advice.

I was also wondering if I reconnected the block connectors that tore off the back of speedo pod incorrectly, or if I am just getting paranoid.

If I get no result from what you guys suggest I will go back into there and check.

Hoped to get to it the other day, but had go and help load up the WRC Fiesta the gearbox came out of.

He also had a fuel gauge problem, but had to take it all the way to M sport at Cockermouth to sort it.

Makes my task look easy.

[junior]

Hi Junior - the fuel tank sender wire should have approximately +12V on it with the ignition on. Connecting this wire to ground (watch for sparks close to the fuel tank) should send the gauge full-scale. The fuel sender uses a variable resistance to give you a reading somewhere between zero and full-scale.

Good luck!

Lauren

Thank you lauren. Nothing happened so we started looking generally again and found a duff fuse and solved some of the problems we had yet to start on !

Then did as you suggested and got both the light and the gauge to move so the problem is MY Workmanship.

May have to get the tank out again but at least its moving on.

Many thanks again.

[junior]

Tank back in as the earth on the sender was just not happy with a tiny bit of paint.

So now does just as you guys said it should. ....Thanks !

Now got gauge and low fuel warning light. Plus rev counter and rear fog the wire for which we found by accident and was already in place.

So this thermal sender operates the temp gauge, but we cannot work out what was linked to the red cold temp light.

Not that I need it, but just out of curiosity as at one stage we had the red light coming on when the engine warmed up.

That had us worried for a bit.

[KevJTD]

The low temp sender for the red warning light is the one on the back/side of the head near the dipstick, as per the pic below.

It does also double up as a high temperature one too....so make sure you've now got high temps on that side head!

[Spacenut]

So this thermal sender operates the temp gauge, but we cannot work out what was linked to the red cold temp light.

Not that I need it, but just out of curiosity as at one stage we had the red light coming on when the engine warmed up.

That had us worried for a bit.

It wouldn't be the first time that the temperature gauge sender and cylinder head temperature sender wires got mixed up - with the wires connected to the wrong senders the red light will glow more strongly as the engine temperature increases (temperature sender resistance goes down with increasing temperature). The gauge will read full-scale (maximum temperature) when cold and then read zero at normal engine temperature. So that could explain what you observed, but as Kev says, the cylinder head temperature switch is quite clever and actually shorts to ground at temperatures below around 35 degrees AND at temperatures above 90-95 degrees to warn of overheating. I guess its just a plunger with a stepped sleeve but that's still clever in my book

Lauren

[junior]

Ahha. That's clever I my book as well. I always admire simple and effective.

Many thanks again.

Got the alloy front panel in place and fixed it via two tabs folded in and bolted to the captive nuts for the bumper.

Quite pleased as tidies up the front, but not too posh though the cardboard template looked better as the colour was very close.

I have a cardboard coloured car !

The steel strip on the skirt is just to fasten the number plate on to as MOT is getting close