Good News - I got my Spider back!

Just thought I'd let everyone know that I got the Spider back today after a month long stay at BLS Automotive.

The car feels completely different, starts on the button whether hot or cold now that the carbs have ben tuned.

There is no hint of any oil on the rear diff after the pinion seal replacement and a surface polish.

The brakes actually work - they feel a world away from the way they were when I took the car in. You can actually feel what the brakes are doing now, and they bite consistently in the same position every time you brake. Just shows what another new M/C and two new servos does .

Anyway, have another few weeks until winter draws in......time to have fun!

Congrats

All the best with it!!

Next time I go to Sleaford I'll look out for it

Good for you mate lovely motor

... and the forecast is for fine weather this weekend

i'm pleased, that you have now got the car sorted. enjoy the good weather before the winter......

Glad you got it back in one piece, and the repairs have made the car so driveable...time to find a nice twisty backroad! This is a great time of year to be out and about, top down, windows up, heater on...it just doesn't get any better. Hope you get a few nice weekends to enjoy it before locking it away for winter. I appreciate you sharing your pains and experiences in sorting the brakes, as this will be of great value to the rest of us suffering similar problems. Cheers !

Enjoy, I hope all the work is worth it for the autumnal driving!

Originally Posted by garwood1

Glad you got it back in one piece, and the repairs have made the car so driveable...time to find a nice twisty backroad! This is a great time of year to be out and about, top down, windows up, heater on...it just doesn't get any better. Hope you get a few nice weekends to enjoy it before locking it away for winter. I appreciate you sharing your pains and experiences in sorting the brakes, as this will be of great value to the rest of us suffering similar problems. Cheers !

Thanks Garwood - and I'm pleased that any info gathered along the way has helped other people.

The heaters are good aren't they! I may put anither six months tax on it....

Unfortunately it appears to be raining . I can't decide whether to just take it out and wash it tomorrow....

Also, the brake lights are being tepremental - sometimes come on, other times don't. Is the hydraulic switch mounted on the bulkhead changable without having to bleed the brakes - i.e. am I capable of doing it myself rather than having a man do it?

You might just about get away with it, maybe the fluid escaping when yuo unscrew it will exclude any air trying to get in (take the lid off the reservoir so that it can flow more quickly). NB stop any brake fluid escaping onto paint.

Originally Posted by Wrenched

You might just about get away with it, maybe the fluid escaping when yuo unscrew it will exclude any air trying to get in (take the lid off the reservoir so that it can flow more quickly). NB stop any brake fluid escaping onto paint.

Thanks for that - I'm going to give it a try. I reckon if I do what you say and be quick but careful with lots of tissue paper around the paintwork I should be okay. I guess I then just top up the reservoir again with DOT4.

I did ring up BLS Automotive, and Phil said I'd probably get away with it too if I was speedy - he said he'd gotten away with it before.


Going to do it tomorrow all being well. Will report!

Be really careful doing this, have wash it all down afterwards with soapy water.
By the way, I hope this is actually the cause of your problem. It could possibly be that the lights are not coming on as your system is not fully bled! Mine was a bit like this until I bled them well.

good luck!

Originally Posted by jpa

Be really careful doing this, have wash it all down afterwards with soapy water.
By the way, I hope this is actually the cause of your problem. It could possibly be that the lights are not coming on as your system is not fully bled! Mine was a bit like this until I bled them well.

good luck!

I hope this is the problem too - I really do, as I have no idea how to completely bleed the system.

The pedal doesn't feel spongy or anything, so I hope there's no air in the system......

Err...I couldn't do it - I didn't have a spanner big enough (embarassment). I think I'm gonna wait until next service and get it done then. I have to say that the brake lights seemed to work a bit better today - maybe there is still some air in the system .

On the better side - I replaced some leaking fuel hose between fuel pump/carb and carb/carb and now the mpg has gone up - obviously!!

I was just puzzling about the theory that air in the system might make the brake light switch 'misbehave' thinking that the pressure is the same throughout the system. If you have the brakes on (the car is actually slowing down by their action) then you've normally got enough pressure in the system to activate the switch. On the other hand, I suppose in certain types of dual circuit system there might be the possibility. Still rather dubious. Dont' forget that poor electrical connection is by far the commonest cause of problem in electrical systems, then there's the Italian factor.

My brake light problem was definately caused by air in the system. Once bled the light response is now instant whereas before I would have to almost pump the brake to get a response.

I am not sure as would have to look but I assume the switch is only on one circuit of the dual circuit system. The air lock on mine was on the rear so I assume my switch is on the rear circuit.

Thats not to say that the switch could still be slightly faulty as maybe it is needing high pressure to come on as although there was some air in my brakes they would still work, itsjust that the lights barely did. I might invest in a new switch next time I have to do some work on the brakes.

I reckon that the switch is on it's way out. I spoke to BLS Automotive yesterday and they said that intermittent lights are an indication of worn switches. I checked and cleaned the electrical connections, and replaced one spade connector which was looking a bit 'frail'.

I don't know which circuit the switch is on, but the switch is situated on the front bulkhead with screwed into a four-way union of three pipes and the switch in the fourth junction. The brass union is bolted to the bulkhead.

I'm now saving up for four new calipers, new discs and pads for next year. This only because Tom from BLS said that the pistons inside the front calipers sometimes receeded too far when letting go of the pedal. Also am keeping an eye on the master cylinder as it seemed to play up once at the weekend. I may send it to an engineering firm if it does it again - J & L Spares look quite good.

Sorry to hear you still have problems. The switch may simply have said 'enough is enough', or just maybe the contacts are dirty (oxidised) from standing?

I think so. I can't quite visualise how the switch works, but I guess that it must be a reed switch or something which I guess is either sticky, or as you say, has oxidised contacts - hence the untrustworthy operation!

It has contacts but they are encapsulated and operated by (I presume) a diaphragm. The level of encapsulation might not be such that the contacts can't corrode though. Alternatively they can wear, mechanically or due to arcing.