I'm so proud of myself, I just have to share ;)
On my most recent 3,000+ mile road trip, my overdrive started acting up;
it would
sometimes not engage and sometimes drop out then re-engage, at random.
It got
progressively worse so at a hotel stop in Salmon Arm, BC we decided to
try to
solve it. I was hoping it was the solenoid, because I had a spare, but
for once I
did a little diagnostics before jumping in. I really didn't want to
remove the transmission
cover in a parking lot, though I've done it before (NOTE: the Bentley
reprint of the
shop manual has a good O/D troubleshooting guide). Anyway, my navigator
noticed the
12V output from the relay was intermittent, so we figured that was the
problem
(what should be in every LBC owner's road kit: a cheap voltmeter; the
moving coil type
are best and you can get them for 5-10 bucks).
The problem was, my spare relay was safely home in my parts locker,
about 1,500
miles away. So, hoping for the best, I proceeded to uncrimp and remove
the cover
off the relay. Nothing special inside, just a garden variety SPST
(single-pole single-throw)
relay. The points were pretty burned, so I filed them clean with a
points file (lucky I
had it since I don't use points ignition any more). In addition, the
arm/bracket mounting
for the fixed point didn't seem quite right; it appeared to be bent down
a little, probably
from 150,000 miles or so of being pressed on by the moving point (it's
thin Al). So I
straightened the arm back to 90deg.
I put the cover back on the relay, and crimped it with a pair of channel
lock pliers.
The O/D worked fine for the remainder of the trip (1,500 miles or so).
Though I
have a spare relay, I think I'll leave the road repaired one in, just
out of curiosity
(it's easy enough to R&R this relay). After filing, the points looked
to have maybe
1/32" or so of material ... enough for another 20-50K miles, maybe.
We'll see.
Though I'm a "tech guy," I'm always astounded by the rugged simplicity
of these
cars, and how many problems can be fixed with simple tools (I have a toolbox
the size of a fishing tackle box, with contents I have refined over 90K
miles of
driving this car, plus a box of spare parts). I'll always think of this
diagnosis and
repair, as I listen to people complain about the electrical vagaries of
their new
SUVs, BMWs and Mercedeses.
Oh yeah, I put a few photos (we didn't take nearly enough) on my
website, at the
end of the "slide show:"
http://home.comcast.net/~bspidell
Cheers,
bs
--
***************************************************************
Bob Spidell San Jose, CA bspidell@comcast.net
'67 Austin-Healey 3000 '56 Austin-Healey 100M
***************************************************************
|