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

[CitroJim]

Big headache for the check engine light is that they've got a bloody great table which tells them exactly how the light is meant to behave in any particular vehicle. So just stuffing a 555 timer down the back of the instrument panel to make it stay on for a few seconds or paralleling it with the ignition light aren't going to fool them...

Ahh, just like Airbag and ABS lights have a distinct POST flash sequence... Thing is, on the Xantia it just goes out and indeed on the Saxo and Ka too... As do most early ones... So on that basis a 555 timer on a Lada I'm sure will pass muster Anyway, Your Lada has a carb according to its build specification so does the EML need to work on a system that's been retro-fitted?

Xantia ones stay on longer of there's a stored fault code. If it goes out immediately the engine starts it's clear but if it lingers it's time to get the Lexia out

I've not consciously noted the same behaviour on a Saxo...

Reckon we'll be seeing in a couple of years time it being mandatory for an OBD session to be initiated and any logged faults being a fail.

I think that's inevitable and I'm surprised in a way it's not already included given that OBDII should be relatively standard across all cars now...

But again, what about pre-OBDII cars? S2 Xantias have a 16 pin OBDII lookalike but in no way will an OBDII code reader read anything from it and what about 30 pin sockets and two-pin sockets...

I see another can of worms being opened or is that a minefield being stepped into? I guess the answer will be only on cars produced from when OBDII was standardised across the board...

We live in interesting times... Just hang in there because as soon as the car turns 40 it'll be MoT exempt

[Zelandeth]

Yeah, my guess is that it will be necessary for anything post 2003...which if memory serves is when the OBDII protocol was standardised.

Good point about the injection system being retrofitted...The CEL does exist on the carb setup as it's still got full closed loop control - but its behaviour is much more simplistic. It will simply light is any one of about five parameters are out of range - the most common being the supply voltage being below 12.5V...so in theory I could actually just rig it to run off the ignition light most likely and it would be just fine.

Ideally though I'd rather have it fixed - as if it lights up it's telling me something's amiss. Seems kind of pointless to have a system which has the ability to do self diagnostics and not take advantage of it.

Can see this being an issue for quite a few of the carb cars, as it's not uncommon for their check engine lights to occasionally flicker at idle (I think the system is just too slow to keep up with the necessary mixture tweaks at idle), and it only points at problems if it doesn't instantly go out and stay out if you bring the revs up off natural idle at all. Seem to recall the Samara (which uses exactly the same carb, albeit on a later engine) tends to suffer from exactly the same issue.

Having said that...can't be many Samaras left now. They'd all but vanished by the time I had my one in 2004-ish.

Sadly waiting 15 years for the Riva to become MOT exempt sounds like a bit of a wait!

[Zelandeth]

Given that I've got a long drive coming up tomorrow I gave the Activa a quick check over today. Topped up the screen wash and checked oil, coolant and LHM (all exactly where I left them unsurprisingly). Then as it actually wasn't raining for five minutes, I decided to give it a quick wash.

Then gave the leather a going over with the conditioner again and wiped the dog nose prints off the inside of the rear windscreen.

Also gave in to my OCD...

...And painted the tailpipe. It being visibly rusty was letting the whole rear end of the car down.

Also then ran over to Jim's place and dumped yet another boot full of vintage electronics on him!

[van ordinaire]

Just a bookmark really, as I'm now up-to-date (although still have a few other blogs to go). It was odd that during those few months the C15 was languishing while I made precious little progress with the job in hand I really dropped out of the forum altogether. Even keeping my own blog updated would've been embarrassing (apart from the technical issues I'd been having).
Shame 'cos you've been deprived of my views/comments on such disperate topics as the USA, airlines, Paris, old Rollers, DVLA & Lada headlights. Do I feel a collective sigh of relief?
Surprised you found an Invacar so much more easily than a Cherokee, but your right about leaving it 'til Spring now - although I bought the red one around Christmas (probably did pay a bit over the odds for it BUT it's been a good purchase) & the '96 (i.e. pre-facelift) which I test drove in the snow (including a play in the parts of an Asda car park other vehicles couldn't reach) - & that really was a bargain!

[CitroJim]

Great to see you yesterday Zel and great to see the Activa looking so good...

I'm delighted she's getting the love and and use she so richly deserves

You'll find just what an accomplished long-distance cruiser she is at the weekend...

[Zelandeth]

Wanted to get a post up yesterday but ran out of time.

Activa is a bloody impressive motorway cruiser. Cruise control would make it absolutely perfect - if only to tame its willingness to creep up to very illegal speeds very easily!

Only one glitch I had was that after a brief "splash and dash" fuel stop it took two turns of the key to get any life from the starter. Has only ever done that once, and was after stopping almost immediately after coming off a 70mph dual carriageway with no inroad so probably still roasting hot.

Pretty sure I've read about occasional issues with sticky solenoids on the TCT when hot somewhere.

Honestly not going to worry about it too much. It's about the worst possible situation at that service station in terms of heat soak!

Managed just over 34mpg on the way up, which isn't too bad I reckon. A bit better than the Saab managed on the same run.

[daviemck2006]

How far north are you Zel? I only returned 29mpg out of my activa from Jim's to mine when I took her home from its clutch replacement. I may have been travelling at rather illegal speeds though.

[Zelandeth]

Pitmedden just now.

Very whistle stop visit this time, just long enough to catch up with a few folks I've not seen in years - as much to prove to myself I can actually leave the house for more than an hour without the world ending than for anything else.

If all does go well this weekend, hopefully I'll make another run up during the summer for a longer visit. If I do make that work I'll definitely need to head up your way Davie. Both as I'd like to actually meet you, and because I'm really curious to take a look at the renovation work which I've been told has finally started up at Tarlair. Odd to think that I was up there at least a couple of times a year until I moved away, yet it's over four years now since I set eyes on the place.

Have to roll my eyes at the Marischal Square development on Broad Street in Aberdeen...what a monumental waste of money... they've done naff all there that they couldn't have achieved by renovation and refacing of St. Nicholas House...which the Council then could have made into a revenue stream by letting units out. What a waste.

Bet it won't still be fit for purpose in 43 years...or half as difficult to tear down!

[CitroJim]

Only one glitch I had was that after a brief "splash and dash" fuel stop it took two turns of the key to get any life from the starter. Has only ever done that once, and was after stopping almost immediately after coming off a 70mph dual carriageway with no inroad so probably still roasting hot.

That's a new one on me Zel...

[Zelandeth]

I'll keep an eye on it Jim. As stated it was a pretty horrible place to stop in terms of heat soak as there's no real approach - dead short exit slip then you're at the pumps.

Didn't notice any click or anything, so my guess would either be the ignition switch itself failing to close the start contact properly or the starter solenoid itself sticking briefly.

Where is the starter on this engine? I'm guessing buried under the exhaust manifold...

[CitroJim]

Where is the starter on this engine? I'm guessing buried under the exhaust manifold...

No, not quite that bad Zel... It's on the front of the engine, just under the inlet manifold and behind the pressure regulator/accumulator sphere...

It's quite tiny really an not as hard as it looks to get at or swap...

I'd be suspecting battery terminals... They've played up a little in the dead of winter before...

I reckon they may be on their way to getting a bit high-resistance in the crimps at times...

[daviemck2006]

Funny how Gabby also refused to start due to the battery terminals! May be a common thing with ex citrojim xantias

[CitroJim]

Funny how Gabby also refused to start due to the battery terminals! May be a common thing with ex citrojim xantias

Maybe it's their way of showing they miss me

[Zelandeth]

Batter terminals were checked for tightness a while back when I rerouted the power wire to the headlights a bit. As you say though, the crimps have a fair few years on now. I've got the tool to make them buried somewhere, so may just re-terminate them at the battery end at the next service while I'm in there.

Quick photo from earlier today... enjoying her trip I hope!

[CitroJim]

That's a lovely looking spot Zel

Regular readers of Zel's blog will know Zel sent some of his vintage wireless stuff around to live with me...

Been working on this one today...

Own Work

This is an unusual one... It's a commercial MW/LW radio tuner plus 8 watt Public Address amplifier intended for industrial, sports or schools use.

8 watts was a tidy amount of power in those days and it has the facility to drive distant speakers over a 100V transmission line as was the norm for Public Address systems years ago...

It dates from 1951. Brings to mind the old 'music whilst you work' slogans and images of schoolkids sitting cross-legged in the hall listening to a Home Service schools broadcast...

It took a bit of fixing... The amplifier part was easy enough, just a couple of leaky waxy capacitors, but the tuner was a bit trickier as it had been 'got at' for some unknown reason... More duff capacitors, a missing resistor and bent vanes on the tuning capacitor...

It's now working extremely well

A nice and interesting addition to the collection...