Todays jobs

[Z28DUNC]

Changed the air filter and cabin filter in my lunch break today. 

Getting that metal clip back in place round the air filter housings a bit of a pita? Got it back together in the end but was fiddly. Old one wasn't in too bad a condition which was nice to see.

The cabin filter was a different matter! Yuck. To be fair I usually wouldn't think of changing this filter but it was peanuts so I thought I might as well. Glad I did, packed with debris. Took me a moment to realize that once you've put the filter in the plastic housing that it has to be pushed up into place after being slid back in. Otherwise the white cover won't clip in place.

Another job has reared its head. Or hit me on the head! Bonnet struts, slowly going down (bonnet fell on me). How easy are they to change?

[cruisermark]

The cabin filter is often overlooked - I change it every year with the annual service 

the bonnet struts are straight forward - 4 x 10mm ( I think) nuts to undo - it helps if another pair of hands holds the bonnet - very straight forward.

hope this helps

[Z28DUNC]

Thanks Mark, sounds like a quick job. I think I'll try and get round to it sooner rather than later.

[Malc]

..............  I always used to carry a short broom handle in my Mk1 Ls400  ( about 100 years ago now )  ............  so rare to ever need to lift the bonnet ....  really just to check the washer bottle .........  any servicing was done by my mechanic and he could use his own broom handle if he wanted  

Malc

[ambermarine]

The gas struts a on all cars  eventually fail the those on my car work ok when the engine is hot and I have a adjustable aluminum boat hook  which I use in the garage when fettling the servicing .

[JohnDavis]

I bought 2 new struts about 50 quid on eBay - worth it and a ten minute job. Now my wife's got her broom handle back.

[Tinonline]

Yeh I got a pair of struts for ok price. Easy to fit and it’s one of those step by step prop it open jobs. 

Those clips on the air filter...and the housing...I remember in the old days...one nut, cover off Bob is one’s uncle. 🧐

[Z28DUNC]

One of todays jobs, change the wiper blades. Easy enough with the sweep and turn ignition off technique! Put some of the floppy type on, hopefully they'll work better in the colder weather the normal wiper blades just seem to freeze up so they don't conform to the screen.

The other job was change the sidelight bulbs to LED. Takes quite a bit of force to pull the unit out. Pulling forward hard on the headlight side until the plastic clip releases from the holder on the headlight unit. The two guides on the other side then come out easy enough. Quite a bit brighter than standard now 

 

[runsgrateasanut]

I've always thought to make Boot/Bonnet struts last,  you should never slam them down. Tell that to the Wife or Sons and they just give a quizzical look of scorn. 

I like the sidelight brightness improvement. 

Been looking on e-bay.com to see if I can buy LED striplight indicator units to replace bulbs but only seem to sell daylight/indicator lengths. Would not work for the needs. Pity, as I rather like the idea of the whole Orange plastic housing lighting up (as well as the wingside repeaters) to modernise the car slightly.  I recognise I'd have to make a change to the way the two parts connect to one another.  They would look a bit like the Audi I suppose. 

[Z28DUNC]

That would be a interesting idea and certainly modernise it.

[runsgrateasanut]

14 hours ago, Z28DUNC said:

That would be a interesting idea and certainly modernise it.

I've got clear fronts and so I'll just experiment with the old Amber Units. It seems to be no more than splicing into the pos and neg leads to the holder and then inserting the strip through the hole into the unit.  I'll keep the holder free just in case I have to return to a bulb.  Not being electrically minded I'm making an assumption that the low voltage or wattage of LED's will not need a Relay and because they generate no heat (and will operate intermittantly) then they won't need to be away from the plastic front of the unit, where they will work best. 

Will the system work with these or throw up a bulb fault or even act as though a bulb is out? Who knows?

Ordered a pair of Motorcyle strips for £4.39. Cheap experiment.  Will let all know in due course.    

[Z28DUNC]

Yes I think you be fine with fitting LED's and the low wattage they consume. I believe its the rear brake lights that might have some sort of way of sensing if a bulbs out. 

I've just been speaking to someone on the UK LS owners club on Facebook and they've just spliced into the sidelight wiring to run some orange running lights like they would have in the states. I'll see if I can copy some pics across.

 

[Z28DUNC]

Here we go, this is on the ucf20. 

[runsgrateasanut]

Reading up,  it would seem that Load Resistors may be necessary to stop hyper flashing.  I'll check out what happens indoors when connected to a 12v Battery using an Amber unit. Hyper flashing when the indicators are controlled by being power on/off may be barely noticeable?  But it may be necessary for safe use? 

I'll put up a photo in due course. 

[sorcerer]

1 hour ago, runsgrateasanut said:

Reading up,  it would seem that Load Resistors may be necessary to stop hyper flashing.  I'll check out what happens indoors when connected to a 12v battery using an Amber unit. Hyper flashing when the indicators are controlled by being power on/off may be barely noticeable?  But it may be necessary for safe use? 

I'll put up a photo in due course. 

No, you'll definitely need to use either load resistors or to change the flasher unit to one that is specifically intended for LEDs like this one here.

If, for example, the indicators normally flash at 40 times per minute, when a bulb goes the system will flash at, say, 120 times per minute, which is the car's way of telling you that something is wrong. Flasher bulbs are rated at 21W, so the flasher unit is designed to operate under a load of 42W (plus a small wattage for the dash indicator bulb and side repeaters, but you get the idea).

LEDs are rated at perhaps a couple of Watts, so the flasher unit thinks the bulbs have blown and it hyperflashes, hence the need for load resistors - to make the system draw the 42W necessary to operate the flasher unit properly.

[JohnDavis]

I had to deal with this when I converted my Iveco trucks to LED - I wired in an extra incandescent orange lamp as a repeater on the side of the truck bed, you could put one hidden each side in the boot lining .

[Z28DUNC]

I've got LED indicators and side repeaters on my Camaro but the rears are still normal bulbs. They flash as normal but it the reason they do this that theres normal bulbs somewhere in the circuit?

So as long as you keep the rear indicators are normal bulbs then it should work?

[sorcerer]

19 minutes ago, Z28DUNC said:

I've got led indicators and side repeaters on my Camaro but the rears are still normal bulbs. They flash as normal but it the reason they do this that theres normal bulbs somewhere in the circuit?

So as long as you keep the rear indicators are normal bulbs then it should work?

No, it shouldn't work unless your LEDs already have a built-in load resistor - some of them do.

Like I said above, the indicator bulbs are rated at 21W so one at the front and one at the back makes 42W, plus side repeater and the dash 'tell tale' should all add up to somewhere north of 50W. Therefore, the flasher unit is designed to flash at the 'normal' rate when it has a load of more than 50W.

If a bulb blows and you lose 21W, the flasher unit should go into hyperflash mode to show you that something is wrong, so replacing a 21W incandescent bulb with something like a 2W LED will cause hyperflashing unless there are load resistors somewhere in the circuit.

If you look at a topic I posted a while back on fitting dual LED daytime running lights/flashers to my RX300, the rear bulbs are still incandescent but I had to install load resistors to make the front flashers work normally, otherwise they hyperflashed:

 

[sorcerer]

Sorry, too late to edit the above post now but just spotted a mistake I made earlier. That last line reads "to make the front flashers work normally, otherwise they hyperflashed" but the word front shouldn't be in there.

[runsgrateasanut]

Fiddling whilst Rome burns to coin a  metaphor.

Messed around to see outcome of LED's as indicators.  1) Strip with bulb still in situ.  May avoid need for load resistors and stop hyper flashing?? 2)  LED's on their own. Perhaps putting a 12v 5W bulb in there with them to trick the flasher unit is a better idea?  Sorry no photo but will take one later, maybe. 3) LED's stuck to perspex strip and see entry point.  Would be sealed with clear silicone should I decide to put these into my Clear indicator units. 

Not checked for certain that there is room for cable to run up to the bulb unit cable.  It may be very tight and I'm surprised by how thin the wire is to the LED's. About a fifth of a millimeter single core.  Too cold to check today.

Comments advice always welcome.  An unnecesary and pointless addition perhaps but it occupies my tiny mind whilst more important World matters play out.  Not sure about this new Defence Secretary.. Bit of a howler me thinks!

 

[sorcerer]

Well, having the bulb in situ sort of detracts from the LEDs - much better with the LEDs on their own IMHO.

As I explained above, the flasher unit needs to see 2 x 21W + 5W for the side repeaters + maybe a very small amount for the dashboard tell-tale, so say about 50W to work properly and avoid hyperflashing. Losing a 21W bulb and adding a 5W to the LED's couple of Watts will not do it as you'd still be 14W down. If you want LEDs you need load resistors or a flasher unit designed for LEDs.

50W 6Ω resistors can be bought here for £2.22 inc VAT plus delivery Maybe you can get them for a better price elsewhere but I only live about a mile from CPC so it's my 'go to' place.

[runsgrateasanut]

The Camera image detracts from the actual visual effect. Poor Camera?  or it just enhances the brighter light to the detriment of the LED's seems to be what happens.  Below is with a 5w bulb and it looks exactly  the same as the 21w bulb. 

Fitting resistors would be a pain I suspect, as they'd have to be screwed to metal which is too far back to reach from outside the car.  Although I've bought a couple I doubt I will use them. 

Heat generation with the 21w bulb in situ and the Q. if 9 LED's will produce heat sufficient to melt perspex are my only concerns. OK  they are intermittant, but if I broke down and they had to become hazzard lighting, would they burn out?  

 

[JohnDavis]

No LEDs run cool - that's why they use so little current - it's wasted in a normal bulb heating up the element to a temperature where it will emit light. The 60 watt equivalent LED in my desk lamp is barely warm. That's why they last so long, too.

[Chris Skelton]

I have an LED light in my house that's been on for 22 years, (plus who knows how long before we moved here!) Behind a perspex fascia/screen, so no melting! They don't get hot.

(See post above).

[runsgrateasanut]

I've placed a piece of black insulating tape about 1.5 inches behind the perspex where the bulb is brightest and it has made a difference. Unfortunately my Camera's disposable batteries are very low and for some reason they darken the room background, but this my last photo (I promise) and  I think gives as best I can get.  The reason for this saga is partly to give a more modern blink to the indicators (so I imagined)  but also the Amber bulb is not that bright in daylight in Clear Housing. So its a sort of safety addition. Won't be done until I'm in a garage abroad some weeks away. I've left sufficient cabling as the indicator units have to be pulled out at almost 90 degrees.  I'm planning a drive down to Frejus so it may not get done at all. C'est la vie.! 

 Another attempt at the rear Springs replacement taking place tomorrow by my Mechanic.  Good luck with that!