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Brendan The Spit

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Everything posted by Brendan The Spit

  1. Brendan The Spit
    I don't have overdrive, and I checked that nothing had been left on. The clincher was borrowing someone's battery tester, it was dead as a dodo, even after trying to charge it. Went to my local purveyor of sundry car-related items, plonked the old battery on his reception desk, said "I want an exact replacement for this" and, 15 minutes or so later, the car was back in action. Strange isn't it how you can go from low to high with cars? More often vice versa, has to be said... Thanks for the helpful suggestions here, as ever.
  2. Brendan The Spit
    Fixed. :)
  3. Brendan The Spit
    Great, ta. Latest is, my local mechanic just lent me his battery tester, explained how to use it, got home, and it looks like the battery's completely died. So, off to Halfords it is then. I'm actually taking the old battery with me so I can say "Can I have a direct replacement for this please..."
  4. Brendan The Spit
    ... in which case my next question would be: can I just get any standard car battery eg from Halfords, or do I have to get something specific? It's for a 1976 Spit 1500. Thanks for the advice btw, I know I'm embarrassingly lacking in knowledge here so all advice very welcome...
  5. Brendan The Spit
    Thanks. You're right about the description, it quite literally is not responding in any way whatsoever when I turn the key. The last time I drove it, about a fortnight ago, it was fine. There isn't a history of charge draining from the battery either. Thing is, I don't have a spare. So, perhaps I should just nip out and get one, and try that?
  6. Brendan The Spit
    Nope, not got either of them I'm afraid. I just noticed that, when I took the negative clip off the battery, leaving the positive attached, the charger indicator glowed weakly. Putting it back on, the indicator turned off. Anyway, I really don't think this is the kind of thing I have the experience or equipment really to sort out. So, do you reckon it's a quick fix, or is this the type of thing that can take ages to diagnose? I ask because my local mechanic is good at basic stuff but I don't really rate him for anything complex. I do have another person I can use but he's pretty expensive and based a few miles away from me, and as I say I'm broke right now and just cannot afford to splash the cash on anything other than absolute necessities. But, as I say, if this is the kind of thing a half-decent mechanic (with experience of cars btw - he actually has his own Spit but I've been less than impressed with his work in the past) should be able to fix in an hour or so, then I might risk getting him to look at it.
  7. Brendan The Spit
    Thanks, checked the fuses and they look ok. Honestly? Don't know how to check for power at the battery or coil. I've replaced the coil in the past but that was just a case of taking out the old and plugging in the new. I can have a go at basic stuff like that but I'm by no means an electrics expert. Given that I'm virtually broke right now, given an eye-wateringly large amount of money I might have to spend on some house repairs, is this the kind of thing you think my local garage mechanic should be able to diagnose quickly?
  8. Brendan The Spit
    I'm in the process of reupholstering the seats. I just got the driver seat done, put it in, turned the ignition, nothing. Absolutely nothing. I've plugged in my battery charger and it's having no effect whatsoever. I had a hunch it could be the seat belt indicator - some systems can disable the car if they're not plugged in, right? And I do have the indicator, but I'm pretty sure that it wasn't even connected on the driver side. There is actually a lead with connector coming out of the passenger seat, plus a lead with connector coming from under the carpet on that side, so I plugged them in. Still nothing. There is a lead with connector coming from the carpet on the driver side too, but no lead in the seat - I just took it apart again to check. This validates what I originally thought ie it was never connected anyway. The car's not been running for a couple of weeks but that shouldn't be the problem. Even when starting after a cold winter spell it gives a bit of a cough, and responds to the battery being charged. And, as far as I can tell, the charger's not showing anything at all, ie I'm sure it should show that there is some charge actually in the battery itself but it's not showing anything. So where do I go from here? Is it possible for a battery actually to completely die? Thanks Brendan
  9. Brendan The Spit
    My copper pipe runs round the back, not all the way around the front. I had probs a while back but I think that was the fuel pump, not evaporation.
  10. Brendan The Spit
    OK I just noticed there was a 'label under the label' kind of thing (a 'turn over' icon bottom right I hadn't seen before). It says Ethylene Glycol. So, not Propylene Glycol. I actually just added some water to the overflow, simply because I have to test this car before I drive it on Sunday. Everything is checking out fine so it looks like I got away with overheating it. I'm popping round to JY Classics this afternoon anyway to get the fuel sender unit replaced, so I'll consult John over this - he actually recommended I just put water in for now. I only had to top up with about two pints of water so there is still coolant in there, it's just a bit more diluted than before. So I'll have a chat with John re coolant, but if I can just drive this thing over the next week and get that holiday I've been planning for months with the current setup, I'll be happy with that, then I'll think about coolant and maybe a complete flush when I'm back. Just to say thanks for all the help chaps. When things go wrong it's really annoying but you always learn a ton of stuff.
  11. Brendan The Spit
    Good grief it's two steps forward one step back! So I rush home and out to the local garage, where they only have one bottle of coolant left. I can't see the colour, I ask the youth behind the counter if it's the pink or blue sort, he looks at me like I just landed on planet earth, I buy it anyway. I open it, and find that it's not pink, and it's not blue either... it's green! It's Mobil ready mixed coolant. So, can I use this? Or should I go to the proper auto place tomorrow if I can find time? Post-edit: this seems to say that blue=green - http://wiki.seloc.org/a/Coolant - and I've found another source that says they change the colour every two years? Sounds a bit bizarre. Also, does it matter what sort I already have in the  radiator, so that match like for like? So many questions!
  12. Brendan The Spit
    Thanks. I'll be taking it for a spin tonight to see what happens, just around the local area in case of difficulties.
  13. Brendan The Spit
    Brilliant, thanks Wimpus and 'other Brendan'! Like I said, this happened about a mile away from home so I must have been driving for only a few minutes. The temp gauge shot up to full but it does look like I was able to stop the car before anything major happened (fingers crossed). Great advice on taking a load of water with me too. I used to have an old Cavalier that I would regularly fill up with water I carried around, so it'll just be like the good old days...
  14. Brendan The Spit
    Me again. So it looks like I topped up the radiator with about two pints of water. The capacity of the coolant system appears to be around 8 pints so hopefully I haven't diluted it too much, especially if I add some more to the overflow. I'm not prepared to flush out the system until I have plenty of time to do so. Next question: do I need to be careful with whatever coolant I get, or does any old stuff work? One more thing: I notice that the water/coolant in the radiator is a bit brown so I guess I need to get that looked at soon. I'm just going to drive around a lot between now and Sunday then decide what to do.
  15. Brendan The Spit
    OK, thanks for this. I'll see what I can do about getting antifreeze in both radiator and overflow. In the meantime I noticed some water around the radiator which surprised me, I thought it would have evaporated by now so I've put some newspaper under it to see if anything drips. I'm going to drive it quite a bit between now and Saturday to test it. I was really hoping it would all be ok for Sunday when I was planning on a trip through Wales so I'm concerned now that I won't have enough time to make sure everything's ok. Darn it.
  16. Brendan The Spit
    So, new belt is on, seems to have the right tension - but the car's running very hot now. Everything's going round ok (fan etc), but I think what's happening is, when the radiator got hot after the belt broke, it spurted out water through the overflow (the pipe had come out and it was dripping water everywhere) so I need to top up the radiator. So, two questions: 1. Given that I don't have any coolant handy, I should be fine topping it up with water, right? Provided of course I remember to sort it out in winter. 2. I'm assuming that the overflow shouldn't have ANY water in it, cos it's an overflow? Thanks Brendan PS I don't think the radiator is damaged - I've checked and there doesn't seem to be any water dripping anywhere.
  17. Brendan The Spit
    OK, just checked - everything spins nicely, alternator and water pump, so I reckon it was just an old, knackered fan belt. Thanks! :)
  18. Brendan The Spit
    Brilliant, thanks chaps. Amazing how one belt is so important! It looks quite obvious that the belt I found stowed in the boot is far too small so I've ordered two from eBay (from a seller I've used before), one to fit myself, one for the boot! Also, referred to my original BL Cars Repair Manual so that shows how to loosen the alternator to get the belt to fit. Fingers crossed we'll be back up and running by Sunday.
  19. Brendan The Spit
    Hi, So, driving back, sudden weird noise, strange smell (recognise it from when my radiator burst on an old Peugeot years ago), temperature shot up but fortunately was under a mile away and was able to get home. Now what I have is: * Fan belt has sheared off * Ignition light won't turn off * Radiator overflow pipe has come out of overflow * Engine keeps turning over when I switch it off - have to pull out choke to stop it So, my question is: do you think this is all symptomatic of the fan belt failing, and if so should a new fan belt fix all of this ie the ignition light and engine turning over, so long as I just put the pipe back into the reservoir? I have a spare belt that came with the car but it seems far too small to fit. Is this normal ie are new belts very very very very tight fitting? Or should I be looking at something I can easily fit myself? I *was* planning on a road trip holiday in a week's time and I really could have done without this. Any/all recommendations welcome. Thanks Brendan
  20. Brendan The Spit
    I really don't quite get the MX5 seat thing. I just got new foam for my Spit seats and they're great, without all the hassle?
  21. Brendan The Spit
    Ah, this is so reminiscent of the original thread where I posted about this! [Sorry, link no longer available] I've been through the iterations and I think the coil is the strongest candidate, not least because several independent sources reckon that's what it is. I know, I know, it could be other things but that's the one I'm going to go for. Regarding units, I have a strong feeling that the current coil is actually not suitable. I'm probably going to go for the Lucas model at Rimmers (http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-GCL132HP). If anyone thinks this isn't the right one to go for, please let me know! Thanks Brendan
  22. Brendan The Spit
    Hi, So, now the weather's improving I've decided to replace the coil, because the car really does not like the hot weather and several people reckon it's the coil (basically misfires badly but no smell of petrol). I've taken a look through my manuals and it seems fairly easy to do - just whip out the old unit, put in the new (ensuring I disable the battery first of course). But, I'm not sure what unit to buy. Ebay lists lots: http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0&_nkw=spitfire+1500+ignition+coil+ballast&_sacat=0&_from=R40 It's for a 1976 Spit 1500. The current unit says its by Intermotor, and has a number 11050 on it. When I look online this is what I find: http://www.autopartoo.com/oem/intermotor/11050rrq.html - which doesn't seem quite right to me? Then this thread looks like it could be ok: http://www.tssc.org.uk/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=28&func=view&catid=213&id=70831 I've also read that you can get high-performance coils that aren't ballasted. I really don't want anything fiddly, just new for old so the car runs properly again, not too pricey but then again not bargain basement (ie ideally I'd like to avoid cheapo Chinese imports). What would you recommend? If not Ebay, any particular sites eg Rimmers (http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-GCL132HP) Thanks Brendan
  23. Brendan The Spit
    Thanks - I figured it out however. I got the missus to hold down one side while I grunted and pushed on t'other, and eventually we got them all on.
  24. Brendan The Spit
    I've got some nice new ones after losing one (and the old ones were always coming loose anyway). Problem is: I cannot for the life of me figure out how to fit them. There's about a million metal hooks on the inside. Whenever I get most of them to catch, the last few just will not go in, whether I push, hit, lever with a screwdriver etc. I just think I'm about to get it fitted and the whole thing pops out again. Any ideas? I recall having a similar problem with the old ones and I can't remember exactly how I did it. I'm in danger of losing a finger cos when it slips, it really does slip, and there are nasty sharp bits of metal round the back of these things, not to mention the screwdriver, the actual wheel itself etc And I also really do not want to be taking the wheels off to do this. Surely there's a technique to this that I haven't figured out...?
  25. Brendan The Spit
    Great, thanks chaps, I'll order it and see what transpires!
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