the.vet Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 Following on from my nausea issue in ChitChat I'm having trouble with the car. Towards the end of a 1 hour track session I lost my gauges - all except the speedo speedo. I can't find any loose fuses etc Not sure where to start - dumped car in the garage and headed to bed feeling broken when I arrived home. Please tailor any advice as if addressing a child - I'm mechanically retarded!! Graeme Edited by - the.vet on 21 Sep 2014 18:41:05 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted September 2, 2014 Member Share Posted September 2, 2014 1 Have a good rest. Remember how good you're going to feel when you've solved both problems. 2 Which model? Which instrument panel? Post a photo if you don't know how to describe it. 3 The most common cause of this sort of stuff is a bad earth connection. Has any work been done on it recently? 4 Do you have a multimeter already? Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the.vet Posted September 2, 2014 Author Share Posted September 2, 2014 Jonathan my dual saviour! First trip out into the garage and it looks like I've run through manure on the way home. Garage smells like a farm yard!!! The car is a 1999my 1800k. No recent work and has been behaving fine recently. It's got the bog standard caterham dash. I've now worked out that the instruments are not working Nor is the heater fan and brake light test switch I've pulled the red 10a fuse from the instrument section of the fuse block and can't get any continuity with a multi meter (visually it looks to have tripped too). Should I replace the fuse and see what happens? (sorry if that is a really stupid question) Graeme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickh7 Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 As you were on track could it have been a wire worked lose causing a short and an earth strap that might not be as tight as it should be. Nothing gives a car a work out like a long tack stint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Ford Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 Just replace the fuse. If it blows again that suggests there's a more serious problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted September 2, 2014 Member Share Posted September 2, 2014 *arrowup*That's what I'd do too. I don't have access to the wiring diagrams until Wednesday night. Can anyone say whether that pattern of things that have failed points to a cause? Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Macquarie Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 On my 1990 car (1988 wiring diagram) all of those things are indeed fed from the "Heater" fuse. So is the ignition light which gave me the strange effect of.... Ignition on, engine not running = no ignition light whilst Ignition on, engine running resulted in the ignition light illuminated. Regards Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the.vet Posted September 21, 2014 Author Share Posted September 21, 2014 OK, so I changed the fuse and thought I'd sorted the problem but it reappeared this afternoon. Instruments died after 10 minutes drive. Only this time I've noted some more points that may help to pinpoint where I should start looking. Oil pressure, water temp, fuel level and revs all died. Switch lighting all still working. Speedo fine. Headlights were on. After turning for home I noticed if I indicate left its fine, if I indicate right the indicators work but the instruments pulse up and down with the pulses of the lights. Also occurs when using hazards. Now at home I changed the fuse - instruments working again. Then with engine off I checked the lights - indicators all working fine when ignition at position 2 (or is it 3 - fuel pump on). However - with ignition off I noticed left indicators work fine, right indicators give solid illumination of lights and can hear a relay in engine bay pulsing to freq of the flasher unit. Given up and opened beer for the night - I hate electrics and i'm rather afraid to tinker without some expert direction. Would like to fix car ASAP as BIL visiting from NZ and wanted to scare him! Graeme Edited by - the.vet on 21 Sep 2014 18:48:14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stationary M25 Traveller Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Check the flasher unit is plugged in securely ... they can work loose. Usually behind fuse rail ... just push all the relays home to be sure. Also work hazard light switch on/off several times (power can be off) to mechanically clean the internal switch contacts. This is another known problem. Either of the above can cause trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted September 22, 2014 Member Share Posted September 22, 2014 I can't explain what you are describing. 1 My indicators only come at all with the switch at "Ignition", not "Accessory". Have yours always come on at both positions and were any 7s built that way? Any suspicions that your car has been modified? 2 Why is the behaviour different between the LH and RH indicators? The flasher unit doesn't know which side is turned on. What would I do? 1 Sort out exactly which fuse is controlling what. For any circuit that is in your list of concerns pull the fuses one at a time and see what doesn't work. Then tell us that with the fuse positions and current fuse ratings. 2 Open up all the indicators and start exploring. Is there a short to earth from any of the live sides? 3 As SM25T says. 4 Were those fuses blown or have you got a different sort of intermittent fault? Have a look at the link bit of the fuse that you removed and see if it's continuous and take this as a chance to make friends with your multimeter. Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Riches Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 What type of instruments do you have? Certainly on my elderly 1982 car there is a voltage regulator for the fuel & temp gauges. Does your car have a similar thing? My regulator played up, changed for a electronic type, problem gone. Regards, Nigel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the.vet Posted November 9, 2014 Author Share Posted November 9, 2014 Ok, so having changed the flasher relay and hazard switch I still had no joy. Resorted to a quick call to the AA and the friendly chap happens to have a 7 type kit car! Fault diagnosed - the main loom under the dash has a short in it - the fault can be eradicated by manipulating the big thick black part of the loom. Has anyone had a similar issue and any idea how to go about fixing it? dash out job? Graeme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM25T Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 It would be scuttle off, not dash out. Maybe you can see a screw near or piercing the loom with a phone camera .... take a few pics with flash on. Guess you know from AA man intervention which part of loom to narrow it down to. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted November 9, 2014 Member Share Posted November 9, 2014 As well as the visual inspection I'd spend a bit of time trying to locate the intermittent connection and understand the wiring. You might consider making a jump lead with crocodile clips and seeing what gets around the fault. This might offer a solution without getting in too deep. But if you do arrange a bypass wire as a solution rather than for diagnosis then make sure you disconnect the duff wire at both ends.Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
virden Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Whilst you have the dash out, it would be well worth your while replacing the temp and oil pressure gauges with capillary versions, they are far more reliable and only only require sparks for lighting. Demon tweaks do a reasonably priced range.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil 01 Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 If you into your local motor factor you can buy a sealey tester that you clip to the battery with a trailing lead and on the hand set probe you can select live or earth, so for example if you suspect faulty earth you press earth side of the probe and apply to the faulty component if the component now works you at least know the reason why it didnt work and can look in the right direction. The probe set is a PP1 Sealey Test Probe £14.00 Amazon or good motor factorsphil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted June 2, 2018 Member Share Posted June 2, 2018 Fault diagnosed - the main loom under the dash has a short in it - the fault can be eradicated by manipulating the big thick black part of the loom. Has anyone had a similar issue and any idea how to go about fixing it? dash out job?All sorted?Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadership Team SLR No.77 Posted June 2, 2018 Leadership Team Share Posted June 2, 2018 Post edited due to a wholly inappropriate spat.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Mason Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 Or perhaps curious? Or wanting to understand the fix so he can share and help others (which seems to be a selfless trait Jonathan displays frequently)? I doubt it's boredom as JK seems to have a lot more going on in his life than me as well as a wide range of interests and hobbies (albeit many are above my intelligence level)? Maybe you just shouldn't read them Stu if it's going to wind you up? No need to be disparaging Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elie boone Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 I am with JK on this, to many ask for help and lots of members put in their time and effort to help it to sort out. So it didn't got sorted or the OP have no time to post as he is always on a Blat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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