A work go-karting evening gave me an excuse for another drive but the weather report wasn't promising - rain at about the time we were due to finish. I decided to risk it - bad move....
The go-karting started late and the rain started early. Luckily, I had put my emergency roof (a piece of tarp and some bungees) on before the event but the rain was hammering down and the tarp is only small, so it didn't stop rain coming in the sides.
The journey back was.... er.... interesting. When I said in a previous post that the rain just gets blown over the car, that's true if the rain is light but in heavy stuff, nope - you get wet. Actually, the rain wasn't as bad as the huge puddles on the road - I need doors.
So I got soaked but there were some positives;
1. My wipers rock, although they couldn't do anything about the rain on the inside of the screen.
2. My headlights are pretty darn good, especially on high beam.
3. Zedster got properly soaked including a couple of tidal waves over the bonnet and didn't miss a beat, although maybe I should hold off on saying that until I try go out on my next trip.
Wednesday 27 September 2017
Tuesday 26 September 2017
A funny thing happened...
... on the way to work (not the Forum).
I keep forgetting to mention that the Park function on my wipers never worked. I spent ages trying to work out the wiring needed on my switch but when I got the wiper motor in and wired up, it just didn't work. Up to now, I've been busy with other stuff, so I've forgotten about it.
Today, on the way to work, I went through a pothole and, suddenly, the wipers moved into the middle of the screen. Switching them on and they still worked but the Park now also works! The thump from the pothole must have knocked a contact on the wiper switch, or something.
Only problem is that the motor parks in front of the driver and I bought left-hand parking wipers (because I thought it wouldn't matter as the Park didn't work anyway). There is a procedure for swapping a cam inside the motor to make it park on the other side but that means taking it all apart - too much effort.
New wiper arms on order...
I keep forgetting to mention that the Park function on my wipers never worked. I spent ages trying to work out the wiring needed on my switch but when I got the wiper motor in and wired up, it just didn't work. Up to now, I've been busy with other stuff, so I've forgotten about it.
Today, on the way to work, I went through a pothole and, suddenly, the wipers moved into the middle of the screen. Switching them on and they still worked but the Park now also works! The thump from the pothole must have knocked a contact on the wiper switch, or something.
Only problem is that the motor parks in front of the driver and I bought left-hand parking wipers (because I thought it wouldn't matter as the Park didn't work anyway). There is a procedure for swapping a cam inside the motor to make it park on the other side but that means taking it all apart - too much effort.
New wiper arms on order...
Friday 22 September 2017
I can see clearly now
.... because I have working wipers!
My problem was of my own making; when I first fitted the wipers, I was supposed to make a bend in the tube that goes from the motor to the first gearbox. However, in my usual ham-fisted way, I kept bending too much and creating a kink which prevented the wire moving through the tube.
Where I went VERY wrong was thinking that the tube was just to protect the wire and so wasn't critical, so I kept cutting out the kinked bits of tube and eventually I was left with this:
So when the motor switched on, instead of pushing the wire straight through the gearboxes, it just bent in half. The tube is there to keep the wire in shape so the pushing force of the motor gets through to the gearboxes.
So GBS kindly sold me a small piece of the tube and Simon once again came to my rescue by explaining the technique for bending it; basically lots of tiny bends every few mm, using a loose vice (don't tighten it otherwise it will crush the tube).
All this took over 2 hours because I had to also take the dash off to get to the gearboxes etc. but it worked perfectly and incredibly satisfying to see the cute little wipers flipping away.
Next problem is the windscreen washer which doesn't work but I think is just a wiring issue.
Should also hopefully have my roof in a week or 2...
Also, my wind deflectors do help although they aren't a miracle cure and, for reference, my Gaz shock settings are:
Rear - 5 clicks up from softest.
Front - 6 clicks from softest.
The adjustment has 20 clicks but how anyone has it anywhere near that high, I don't know. I tried it on 10 clicks and the ride was rock hard.
My problem was of my own making; when I first fitted the wipers, I was supposed to make a bend in the tube that goes from the motor to the first gearbox. However, in my usual ham-fisted way, I kept bending too much and creating a kink which prevented the wire moving through the tube.
Where I went VERY wrong was thinking that the tube was just to protect the wire and so wasn't critical, so I kept cutting out the kinked bits of tube and eventually I was left with this:
So when the motor switched on, instead of pushing the wire straight through the gearboxes, it just bent in half. The tube is there to keep the wire in shape so the pushing force of the motor gets through to the gearboxes.
So GBS kindly sold me a small piece of the tube and Simon once again came to my rescue by explaining the technique for bending it; basically lots of tiny bends every few mm, using a loose vice (don't tighten it otherwise it will crush the tube).
All this took over 2 hours because I had to also take the dash off to get to the gearboxes etc. but it worked perfectly and incredibly satisfying to see the cute little wipers flipping away.
Next problem is the windscreen washer which doesn't work but I think is just a wiring issue.
Should also hopefully have my roof in a week or 2...
Also, my wind deflectors do help although they aren't a miracle cure and, for reference, my Gaz shock settings are:
Rear - 5 clicks up from softest.
Front - 6 clicks from softest.
The adjustment has 20 clicks but how anyone has it anywhere near that high, I don't know. I tried it on 10 clicks and the ride was rock hard.
Sunday 17 September 2017
Treasure hunt
First off, I think I've fixed the leak - it was coming from my oil filter. Presumably, after the oil change, I didn't have enough access to get the leverage to hand-tighten the filter, so I used the filter removal tool to tighten it slightly and the leak seems to have stopped but I'll keep an eye on it.
Reading my oil level is a bit of an effort; get the dipstick out of my other car (because Zedster's has snapped off at the end), remove the dipstick tube, apply masking tape to mark where I need to measure from and then wiggle the dipstick to get it past the windage tray.
Had a great day today doing Harpers Hunt which is basically a rally where you're given a list of directions and clues to things to look out for on the route. Also, the main theme was phone boxes so we had a list of 23 to locate. Only 12 cars involved (they do 3 other heats on other weekends) - this was an old Chevette with a Pinto engine!
Unfortunately, his clutch cable snapped halfway round. Also a superbly restored Spitfire:
A lovely, noisy, smokey TVR also participated and it was even lower than Zedster!
And us:
I enjoyed myself too much and flew round the course too quickly, finishing 20 minutes before anyone else BUT there were no points for that and the wiser heads had spotted more phone boxes and answers to clues - we came equal last!
But it was a great run and Zedster is really performing well at the moment- the idle seems to have settled down to a steady 1000 rpm, the temperature stays nice and constant and the suspension seems to be a good compromise between comfort and adequate ground clearance.
Reading my oil level is a bit of an effort; get the dipstick out of my other car (because Zedster's has snapped off at the end), remove the dipstick tube, apply masking tape to mark where I need to measure from and then wiggle the dipstick to get it past the windage tray.
Had a great day today doing Harpers Hunt which is basically a rally where you're given a list of directions and clues to things to look out for on the route. Also, the main theme was phone boxes so we had a list of 23 to locate. Only 12 cars involved (they do 3 other heats on other weekends) - this was an old Chevette with a Pinto engine!
Unfortunately, his clutch cable snapped halfway round. Also a superbly restored Spitfire:
A lovely, noisy, smokey TVR also participated and it was even lower than Zedster!
And us:
I enjoyed myself too much and flew round the course too quickly, finishing 20 minutes before anyone else BUT there were no points for that and the wiser heads had spotted more phone boxes and answers to clues - we came equal last!
But it was a great run and Zedster is really performing well at the moment- the idle seems to have settled down to a steady 1000 rpm, the temperature stays nice and constant and the suspension seems to be a good compromise between comfort and adequate ground clearance.
Tuesday 12 September 2017
We've got a bleeder!
Aarrrgghh, got a leak of... er... something. Worryingly, it looks like it might be from the sump but, strangely, it seems to be pink, which is the colour of my coolant. However, I can't seem to find where it's leaking from the cooling system and the level isn't going down in the header tank.
I'll keep an eye on it - no knee jerk remedial work until I've identified the source.
I hope it wasn't from my trip on Sunday with the SKCC forum. A 10 hour, 325 mile day out to Haynes car museum in Somerset, with a detour to Cheddar Gorge.
A great day and I was particularly proud of the fact that my car didn't break down or fall apart (until today!).
For the first time, I had to drive in the rain. Having no roof was actually not a problem as long as I didn't have enough to stop. However, my wipers not working was a problem - very difficult to see.
Finished the other wind deflector:
Will test them out next time I get out (leak permitting).
Pleasantly surprised by the damper settings on the Gaz shocks as they actually make a difference. I turned it up to one click off maximum which stopped the suspension hitting it's limit but made the ride teeth-clatteringly hard. I've dialled it back a couple of clicks and hopefully that will be better.
I'll keep an eye on it - no knee jerk remedial work until I've identified the source.
I hope it wasn't from my trip on Sunday with the SKCC forum. A 10 hour, 325 mile day out to Haynes car museum in Somerset, with a detour to Cheddar Gorge.
A great day and I was particularly proud of the fact that my car didn't break down or fall apart (until today!).
For the first time, I had to drive in the rain. Having no roof was actually not a problem as long as I didn't have enough to stop. However, my wipers not working was a problem - very difficult to see.
Finished the other wind deflector:
Will test them out next time I get out (leak permitting).
Pleasantly surprised by the damper settings on the Gaz shocks as they actually make a difference. I turned it up to one click off maximum which stopped the suspension hitting it's limit but made the ride teeth-clatteringly hard. I've dialled it back a couple of clicks and hopefully that will be better.
Sunday 3 September 2017
Zedster makes friends
Got my new video camera, just in time for a planned trip to the Bentley car museum in East Sussex.
A great drive out, with about 25 cars including a glorious 800 bhp Ultima which looked and sounded amazing.
I've recently raised the suspension on Zedster to try stop the seat bolts hitting the floor so often but I've now gone the other way; no seat bolt grazing but I've reduced the travel in the shocks and my weight is forcing them to hit the end of their travel. You'll hear the regular 'clonk' in the video:
But a great day out and I'm impressed with the camera (only cost £40).
Next up is to twiddle with the damper settings on the shocks to see if I can cut down on the clonking (technical term).
A great drive out, with about 25 cars including a glorious 800 bhp Ultima which looked and sounded amazing.
I've recently raised the suspension on Zedster to try stop the seat bolts hitting the floor so often but I've now gone the other way; no seat bolt grazing but I've reduced the travel in the shocks and my weight is forcing them to hit the end of their travel. You'll hear the regular 'clonk' in the video:
But a great day out and I'm impressed with the camera (only cost £40).
Next up is to twiddle with the damper settings on the shocks to see if I can cut down on the clonking (technical term).
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