At 08:42 PM 6/8/99 -0700, Zach wrote:
>Well, seeing as I had a wonderful time Monday night
>driving home in the Spit ("Yes, officer, I know my
>lights are off"), my brake lights have only on rare
>occasion worked in the car, and I've got the old
>sometimes works gas and temperature gauge and no
>wipers (all fuses are fine), I've decided to pull out
>all the wiring and give it a good thorough whipping,
>er cleaning.
You don't mean removing the entire wiring harness I hope! A better plan
would be to work on one device or circuit at a time. You will find that
fixing a ground here or a connector there may repair other things too. You
can do this in short sessions rather than tie the car up for months.
Get a copy of the wiring diagram for your year Spitfire,
http://www.enteract.com/~vmichael/tech.html
go to a print shop, and have it enlarged up to poster size. Hang it on the
wall of your garage (or a foamboard if you don't have a garage). Get an
inexpensive VOM [volt-ohm meter] to test the components with. Keep track of
the circuits you verify, and if you find any deviations from the diagram
you have, note it on the sheet.
You may want to invest in a box of 'Lucar' connectors and a crimper. That
way if (when) you find weak or corroded connections you can repair them
without distress. In the US the 'big three' vendors sell them, or you can
get a deluxe assortment from Ray Psulkowski at
r.d. enterprises, ltd.
290 Raub Road, Quakertown, PA 18951 USA
Phone 215-538-9323 Fax 215-538-0158
web site http://www.rdent.com
He makes the box up himself....no financial interest etc of course.
>My questions are:
>
>1. Where is the best place to start this from? The
>back or the front of the car?
Start with the brake lights if you want. On those you potentially have
corroded bulb sockets/ bad grounds in the taillight housings or a loose or
bad connection to the footbrake switch. Look at any connectors you see,
plug & unplug them to check that they firmly snap together.
One timesaver would be to purchase a liquid de-oxidiser fluid from an
electronics store. This worked great for me on those corroded old
taillight bulb housings.
>
>2. Even though the ignition light goes off, I still
>am wary as to wether or not the car is charging. What
>is the normal current from the generator?
You should get about 12V with the engine off; and at least 13.5V with the
engine on and all the loads on (lights, heater fan, brakelights, etc). All
measurements done at the battery.
>
>3. Would a dwindling current and progressively worse
>running engine be related for obvious reasons?
If you have an electronic ignition and the voltage drops WAY down (say
below 10V) it may not work correctly. Depends on the brand.
Coil could be sensitive to voltage too...can anyone verify this? [Sorry
no personal expereince]
>
>4. Am I mad to keep this car running? ( I can answer
>this one easy... no!)
Ahh, another crazy Spitfire fanatic. :)
Good luck and happy hunting. Any questions just ask the List!
Cheers,
Atwell Haines
'79 Spitfire
Succasunna, NJ USA
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