What did you do in the garage yesterday?

What did you do in the garage yesterday?

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Discussion

Squirrelofwoe

3,181 posts

175 months

Monday 20th February 2017
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ClassicChimaera said:
How old is the battery?
About 3 years old, but the RAC ran a diagnostic on it and came out in very good health. When I get the relocation done I was intending to replace it as a matter of course though.

ClassicChimaera said:
I haven't got a garage but I did this anyway thumbup

[snip]

Your minds the only barrier hehe
Top work! thumbup It's annoyed me slightly (in an envious way) to see that the 'innards' of your car are just as clean as it's body! Did you do all of that just to clean it... hehe

Discopotatoes

4,101 posts

220 months

Monday 20th February 2017
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Squirrelofwoe said:
Discopotatoes said:
The charging circuit it a simple one on theses alternator to 100amp fuse to starter motor. And a charging light / exciter wire to dash and a brown with yellow trace to the battery light, there is however a connector behind the radio panel this lead goes through. I would say it's not fixed itself but the diodes are breaking down when the alternator gets hot.
Thanks for the info. smile

Forgive my electrical ignorance, but what component (and where!) is likely to be at fault in this scenario?

My 'fixing itself' comment was very much in jest- I made the mistake of thinking that with a hydraulic clutch system back when I was 19, it taught me a very valuable lesson! hehe
You need to put a multi meter on the alternator itself when and if the fault occurs again and see if the something is breaking down, if you have checked the condition of all the leads and connections first.
Have you checked the engine earth strap?the are in a ste location that gets very corroded

Squirrelofwoe

3,181 posts

175 months

Monday 20th February 2017
quotequote all
Discopotatoes said:
Have you checked the engine earth strap?the are in a ste location that gets very corroded
I will check this as next port of call, ta.

Would an earthing problem cause the alternator to stop charging the battery though? Or would it simply cut out electrical power altogether?

The earthing wire where it joins the negative battery terminal doesn't seem to be as 'stiff' as it should be- which suggests to me possible breakdown of some of the individual strands of wire within the cable? Could this be another potential cause?

ClassicChimaera

12,424 posts

148 months

Monday 20th February 2017
quotequote all
Squirrelofwoe said:
Top work! thumbup It's annoyed me slightly (in an envious way) to see that the 'innards' of your car are just as clean as it's body! Did you do all of that just to clean it... hehe
I had this lovely car with a rotton engine bay as many are, corrosion from long periods standing had taken its toll.

Yes is the answer biggrin
I wanted to replace wishbones and bushes etc, my exhausts used to annoy me with rust allover them so sort of started there then thought, if I remove this or that then I can re paint the rusting chassis, more a clean up job for a few years before doing the inevitable body off/ rigger replacement.

It's a hobby as much as anything, you end up enjoying taking it apart as once you've loosened the rusty bolts its fairly straight forward mechanics and easy to work on.
I've invested massively in this car and have to care for it to control the spend. I'm not a rich man by anyone's imagination but it's something I just had to do,,, been meaning to go this far with a cool car for many years, kids/houses got in the way. I admire your bravery and you'll be rewarded for it some day,,, check everything you can before you commit huge funds etc but do it right and you'll have a great car that will that's another 30 years,,, if they let us drive em, do it now before we're all banned from such fun frown


macdeb

8,492 posts

254 months

Monday 20th February 2017
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Yex 450 said:
Back on track................but only just hehe

I cleaned and lubricated the throttle linkage yesterday and removed one of the two springs as per a lot of other cars on here. Went for a drive.........that was a revelation thumbup

Car is much more responsive and easier to drive, should have done this years ago.
Do you mean the throttle is easier to operate, as it will not make the car more responsive. Just saying,,,,,,
I stretched both springs to make them weaker so I could keep two springs in action as I'd hate the thought of not being able to do much with a wide open throttle should a single one break scratchchin

macdeb

8,492 posts

254 months

Monday 20th February 2017
quotequote all
ClassicChimaera said:
How old is the battery?
I haven't got a garage but I did this anyway thumbup













Your minds the only barrier hehe
Nice work Alun.

Squirrelofwoe

3,181 posts

175 months

Monday 20th February 2017
quotequote all
ClassicChimaera said:
It's a hobby as much as anything, you end up enjoying taking it apart as once you've loosened the rusty bolts its fairly straight forward mechanics and easy to work on.
I've invested massively in this car and have to care for it to control the spend. I'm not a rich man by anyone's imagination but it's something I just had to do,,, been meaning to go this far with a cool car for many years, kids/houses got in the way. I admire your bravery and you'll be rewarded for it some day,,, check everything you can before you commit huge funds etc but do it right and you'll have a great car that will that's another 30 years,,, if they let us drive em, do it now before we're all banned from such fun frown
Absolutely thumbup

I must admit I do enjoy tinkering with the car, and always have done with my previous toys. I intend to keep mine for a long long time, so I figured the more I can dive in with the DIY the more I'll learn and be able to keep on top of things in the future- as someone who as always owned older cars there is little more satisfying than prizing out long-rusted bolts and replacing with shiny new ones... biggrin

Discopotatoes

4,101 posts

220 months

Monday 20th February 2017
quotequote all
Squirrelofwoe said:
Discopotatoes said:
Have you checked the engine earth strap?the are in a ste location that gets very corroded
I will check this as next port of call, ta.

Would an earthing problem cause the alternator to stop charging the battery though? Or would it simply cut out electrical power altogether?

The earthing wire where it joins the negative battery terminal doesn't seem to be as 'stiff' as it should be- which suggests to me possible breakdown of some of the individual strands of wire within the cable? Could this be another potential cause?
He alternator is earthed through the block so yes, if it's just a poor connection due to corrosion things won't be at there best. My money is on the voltage regulator.

Edited by Discopotatoes on Monday 20th February 17:45

Squirrelofwoe

3,181 posts

175 months

Monday 20th February 2017
quotequote all
Discopotatoes said:
My money is on the voltage regulator.
Thanks again Richard, where about's would I find this- presumably behind the dash?

ClassicChimaera

12,424 posts

148 months

Monday 20th February 2017
quotequote all
Squirrelofwoe said:
Absolutely thumbup

I must admit I do enjoy tinkering with the car, and always have done with my previous toys. I intend to keep mine for a long long time, so I figured the more I can dive in with the DIY the more I'll learn and be able to keep on top of things in the future- as someone who as always owned older cars there is little more satisfying than prizing out long-rusted bolts and replacing with shiny new ones... biggrin
^^^^^ this
New ball joints etc the odd new wishbone and blasting/powder coat of rack etc etc a bit of paint, plenty of elbow grease,
Cost about 500 quid incl a new bolt kit for the front end. thumbup
I learnt valuable lessons and that's worth more than money.

Discopotatoes

4,101 posts

220 months

Monday 20th February 2017
quotequote all
Squirrelofwoe said:
Discopotatoes said:
My money is on the voltage regulator.
Thanks again Richard, where about's would I find this- presumably behind the dash?
No, it's part of the Alternator.
Carry a multi meter with you in the car and when/if it does it again put the meter on the big stud of the alternator the one with the lead to starter on it and Earth the other lead to the body of the alternator, meter set to 20 v. You should get around 14.5 v there. If you check it at the battery you'll probably only get 13.8v. Any less and it will need changing

Edited by Discopotatoes on Monday 20th February 18:23


Edited by Discopotatoes on Monday 20th February 18:24

Squirrelofwoe

3,181 posts

175 months

Monday 20th February 2017
quotequote all
Discopotatoes said:
No, it's part of the Alternator.
Carry a multi meter with you in the car and when/if it does it again put the meter on the big stud of the alternator the one with the lead to starter on it and Earth the other lead to the body of the alternator, meter set to 20 v. You should get around 14.5 v there. If you check it at the battery you'll probably only get 13.8v. Any less and it will need changing
Ah that makes sense!

I'll keep my multi-meter in the car so I can give that a go if it happens again. The alternator has put out a pretty consistent 14.2 - 14.4V each time I've tested it so far- the last time being yesterday after the car had been running for a good 20-30 minutes (so the engine bay was well up to temperature).

I even had it put on an alternator test bench a couple of weeks ago while it was off the car, where it was run for a decent 15 minutes or so- still putting out a similar voltage.

I guess it's one of those issues where the specific conditions are going to be difficult to replicate 'at will'.

Ta for all of the info, much appreciated smile

Yex 450

4,583 posts

219 months

Monday 20th February 2017
quotequote all
macdeb said:
Yex 450 said:
Back on track................but only just hehe

I cleaned and lubricated the throttle linkage yesterday and removed one of the two springs as per a lot of other cars on here. Went for a drive.........that was a revelation thumbup

Car is much more responsive and easier to drive, should have done this years ago.
Do you mean the throttle is easier to operate, as it will not make the car more responsive. Just saying,,,,,,
I stretched both springs to make them weaker so I could keep two springs in action as I'd hate the thought of not being able to do much with a wide open throttle should a single one break scratchchin
Correct, throttle is easier to operate and makes the car more responsive to me as with both springs in place the throttle could be a little jerky at lowish revs and when the engine is cold. With the single spring it obviously moves easier and, to me at least, makes the car more responsive in the way it responds as I now find it much easier to control the throttle travel.

Hadn't given any thought to the "loss of spring" issue.............will give it some now you have mentioned it thumbup

QBee

20,905 posts

143 months

Monday 20th February 2017
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I believe there is another spring wrapped around the throttle spindle. Will have a look tomorrow

macdeb

8,492 posts

254 months

Monday 20th February 2017
quotequote all
QBee said:
I believe there is another spring wrapped around the throttle spindle. Will have a look tomorrow
Hi Anthony, you're right there is. I have seen a few of them either broke or not wrapped around the spindle enough when replaced. Just an observation.

QBee

20,905 posts

143 months

Monday 20th February 2017
quotequote all
macdeb said:
QBee said:
I believe there is another spring wrapped around the throttle spindle. Will have a look tomorrow
Hi Anthony, you're right there is. I have seen a few of them either broke or not wrapped around the spindle enough when replaced. Just an observation.
I simply keep the spare I removed in the car. If I suffer a break in the second spring I will simply switch off the engine. Then hop out and pop the spare spring in place.

N7GTX

7,823 posts

142 months

Monday 20th February 2017
quotequote all
Squirrelofwoe said:
Discopotatoes said:
My money is on the voltage regulator.
Thanks again Richard, where about's would I find this- presumably behind the dash?
The regulator is the metal unit, ribbed, bottom left, held by 3 socket head screws in the picture in this link (hover to magnify the pic). You can easily replace them if they fail.

http://tvr-parts.com/tvr-parts/part-details/tvr-e0...

Edited by N7GTX on Monday 20th February 20:25

AceOfHearts

5,818 posts

190 months

Monday 20th February 2017
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Strengthened driveshafts and rebuilt brakes fitted




phazed

Original Poster:

21,844 posts

203 months

Monday 27th February 2017
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Ready to drop in.


neal1980

2,574 posts

238 months

Monday 27th February 2017
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phazed said:
Ready to drop in.

Ready for an LS I would say smile

Get some DEI Titanium wrap for the manifolds looks much better and does not dis-colour thumbup

I bet Alex's must be for sale by now, it never surfaced whats happened to him / conversion ??