DKK

[Tim Leech]

I bought a camper in a similar colour and I love it

Lovely! I so fancy an old camper....alas the beloved doesn't share my opinion...comments about hotels etc

[panky]

I do wonder myself sometimes, particularly in the middle of an Anglesey storm

[panky]

I've been doing a few little jobs on DKK purely cosmetic but satisfying.
I manage to get another set of mud flaps from the same Ebay seller and fitted them front and back



The front fog lamps were out of action and I just couldn't find the fault and, as I didn't fancy rewiring from the switch (a job for future Panky), I wired them to come on with the main beam using the fog lamp relay. A few turns of loom tape later and everything looks almost factory.

[panky]

The 'C' post speakers were a little worse for wear And no sign of any wiring so new ones were run behind the edge of the roof liner.



I bought new pair of 3" speakers off Ebay and the hole centres were the same so fitting them to the brackets was a simple task of drilling out the pop rivets and replace with new







The two pin din speaker plugs I had were the angled type and wouldn't fit as they overlapped because of the position of the sockets on the head unit so a pair of straight plugs on order. I tested the speakers individually and they seem OK - not brilliant but I'm not complaining for £25 the pair.

[saintjamesy89]

Great stuff John, I've really wanted to overhaul my GT's sound system - much more so after hearing how much better yours sounds comparatively. I don't think I even have speakers in the C pillar so an instant upgrade! I'd like to install mid/bass speakers under the front seats too.

[panky]

I'm looking forward to hearing it with both speakers working, it certainly sounds better than the one I had in the Mini.

[panky]

DKK and Ted the Traveller bask in the spring sunshine while Bonnie the Commer is getting ready for the first camping trip of the year

[panky]

Just had a god awful trip back from Anglesey In Bonnie A journey that normally takes under two hours tool over five due to roadworks, we queued up for three of those, and covered about a mile, on the approach to the new Runcorn/Widnes bridge as the first bit was closed - no idea why as there was not a workman or van in sight but plenty of diversion cones I'll be glad to get back into DKK for some stress relief

[panky]

A failed warning light temperature sender (now replaced) made me decide I needed an indication of what was going on in the cooling system. Luckily among the bits and bobs Kitch supplied with the car was a digital temperature kit.
I didn't really want to cut into any hoses for the probe so I looked for an alternative and the radiator vent screw looked a likely candidate. The vent thread is M10 but the new probe is M10 fine 1mm pitch so I gathered what I needed to make an adapter.
I couldn't find one with an M10 male thread and M10 fine female so one with an M8 female end was drilled and tapped to suit the probe



A hole for the narrow end of the probe was also drilled straight(ish) through







This is when I realised the the M10 male end wasn't long enough to reach the thread in the radiator So I cobbled up an extension piece with a drilled stud and a cut down riv-nut.

In position



It's not ideal as the reaction time is slowed down by the distance from the coolant but I'll keep searching for a neater solution. It's running Evans waterless so I was able to fill to the top so the probe isn't far away from the coolant.

I did a test until the fan cut in and compared the new gauge with a infra red thermometer and they were within a degree of each other





The display is only held on with sticky pads and a plastic bracket I made from a filler spreader so no damage done to the interior. The most difficult part was getting the wires into the engine bay through the big grommet, what a faff.

[xantia_v6]

If were me, I would just bolt the sensor to the cylinder head. The radiator is not a good place because a sudden loss of coolant would isolate the sensor from the engine temperature.

[Jaba]

Yes, there are many ways of doing this. On my TD I removed one of the 2 warning light sensors in the thermostat housing and fitted it there. I then found another use for the warning light.
I also extended the length of the coolanf temperature sensor with some slit lengthwise 10m copper pipe to ensure complete immersion in the coolant and a quick response. This was using a dash from a GTi which are fitted with a temp sensor already.

[panky]

Excellent suggestions thank you both. I do like the idea of replacing one of the warning light sensors, what did you use the redundant light for in the end. Improvements to my effort are afoot soon.

[panky]

I've re-done it using one of the temperature warning light ports.
Luckily I kept the failed sender, as you do, and modified it to make an adapter for the new probe.

The top was cut off the knackered sender and the innards removed - as luck would have it the inside bore was the perfect size to tap it M10 fine



I pinched Jaba's idea and lengthened the new probe with a short piece of copper tube pushed over the end to reach the bottom of the bore and buttoned it up.I kept enough of the old sensor to keep the seating and enough of the hex to get a spanner on.



A test showed the engine get up to temperature and the fan cutting in and out just over 90Deg C. Happy with that so I'll find something else to fiddle with.

[panky]

a 400+ mile trip completed yesterday without missing a beat. 193,000 miles clicked over on the odometer during the trip, brilliant cruiser

[panky]

Another 420 mile trip yesterday completed but............the fuel gauge packed up But after nearly a thousand miles in a week I think a little protest can be expected, that gauge hasn't worked so hard in years This kind of mileage won't be a regular thing but it's comforting to know the car can lap it up easily