stupiddad

Hi again Katana Thanks for the contribution, you're probably right about the VR and definitely right about the wire colour. I'm glad I replaced it . I checked on the sender colour , as it originates on sender unit listed as blue/black to terminal numbered 1 at instrument cluster Thanks for that, could have saved me a wild goose chase.

I now believe my mysterious object to be, in fact, th Voltage Regulator which would of course explain why it cut current to a number of wires when removed. As you may guess I have been doing some research for when I get the multimeter out again. I have a Mk 4 GL and poring over the wiring diagrams has resulted in the list below. Cortina dash cluster wiring Indicators black/ green and black/ white Dimmer switch grey/yellow to fusebox, grey/ red to panel (panel bridge grey/ yellow) Light power therefore grey/ red or grey/ yellow Coolant temp to sensor red/ white Fuel to tank black/ yellow Oil pressure telltale blue/ green Main beam telltale blue/white Alternator signal blue Earths brown As always there is no guarantee that this is accurate as it was obtained from a Haynes book of lies. Should have done this before I opened it up first time probably.

Thanks for the reply, but the object I removed and replaced was attached to the rear of the instrument cluster on the left as you look from the driving seat and held on by metal clips each end, I didn't think to take a pic at the time. It sits between the fuel and coolant gauges and seems to correspond to component 9 in the Ford wiring diagram of the instrument cluster but I haven't been able to find a reference for it let alone specs for testing. I am reluctant to disturb the dash electrics at the moment, given that they seemed fragile last time I was brave enough to fiddle, as I rely on Bob to take my wife to work and shopping until I have the work on the kangoo completed, she won't do pillion since she hurt her hip. Next time I work on the electrics I intend to work on the cabin loom and replace, but not remove, the original fuse box, mounting a blade fuse box under the dash. This will keep the wiring out of the temp variations in the engine bay and dryer, then I can replace fuses for pennies so it seems like a good enough reason to compromise. Ebay Australia had a listing of what it described as the printed circuit for the cluster but sold out at about £250, the original shows whitening in places on mine perhaps from excess heat and I have no idea of how to even approach a repair.

Hi again the sun has woken me up and I just renewed my sub so Hi everybody. Bob, inspired by reg. OHY 808R, short for bucket of bolts. Update is she still need a paint but makes a stirring noise when the second choke opens, not much else happens because I am keeping the original gearbox. so although the induction roar generated by the vw pancake on the dfth makes me smile, first gear is disposed of very quickly since I am not towing a caravan. I took the modified head off because first was a joke, I didn't see the funny side of with cold oil, and she didn't want to pull away in second on any gradient, anybody with a longer diff feel free to help me spend my pension, cheap five speed box might be considered as a temporary fit. This spring's wake up gremlins were electrical, well they still are really although fiddling a bit allowed everything to work as it should except the hazard switch, rear screen heater, dashboard lights and coolant temp. When I was puzzling over the dash I removed, and later replaced, a metal lump held on by two spring clips which reduced the backfeeding through the indicator tell tales and also reduced the amount of wires showing live ign on on the adjacent multi connector. Not clear what its actual function or connections should be from my wiring diagrams. Still not sure what started or stopped carrying current but it is driveable which is good and dash telltales correctly show indicator , headlight state, generator and oil pressure with all exterior lights operating and correctly switched. Any of this sound familiar or anybody who understands the plastic film business or has a replacement film to play swap outs with I would be pleased to hear from them. No hurry as I am currently rebuilding the front end, engine included, of the bouncy castle which is a renault kangoo. converted for wheelchair transport. Job would be difficult with the whole vehicle on a lift and is a worthwhile challenge at ground level. However I would like to gather information and form a plan of action for later in the summer when I will, hopefully, find time to refresh the bronze and airbrush some rust back on . If any of this is of interest or anybody wants to contribute help or sympathy I would be pleased to hear from them.

I have spent hours flushing my heater rad in my Mk 4 Cortina using different products including the Harpic with phosphoric acid and never achieved any significant increase in flow or heat transfer. The last straw was rusty water in the passenger footwell so I bought a new rad from demister man, took ten minutes to fit requiring only marginal relieving of the holes in the front plate. It came with a strip of self adhesive foam and I used some halved pipe lagging to ensure a snug fit which I taped on with duct tape. When I was bleeding the topped up coolant sysem I cracked the jubilee on the top heater pipe which is the highest part of the system; I was astonished to see a jet of water emerge rather than a rusty trickle and the demist vents issued hot rather than mildly warm air . My advice is don't bother messing around with an aging heater rad buy a new one, it will keep the interior of the car dry and warm and keep the windscreen clear of fogging and condensation. It is easy to fit needing only a crosshead and a flat screwdriver on mine. If you do remove your heater rad for any reason make sure you unhook the battery first as it comes close to the ignition starter solenoid when drawn from the heater box. Nice warm toasty feet too.

So do you have the strong angular jawline necessary to carry it off, the Katana thing I mean. I used to love mine but it went in favour of the FJ12. Yamaha all through, hardtail xs 650 when I finish the coupe. If god spares me. Nothing tingles like a parallel twin.

Thank you Vista, that thread will take a while to understand, meantime will share my issues with theheater.

Hello and thank you Vista, been reviewing the topic and noticed one or two good ideas and a couple of dire warnings.

Thanks for that Katana-didn't you used to be a Suzuki

Hi I'm an old fart with time on my hands who bought a Ford Escort 1.3 new, please note there was no mark 1, ( on any old ford) and has driven all sorts of fords since. My Mk4 Cortina has been well used since being dragged from the barn and now it's free of ved and mot with cheap insurance its probably worth doing some of the jobs I have been putting off for a while. Currently that means backache from trying to get hot air flow to demist because all the perished foam has fallen down into the diverter blocking both up and down airflow while leaving high speed ambient (very cold) air fine. My next trick will be to visit a mate while I have the heater box off and see if we can blow it clear. It drives well with poly bushes most places and pulls fairly well with Weber water choke carb from a 1.6 Sierra , DFTH I think offhand, and some home porting. Next head upgrade is to skim a 1.6 head fitted with 2.0 cam and hardened exhaust ports which is currently being gently ported. When the tin worm or speed humps have seen to the exhaust I will be looking for a four branch and 2" (probably). As the gearbox is the original 4 speed I will be looking for a better diff at some point since the 1st gear is ludicrously low if you are not pulling a caravan, but that will have to wait until I am getting something closer to 100bhp than 65. For my sins I also have a phase 1 (yes there is a phase 1) 916 Alfa Spider 2.0 TS on which some of the electrics work, which ones vary from day to day and is one of the more involving things about trying to get places in an Alfa. I am working on my Peugeot 406 coupe 3.0 V6 which will hopefully be on the road in the spring. Fantastic cruiser for silly money until I broke it. What is vexing me at the moment, and the reason I finally got round to registering, is instrument cluster bulbs, there appear to be three different types, 3 larger panel illuminators, the warning light/telltales with finally the rear window heater switch bulb. I have ordered some T5 leds which I hope will sort the warning lights but I don't know what the other two types are. I have a few tools and some experience so would be happy to help if anybody local was stuck.