Getting OGU roadworthy again

[Sea Ranch]

I can see how your latest electrical gremlin would frustrate and lead to thoughts of pulling the whole mess out and replacing with new, etc.

Notwithstanding, I must say that in the end Lucas didn't actually let you down; just a bad fuse. Perhaps a week or two from now your frustration/anger will have subsided a little more and you will take the option of simply carrying sufficient spare fuses and also adding a fuse-change to your troubleshooting routine (whether the fuse looks/tests good or not)

Just a thought.

I personally am hoping to reuse the existing wiring harness, fuse blocks, etc. when I put my Plus 2S back together . . . so I want to believe Lucas can be made to be reliable!!

Nice looking modern solutions, though . . .

Randy

[AHM]

Randy,
The original wiring is plenty up to the job - New harnesses have thinner gauge wires. You just need to go through each connector, clean and check resistance.

Bill,

The fuse box is a replicable part - only 8 quid for a new one with decent terminals.

Did you have the car jacked-up before the oil leaked?

If you lie on the floor you will hear all sorts of noises - Its all ancient technology, if it isn't making a noise it has either stopped working or fallen off!

[billwill]

I didn't mention, but in fact the oil leak has stopped as mysteriously as it started. Just a typical occasional droplet now.

400 miles without any increase in 'big-end' noise tells me for sure it wasn't really a problem, just my imagination.

Who sells replica Lucas fuseboxes?

It's main deficiency is that it only has 4 fuses and from the wiring diagrams it looks as if the Elan only had 2 fuses in original mode.

My Elan is a long way off original anyway, changing to a modern fusebox won't make any real difference.

Yellow over black external colours with brown and black leatherette interior., SAS head. ...

I think it has been rewired once before anyway, by Vegantune of Spalding back in 1982 or 83.

[billwill]

I can see how your latest electrical gremlin would frustrate and lead to thoughts of pulling the whole mess out and replacing with new, etc.



Nice looking modern solutions, though . . .

Randy

I'm not really considering that modular unit on my message above, I just encountered the web page while looking for relays and thought it would be a handy unit for anyone considering a complete rewire exercise.

But the blade fuseboxes with LEDs look real nice & would not involve changing the looms, just maybe lengthening some of the wires near the fusebox, possibly not even that.

I mist do something in the way of relays to reduce the current through the ignition switch or it will burn out. I've worn out one before; this is the second one. Bare minimum action is to fit a relay for the Rad fan as it does not have one at present.

[AHM]

Who sells replica Lucas fuseboxes?

The same people who sell ignition switches..... which from your earlier comment you also need.

But the blade fuseboxes with LEDs look real nice & would not involve changing the looms, just maybe lengthening some of the wires near the fusebox, possibly not even that.

That sounds like a recipe for electrical issues.

[MickG]

AHM Wrote

That sounds like a recipe for electrical issues.

They fit without any alterations to the wiring, I know because I have fitted some. You can fuse the circuits far better than using the glass fuses, and of course you can change back to the original Lucas box for the purists.
Regards Mick G

[billwill]

Well, I've now lifted out the window frame of the jammed window.

It was difficult because the hawser had tangled all over the place and poked through the reel and snagged on the rotor fitting of the motor.

Required a bit of brute force to get the window motor out after removing two bolts and two of the welded nuts have come away from the window frame; one just separated but the other tore its welds from the thin frame and also made a small split. It is going to be a bit of a pig to mend that.
I don't know if the torn one was already loose; I think it was.

Meanwhile I plan to use riv-nuts for those pesky little bolts that hold the door lock on so I've just been out to a Toolstation store to buy some stainless steel socket head countersunk machine screws size M5 to suit some aluminium riv-nuts that I bought a few months ago.

It will also be time to fit my left side set of Alex-Black's window cable fasteners which I have had on hand for quite a while now. The right-hand side was fitted some time ago.

I will also use some M5 riv-nuts and socket headed bolts for the bracket that holds the hawser spool on.

[pcarew]

...
Funny thing about the getting some Ether business described above, I found that the 99p shop is selling a spray can called "Engine Start" and the only ingredient listed is DiEthyl Alcohol.

So I've bought 2 cans and now all I have to do is work out how to get liquid ether out of the pressure cans.

Bill,
Did this ever work out?
I noticed that my capillary has sprung a leak where it joins the bulb. I've been quoted $175-$200 for repair so I'm curious about other options

I've seen/read the repairs where a donor capillary is grafted on in place of the original one, but I was hoping I could solder the leak and then refill the bulb.

In this repair note ( https://mgaguru.com/mgtech/dash/dt102a.htm ) , the author injected the Ether using a syringe. I was wondering if I could replicate this, but I would need to get my hands on some Ether first.
Paul.

[billwill]

What with other activitiesm I've never gotten around to trying to repair/refill the temperature gauge, so I still have the cans of ether on hold.

Hopefully they are not slightly leaking.

After I had put some dabs of solder on the pipe to bulb joint, (before buying those cans) I thought I had lost too much ether for the gauge to work properly, But it seems to read more or less OK so I've not put any priority on improving that.

[billwill]

Check model aero-plane clubs. I recall from my much earlier days that we used to have tiny diesel engines for model aircraft and as far as I recall we ran them on a mixture of ether and castor oil.

[pcarew]

I took the bulb out of the engine and placed it into a cup of boiling water. Sure enough, I saw a bubble form at the joint between the capillary and the bulb. Not wanting to lose what might be remaining of the Ether, I shoved the bulb into salt iced water. After I did this, I suddenly thought that that was probably not such a great idea as the contracting vapor might well suck in some of the salt water, introducing moisture.


So.... I called Mo Ma manufacturing and they can install a complete new capillary within a week. I bit the bullet and sent the gauge off to them today. There goes another ~$200 of my spending money

[1owner69Elan]

You should be able to get an exact Smith?s new replacement for less than $200. Same face, functionality. US or UK suppliers or Caerbont (Smiths) directly.

Unless you want to absolutely stay with to the original gauge.

[pcarew]

You should be able to get an exact Smith?s new replacement for less than $200. Same face, functionality. US or UK suppliers or Caerbont (Smiths) directly.

Unless you want to absolutely stay with to the original gauge.

I did look...

My gauge is a GD 1301/00 which has a oil pressure scale up to 100. The only ones I've seen lately are the 1301/23 which has a scale of up to 60 Lbs/sq inch

So, I think I'd like to stay with what came with the car.

Paul.

[billwill]

I've mentioned elsewhere viewtopic.php?t=41214&p=291450 that I have at least one trunnion that I cannot get out. The bolt has seized in the bush and even making the puller/pusher mentioned in the above thread wouldn't shift it.



So in addition to my low oil pressure problem. viewtopic.php?f=39&t=46378 seeing as we are staying home, I thought this will be a good time to fix those trunnions. So just now I ordered new trunnions, with all the fixings from Sue Miller. After sorting out the low oil pressure I'll have a go at the trunnions.

I have a strong suspicion that I will have to cut the old trunnions out using an angle grinder (like JonB ? did a while ago)

[JonB]

Yes Bill I was going to mention that bit of fun & games.

viewtopic.php?t=40806&f=42&start=0#p285461

Worth it in the end as you'll be fitting new nuts & bolts. Are you going to fit new uprights? Check the kingpins carefully, any pitting or cracking, bin them.

Edit: Hey, I just reviewed that thread and in it you said you were going to do your trunns two years ago...