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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-GB link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Hi,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I have been to Paris and, touch wood, was able to help my nephew get his BJ8 up and running. In order to arm myself with all the information that I could get hold of I’ve asked you guys quite a few questions and been pretty stingy with the thanks and feedback.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>So:-<o:p></o:p></p><ol style='margin-top:0cm' start=1 type=1><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0cm;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>When we picked the car up at the port, it was hard to start – unsurprisingly, I thought – and it didn’t run very well. But it made the 100+ miles to Paris, only really baulking when traffic slowed us down and the revs dropped.<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0cm;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>Subsequent to that, the car ran badly…….erratic firing and then flat battery.<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0cm;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>My nephew suspected the battery and bought a new one. That went flat and the erratic behaviour continued.<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0cm;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>I suspected the generator and inquired of the list regarding symptoms.<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0cm;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>I also got my nephew to run the standard “Does the generator work?” tests. It failed them all.<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0cm;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>About this time, the front carb started to leak……nothing much, but the behaviour and location of the leak pointed me away from the float bowl.<o:p></o:p></li></ol><p class=MsoNormal>Some background, maybe some clues. We’ll never know:- there are often a stack of bits that come with an old car. In this case, the stack was pretty big and, amongst other things, was a new Indian RB340 Lucas lookalike Voltage Regulator/Control Box. The car was fitted with another Indian RB340 lookalike which looked brand new. That box was wearing the original Lucas’s lid.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>There were also a number of carb bits…….seals, jets and so forth. Plus a few drum brake rubber parts. Now, hindsight is a lovely thing, but – retrospectively – one wonders.<o:p></o:p></p><ol style='margin-top:0cm' start=7 type=1><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0cm;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>I brought a new generator over from the UK plus other parts and tools. Not easy these days what with security at the airports etcetc.<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0cm;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>We fitted the new generator. The car started, “no charge” red light went off and engine ran well for, say, a minute. Then, smoke from insulation on large terminal on generator. I suspected polarity and/or control box.<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0cm;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>However, the attempts at starting seemed to have turned the front carb’s leak into a flood.<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0cm;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>More questions to you guys. I suspected the diaphragm…..the sheer volume and location of the leak pushed me in that direction and you all agreed.<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0cm;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>So, a two carb rebuild kit was ordered from the UK and, quite miraculously, turned up within 18 hours.<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0cm;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>Removed the carbs…..what joy.<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0cm;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>The front diaphragm was dry and split around the centre. The rear wasn’t much better, but it wasn’t leaking yet.<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0cm;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>Curiously, or so I thought, the carbs showed some signs of being rebuilt, but rather inconsistently and not the same parts in both carbs. But why do the little bits and not the big one, the “Usual Culprits”??<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0cm;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>Anyhow, the rebuild worked and the drip/flood stopped.<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0cm;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>Back, finally, to the generator…..not previously having liked the mix of frying generator and spouting petrol.<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0cm;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>We had no luck initially but, after tidying up all the ignition wiring and polarizing the generator we proceeded.<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0cm;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>The generator still worked. It passed the “Motor test”. <o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0cm;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>The wiring to the, just in case polarized, Control Box was OK. So…..<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0cm;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>We swapped the control boxes and hey presto…..no red light, no smoke, no erratic running. ie, everything they say about those boxes is true.<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0cm;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>Thereafter, the car’s run well. Starts first time and runs strongly once it’s warmed up.<o:p></o:p></li></ol><p class=MsoNormal>And, if you’ve read this far, thank you all very much for your help.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Regarding not having a manual, I think that, between us, my nephew and I are virtually into double figures. I do the research, read the manuals, make up my mind and then, before I make a catastrophic cock-up, I ask the gurus. Can save a lot of time and, in this case, an airfare or two!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Now…… now, I think it’s leaking brake fluid somewhere. In the servo somewhere is my guess. But the car’s in Paris; my nephew’s in the South of France and I’m in the UK. So, we’ll have to wait and see. It may be nothing, but I wonder if the car, having sat around idle for ages, may have dried out any number of seals and God knows what. We’ll see…..<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Simon<o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>