MadaboutKitcars

Lucky - I forgot about SORN.

As for painting the house...

First issue is I am fortunate enough to still be working full time.
So I would only be free to do it in the evening and/or weekends.
It would also take me miles longer than the three professionals.
(It would take me a month to do what they finished in a day! )

Finally, this section is a long way up.



Whilst, I've been up a ladder at this height before.
I'd need to rope my wife in to hold the bottom while I was up there.
Plus, these days, the ground looks a lot harder from on high than when I was younger.

Take care, Paul.

It's been a long time coming…
I know it has been less than two months since I last drove the car, but it seems like much longer.

After some back breaking work in the garden yesterday and this morning I was allowed out to play.

First stop was the garage to fill up with some fresh petrol.

Then I went for a random drive and it felt great.

Definitely good for clearing your head after weeks of being stuck inside WFH.

This was a deserted Leisure Centre car park.





And this was a quick stop at the local shop.



In all, a little over 28 miles.

Until next time, take care, Paul.

PS
It took three men just two days to turn the front of our house from this…



To this.



It would have taken me weeks, if not months, to this job myself.

Note: We couldn't get the dark red we wanted mixed, so my wife picked the grey instead.

The house looks great, the car even better! Glad you're out and about to enjoy the good weather.

Nice to see you're able to get out and about, Paul, your car still looks a million dollars parked amongst the moderns.

Jones & Mr T - Thanks gents.

Unfortunately, life under a tarpaulin has not been kind to my car's paintwork.

It looks a lot better in the photos than is does close up.

Hope to get a chance to take the car out again over the weekend.

As I've spent over 16 hours in front of computer screens WFH during these last two hot and sunny days.

Take care, Paul.

Another trip out…
A combination of real work and domestic chores meant I only had a brief window on Bank Holiday Monday.

Managed to rack up just over 41 miles, but forgot to put sun screen on my forearms which got sun burned!





Take care, Paul.

It has been a while
Things have been a bit hectic lately on the working from home front.

I've also spend a lot of time digging holes for some new trees in the garden.

Which means I haven't been out for a drive since my last update in May.

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New Car Cover
Holes had started appearing all over my old cover.



So I bought a new one from Ebay.



These covers all seem to last just a little bit longer than the 1 year warranty.

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Firing up the engine
Last week, I finally had the chance to start the car.



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Belated Happy 40th Birthday
My donor Spitfire was 'born' in April 1980, so I'd missed her 40th Birthday a few months back.

My tax was due for renewal at the end of July, so I've only got 6 months this time, instead of 12.

As January 2021 should be when I can apply to switch into the Historic Tax class = £0.

I will also check the VHI rules again and see if I can apply for that too.

Note:
I still need an MOT for my insurance and would get one anyway for peace of mind.

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Electrical Problem
Today, I thought I'd try to get to the bottom of why my front driver's side indicator no longer works.

Although, as soon as I stepped outside, the dark clouds arrived.



So I figured I'd just unwrap the front of the car.



I'd already checked the bulb, so I knew that wasn't the problem.

I started looking at the connectors and found two wires had come loose.



So I unpicked the connectors and reattached them to the wires.
(Sorry the photos aren't great.)





Unfortunately, this didn't fix the problem, so I kept looking and found another loose connection.

But this didn't fix the problem either.

Then I removed the indicator from the body shell so I could check the inside.



That all looked OK, so I connected this indicator to the wiring for the passenger side.



So the indicator housing isn't the problem, so I am currently stumped.

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Help Requested
Based on the following, does anyone have a suggestion of what I should check / try next?

Left indicator switch on:
- Both front and rear indicators light up and flash

Right indicator switch on:
- Rear indicator lights up, but doesn't flash
- Front indicator doesn't light up

Hazard lights on:
- Both front and rear passenger indicators light up and flash
- Rear driver's side indicator lights up and flashes
- Front indicator doesn't light up

Answers on a postcard to the usual address.

Thanks,

Paul.

back to the original issue.
In the past I have installed indicator bulbs incorrectly, polarity reversed. They will go in either way.
try removing that bulb and re-install. Hope that helps.

earth always with plastic cars !!!

bulbs work either way !!!

What happens when you remove the rear drivers side indicator bulb?
just wondering if the problem is the rear taking all the current, so the front does not light.

Molleur, Wharfedale & HouseMartin – Thanks for the suggestions gentlemen.

Bulb - The bulb is definitely working.
See last photo above where the driver’s side indicator bulb is plugged into the passenger side wiring.

However, the reason you can see the bulb is on is another failure mode I forgot to list.

Front right indicator housing plugged into front left wiring and left indicator switched on.
- Both front and rear left indicators light up, but neither flash.

Initially, I thought this was due to the fact there were unconnected wires on the right side.
(Where I had disconnected the front indicator.)

When I reconnected both the front indicators to their original wiring, the left worked as normal.
(At which point I tried the hazard switch and got the result previously listed.)

Earth – I may have missed a trick here.
I checked the earth wire was still securely joined to the ‘ring’ connector at the earthing point.
However, I didn’t check if there was no break in the wire between the earthing point and the indicator.
I could also run a separate piece of spare wire to earth as another way of checking this.

Rear Light – I didn’t think to remove the rear bulb, but I will add that to my experiments.

And finally…
We have some friends coming around today for a socially distanced visit in our back garden.
(First time since lock down began.)

So, I might not be able to play with the car today, but I’ll try to get to the bottom of this during the week.

Given the fact I have already removed the front indicator from the driver’s side…
I might also remove the front passenger side too.
That way, I can swap them both around and then see what happens.

Cheers, Paul.

Nothing to see here
Over a month since my last post and I haven't had a chance to work on the car.
(Too busy WFH at the moment, which, overall, has to be a good thing in these crazy times.)

As least I've managed to start the car a couple of times, this was earlier today.



Hopefully, I'll get a chance to get back out on the road before the Summer disappears completely.

Take care,

Paul.

On my S1 landrover, I have an aluminium panel that is pop riveted to the body and is now not electrically connected. First rule of caravan (aluminium) electrics, check the earth. A lead from the battery negative-earth to troublesome fitting. As Wharfdale said it is always the earth, so check it first. If it doesn't work leave it on until you find the fault then remove it. It might be the earth as well. I know, I've been there! Good luck Stay safe.

Dpaz - A belated thank you for your reply.

I really need to pull my finger out and fix this now, as my MOT expires in a few weeks.

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2020 - What a year!
I can't quite believe that the last time I drove my car was back in May.

However, that would explain why the battery didn't have enough juice to start the engine the other day.

I also needed my wife's help to push the car back as the brake were sticking too.
(Need to sweep up all the leaves underneath it.)



Battery out for charging.



Rather than struggle to push it back, I just left it where it was.



With a fully charged battery, I was able to start the car.

I could also drive it back and forth on the driveway to free up the brakes.



I can't drive it on the road until I re-fit the front indicator.

Hopefully, by the time I've fixed the electrics, they will have replaced my driveway.







Anyway, I hope all is well.

I'll try to post some belated replies to other threads this week too.

Take care, Paul.

Hi Paul, these days it sometimes seems too much effort to scratch your bum! If you battery is a bit inaccesible like my Locust, put a heavy lead from the battery to a terminal post. It saved me a lot of hassle with jump leads. Stay safe!
Dpaz

Dpaz - Thankfully the battery is very easy to get to.

Unfortunately, between work and the weather I still haven't worked on the car.

At least I've finished this year's pumpkin.







Happy Halloween!

Cheers, Paul.

That looks really good for all the wrong reasons !

Great pumpkin one of the most original

Hope you are all keeping well.

I'll post a proper update after Christmas, but I hope you can make the most of it this year.

Take care, Paul.


"This is only one more sleep 'til Christmas."

Happy Christmas Paul. All the best to all!

Merry Christmas and wishing you a Happy(er) New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Molleur, Mr T & Deni - Thanks for the Christmas wishes gents and a belated Happy New Year to you all.

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SORN
Yesterday I officially declared my car off the road as the MOT had expired and the tax runs out today.

Unfortunately, the harsh reality is I just do not have the time to fix the front indicator problem.
(Even if it is a simple earthing fix.)

Also, with Lockdown restrictions in place, I have no interest in driving it.

As no journey in a car that looks like mine is going to appear to be essential, even if it is.

So here is a quick round up of recent events…

The pavement and cross over driveway have been completed.



In the run up to Christmas, I tried to at least re-fit the indictor and the cover broke.



So, I left all the bits on the passenger seat, ordered a replacement and packed my tools away.



When I did get a chance to re-start the car in January, the battery was as flat as a pancake (again).



But after recharging it, the engine fired up and I could drive the car back and forth a few feet.



This was the scene the very next day.



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Working From Home
I've now spent over 10 months WFH in my 'office' in the loft.



Don't get me wrong, I know front line NHS workers, and others, do real hard work.

Plus many people are not working at all due to Covid, so in many respects I am lucky.

But I have racked up 194.5 work hours in this small space in January 2021 alone.
(Ignoring the time I spend here reading Internet Forums. )

So, I have been trying hard to do some exercise to compensate for all the sitting down.

The good news is that my fitness is returning and my weight is reducing.

The bad news is there are simply not enough hours in the day to do all I want to.

I know things will improve 'one day' and I look forward to driving my car again then.

Take care, Paul.

PS
Will try again to reply to other build threads at some point.

Keep your spirits up Paul, it'll all be over by Christmas...