End of the road, perhaps starting to look a bit better!

BX Tech talk
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Vanny
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End of the road, perhaps starting to look a bit better!

Post by Vanny »

well i just dont know what to do now.

Battery wont hold charge (it goes from 11.68v VERY slowly to 12.89v with the charger on, takes about 20 minutes, then leaving it on for two hours, it drops down to 11.68v within about 20minutes once the charger is removed), no biggie as it still under warranty but i'll have to swap it.

Tried to sort out some of the bodged wiring and make sure this isnt causing the alternator fault, and now the glow pug relay is shafted, it just stays on permanantly and never goes off.

Alternator still smokes, and if i'm gonna swap it im gonna have to take most of the bloody car apart to get it out.

All in all i've spent a good £800 on this heap of shit this year, all because of other peoples screw ups, and the car hasn't moved yet. given the week of hell i've just had i've totally lost hope of ever getting this thing going. I dont have any money for an alternator, and having spent the last few hours hunched over the side of the car, my backs now fucked.



WHY ME!!!!!


No one else seems to get this much bad luck, I cant seem to fix the problems, i dont have the money to fix the problems, and i know full well if i do get them fixed a million more will appear.


So what do i do??? I cant even sell the stupid thing.
just wanna cry.
Last edited by Vanny on Mon Oct 31, 2005 11:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
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sleepy0905
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Post by sleepy0905 »

vanny i have and alternator of a 1.9tgd and a glow plug relay the blue one under the bonnet in my spares if it will help? just dont know what postage will be as the alternator is pritty heavy the only requirement would be that when you get sorted if you could let me have either the or an alternator back as i do plan on changing mine next year to try and eliminate the very occasional slow starting but no rush though.
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ken newbold
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Post by ken newbold »

Vanny, there comes a time when you've done so much that fatigue sets in and no matter what you do nothing works or goes right.

This is the time to take a break. Leave it alone, do something else.

Go back to it another day and sometimes seeing things when you are refreshed you wonder why you never saw it in the first place.

I'm sure we've all been there, and what I'm saying seem to defy all logic but I'm sure eveyone will agree with me, it does seem to work.

Give it a rest, take time out.

Regards Ken.
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Post by Mr B »

Bad luck mate, ! feel for you #-o Kens' advice is the best, leave it alone for a while and have another go when the dust has settled.

Times to surf and times to wax your board and all that...........Oh, and start drinking heavily :wink:
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bernie
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Post by bernie »

I've already told you about my car Vanny, it would have been cheaper
:shock:
BTW any news on the laptop?
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Stewart (oily!)
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Post by Stewart (oily!) »

Steady on old chap, go and have a cup of tea and a rest, the alternator might be trying to keep up with a rapidly discharging battery and a stuck glow plug relay, that might make it warm, I used to short citcuit the diode board to earth on lucas alternators to make them charge flat out on a charging rig I made up, the belt used to smoke! and it could stall a briggs and stratton 5 hp motor! is the alternator belt complaining? ie lots of load? or have you a short somewhere?
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Vanny
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Post by Vanny »

Hmmm, after the hellish Saturday i had a bit more luck on the Sunday, but i think i'm a bit confused!


Swapped in the battery from the AX and things are a little better. Glow plug relay working, car starting but the alternator is still smoking like a little fag end! Got one of the old dead ones and i'll take it for a recon and see what happens. Battery can be swapped at the supplier, but i think you lot are right and thats whats killed the alternator!


Anyway, wanted to move her out of the garage, so thought bugger to it, hooked everything up and started her up (without an air filter :D). OH MY GOD the smoke! We had every colour possible, black, blue, white and i swear a bit of green :D Its okay after about 60 seconds at 1500 revs and the odd flooring, it all cleared and doesnt seem to be coming back.

Bled the caliper that had been replaced and dropped her off the stands. Started her up again and was a bit rough. Investigation shows there is an airleak somewhere (can hear it but not see it!), so nothing to worry about. Anyway, lever into high and i swear i've never seen anything like it, she literally drifted into the sky, smoothly, effortlessly and within seconds, AWESOME!!! About time something went well!

But wait, tried to drive her out, and absolutely NO power steering, infact i would say the ram was working against me, not with me! Now bear in mind i had done a pinion valve recon, and i now have a yet uninvestigated leak in the general area of the ram. Any suggestions???


Also the handbrake doesnt work on the side which i changed the caliper. Foot brake it works just fine, but the arm for the hand brake does nothing, and didnt on the bench. Any suggestions??? Failing that anyone got another caliper for the N/S? Must mention i did pull the handbrake mechanism off to clean it and greese it (was full of cheese and rust!).


PS i killed my K&N air filter by filling it with engine oil, though still have no idea how!


Parts now needed;
Possible PAS Rack :(
Crank Pulley
N/S Caliper
Alternator
Miracle
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sleepy0905
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Post by sleepy0905 »

Your handbrake problem sounds like the lever is siezed up had this problem on mine and had to strip the whole caliper and clean and regrease everthing yipee it worked a dream, i am puzzled by your PAS problem so cannot offer any solutions other than I know it silly but you have put all the pipes on correctly. :(
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ken newbold
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Post by ken newbold »

Have you bled the steering by turning from lock to lock several times, it does take a while but eventually you should start to feel the pump helping you out.
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Vanny
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Post by Vanny »

hmmm, that might just do it, god mice it would be! Thanks Ken, will try that once i get the leak fixed! TBH i suspect that the leak is one of the pipes between rack and pinion as there always a bugger to do up, i probably decided to just wait and do it from under neat thepromptly forget!


As for the hand brake, erm, well i stripped it down, and the lever moves great, however the piston doesnt! Very weird, do i need a new one or is it fixable?
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ken newbold
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Post by ken newbold »

The calipers can be overhauled and repaired but I think special tools could be needed. A replacement caliper is probably easier.

As for your leak, I know the low pressure return from the pinion valve with empty the system in a couple of minutes if it leaks and I have know a few especially as the rubber pipes are getting older.

Sound like your getting there though :)
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Post by ed4ferrets »

Vanny I could probably help with your whole list except the miracle which seem to be in short supply right now :wink: only problem is geographical as I am on outskirts of Bristol!
Marty said: "Take some small comfort from the fact that the driver of the other car, having failed the breath test will even now be in a little cell, with luck they will double him up with some mean bastard who will be tattooing a fandango on his arse"

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Vanny
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Post by Vanny »

hmm just to clarify, i did overhaul the hand brake side of the caliper, just something abviously went wrong :(

The crank pulley and alternator both need to be from a Xantia 1.9TD rather than a BX, but if you can still help the geography sint a problem. A mate of mine is coming back up from Bristol on thrusday so i could get them brought up that way.

If they are Xantia bits, can you PM me with your phone number and i'll give you a ring.


On that matter is anyone has anything down south that needs to be oop narf (ie bristol to liverpool) then PM me and i'll ask si very nicely!
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Post by mat_fenwick »

If you want anything from my spares car (except the bare essentials I need to drive it) then your mate could pick them up from me in Gloucester.
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Post by ed4ferrets »

Oops guess I forgot you had shoehorned non BX bits into your BX so n/s front caliper is about it, PAS rack still firmly fixed in place!!
Marty said: "Take some small comfort from the fact that the driver of the other car, having failed the breath test will even now be in a little cell, with luck they will double him up with some mean bastard who will be tattooing a fandango on his arse"

'94 XM 2.1TD Break
'99 Xantia 1.9TD Break (almost there)
'63 Renault Caravelle
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