Indicators

[vroom]

I thought I'd have a go at replacing the horrible round Vauxhall side repeaters om my Chim for some nice oval Ford units last night. Started on the drivers side, removed the carpet from around the pedal box to get at the inside of the wing but the back of lamp was nowhere to be seen. No mention of bulb replacement for these units in the owners handbook either........... Any Ideas?

[kate]

give them a twist, if it's like my griff, they are just wedged in and stuck with double sided !! pull off the connector from the back, plug in the new unit and wedge it back, 10 min job tops

[richb]

I believe they do just pop out but there is a sort of bit of the plastic which is moulded to make a spring clip, be careful, if this breaks off you will have to glue them in. But then you are replacing them anyway doh! Rich...

[vroom]

Thanks for the replies, I'll try and prise them out tonight....

[drf]

You can get to the drivers side ligth by removing the fresh air vent hose and reaching through. The passenger side is more difficult as you need to remove the heater. You shouldn't have to get to the back of them. I changed mine to the Vauxhall type oval lights. The bulb holder is different to the original so you will need that as well. I got a pair from the scrap yard including the wires at the back for £2. Copy the shape of the hole in the wing you removed them from and cut the hole in your Chim's wing the same. The fiberglass is easy to file out so don't go mad or you'll end up with a hole to big. Its a case of trial and error. Join the wiring loom with solder joints to avoid any problems. It only takes 1 1/2 hours, a good job for a Sunday afternoon after you've finished polishing it. Duncan

[JFF]

According to Steve Heath's book "The TVR Griffith and Chimaera" (ISBN 0 9530335 2 X)the early round type side indicator repeaters are held in place by a nut on the back. Access is via the footwells the passenger side on my 1992 Griffith was accessed through an X shaped cut in the insulating foam on the side of the passengers foot well, behind which there is an access hole. The drivers side is supposed to be more difficult to get at. The later cars used the oval Ford Fiesta indicator which is a push fit. This can be removed by simply levering the unit out. The recess hole is circular with a square notch at one end to allow the reatining clip to fitt. I would be gratfull if you could let me know the part number for the oval Ford indicator as I would like to convert my early Griffith to these later type side repeater indicators. Hope this is of some help.

[vroom]

I managed to carefully prise the drivers side repeater off the wing using a screw driver. I noticed that the fixing lugs were tapered at both ends allowing the lamp to be removed from the outside as opposed to having to squeeze the lugs together on the inside to allow it to be extracted. The oval units I'm getting are from my local accessory shop which accept the existing bulb holder. They come in loads of boy racer colours, but I'm only after the orange unit and I think they are about 4 quid each tops. I also quite like the clear option, but if I go this route I would like to have clear front indicators (as per latest spec. Chim) but I imagine they are quite difficult to get hold of.

[drf]

I think you can replace the front orange indicators with clear lenses from the reversing light. I think they are from an old BL truck so they shouldn't cost too much.

[Marshy]

I've heard that they're Land Rover units. Or, at least, lenses. When I've recovered from the shock of my 24,000 mile service, I'll think about getting the dealer to do me clear front indicators.