Electrical Woes - Day 2 Of Ownership

[Braymond 4]

Also, where's this little fella belong?

 

[jackherer 543]

They don't look like original wiring, there are odd things going on with the strut top too!

 

The symptoms 100% sound like a bad earth.

 

There is an earth for the rear lights too, it is inside the boot on the passenger side behind some fabric. The rear indicators and the fuel level sender both ground there so it could be the culprit.

[Braymond 4]

What's up with the strut top, aside from the loose wire I've draped over it?

 

Can you guide me to the rear earth? All the fabric up the sides of the boot is glued down so I don't want to pull more off than I need to..

[toolie72 67 1 Cars]

Your red wire looks like it might be for an "extra". Say an amp or more likely mahoosive air horns etc which might explain it going into cabin to a switch somewhere

[Mikey S 29 1 Cars]

What's up with the strut top, aside from the loose wire I've draped over it?

Can you guide me to the rear earth? All the fabric up the sides of the boot is glued down so I don't want to pull more off than I need to..

Open the boot. Left hand side, fabric is cut to access the rear light cluster. The earth is in there.

 

I would suggest you get rid of the earth stud that is currently on the battery. Grab a proper negative battery terminal from a factors and fit that. I've never trusted those stud type clamps as when they are tight they will still move around.

[Braymond 4]

Thanks, cleaned up that earth...no change.

Going back to the earths behind the headlights, on the passenger side there are 2 plugs..



but one seems to have a funny 'closed loop'..



Can I splice this all together in one ring terminal? Or two separate? And what is/should I do with the wire that connects the plug to itself??

Edited May 22, 2017 by Braymond

[welshpug 1,657]

thats normal and both should be attached to the earth point.

 

no idea what the loop is about, random french oddity! no need for it if you're connecting the main earths to a ring.

[Braymond 4]

Ta.

 

One final question before everyone loses the will the live and starts hacking away at their wrists...

 

I noticed my positive battery terminal is a bit of a battered seized mess, and whilst it is "on", it can be lifted on and off the post without too much effort. Would this have any affect on what I'm chasing? I don't mean its coming off of its own accord, but perhaps not the best connection. I will replace it anyway but should I be getting my hopes up this is contributing factor?

[welshpug 1,657]

that needs sorting yes.

 

however all your issues sound earth related not lack if volts.

[Anthony 1,003]

Also, to a point, if the starter motor will crank over strongly, the battery terminal is good enough that it shouldn't cause running issues (the starter pulls way more amps than all the rest of the electrical systems combined)

[Braymond 4]

Thanks men.

 

I'm going to switch to a ring terminal then and report back.

 

Should it not work, I guess my next earth to play with is the battery>gearbox one. How best to get to this?? Distributor cap off??

[dcc 855]

No need to remove anything other than the site box pipe work and possibly the battery itself.

 

From memory is a 13mm bolt on top of bell housing:)

[Ryan 99]

thats normal and both should be attached to the earth point.

 

no idea what the loop is about, random french oddity! no need for it if you're connecting the main earths to a ring.

 

The connectors are held in place by the the terminals, so the loop is just to help hold everything together. Without it there would only be one terminal instead of three and it could be pulled out too easily.

[welshpug 1,657]

ahh that makes sense.

[Braymond 4]

Morning,

 

This is getting a bit boring now isn't it...

 

I replaced and properly cleaned up the 2 "headlight" earths, and the one in the boot with ring terminals. The wipers haven't randomly since, but still the indicators/hazards mostly don't work (save for the occasion - "oh they're working!....nope, gone again" and dials - particularly fuel and oil temp, and either inert of bouncing about all over the shop.

 

I wonder if the I need the check the connections in the back of the instalment panel next? But before getting involved in that, I though I'll look at the fuses/relays in the glove box as a chap told me at the weekend that the windscreen seal can fail in the corner and water gets it.

 

 

...but I could figure out how to pop the fuse panel out.

 

This is embarrassing...

[jackherer 543]

It's possible that you have more than one problem, e.g. the hazard light switches tend to fail and the indicators are wired through it so it can stop them working, even when the hazards themselves work fine in some cases!

[Braymond 4]

What's the fix/where is that switch?

 

The only think that makes me suspect it might be one common problem is the fact it went from zero problems (test drive, journey home plus a few odd journeys) to a number of issues.

 

I don't know if its at all relevant, but in the interest of full disclosure - it also does a funny knock/shudder, every few metres when in reverse. Mostly felt through the steering wheel but shocks the whole car. Quite unpleasant actually.

Edited May 30, 2017 by Braymond

[welshpug 1,657]

1.6 with bendix front brake calipers?

[Braymond 4]

1.6 - yes

 

Bendix - no idea.

 

Can I assume that calliper is prone to making a fuss going backwards?

[Anthony 1,003]

Yes knocking in reverse is a common issue if the sliders are worn. If bad enough you'll be able to see the pads wearing skewed.

 

That said though, normally it's more audible than anything and doesn't usually "shake the whole car" so worth checking everything over carefully.

 

As for multiple issues appearing at the same time - don't automatically assume that it's a single underlying cause. It's old and French remember, and given it's a new purchase, potentially numerous bodges and undisclosed issues lurking to rear their ugly head.

[dcc 855]

Shame youre so far away I'd have offered to have a look for you. Well worth dropping Taylorspug a message, aka Dan Taylor, he should be able to identify your issues. He offers a very good service too

[Braymond 4]

Shame youre so far away I'd have offered to have a look for you. Well worth dropping Taylorspug a message, aka Dan Taylor, he should be able to identify your issues. He offers a very good service too

Thanks mate, that's very kind.

[hoodygoodwood 70 3 Cars]

When I bought my last 205 GTI many years ago one of its rear drum brakes would lock intermittently in reverse , it was a 1.6 GTI and it turned out one of the slave cylinders had partially seized internally . I replaced it and no more problems , maybe this is the early stages of that problem .

[dobboy 231 2 Cars]

Where does the brown and black wires on the strut top lead to?

 

I'd be following it and stripping it out. Strange place to add it.

 

Get the battery out and see what looks original (into the loom) or added.

 

Has it got an alarm or immobiliser fitted?

 

Did it have these issues when you bought it?

[Braymond 4]

The suggestion earlier in this thread was that they're for brake pad level warning light