symbol strip on ash lights on S1
Discussion
The half moon shaped symbol strip for the cluster of indication lights on the dash does nt line up with the actual lights! It must be a replacement since its actually a little smaller than the profile left by the old one on the dash. I guess there must have been a small variation in pitch distance between lights on the developpment of the S1 through to S2? Does anyone know where I could get hold of a correct fitting strip?
Thanks
This is how Austin's warning light strip was modified ( before my ownership )
I'm unsure if this was a mod kit that was available some time ago, but I think the alternative lampholders & sets of ident decals are available from Car Builder Solutions.
( cbs_online ? )
It should be quite easy to make an arc strip out of aluminium.
Edit: Have you got the smoked perspex strip that covers these lights?
Is it possible that the witness marks you describe are where this was fitted, & your warning symbol arc is actually original.
The thinking at the factory may have been: ' it doesn't matter if it's not a perfect fit, it's covered up anyway.'
Or as David says, it's possible the symbol strip has shrunk after 25 yrs or so.
I'm unsure if this was a mod kit that was available some time ago, but I think the alternative lampholders & sets of ident decals are available from Car Builder Solutions.
( cbs_online ? )
It should be quite easy to make an arc strip out of aluminium.
Edit: Have you got the smoked perspex strip that covers these lights?
Is it possible that the witness marks you describe are where this was fitted, & your warning symbol arc is actually original.
The thinking at the factory may have been: ' it doesn't matter if it's not a perfect fit, it's covered up anyway.'
Or as David says, it's possible the symbol strip has shrunk after 25 yrs or so.
Edited by glenrobbo on Saturday 25th January 23:02
Edited by glenrobbo on Saturday 25th January 23:30
Deeman said:
Running quite hot there Glen - doesn't get that warm in the V8 like it used to in the ol S2
No Pete, We'd just been "pressing on a bit" up some Alps, I was letting Austin idle with both fans ( rad & heater ) on full chat to cool him down a bit.
After conferring, it seemed to be a common thing on all the S1's, so we took comfort from the fact that this was perfectly normal.
The ambient temp was quite high, so it was a blessing to have the heater on full blast as well
On the whole Eurotrip, Austin only required topping up about half a cup of coolant, considerably less than my own fluid intake.
Edited by glenrobbo on Sunday 26th January 11:44
S2Mike said:
Spidey senses tingling, I reckon that was back in the summer in the queue at the Festival of Motoring in Stratford... 150 degrees in the shade.
Hi Mike,No, it was the Alps wot did it !
But yes, it did get a trifle hot at the Stratford Queuefest on Monday afternoon
One or two lesser cars had to wait & cool down a bit.
Don't forget to bring the factor 50 this year folks!
And wellies.
Glen, I like the solution you have. Demon Tweeks have a sticker sheet that has those symbols on it, and the plastic can be gleaned from something I have lying around I'm sure. The trouble with mine is that the smoked plastic cover has been bolted through at some point, so I need to replace it and use prettier screws:
You can just about make out the difference in hole pitch between the lights and the labels.
My favourite setup is on my other car, where they eliminated the non-functioning lights, and even added an 'immobiliser' key switch:
If it wasn't for the holes in the dash, I would simply duplicate this on the first car.
ETA: what's up with the ipad and posting pictures upside down?
You can just about make out the difference in hole pitch between the lights and the labels.
My favourite setup is on my other car, where they eliminated the non-functioning lights, and even added an 'immobiliser' key switch:
If it wasn't for the holes in the dash, I would simply duplicate this on the first car.
ETA: what's up with the ipad and posting pictures upside down?
Hi David,
Is your iPad a cheap import from Oz?
Your "other car" solution looks pretty neat.
In your recent 'new' S1, it shouldn't be too difficult to fill those holes or "sandwich" them with some fibreglass, then redrill to suit your new choice of layout.
Personally I would place the indicator tell-tale light at the top, so it's more visible by day. I'm not alone in leaving the indicators flashing for miles. I've seen a few S1/ S2's doing the same. It's not easy to hear that relay ticking at 4,500 rpm is it?
And when driving at night the main beam w/lamp tends to dazzle, so that would be better sited lower down. ( I coated mine in darkened varnish to reduce glare. )
Also your smoked perspex cover strip looks much paler than others I've seen, and they are not normally screwed or bolted into place, just tucked in ( or glued ? )
Is your iPad a cheap import from Oz?
Your "other car" solution looks pretty neat.
In your recent 'new' S1, it shouldn't be too difficult to fill those holes or "sandwich" them with some fibreglass, then redrill to suit your new choice of layout.
Personally I would place the indicator tell-tale light at the top, so it's more visible by day. I'm not alone in leaving the indicators flashing for miles. I've seen a few S1/ S2's doing the same. It's not easy to hear that relay ticking at 4,500 rpm is it?
And when driving at night the main beam w/lamp tends to dazzle, so that would be better sited lower down. ( I coated mine in darkened varnish to reduce glare. )
Also your smoked perspex cover strip looks much paler than others I've seen, and they are not normally screwed or bolted into place, just tucked in ( or glued ? )
I have been thinking about doing something about mine for ages. The original bulb holders require the bulbs to come out from the front, i.e. 'through' the glued plastic cover, which is pretty stupid. I also had the problem that the indicator repeat was effectively invisible (indeed an MOT tester advised that I didnt have one!). The smoked plastic cover was presumably designed to make it harder to see the lights!
There are also redundant lights, they are in a poor order and the 'icons' are not at all clear. All in all a bit of a design disaster in my opinion.
David, your 'other car' solution is the best I have seen and quite easy to do using an alloy plate under the new trim and cutting out a little of the fibreglass to allow for the different spacings of bulbs. Those lights with icons included are readily available from CBS.
Now do I trim it to match the 'doehide' dash, the darker dash top panel, or the black steering wheel, or go down the renowned Phillpot stainless route.....decisions, decisions
There are also redundant lights, they are in a poor order and the 'icons' are not at all clear. All in all a bit of a design disaster in my opinion.
David, your 'other car' solution is the best I have seen and quite easy to do using an alloy plate under the new trim and cutting out a little of the fibreglass to allow for the different spacings of bulbs. Those lights with icons included are readily available from CBS.
Now do I trim it to match the 'doehide' dash, the darker dash top panel, or the black steering wheel, or go down the renowned Phillpot stainless route.....decisions, decisions
There are 10 at present. I have your 5 plus I intended to keep the oil warning light as a back up. I am hoping to rewire to get brake fluid level and handbrake into a single brake function warning light. I also have the lower driving lights on mine as it has the V8 bonnet (just to confuse marshals at TVR meets!) but I have found a rotary illuminating switch from CBS so I am not sure whether to put the driving light warning on the light panel or the switch itself.
Have been reading this thread with interest, so I thought I would have a go an see how I could improve the tatty old strip I have. So I bought a sheet of carbon fibre and shaped it using the old one as a template. Not letting me upload photos at the mo, so photos to follow.[url]|
http://thumbsnap.com/POcW3W1i[/url][url]
| http://thumbsnap.com/xosmVIH2[/url]
http://thumbsnap.com/POcW3W1i[/url][url]
| http://thumbsnap.com/xosmVIH2[/url]
Edited by brettster on Saturday 1st February 14:44
Edited by brettster on Saturday 1st February 14:46
Edited by brettster on Saturday 1st February 14:48
Hello everyone once more! Well I m happy to report that the new perspex cover is in place with new lamps with chrome surrounds. I decided to use the smoked perspex as a base and drill the lamps through (pic to follow). While I was removing the old lamps I noticed there were a 'few loose wires' behind the dash! 2 pairs to be exact. Since i understand some of these lamps never worked from factory (?) could someone please give me a list of what lamps they have functioning on their S1? I may then be able to fathom out what the spare pairs do!
Cheers.
Cheers.
I have the same 10 positions as you David, of which the same 7 are connected. The two brake warnings seem to be interconnected because both go on with the handbrake and if I test the low brake fluid float.
I did consider adding the oil warning but the clearance between the gauge sender and the chassis is too small to add a standard warning light pressure switch. I experimented with 'T' connectors etc but I came to the conclusion I was creating weaknesses rather than improvements.
Car Builder Solutions have a whole range of different panel lights, I have played around with a few ideas but I still haven't decided. I am however going to have the indicator repeater where I can b..... w... see it!!
Oh, as it appears I have PH OCD, you might also look at
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=116...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=126...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=11&...
and others, got bored now,....where are my slippers
I did consider adding the oil warning but the clearance between the gauge sender and the chassis is too small to add a standard warning light pressure switch. I experimented with 'T' connectors etc but I came to the conclusion I was creating weaknesses rather than improvements.
Car Builder Solutions have a whole range of different panel lights, I have played around with a few ideas but I still haven't decided. I am however going to have the indicator repeater where I can b..... w... see it!!
Oh, as it appears I have PH OCD, you might also look at
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=116...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=126...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=11&...
and others, got bored now,....where are my slippers
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