Abandoned Range Rover P38... Resurrection or Bust
Discussion
Of course I can't leave it like that so I used one of the old seals of the same size ( I asked the size when I rang X8Rltd) as a seal for the reed valve. I thought it might work and if not it's not hard to change.
By this time I had a thumping headache and was tempted to call it a day but I had a few errands to run so downed some Ibuprofen and went out for a while on errands.
An hour or so later feeling a little better I decided to fit the air block, drier and pump back in the car.
Before I committed to reinstallation I put the pump across the batter and the output was much healthier than it had been prior to the rebuild as I couldn't hold my thumb over the outlet and sop the air as the pressure was so high.
So, time to reinstall the parts. It's a bit fiddly getting the wiring in the right place and I dropped one of the washers and nuts down the back of the housing and couldn't find them so had to head into the garage and find replacements.
The plastic pipes are a push fit into the pump block. Sounds easy but it's quite difficult to get them to seat whilst avoiding pressing too hard and damaging the hard plastic pipes.
I connected up the union from the pump to the air block, connected the electrical plus and connected the pipes into the air drier. At this point I realised it was done and I could test it. I'd been so focussed on the individual tasks that it hadn't dawned on me that I was ready to try it until now.
Key in hand I went through the EKA process and fired up the Rangie. It still amazes me how readily it burst into life with zero cranking.
As soon as it started I jumped out and ran around to the pump to check it was running and it was but I could hear air escaping so I shut it off.
Going back to the valve block I looked ta the pipes where the noise had coming from and could see that one was maybe not pushed home far enough so gave it anther push and felt it slip into place.
Once again I fired up the Rangie,,,
.. and checked the pump which was working with no apparent leaks...
...and waited...
By this time I had a thumping headache and was tempted to call it a day but I had a few errands to run so downed some Ibuprofen and went out for a while on errands.
An hour or so later feeling a little better I decided to fit the air block, drier and pump back in the car.
Before I committed to reinstallation I put the pump across the batter and the output was much healthier than it had been prior to the rebuild as I couldn't hold my thumb over the outlet and sop the air as the pressure was so high.
So, time to reinstall the parts. It's a bit fiddly getting the wiring in the right place and I dropped one of the washers and nuts down the back of the housing and couldn't find them so had to head into the garage and find replacements.
The plastic pipes are a push fit into the pump block. Sounds easy but it's quite difficult to get them to seat whilst avoiding pressing too hard and damaging the hard plastic pipes.
I connected up the union from the pump to the air block, connected the electrical plus and connected the pipes into the air drier. At this point I realised it was done and I could test it. I'd been so focussed on the individual tasks that it hadn't dawned on me that I was ready to try it until now.
Key in hand I went through the EKA process and fired up the Rangie. It still amazes me how readily it burst into life with zero cranking.
As soon as it started I jumped out and ran around to the pump to check it was running and it was but I could hear air escaping so I shut it off.
Going back to the valve block I looked ta the pipes where the noise had coming from and could see that one was maybe not pushed home far enough so gave it anther push and felt it slip into place.
Once again I fired up the Rangie,,,
.. and checked the pump which was working with no apparent leaks...
...and waited...
... did I see the front move? No.
But then the back began to rise up... and up.
I looked on the dash and the lights on the switch were doing what they are supposed to do.
The back rose up and I thought, I wonder if the front isn't rising because it's up on ramps and the suspension is trying to self level...
and then...
the front began to rise. More quickly on the nearside at first until suddenly there was a loud "crack" from the offside front suspension...
...and it began to rise until there was another "crack" ...
... and it caught up with the other side and the who car was at mid level.
I nipped round the front and felt the pump which was getting quite warm It's a small pump and has to fill the accumulator (large tank under the car), the four airbags of a few litres each and the rest of the system and bring it up to over 100psi so it works hard to get the system up to pressure. Once the system is pressurised it should stay up and should only need the pump to top up and to increase height.
I decided to switch off for a few minutes to let the pump cool and see if the car maintained height.
Ten minutes later I fired up the Rangie again and set the suspension to "service level" (full height) and ...
...up he went... I just couldn't believe it.
I called a friend who lives round the corner (he's more excited about this car than I am) and he ran round so we took it up the (private road). It;s only a couple of hundred meters each way but was good to actually drive it and not be shaken about like it was riding on four jellies.
Mrs TT came back from the shops just as I was backing it out to take it up the road but declined to join us as she had frozen food to put away but she is clearly happy with progress.
Mrs TT made a brew and we sat on the tailgate and grinned at each other.
Headache? What headache?
I honestly can't remember being this elated in a long time and all over a tatty old Range Rover that I wasn't sure I wanted.
So, if I can fix this bloody horn I can stick it in for a MOT. Whose idea was it to put teh horn command through and ECU (BeCM) ?
But then the back began to rise up... and up.
I looked on the dash and the lights on the switch were doing what they are supposed to do.
The back rose up and I thought, I wonder if the front isn't rising because it's up on ramps and the suspension is trying to self level...
and then...
the front began to rise. More quickly on the nearside at first until suddenly there was a loud "crack" from the offside front suspension...
...and it began to rise until there was another "crack" ...
... and it caught up with the other side and the who car was at mid level.
I nipped round the front and felt the pump which was getting quite warm It's a small pump and has to fill the accumulator (large tank under the car), the four airbags of a few litres each and the rest of the system and bring it up to over 100psi so it works hard to get the system up to pressure. Once the system is pressurised it should stay up and should only need the pump to top up and to increase height.
I decided to switch off for a few minutes to let the pump cool and see if the car maintained height.
Ten minutes later I fired up the Rangie again and set the suspension to "service level" (full height) and ...
...up he went... I just couldn't believe it.
I called a friend who lives round the corner (he's more excited about this car than I am) and he ran round so we took it up the (private road). It;s only a couple of hundred meters each way but was good to actually drive it and not be shaken about like it was riding on four jellies.
Mrs TT came back from the shops just as I was backing it out to take it up the road but declined to join us as she had frozen food to put away but she is clearly happy with progress.
Mrs TT made a brew and we sat on the tailgate and grinned at each other.
Headache? What headache?
I honestly can't remember being this elated in a long time and all over a tatty old Range Rover that I wasn't sure I wanted.
So, if I can fix this bloody horn I can stick it in for a MOT. Whose idea was it to put teh horn command through and ECU (BeCM) ?
Thank you all for your kind comments.
it's difficult (for me anyway) to find a balance between what's interesting and what's just geeky detail or something that frustrated me (like trying to get the carbon brushes held back on their springs so the base plate of the pump, containing the circuit board, could be put back in place and the brushes against the armature. This involved using cable twist ties, the sort you get on the cables of new electrical equipment, to hold the brushes back against their springs, lowering the base plate until it was almost home and then removing the twist ties, all done while balancing the motor on it's other end and making sure the brushes didn't fall forward without the springs and foul the armature, with no real ability to see what I was doing) You get the picture... or not perhaps.
I haven't ventured out yet to see if Nelson's suspension had deflated over night. It SHOULD stay up, provided there are no leaks in the system...
A friend sent me the specific wiring diagram for the horn last last night so IF I get time today I'll try and take a look at that.
Do dare make a speculative booking for an MOT in the hope that I can solve the horn issue? Answers on a postcard please to:
Are you totally mad or what?
The guy with no job and 3 v8s
Expensive Petrol city
Wales
I'll let you know on the air suspension when I dare venture out
it's difficult (for me anyway) to find a balance between what's interesting and what's just geeky detail or something that frustrated me (like trying to get the carbon brushes held back on their springs so the base plate of the pump, containing the circuit board, could be put back in place and the brushes against the armature. This involved using cable twist ties, the sort you get on the cables of new electrical equipment, to hold the brushes back against their springs, lowering the base plate until it was almost home and then removing the twist ties, all done while balancing the motor on it's other end and making sure the brushes didn't fall forward without the springs and foul the armature, with no real ability to see what I was doing) You get the picture... or not perhaps.
I haven't ventured out yet to see if Nelson's suspension had deflated over night. It SHOULD stay up, provided there are no leaks in the system...
A friend sent me the specific wiring diagram for the horn last last night so IF I get time today I'll try and take a look at that.
Do dare make a speculative booking for an MOT in the hope that I can solve the horn issue? Answers on a postcard please to:
Are you totally mad or what?
The guy with no job and 3 v8s
Expensive Petrol city
Wales
I'll let you know on the air suspension when I dare venture out
Spinakerr said:
Impressive work, and you may have used up a fair amount of your luck quota for the decade!
Definitely book it in for an MOT if nothing obvious untoward on an emission level - perhaps an oil change and a 30 mile decent trip to properly shake out the cobwebs and check water leaks.... What could possibly go wrong?
That's one of my worries, how long can my luck hold. Definitely book it in for an MOT if nothing obvious untoward on an emission level - perhaps an oil change and a 30 mile decent trip to properly shake out the cobwebs and check water leaks.... What could possibly go wrong?
I forgot there are the SRS and ABS lights on the dashboard to resolve first as well as the horn.
What The Deuces said:
Superb thread, wife sounds like a PH'ers dream!
Lovely writing style too.
She's amazing but i have had 30 years to lick her into shape Lovely writing style too.
Thank you. I did apply for a staff writing job at Practical Classics years ago but never heard back. I assumed my style wasn't good.
lancer778544 said:
Excellent thread. I'm in Cardiff too with a 10t press, welders n such if you need anything done.
Lovely of you to offer, thank you. If you're interested we hold a monthly car meet at the Ty Mawr pub in Lisvane on the first Wednesday of the month from 7pm (that's this Weds coming) and we get everything from 1970's Lancias to Nobles, Lambos and Maestros. all welcome. Come and say hi if you're available. We don;t bite (much).Sorry to disappoint you today but I barely touched the Rangie as I've been helping a friend who is chairman of the Armstrong Siddeley owners club.
We started with this:
and ended the day with this:
No, that's not me in the pic.
Just got the other side to do tomorrow.
I did lower and raise the suspension back up this morning (well you have to don't you) and it appears to be staying up. Was still inflated at 10pm this evening when I took the pooch out for a pee.
We started with this:
and ended the day with this:
No, that's not me in the pic.
Just got the other side to do tomorrow.
I did lower and raise the suspension back up this morning (well you have to don't you) and it appears to be staying up. Was still inflated at 10pm this evening when I took the pooch out for a pee.
I haven't had much chance to mess with "Nelson" over the last couple of days but have been researching the issues with the Air suspension light, SRS and ABS lights being on.
The friend who spotted the car, Martin, has owned his Diesel P38 for 5 years, popped round for a catch up and chat about car and to see progress and obviously so I could pick his brain.
He advised that the Air suspension light stays on while the car suspension is in it's highest setting. I lowered it to the mid setting and the light went out! Doh! Simplest fix yet.
Next was the ABS light which had gone out but had come back. On Martin's advice, another trip down to the end of the road and back extinguished the ABS light.
. Not sure if it'll come back on but it seems it may just need a good drive to clear and debris from around the sensors.
Next up are the SRS and lack of horn.
I did some detective work with the meter and the (lack of) continuity issue seemed to be between the inputs and outputs on the steering wheel buttons.
Research suggest that the "Rotary Coupler" AKA the "Clock Spring" AKA "Control Squid Rotor Steering Wheel Ring " is prone to failure and the symptoms are lack of horn, SRS bag light on and loss of some or all of the other steering wheel controls i.e cruise control and audio. Since the cruise control won;t work as it's vacuum based and all the pipes are rotted through (normal), not that I could test it anyway, and the radio doesn't work I can't test those either.
I removed the airbag pad (all online warnings heeded and first time I've ever removed one
) (four screws behind the wheel - after removing cowling and lower knee pad cover etc etc) ...
...and took the wheel retaining bolt off (yes, bolt, not a nut - weird!!) and then pulled the wheel from the column (the easiest one I've ever removed). The "Clock Spring aka etc etc" is in fact a (semi) sealed cartridge containing many contacts and a switch for the auto cancelling indicators.
Another recce of Ebay reveals there are plenty available tested and s/h so £17.50 later one is ordered and the cost added to the running total. And now we wait.
The suspension remains pumped up.
And now the bad news. Last night we had rain for the first time since the car arrived back on 20th April (11 days ago) and "'er ladyship" (well she has a Range Rover now don'tcha know) went out to get some cleaning clothes out of Nelson to throw in the washing machine. She returned reporting rain was dripping from the headlining!
Martin had told me that he was going to take the headlining out of his before it get reupholstered so he could find and resolve a screen leak on his so I'm guessing it's a common issue. It could, of course be blocked sunroof drains or something simple but we'll have to see.
What I still can't figure is, if the sunroof was left open as it was and there is a leak in the roof, how the hell was it dry inside when I viewed it?
If the "Clock Spring" resolves the horn and SRS issues then I may get brave and book the MoT.
I have run the car a few times in order to get the air suspension sorted and I've had to put a gallon of petrol from a can as it was V low. I think it's consumed that even though it switches to gas within a minute or two of starting. I just love the smell of unburned hydrocarbons in the morning!
The friend who spotted the car, Martin, has owned his Diesel P38 for 5 years, popped round for a catch up and chat about car and to see progress and obviously so I could pick his brain.
He advised that the Air suspension light stays on while the car suspension is in it's highest setting. I lowered it to the mid setting and the light went out! Doh! Simplest fix yet.
Next was the ABS light which had gone out but had come back. On Martin's advice, another trip down to the end of the road and back extinguished the ABS light.
. Not sure if it'll come back on but it seems it may just need a good drive to clear and debris from around the sensors.Next up are the SRS and lack of horn.
I did some detective work with the meter and the (lack of) continuity issue seemed to be between the inputs and outputs on the steering wheel buttons.
Research suggest that the "Rotary Coupler" AKA the "Clock Spring" AKA "Control Squid Rotor Steering Wheel Ring " is prone to failure and the symptoms are lack of horn, SRS bag light on and loss of some or all of the other steering wheel controls i.e cruise control and audio. Since the cruise control won;t work as it's vacuum based and all the pipes are rotted through (normal), not that I could test it anyway, and the radio doesn't work I can't test those either.
I removed the airbag pad (all online warnings heeded and first time I've ever removed one
) (four screws behind the wheel - after removing cowling and lower knee pad cover etc etc) ......and took the wheel retaining bolt off (yes, bolt, not a nut - weird!!) and then pulled the wheel from the column (the easiest one I've ever removed). The "Clock Spring aka etc etc" is in fact a (semi) sealed cartridge containing many contacts and a switch for the auto cancelling indicators.
Another recce of Ebay reveals there are plenty available tested and s/h so £17.50 later one is ordered and the cost added to the running total. And now we wait.
The suspension remains pumped up.
And now the bad news. Last night we had rain for the first time since the car arrived back on 20th April (11 days ago) and "'er ladyship" (well she has a Range Rover now don'tcha know) went out to get some cleaning clothes out of Nelson to throw in the washing machine. She returned reporting rain was dripping from the headlining!
Martin had told me that he was going to take the headlining out of his before it get reupholstered so he could find and resolve a screen leak on his so I'm guessing it's a common issue. It could, of course be blocked sunroof drains or something simple but we'll have to see.
What I still can't figure is, if the sunroof was left open as it was and there is a leak in the roof, how the hell was it dry inside when I viewed it?
If the "Clock Spring" resolves the horn and SRS issues then I may get brave and book the MoT.
I have run the car a few times in order to get the air suspension sorted and I've had to put a gallon of petrol from a can as it was V low. I think it's consumed that even though it switches to gas within a minute or two of starting. I just love the smell of unburned hydrocarbons in the morning!
While I wait for the "Clock Spring" I've begun cleaning up a few more things like removing the PRNDL indicator plate and surround plus the ashtray plate. They'd obviously had much MucDonald's Coffee spilt around them over the years (I keep finding MucD's salt, pepper and sugar empty sachets in hidden places.)
I'm also tempted to remove the headlining and remove the rear seats for cleaning.
I should really be fitting the 12 internal doors to the house that I bought and varnished before the Rangie arrived but somehow I don't seem to be getting around to it and they are still stacked in the hall.
I'm also tempted to remove the headlining and remove the rear seats for cleaning.
I should really be fitting the 12 internal doors to the house that I bought and varnished before the Rangie arrived but somehow I don't seem to be getting around to it and they are still stacked in the hall.
N Dentressangle said:
All good stuff!
Mine was an £800 impulse buy just over a month ago:
4.0 V8 Auto. MoT til Nov and only major spend so far has been brake pressure reservoir. No sunroof, and someone's already put it on springs so there's a few issues 'solved' already
Nice RR but the whole point of a P38 is the Air suspension. Ya can't beat a car that goes up and down (let's see if I'm still saying that in a few months time) Mine was an £800 impulse buy just over a month ago:
4.0 V8 Auto. MoT til Nov and only major spend so far has been brake pressure reservoir. No sunroof, and someone's already put it on springs so there's a few issues 'solved' already
RDMcG said:
You have great skill!....this kind of thread is the best thing on PH for me. Wishing you the great success
Thank you for your good wishes and compliment. If I had "great skill" I wouldn't be doing this, I'd be working and earning some money
Edited by Tyre Tread on Sunday 1st May 23:50
On a day when I thought I wouldn't touch the Rangie I got a bit sucked in.
I wandered outside and thought the old Lexus IS250 needed a wash. It's a lovely car and was clocking 25K a year for the first couple of years I had it but down to just a couple of thousand the last 2 and it may yet be sold if SWMBO decides she doesn't want to drive the Rangie and I decide to keep it for myself.
I gave her old Jazz a wash (Ooer matron!) too and then attention turned to Nelson.
Initially I cleaned up some of the bits from the centre console that I'd removed yesterday and decided that rather then leave them hanging about to get damaged I really should put them back so I hopped in and did a bit more cleaning under in the underparts of the centre console (grim). Then I remembered that the power socket (or fag lighter to those of my generation) hadn't been working and it was still attached to the parts I was about to reinstall. A quick shufty inside the socket showed it was quite rusty in there (unsurprising with the amount of MucCoffee that seemed to have been spilled into the centre console area). I decided against trying to remove the socket from the plastic surround in case the brittle plastic broke so I retired to the garage and got a small wire brush out on the Dremel and cleaned up the inside of the socket until it was nice and shiny again.
|https://thumbsnap.com/XcYkyot2[/url]
I checked the supply and earth to the fag lighter with the meter and, once reinstalled, I tested the power socket and Bingo! it works.
Whilst sorting the centre console bits I missed having a bit of music and wondered how difficult it would be to get the radio working again. A friend who had joined me tried turning on the radio and although I'd thought it wasn't coming on he notice a feint hiss from the speakers. So, it had life but was probably locked out after having a duff battery and needed the code entering. But there was no display. We tried entering the code without the aid of a display but it clearly wasn't going to work so, after a bit of googling, armed with a pair of thick cable ties we set about removing the radio.
When we thought we had disengaged the locking pins I gave the radio a good tug (ooer) and out it popped. Only afterwards did I realise we'd pulled the bracket that the radio mounts into with the locking pins out with the radio. The mounting bracket only clips into place! very secure
Once the radio was out I unclipped all of the electrical connections ...
... and began to take the outer covers off the radio
|https://thumbsnap.com/oPX5di5r[/url]
It wasn't long before I believe I found the issue:
I don't think all that gooey stuff is supposed to be there and it looks like the capacitor has leaked.
micro farad Electronics is definitely a weak area for me but i know enough to recognise a capacitor and I can read its a
volt item so looked it up on Ebay and they're about £ 1.50 (plus the usual £3.50 P&P of course). So the question is, do I stake a fiver and an hours work on trying to replace the capacitor and hope that resolves the issue (bearing in mind my rudimentary soldering skills, or do I opt for a secondhand radio cassette off ebay, or even upgrade it to something newer? (there is a 6 CD changer and a huge OEM amp in the boot BTW). I shall ponder this.
Having sat in the driver's seat and seen a few drip coming down from the headlining I had to take a look at SWMBO's discovery of Nelson's attempt to turn himself into a fish tank. After removing the driver's sun visor and the A pillar trim and top of the driver's door seal, poking about above the headlining it initially appeared that the leak might be from the sunroof drain tubs. However, after poking my head out the sunoof it was evident that the tubes were clear and further probing around found that the leak is from the top of the windscreen so, assuming we gain MOT status, the screen will have to come out and be resealed.
I'm supposed to be doing stuff other than the Rangie tomorrow but that's what I said today so we shall see.
Thanks to everyone for the good wishes and kind comments.
I wandered outside and thought the old Lexus IS250 needed a wash. It's a lovely car and was clocking 25K a year for the first couple of years I had it but down to just a couple of thousand the last 2 and it may yet be sold if SWMBO decides she doesn't want to drive the Rangie and I decide to keep it for myself.
I gave her old Jazz a wash (Ooer matron!) too and then attention turned to Nelson.
Initially I cleaned up some of the bits from the centre console that I'd removed yesterday and decided that rather then leave them hanging about to get damaged I really should put them back so I hopped in and did a bit more cleaning under in the underparts of the centre console (grim). Then I remembered that the power socket (or fag lighter to those of my generation) hadn't been working and it was still attached to the parts I was about to reinstall. A quick shufty inside the socket showed it was quite rusty in there (unsurprising with the amount of MucCoffee that seemed to have been spilled into the centre console area). I decided against trying to remove the socket from the plastic surround in case the brittle plastic broke so I retired to the garage and got a small wire brush out on the Dremel and cleaned up the inside of the socket until it was nice and shiny again.
|https://thumbsnap.com/XcYkyot2[/url]I checked the supply and earth to the fag lighter with the meter and, once reinstalled, I tested the power socket and Bingo! it works.
Whilst sorting the centre console bits I missed having a bit of music and wondered how difficult it would be to get the radio working again. A friend who had joined me tried turning on the radio and although I'd thought it wasn't coming on he notice a feint hiss from the speakers. So, it had life but was probably locked out after having a duff battery and needed the code entering. But there was no display. We tried entering the code without the aid of a display but it clearly wasn't going to work so, after a bit of googling, armed with a pair of thick cable ties we set about removing the radio.
When we thought we had disengaged the locking pins I gave the radio a good tug (ooer) and out it popped. Only afterwards did I realise we'd pulled the bracket that the radio mounts into with the locking pins out with the radio. The mounting bracket only clips into place! very secure
Once the radio was out I unclipped all of the electrical connections ...
... and began to take the outer covers off the radio
|https://thumbsnap.com/oPX5di5r[/url]It wasn't long before I believe I found the issue:
I don't think all that gooey stuff is supposed to be there and it looks like the capacitor has leaked.
micro farad Electronics is definitely a weak area for me but i know enough to recognise a capacitor and I can read its a
volt item so looked it up on Ebay and they're about £ 1.50 (plus the usual £3.50 P&P of course). So the question is, do I stake a fiver and an hours work on trying to replace the capacitor and hope that resolves the issue (bearing in mind my rudimentary soldering skills, or do I opt for a secondhand radio cassette off ebay, or even upgrade it to something newer? (there is a 6 CD changer and a huge OEM amp in the boot BTW). I shall ponder this.
Having sat in the driver's seat and seen a few drip coming down from the headlining I had to take a look at SWMBO's discovery of Nelson's attempt to turn himself into a fish tank. After removing the driver's sun visor and the A pillar trim and top of the driver's door seal, poking about above the headlining it initially appeared that the leak might be from the sunroof drain tubs. However, after poking my head out the sunoof it was evident that the tubes were clear and further probing around found that the leak is from the top of the windscreen so, assuming we gain MOT status, the screen will have to come out and be resealed.
I'm supposed to be doing stuff other than the Rangie tomorrow but that's what I said today so we shall see.
Thanks to everyone for the good wishes and kind comments.
Edited by Tyre Tread on Sunday 1st May 23:52
N Dentressangle said:
If you want an original P38 stereo that fits the dash properly then they're fairly pricey on Ebay, plus may not come with the code.
You could go aftermarket, and then you'll need the 2 little plastic filler panels to hide the gaps either side of it: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234387633602
I would probably have a go at fixing that, given the skills you've got. Not much to lose!
Thanks Norbert. Was going to buy a second hand unit but looks like they are between £120 and £250 used and around a grand new!!!!! I could put a modern unit in I suppose.You could go aftermarket, and then you'll need the 2 little plastic filler panels to hide the gaps either side of it: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234387633602
I would probably have a go at fixing that, given the skills you've got. Not much to lose!
My soldering skills may need some upgrading to try and fix the original though.
Arnold Cunningham said:
Did you read it though? That goo is not bad capacitor.
No I didn't, but now I have 
Thank you for helping me to avoid wasting my time.
Anyone know a good car radio repair person near Cardiff?
Mind you, the local car group I organise meets on Wednesday so I'll ask the various members there.
Edited by Tyre Tread on Monday 2nd May 11:11
LordLoveLength said:
First things first - is the fuse at the rear of the radio ok? yes
Does it have12v supplies where it should? Ground(s) ok? yes
Is there an aerial? yes
Does the cassette work? (may need an antique shop for that) No idea - see below
If you read my comments earlier I said that we can hear a faint hissing from the speakers which would suggest that the amp is working.Does it have12v supplies where it should? Ground(s) ok? yes
Is there an aerial? yes
Does the cassette work? (may need an antique shop for that) No idea - see below
In order to obtain ANY output whatsoever, the code will need to be entered. I have the code and know how to enter it
There is, however, NO DISPLAY so it's nigh on impossible to put the code in.
I don't know, at this point, whether it's just the display or something deeper that's the problem.
I read online something which I had not considered which is that, being an LCD display, if the backlight fails then the readout is invisible. So, I may put it back together again (I pulled it apart again to see if I could access the backlight) and plug it in and see if I can see the display with a strong light shone onto the display (as suggested in the post i read online).
Oh, and I won't need an antique shop for a cassette. I was a DJ in the mid to late 1980's and every record I bought I put onto tape so I have bucket loads of 80's music on tape. 80'stastic!
WarrenB said:
Tyre Tread said:
If you read my comments earlier I said that we can hear a faint hissing from the speakers which would suggest that the amp is working.
In order to obtain ANY output whatsoever, the code will need to be entered. I have the code and know how to enter it
There is, however, NO DISPLAY so it's nigh on impossible to put the code in.
I don't know, at this point, whether it's just the display or something deeper that's the problem.
I read online something which I had not considered which is that, being an LCD display, if the backlight fails then the readout is invisible. So, I may put it back together again (I pulled it apart again to see if I could access the backlight) and plug it in and see if I can see the display with a strong light shone onto the display (as suggested in the post i read online).
Oh, and I won't need an antique shop for a cassette. I was a DJ in the mid to late 1980's and every record I bought I put onto tape so I have bucket loads of 80's music on tape. 80'stastic!
Could it be the speakers themselves that are faulty? I, errm, somebody else left both front windows fully open on my van for a weekend a few years back during which we had record levels of rain. All those speakers would do would hiss whether the stereo was on or off.... When things had fully dried out they'd still hiss with the occasional crackle but they were toast. In order to obtain ANY output whatsoever, the code will need to be entered. I have the code and know how to enter it
There is, however, NO DISPLAY so it's nigh on impossible to put the code in.
I don't know, at this point, whether it's just the display or something deeper that's the problem.
I read online something which I had not considered which is that, being an LCD display, if the backlight fails then the readout is invisible. So, I may put it back together again (I pulled it apart again to see if I could access the backlight) and plug it in and see if I can see the display with a strong light shone onto the display (as suggested in the post i read online).
Oh, and I won't need an antique shop for a cassette. I was a DJ in the mid to late 1980's and every record I bought I put onto tape so I have bucket loads of 80's music on tape. 80'stastic!
Granted this was on a Transit with only two speakers in the doors, so quite a basic setup compared to the P38!
What I have discovered is that shining a light into the display with the power connected and the unit turned on does not show any display letters. HOWEVER, turning the sidelights on does illuminate the radio display
K50 DEL said:
If you do need it professionally repaired then contact Maple Audio in Bath, I've used them for car audio repairs for more than 20 years and always found them very reasonable.
Thanks, I'll bear that in mind.Would quite like to get it to someone local if poss for obvious reasons but could always post it I suppose.
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