1102 replies to this topic

[gtrboyy]

I meant if still got olld dissy in engine can already use that as a guide to find no.1 tdc. provided it hasn't been taken out.

 

Basically take plug out...finger in hole or paper then turn engine with breaker bar..when bigger whoosh(not smaller whoosh) of air pops paper check timing mark & rotor position as a guidline....then double check it...that's step 1

 

It's a bit tricky at first untill you get general idea.

 

 

It will pop 'n' fart regardless on start up so may as well get us to teach ya dissy installation haha

Edited by gtrboyy, 17 May 2017 - 11:39 PM.

[Bigfella237]

With no alternator you won't get the charge light come on with ignition on.

 

Without the brake fail switch connected (on the proportioning valve under the bonnet) you won't get a brake fail light, although the hand brake (err... foot-hand brake... err... park brake, that's the word I'm looking for) light should still come on with the ignition on, and park brake set of course.

 

If the blinkers don't work, I wouldn't expect the turn signal indicators on the dash to work either.

 

Does the blue High Beam light come on at least?

 

First the easy fix (hopefully), this is the brake light switch...

 

 

...to start with, just disconnect one of the wires and the brake lights will hopefully go off? If you don't have the brake booster installed yet then there's nothing to hold the pedal up, therefore the brake lights are on. You may need to adjust this switch later (it screws in & out) but I doubt it.

 

But while the brake lights are stuck on might also be a good time to find out why only one works (may be just a blown bulb, may be a dodgy earth, or a wiring fault, or a corroded bulb holder, or...)?

 

Blinkers would be next on the list, there was a thread about them here recently:

 

http://www.gmh-toran...rs-not-working/

 

Although the OP never responded so it didn't really get too far, but the reverse light trick is a worthwhile starting point, especially since yours should now be working?

 

[Bigfella237]

brake booster is installed. "installed" by me.. that is.

(not hosed up or anything.)

 

will disconnect wire you've highlighted to see if turns brakelights off. 

 

I didn't intend to highlite that grey wire, the two wires I'm talking about are the two red wires plugged on to the switch.

 

If the brake booster is installed, check to see if the pedal is all the way up against the rubber stopper, if it is then you may have to adjust the brake light switch after all? You will need to loosen the lock nut and screw it down toward the pedal until the brake lights go out (you may need to disconnect the wires temporarily so they don't twist up).

 

If the pedal isn't all the way up, you may need to adjust the booster pushrod?

 

While you're out getting fuses, buy half a dozen "wedge" bulbs for the back of the instrument panel too, they're cheap and if you have to pull the instrument panel out anyway, well worth replacing while you're in there. Hopefully the high beam indicator will just be a blown bulb?

 

Park brake release is simply turn and pull, you should still be able to release the park brake even with the tabs snapped off the knob, but if it's too hard on the fingers, just put a little weight on the pedal then turn and pull, then release the pedal, then release the knob...

 

 

To replace the knob you need to remove the grub screw from underneath (save it for the new knob), then just unscrew the knob off the shaft.

 

What else... Oh yeah, the ignition switch...

 

The only position you can remove the key (in a working barrel) is the "LOCK" position, so starting there...

 

With the key in, turn the barrel backwards (anti-clockwise) one click to get the "ACC" position (actually, you may be able to do that without the key, but I'm not 100% sure if I'm thinking of the correct model)

 

Turning the key forwards (clockwise) now, one click gets you back to "LOCK"

 

One more click gets you to the "OFF" position (the steering wheel should also be unlocked now)

 

One more click gets you to the "IGN" position

 

And one more spring-loaded click is obviously the "START" position

 

I don't see any problem with just clicking the starter very quickly to confirm the motor turns over, just don't wind it over and over without all the oils & fluids in.

[Cook]

Well done Matt.  Great to see you have been able to breathe some life into the old girl.  Keep at it.  Cheers Ron

[gtrboyy]

Don't stress dude it's normal for a car that's been pulled apart,messed with to have 'quirks' especially something like that you got as jigsaw puzzle.

[gtrboyy]

I reckon it's got some dodgey earth issues & maybe flasher can.

 

Handbrake you'd need to check at switch to see what's going on.

 

If it was blowing fuses then that be nasty

 

I'd rather be fixing that torrie than vp ute just bought for a grand with every common fault bombadore of that era have

[gtrboyy]

Had an lx once if you moved fuse box slightly all rear lights came back on

 

Highbeams might be floor switch if not at blinker on these(cant remember tbh)

 

Fuel gauge find (brown wire) earth to shell..if gauge goes to Full all good

 

Some of those bulbs might just have dirty connection from rust/junk/dust/moisture or whatever..sometimes just unplug & plug action can be fluke fix..

 

Remember car has not been used or anything turned on in years,don't be afraid to muck around with it.

 

For first fire up I'd just I'd just use tap water,fix leaks & flush out gunk that might still be in there...also cheap oil in right grade is fine,flush & change later like water.

Edited by gtrboyy, 26 May 2017 - 08:50 PM.

[Bigfella237]

Mostly that video looks good, should all be pretty simple?

 

Earlier cars had the dip switch (high/low beam) on the floor under your left foot, but later they moved it to the column stalk (blinker) switch. Just pull the blinker stalk up towards you (if sitting in the car), it's a spring-loaded momentary switch.

 

With the headlights off, lifting the stalk will "flash" the high beam, but only while you hold it on.

 

Turn the headlights on, and now lifting the stalk will (or should) change from high to low beam and back again every time you pull the stalk. Hopefully your little blue high beam indicator does work after all?

 

One small caution... just something to bear in mind really... the high beam always comes on whenever the stalk is pulled toward you (that's to "flash" other drivers as earlier), so when changing from low to high beam it is possible to have both high and low beams on at the same time, it's actually supposed to do that so the lights don't go out altogether when the relay is changing over. Normally this is only for an instant and doesn't hurt anything, but if you hold the stalk up for a long time it can burn out the bulbs?

 

BTW, turning the headlight switch while the lights are on should dim the instrument panel illumination (including the centre console "PRND21" if you wired it up right).

 

One thing we need to check is that you have the correct oil pressure and temp switches fitted to the engine? The ones for gauges are different to the ones for warning lights.

 

Blinkers... with the old style flasher cans, the blinkers stop flashing if a bulb is out (to let you know a bulb is out), so if your rear blinkers aren't working, that would be why the front (and the dash) aren't flashing?

 

You may not need to pull the dash apart after all?

 

[Bigfella237]

I forgot about the brakes...

 

If the brake booster is fitted but the pedal isn't returning all the way up then the pushrod length is wrong, which means you potentially won't get full travel (not to mention that the brake lights won't go out).

 

Is it one of the early boosters with the adjustable clevis on the pedal end of the pushrod, or is it one of the newer style with the non-adjustable one-piece "bent" pushrod?

 

Do you have the correct brake pedal for that booster (the pivot positions on the pedal itself are different between the straight and bent pushrods)?

[Bigfella237]

The flasher can doesn't care if it's up, down or sideways, likely just not flashing because the rear blinker bulbs aren't working? Do they come on in reverse gear (with the IGN on)?

 

Bummer on the LH column, didn't even think about that. So do you have an LH wiring loom or an LX?

 

You will need to get the stalk switch assembly from an LX, it's an easy changeover but the steering wheel will need to come off again. Three screws hold the switch assy to the "coffee pot" from memory, then just feed the wiring down through the column.

 

Providing you're using an LX wiring loom, otherwise you need to splice in the wires that used to go to the floor switch?

 

EDIT: Actually disregard that question, if you had an LH loom without the floor dipswitch connected then the headlights wouldn't come on at all.

Edited by Bigfella237, 26 May 2017 - 11:22 PM.

[Bigfella237]

Looking back for an old photo...

 

 

#4 is the temp switch / sender, I can't tell from this but I would *guess* it's the wrong one if this engine came from a Commodore? Before we go any further, are you planning to add any aftermarket gauges (such as VDO, Autometer, etc.) at any stage?

 

#8 is the oil pressure sender and I can tell you that's the wrong type for a light, those big round senders are for a gauge, the switches for a light are a much smaller thing.

 

Again, if you're planning on installing extra gauges then it won't matter so much, although it would be nice to still have a working oil pressure light? And you will need to do something about it before the first start up... definitely need to know we're getting oil pressure!

[Bigfella237]

champ! 

(wasn't planning to install gauges, although can imagine why would.) 

believe will install these for now

 

although... how the hell does it take power IN, and then send OUT, with only the one "plug"

?????

 

although... would like it turn switch on at 70-80 degrees... and am not sure what these turn on at.

 

Always happy to help spend other people's money!

 

"Switches" are either on or off, "Senders" are kinda always on but on a sliding scale.

 

These type work by earthing-out the terminal (they themselves are earthed through the engine). "Switches" earth the wire (to turn on the light) at a predetermined pressure/temperature, whereas "Senders" will vary the resistance to earth (the less resistance, the higher the gauge reading usually).

 

In newer EFI applications there are other types that have two terminals and vary the resistance between them (usually called "Thermistors"), and still other types with three terminals where you need to supply an earth, plus a "reference voltage" (usually 5v), and the centre pin swipes between the two, but typically only within a range of 0.5v to 4.5v, that way the ECU can detect an open circuit (0v) or a short (5v) in the wiring.

 

Anyway, sorry, I guess that's the very definition of TMI so...

 

A temp switch for a warning light will be preset too high for a thermo fan, I can't remember exactly but I wouldn't expect a temp warning light to come on until around 115° or more, whereas you'd want your thermo fans screaming their heads off by then!

 

Best thing for a thermo fan is an adjustable controller of some kind so you can fine tune when they come on and go off, a little more expensive but a heaps better way to go over a fixed temp switch.

 

A lot of people like to wire in an override switch under the dash too so you can force the thremo fans to run, but we can deal with that later.

Edited by Bigfella237, 27 May 2017 - 10:09 AM.