Re: Electrical Gremlins, TOTAL SOLUTION !!!!!

["jchapelhow" <chapelhow@xxxx>]

Chris

On my car the whole of the roughly L shaped metal panel (manual page 
M:09:03) , onto which the indicator flasher relay, buzzer box and 
wiper control lucas thingy plugs was loose. The placement of it when 
I strarted investigations would indicate that it was not secured when 
I got the car, but was simply balanced onto of the heating duct. The 
other cable on the metal piece is a ground wire. I suspect what was 
happening was that as it moved the meatl panel was brushing against 
something metal making incorrect contacts or the ground wire itself 
was somehow loose. 

Many of our list collegues had suggested a loose ground being the 
cause of my troubles, but it seems that it might have been this one, 
rather than the one on the frame that was to blame.

I think I have now cracked it, there were some clip things in my 
glovebox that are meant to hold it in place! Thanks to the excellent 
DMCNEWS technical downloads for a diagram that you can zoom on.

OK so I still have one cable 'left over' (2 wires one green, the 
other orange/black) but everything now works, including the 
intermittent wipe, though like Andy and you I could probably count 
the number of times the wiper has been across the screen!

I took the car out yesterday with it deliberately loose some of the 
symptoms for future reference:

1. Fuel gauge stuck at 50%. I visited the petrol station and filled 
up, not a fllicker.
2. Volt meter shows very low, never showing more than 10v, most of 
the time at zero or just pointing to 8v, depsite new battery and true 
measured voltage at >14v running.
3. No door buzzer, seatbelt undone indication (OK I could live 
without that).
4. Trying to run the indicators needed the enigne ticking over at 
>2000rm, at idle the indicators didn't work.
5. Only one elctrical gizzmo at a time and that caused all of the 
indicators to dim (lock door light etc).
6. When running the car trying to use electrical stuff, blower and 
indicators for example, I had fuse 5 blow three times.
7. Temp and oil pressure gauges floated to anywhere they chose, 
altering as much at 75% of their range in seconds.
8. This was a 'front of the car' problem, windows worked fine!


John Chapelhow
DOC 19 : 'Boeing' 0737





John,

I take it that this box, is the black Lucas thingy? With a plug in 
one side and a socket next to it? If so, you can simply take it out 
and plug the male and female sockets together. All it does in cause 
that rather annoying "intermittent wipe to come on, when you depress 
the wiper arm once.
I removed the one on Dusty as it went faulty, It was obviously an 
afterthought .its still off.

Chris Parnham