New (to me) Tuscan S - Questions/Guidance
Discussion
Hi all,
I recently made teenage me happy/jealous by getting hold of a 2004 MK1 Tuscan S (left hand drive). It's been a long 25 years waiting for it and I've not stopped smiling since picking it up last week
Of course, being 21 years old (and a TVR), there are a few things that need looking at to get it to 'perfect', but I want to get my hands dirty myself rather than getting them fixed elsewhere. I am hoping for some pointers on doing it the right way or things to avoid/forget about as lost causes.
Lets get to the point:
1. The windscreen wipers are quite sad looking, with the driver's side lifting from the screen at low speeds (30mph) and basically not touching at all at Autobahn speeds (150mph). The latter I can sort of live with but when I am driving somewhat normally, it should be possible to clear the screen. Is wipers lifting a "thing" with the Tuscan or am I better off looking at replacing both arms on spec to have new blades and arms?
2. A recent post by Modrich about restoring a Tuscan shows a "surround" for the targa roof clip on the windscreen side of the assembly. This has broken on my car with half of it now missing. I don't know what/how to search for that as a replacement part, any suggestions? (I can't post a link/image just yet as a new user).
3. The passenger window is misbehaving. If the door is opened, the window lowers as expected. When the door closes again, the window only raises about half way. It can be closed using the window button/wheel, but that is also not responding as well as the driver's side. It seems to miss some of the clicks when turning the button. I am wondering if there is a way to reset the window or program the behaviour at all.
4. The heater seems to not be working right. I turn it on and the heater itself seems to get hot, but no hot air flows into the cabin. The end effect is a red hot dashboard around where the radio is and thats it. I assume a stepper motor for air mixing is failing, but am not sure where to start with that.
I realise this is a wall of text, so if I should break it down into separate questions, let me know.
Any advice is welcome here
Cheers
I recently made teenage me happy/jealous by getting hold of a 2004 MK1 Tuscan S (left hand drive). It's been a long 25 years waiting for it and I've not stopped smiling since picking it up last week
Of course, being 21 years old (and a TVR), there are a few things that need looking at to get it to 'perfect', but I want to get my hands dirty myself rather than getting them fixed elsewhere. I am hoping for some pointers on doing it the right way or things to avoid/forget about as lost causes.
Lets get to the point:
1. The windscreen wipers are quite sad looking, with the driver's side lifting from the screen at low speeds (30mph) and basically not touching at all at Autobahn speeds (150mph). The latter I can sort of live with
but when I am driving somewhat normally, it should be possible to clear the screen. Is wipers lifting a "thing" with the Tuscan or am I better off looking at replacing both arms on spec to have new blades and arms?2. A recent post by Modrich about restoring a Tuscan shows a "surround" for the targa roof clip on the windscreen side of the assembly. This has broken on my car with half of it now missing. I don't know what/how to search for that as a replacement part, any suggestions? (I can't post a link/image just yet as a new user).
3. The passenger window is misbehaving. If the door is opened, the window lowers as expected. When the door closes again, the window only raises about half way. It can be closed using the window button/wheel, but that is also not responding as well as the driver's side. It seems to miss some of the clicks when turning the button. I am wondering if there is a way to reset the window or program the behaviour at all.
4. The heater seems to not be working right. I turn it on and the heater itself seems to get hot, but no hot air flows into the cabin. The end effect is a red hot dashboard around where the radio is and thats it. I assume a stepper motor for air mixing is failing, but am not sure where to start with that.
I realise this is a wall of text, so if I should break it down into separate questions, let me know.
Any advice is welcome here
Cheers
Edited by TuscanS_DE on Friday 7th November 10:32
1) Wipers shouldn't move at speed for the Tuscan, tighten or replace whatever might be loose.
2) Roof latch cover unfortunately isn't sold by anyone these days... You could always 3D print something to fit.
3) Not sure, but window module may need a reset or replacement at worst.
4) Sometimes the hot and cold manual adjustment gets stuck - try toggling between cold then hot and see if hot air blows.
Welcome on the Tuscan btw! For urgent questions there is a Tuscan Owners group on Facebook that's better populated vs PistonHeads forums these days =)
2) Roof latch cover unfortunately isn't sold by anyone these days... You could always 3D print something to fit.
3) Not sure, but window module may need a reset or replacement at worst.
4) Sometimes the hot and cold manual adjustment gets stuck - try toggling between cold then hot and see if hot air blows.
Welcome on the Tuscan btw! For urgent questions there is a Tuscan Owners group on Facebook that's better populated vs PistonHeads forums these days =)
Heater fault might just be sticking hinges on the heater flap rather than a failing stepper motor. I don't know how different the layout is on the Left Hand Drive, but on the Right Hand Drive, you can get at the offending area through a wiring grommet in the passenger footwell (right in the middle on the bulkhead, behind the carpet). Just enough access to get some WD40 on the hinges, and encourage the flap to move to 'hot' by leaning on the flap with a long screwdriver. Worth a try, and considerably less hassle than dismantling the rest of the heater system from the engine bay!
The heater logic - at least on mine (2002) - winds the the flap closed against the stop (cold) on switching ignition on, then tries to return to where it was. My heater fan also doesn't wake up until the fan controller switch is moved, either altering the speed or switching on-off. That also had me thinking it was broken until I realised!
The heater logic - at least on mine (2002) - winds the the flap closed against the stop (cold) on switching ignition on, then tries to return to where it was. My heater fan also doesn't wake up until the fan controller switch is moved, either altering the speed or switching on-off. That also had me thinking it was broken until I realised!
PeteS2k said:
Heater fault might just be sticking hinges on the heater flap rather than a failing stepper motor. I don't know how different the layout is on the Left Hand Drive, but on the Right Hand Drive, you can get at the offending area through a wiring grommet in the passenger footwell (right in the middle on the bulkhead, behind the carpet). Just enough access to get some WD40 on the hinges, and encourage the flap to move to 'hot' by leaning on the flap with a long screwdriver. Worth a try, and considerably less hassle than dismantling the rest of the heater system from the engine bay!
The heater logic - at least on mine (2002) - winds the the flap closed against the stop (cold) on switching ignition on, then tries to return to where it was. My heater fan also doesn't wake up until the fan controller switch is moved, either altering the speed or switching on-off. That also had me thinking it was broken until I realised!
I heard the motor "buzz" on startup and figured it was a reset like you mentioned. I'll have a dig and see if I can do what you suggested. ThanksThe heater logic - at least on mine (2002) - winds the the flap closed against the stop (cold) on switching ignition on, then tries to return to where it was. My heater fan also doesn't wake up until the fan controller switch is moved, either altering the speed or switching on-off. That also had me thinking it was broken until I realised!
TuscanS_DE said:
The Three D Mucketeer said:
Is it a MK2 Tuscan Targa ??? 2004 could be MK1 or MK2 I think .... Is it a MK1 "pepperpot" grille
Hi, it is a MK1 (Updated the OP to reflect that too)
Try Denso hybrid wipers, they're a mix between traditional and flat blade style and work really well on the curved screen.
Part numbers 19" DU-48R, 21" DUR-053.
Ashley Sutherland on 'TVR Tuscan Owners group' on facebook is breaking 4 Tuscans, try contacting him for a 'Batman' shaped roof trim.
Part numbers 19" DU-48R, 21" DUR-053.
Ashley Sutherland on 'TVR Tuscan Owners group' on facebook is breaking 4 Tuscans, try contacting him for a 'Batman' shaped roof trim.
Modrich said:
I think it's the smaller one on the windscreen trim that he's after?Quick update on this thread:
1. Wiper blades have now been replaced, but I have a set of new wiper arms coming from the UK soon. This way I have a fresh set of everything and am hopeful this will be solved in the next couple of weeks. As a bonus, the washer piping seems to have failed after 21 years. The pump is fine, but the tubing has yellowed/hardened and is not letting the fluid through. Simple fix is to replace all the tubing from the washer bottle up to the wipers (€7 from Amazon for 3m of new tubing).
2. The new clip surround for the targa roof is in the process of being made. 3D scan and first rough print should be done soon.
3. Window issue remains - I tried just swapping the cabling for driver's side window control with passenger side, but that refused to work. As I understand it, the passenger side ECU is responsible for window and boot control, so maybe the control swap is just a no-go. I saw this thread and will look at removing the ECU for a visual inspection etc.
4. To figure out the heating issue, I took the dash off using the great thread over here (the tubing etc. being reversed in my LHD car).
I had to take the car out for a run to get the heat up and then checked that hot air was actually coming out of the heater unit and it was. So then I assumed that the issue must be the dash fan "opening" not seating into the tubing coming from the heater (two white circles in pic one of the linked thread and two rubber tubes in pic 3). This meant that hot air got half way across the dash under the actual dash unit and hot air reached the middle of the aluminium dash and heated that up instead. I added a bit of additional piping onto the dash side of the venting system that fits down into the rubber tubing and am now getting warm air in the cabin!
This is all definitely scratching the itch of "tinkering" with the Tuscan
I also bought the bonnet conversion kit and will be having that fitted over the winter, so that further tinkering can be done without the precarious bonnet removal.
1. Wiper blades have now been replaced, but I have a set of new wiper arms coming from the UK soon. This way I have a fresh set of everything and am hopeful this will be solved in the next couple of weeks. As a bonus, the washer piping seems to have failed after 21 years. The pump is fine, but the tubing has yellowed/hardened and is not letting the fluid through. Simple fix is to replace all the tubing from the washer bottle up to the wipers (€7 from Amazon for 3m of new tubing).
2. The new clip surround for the targa roof is in the process of being made. 3D scan and first rough print should be done soon.
3. Window issue remains - I tried just swapping the cabling for driver's side window control with passenger side, but that refused to work. As I understand it, the passenger side ECU is responsible for window and boot control, so maybe the control swap is just a no-go. I saw this thread and will look at removing the ECU for a visual inspection etc.
4. To figure out the heating issue, I took the dash off using the great thread over here (the tubing etc. being reversed in my LHD car).
I had to take the car out for a run to get the heat up and then checked that hot air was actually coming out of the heater unit and it was. So then I assumed that the issue must be the dash fan "opening" not seating into the tubing coming from the heater (two white circles in pic one of the linked thread and two rubber tubes in pic 3). This meant that hot air got half way across the dash under the actual dash unit and hot air reached the middle of the aluminium dash and heated that up instead. I added a bit of additional piping onto the dash side of the venting system that fits down into the rubber tubing and am now getting warm air in the cabin!
This is all definitely scratching the itch of "tinkering" with the Tuscan
I also bought the bonnet conversion kit and will be having that fitted over the winter, so that further tinkering can be done without the precarious bonnet removal.
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