Zel's Fleet Blog - BX, Jag XJ-S, Sinclair C5, Mercedes 208D & 230TE, AC Model 70.

[Zelandeth]

I don't mind this temperature if I'm in the car, all the windows are open and I'm on the move. Then it's okay - though does make me miss this scruffy little thing all the more...

Having said that, my approach to owning a convertible was generally "if it's not actively raining, snowing etc, then the top comes off."

The hail shower that arrived one day half way down the A96 was somewhat painful.

[Michel]

I don't mind this temperature if I'm in the car, all the windows are open and I'm on the move. Then it's okay - though does make me miss this scruffy little thing all the more...
cosmetic changes 2.JPG

Having said that, my approach to owning a convertible was generally "if it's not actively raining, snowing etc, then the top comes off."

Mine too, well wrapped up, driving to work at 5am in an MX5, heater on full, roof down, when it's -8 outside is wonderful and crispy!

[elma]

Is the scruffy thing a cappuccino?

[Zelandeth]

Yep.

Sadly had to sell it on when I discovered that the only thing holding the driver's seat in was the fuel line...likewise the carpets looked to be holding the floorpan to the sills. I'd have gladly sorted it, but just had not the time.

Happy to report that it was restored by the gent I sold it to and has been seen on a few occasions. Would buy it back in a heartbeat.

Really surprised me how easy it was to live with as a daily driver, for all I was expecting it to be a "toy" when I got it. I mean look at it... it's the size of a postage stamp.

Only things it really struggled with were shifting large stuff or more than one passenger at a time. Oh, and changing headlight bulbs was a royal pain that involved removing the wheels and wheel arch liners. Other than that it was a reliable, surprisingly comfortable, economical little runabout. Was just as happy to cruise gently as barrel along flat out - though it was rather good at the latter. Especially given the exhaust note when the engine really came on cam at about 6000rpm was somewhat addictive.

...especially in tunnels.

Proper sports car I say. No need for massive power figures (we reckon this one was pushing roughly 90bhp at the wheels), just keep the weight down, get the balance right and most importantly - get the steering right.

Steering I still miss (even if it was rather weighty when parking). You didn't so much steer it as command the car to change direction by telepathy.

[elma]

Interesting review.
I used to walk past one on the way to school and always liked it.
I've never been sure if it was a decent little car or just a toy that looked like a car.
After 20 years it's nice to find out.

[Michel]

Is the scruffy thing a cappuccino?

Yes, a guy I worked with about 15 years ago had one, it was a brilliant little thing, a real miniature sports car! It was like a shrunken MX-5 with better steering. Almost like a very well upholstered go-kart.

I believe the main problem with them was rot, and more rot. Then some rot on top of the rot. You get the picture.

[Zelandeth]

Yep. They were never really intended for sale outside the Japanese domestic market...so the rust proofing was none existent. They rotted just as quickly as an 80s BMC product.

Shame as other than that they're cracking little cars.

The only problem I have with the MX-5 is having owned and driven the Cappo is that it just seems excessively big and heavy for no real reason! I realise it's not strictly accurate, but it's just how it feels having owned one.

If you get a chance to drive one (especially if you can find a nice twisty road), do it.

[CitroJim]

I enjoyed a reasonably quick 22 mile bike ride today in the heat, then sat outside in the sun with a coffee!

I find the cooling breeze generated by a good bike ride really work well to keep your cool in this weather

[Zelandeth]

Well some progress on tracking down the miss.

I can now definitely say that the relay chatter is a symptom rather than a cause. They were both bridged out with an appropriately rated link today, yet the fault remains. It's definitely getting worse though.

Next step is to remove and reseat the CPS, and go over its wiring with a fine toothcomb as it has to be the main suspect. I may pull the ECU and do a quick board exam to make sure we've not got something stupid like a dry joint in there, though they're usually pretty good in that regard. It's a task that will take five minutes to do though so be daft not to check it and remove it from the suspect list.

This is one of those times when I *really* find myself pining for a modern digital storage scope (this being the one I had a chance to play around with a while ago - Amazon Link and very much didn't want to return to its owner!). This is an ideal situation for where one would be handy - stick it in the hands of my passenger with it connected across the CPS line into the ECU and go for a drive. The moment the car starts acting up, just have my passenger manually trigger a capture - then we can interrogate the recorded waveform at our leisure and confirm (or not) that the pulses were in fact vanishing. May stick a scope over it anyway just to make sure that they look nice and clean when stationary as that could save a bit of head scratching. That at least I can use a conventional analogue scope for (especially thanks to Jim as he's kindly lent me one that's far less temperamental than my old Telequipment D61a which has a slightly dodgy trigger circuit)...The abilities of a DSO though are something that I found I very quickly missed when I'd had a chance to use one for a bit then didn't have any more. Also, if you used one 10 years or so back and were very much nonplussed with it - try to get a shot of a modern one - they're a totally different animal nowadays. The early DSOs I've seen just didn't have the memory depth or the processing power they really needed to be useful...those are issues which at least in the case of the Rigol 1054z I borrowed, were very much resolved.

Rigol by the way I tend to describe as the Kia of the test equipment world at the moment. I've not been able to fault any of the kit of theirs I've seen either in build quality or usability, the only thing they really seem to lack compared to Tectronix, HP (okay, Agilent...no...wait...they changed it again...Keysight I mean!) etc is the badge.

[Zelandeth]

Curiouser and curiouser.

Took the CPS out to check its wiring connector etc. One thing that was obvious is that it was absolutely covered in gunk. Seem to recall it was fitted prior to quite a bit of cleaning, so it probably just collected there. Wiring looks in good order, and wiggling everything results in no change in the resistance reading from the relevant pins at the ECU connector.

What I did notice during the following test run (still doing it) was a clicking relay...the system power and fuel pump relays were still absent at this point so the only one still there is the one for the manifold heater...

Wait a minute...can anyone say a dodgy or intermittent coolant temperature sensor?

If that's intermittently dropping the temp reading far enough that it's calling for the manifold heater to be on, it'll also be royally fouling up the fuelling at the same time.

Really wish I had a working check engine light as a dropout there should throw the light on and store a fault code (14 or 15). However I need a working light to check that!

Cold and hot check can be done though, and I'll see if I can provoke a reading by the highly technical process or wiggling wires and bashing the sensor with a screwdriver.

[CitroJim]

This is getting a very interesting problem Zel... I'm following with great interest even if not commenting...

If you ever want a second eye cast over it then don't hesitate to shout... With issues liken this a new look by someone else can often see something...

[Zelandeth]

May well yet take you up on that Jim if I don't resolve it soon...often helps to give the logic used a sanity check and helps make sure something blindingly obvious hasn't been glossed over.

If nothing else will give the ECU a look over today...as I can whip that out in ten seconds and check it back inside out the sun...

Have hopefully got my name down on a spare one now as it strikes me as a useful thing to have a spare of in the stores.

[Zelandeth]

We've got guests staying just now, so my spannering time is at a bit of a minimum...that and earlier in the week it was just too hot to do anything useful.

I did pull the ECU out and have a careful look around to see whether I could see any signs of dry joints or similar issues, and the answer was a firm no. There was one slightly bent pin in the connector, but checking showed it to be making a perfectly good contact even when it was fairly aggressively wiggled, and those wires aren't under tension once everything's in the car anyway.

Had a look at the value of the coolant temperature sensor...I measured the coolant temp to be 23C at the time (engine hadn't been run yet), and I got a reading of 3.3K ohms plus pocket change.

Let's look at the chart in the manual...

3520R at 20C or 2796R at 25C, so that number looks plausible.

I did note though that the pins in the connector look quite tarnished, so I've given them a clean up. I also noted that wiggling the connector occasionally had an effect on the engine idle speed - so keeping an eye on that.

I also want to do a hot reading of that coolant sensor in case the values are going way out of whack as it heats up.

[CitroJim]

Sensor looks OK at 23C Zel but drop it in a bowl of ice and then in a pan of boiling water to be sure it's good at both ends..

Also, bring it up from freezing to boiling slowly using an analogue meter to look for sudden jumps or open-circuits at some temperatures... It's rare but not unknown...

[Zelandeth]

That's exactly my thinking Jim. I've had them show dropouts or noisy readings at specific temperatures before. Also going to attach a meter to the ECU end of that connector and wiggle the loom and sensor itself and see whether there's any variation. That branch of the loom is the only bit of the whole lot which showed damage to the outer cable trunking...so it definitely warrants very thorough investigation.

Need to stick a new D-Cell in the AVO though as the new one I put in there a year back is already dead...they seriously don't make primary cells like they used to...