Dr W

Thanks, have got rave but left laptop at parents so just wanted to take off relay and clean the connections, I am then going to check the voltage on the glow plugs before I consider replacing them. It was starting fine when cold and taking a bit longer when hot (worse when been sat for an hour or two so cooled down but not enough to trigger glow plugs) I've bought a hot fix kit to try and resolve the hot start problem but this cold start issue has confused me as only recently started being a problem (strangely after I serviced it and did a long run) but can't see how that would have any effect on the starting. Takes several attempts to start it and then loads of white smoke out the back and engine runs sluggish for 5 seconds or so. I replaced leak off pipes so now trying to establish what else it could be. Cheers

Sounds like you got a bargain

Can you give a bit more description as to the location of the heater relay? Where abouts is the ECU box, is this the one under the drivers seat? I need to check mine this weekend as it's taking several attempts to start (have changed leak off pipes) and I want to check the connections. Thanks

It's a 91 J reg Classic 3.9. I was removing a unconnected power amp at the time (only leads connected were an earth and a lead to the '+' on the gas solenoid, it wasn't doing anything as a garage had disconnected as it was making the coil run twice as hot as it should (anyway another story) Snipped the wire to the '+' and then unbolted the earth connector (which was earthing two wires) and removed one of the wires and replaced. I'll check that the earth is making a good connection and then check each of the wires round coil and alternator, I hate electrical problems as you just can't see any obvious that's causing the problem.

Thanks, no it was all working fine until i decided to replace ht leads and then noticed it was no longer working. I'll check all the connections and see what happens.

Hi all I've got a Classic on which the Rev Counter was working fine before I replaced the HT leads. Is there any reason why swapping the leads over would stop the rev counter working, I guess I've knocked a connection but trying to figure out where to start looking. Does the rev counter take it's signal from the coil or the altenator? As I said it was working perfectly but now it's not, especially annoying as I'm in the middle of trying to sell it. Cheers

OK thanks maybe I'll look into it. Do you buy it as a kit? How much is it? Is it easy to fit and finally where can you buy it? Cheers

But from what I read on the Megajolt thread there isn't any point if I'm running on gas 99% of the time.

Hats off to you Fridgefreezer, garage I took car to for it's service (Quadratech) and have a look at the problem told me that the Power Amp was the problem. Now most of stuff about dwell etc goes over my head but what they said was that there was 40 degrees dwell (?) and that the coil wasn't having time to cool down and so the coil was running at 120 degrees C. They disconnected the Power Amp and car started running ok again with amp running about 50 degrees C. I had a coil go on me about 4 months ago and the garage said that it was probably the Power Amp that caused the old original coil to burn out. RPi tell me that the power amp only amplifies the spark (to make the LPG burn more efficiently) and that removing the amp doesn't solve the problem it just releases the pressure a bit so everything appears to be working properly. They said it was that most old classics are running on worn inefficient distributors and replacing this would might remove the problem and enable the Power Amp to work properly? To be fair they did offer to look at the amp and test it if I sent it back or have a look over the car but Norfolk is a bit of a trek. I have to say that replacing HT leads, rotor arm, fitting the power amp and a new vapouriser (old one had a hole in it) did help to increase the MPG from 10 to 20 on a motorway run. Can't say any one part helped more than the others but I may just run it around for a while and do some motorway miles to see if the mpg drops after removing the amp. What's the Megajolt thing you mentioned in an earlier post? How does it work?

They seem to know their stuff though. I'll have a look at that tech guide you suggested, Cheers

No I'm not a doctor so pennies do matter (that's why I drive an old Classic as my everyday car and not a brand new Vogue. Rpi tell me that they have no problems with the Power Amp other than total failure in a few cases and that reliability is high. Not sure how I would know if the box failed anyway?

If you think it's the ignition amp what do you think I do about it? Can it be adjusted or does it need replacing? Going to try replacing the plugs and rotor arm this weekend and see if that improves it. The problem is the misfire is not constant and happens irractically so difficult to trace. Thanks

Hi guys Hope you can give me some advice on my Classic 1992, 3.9 V8, lpg/petrol. It's got lpg so within the last year I've fitted A&R Power amp, ignition amplifier Magnecore HT leads New rotor arm New coil (last one died) My Classic has recently developed an interesting problem. I have to go out on a saturday morning and drive 22 miles which car does no problem, however when I drive back home towards the end of the journey say last mile when I hit a bit of traffic it starts to misfire to the point that if I put my foot down it spits and bangs, if I gently press the accelerator I can creep along but no hard pressing. I thought it might be the HT leads so switched engine off wiggled leads and restarted and it seemed ok but then a few mins later same problem will happen. If I swtich off and back on then it's ok for a while. I then leave the car for a week and chance it again, the journey down is fine but back it happens again. I did a 30 mile journey during the week and it was fine for the whole journey. I've tried switching between lpg and petrol but no help. What I can't figure out is why it's happening when the engine is hot. I thought it might be fuel issue but then surely switching between fuels would resolve this. I hope someone on here might have some ideas on how I can locate problem as it's driving my daft and makes me a bit worried to do long miles as dono't know when it's going to happen. Many thanks Dr W

Thank you so much for doing that. I'm going to try and have a go tonight if I manage to leave work on time so will let you know. It was mainly which way the hook fastened as I think i was trying to fasten it too far along the metal rod. Cheers

That would be very kind of you. I struggled for ages on Sunday but just couldn't figure out which way it was supposed to fit and didn't want to beak the thing. Cheers Dr W

Hi all Rather stupidly took off the tailgate central locking actuator without taking a picture of how the spring attached and now for the life of me can't figure out which way the spring is supposed to fit. I was wondering whether anyone would be kind enough to post a picture of theirs in situ with the plastic cover removed so I can try and see how it attaches. Many thanks

Thanks for all the advice guys. Turns out it was the ignition switch as when I tested the old one the dash lights would come on when I wiggled it. Should have been a nice easy job however didn't factor in the alarm system which was wired into the ignition switch so spent the afternoon taking the wires off one at a time and resoldering them on, once done it started first time, sweet. Only problem was snapping one of the metal bars on the steering column shroud which is now being clued in the kitchen ready to be fitted in the morning. Cheers Dr W

Battery is fine I think the idea with the switch is the good one, it would explain a few things, I'll check it out tonight. Can I change the switch without changing the ignition lock? Thanks

Hi guys Hope someone can give me some advice on the electrical starting fault my 92 3.9 Classic has developed since driving home through the floods. Car was working fine, drove 70 miles home through the rain and maybe went a bit too quick through some floods (alternator light came on for a bit but then went out). Got home parked up and then went to start it again and no dashboard lights except indicators. Have left it for a few days to see if it would dry out but still none. Now the wierd bit, when I turn the key to start there is a point where the car will start and the red dash lights come on but as soon as I let go of the key then it stops. If I turn the key the full way as starting normally then nothing happens no lights etc it's only if I turn the key about half way and hold it there that it fires up but just dies (battery light comes on briefly) and then nothing. I thought it might be something to do with the cobra alarm/immobiliser getting wet but it all seems to work ok and surely the car wouldn't start at all. Could it be something to do with the ECU, is that under the bonnet so might have got wet? Could it be something to do with the starter motor but then why no dashboard lights and why would it start at all? I'm completely confused by it and would be grateful for any suggestions you might have to check first before I have to start looking at getting it towed to a garage and the scary prices. Cheers Dr W

Thanks for the info guys, So to get this straight, I should remove the carpet from passenger side and should be able to see 1 or 2 pipes running down from the dash to a hole in the floor pan and these should be checked for kinks and blockages. I'll have a look this weekend Cheers

I guess I'll have to start checking things, where abouts are the bellows and vacume pipes?

Hi Yet another problem on the old dear (91 Classic) Cruise control was working fine and then on way home from gamefair last Friday it suddenly wasn't working, I tried several times and it would seem to start working and the the speed would drop. Could anyone tell me what I should be checking and where. I know it's something to do with a vacum pipe but farily clueless after that. I read this advice on another thread but not sure where to look for the bellows etc. I would suggest the 1st thing you do is check all the vacuum lines for perishing at the ends, there should be enough slack to trim off the perished part to good rubber, normally the 1st 1/2 inch. Also check the bellows are holding the vacuum by compressing manually and blocking the vacuum pipe, the bellows should hold closed and not spring back. Thanks

Hi As title says when I switch on the air con in my 91 Classic I get a drip every few seconds from underneath the dash. Before I start trying to remove the dash I was wondering whether anyone had come across this problem (I know it's a problem on the P38 which requires a fair bit of work) and whether it was condensation as it was on really hot days that it happend. Does the system take the water from the normal cooling system? It just smells like normal water. Hope someone can help point me in the right direction. Cheers

Thanks for the info, I'll look into it. Do you think this would help getting the tacho working again or would you recommend replacing the whole thing?

That's interesting, my rev counter isn't working, guy I bought it from said it had been working previously (but I bought it anyway) I don't currently have a problem with it keeping the battery charged and it often stands for a week or two between use, however at night the altenator light can be seen very faintly. Do you think that this is a sign that it's on it's way out and that if I replaced it there's every chance the rev counter would work again? (it's a 91 3.9 by the way)