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PostPosted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 3:58 pm 
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Introduction

Even by modest standards, the factory-standard Triumph Toledo & Dolomite 13/1500, are poorly equipped with instrumentation; having only a speedometer, water-temperature indicator and fuel gauge plus warning lights for low oil pressure, generator (i.e. dynamo or alternator) supply voltage, direction indicators (i.e. turn signals or blinkers), headlamp main beam and parking lights; which experience has shown to be wholly inadequate.

Most vehicle instrumentation systems, comprise gauges and warning lights; the former of which gives precise information about prevailing conditions, whilst the latter warns if these conditions deviate beyond acceptable limits.

According to ergonomics research, pertaining to the aeronautical, chemical process and nuclear industries, humans are better at making decisions, once warned of a situation, than they are at continuously monitoring gauge readings. Hence, gauges should be regarded as complementary to warning lights, not as substitutes. However, unless observed at the moment of illumination, conventional warning lights might go unnoticed, so ideally these should be linked to a single flashing warning light and/or buzzer, which are more likely to attract one's attention.

According to various sources, there are sadly, a significant proportion of both men and women drivers, who do not properly understand the meaning or importance of the common warning-light colours and symbols, despite the fact that many have been Internationally standardised. This is something which must be properly addressed by owners and drivers, before retro-fitting supplementary instrumentation.

Ray Massey, "Dashboard Dunces", Daily Mail, Friday 3rd March 2006, Page 35.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/f ... ge_id=1879

Sally Pook, “Warning lights mystery”, UK News, Daily Telegraph, 3rd March 2006.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... stery.html

“Drivers ignore defects at their peril”, Motoring, Daily Telegraph, 12th May 2008

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/275 ... peril.html

Britannia Rescue, “Dashboard warning lights confuse drivers”, 31st July 2013

http://britanniarescue.com/news/Dashboa ... e-drivers/

Ray Massey, “Warning ahead! 98 percent of drivers can’t understand their dashboard lights (well, do YOU know what these symbols mean?)”, Daily Mail, 31st July 2013, Page 24.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ights.html

“Warning Lights: What does that light on the dashboard Mean?”, The Automobile Association

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/br ... ights.html

“Car Dashboard Warning Lights - what do they mean?”, The Royal Automobile Club

http://www.rac.co.uk/breakdown-cover/ca ... ts-meaning

Jim Kerr, “Dashboard Lights”, CanadianDriver.com

http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/jk/at_001017.htm

“Those Warning Lights and Buzzers”

http://autorepair.about.com/od/lightsbu ... uzzers.htm

Car Dashboard Warning Indicator Lights, Driving Test Success

http://www.driving-test-succcess.com/da ... lights.htm

Having previously substituted a Triumph Dolomite adjustable steering column into my 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300, during the winter of 1982/83, I later substituted in mid-March 1984, an early-model Dolomite 1850 dashboard, which provided the option of additional gauges (including clock) and greater number of warning lights.

Given that the Dolomite 1850 speedometer’s calibration, was probably incompatible with the Toledo’s transmission gearing, combined with my wish to maximise warning-light provision, I retained my Toledo speedometer with its three integral warning lights, for ignition (i.e. alternator voltage), low-oil-pressure and headlamp main beam.

Having already-fitted or planned to fit various electrical accessories, such as heated rear window, front & rear fog lamps, auxiliary driving lamps, electric radiator-cooling fan, trailer-towing bracket (requires a separate trailer direction-indicator warning light, in addition to the car’s L.H. & R.H. direction-indicator warning lights), for which a tell-tale warning light is either obligatory or highly desirable, I needed provision for more than eight warning lights.

The existing under-dashboard switch for the heated rear window, had an integral tell-tale warning light, but I wanted to substitute the later-pattern, square-knobbed Dolomite switch, which would match my original Toledo carburettor choke-control knob and dashboard switches (main light switch and windscreen wiper & washer switch; either of which I might later wish to reuse for other purposes), so a separate dashboard warning light would be needed.

I have since acquired some more Dolomite components, so at some time in the future, I shall probably wish to have warning-light provision for the following:

• Dual-circuit brake-circuit failure
• Hand brake on
• Carburettor choke on
• Low fuel level

To fit a large number of individual warning-light units, is often impractical, invariably untidy and might not be sited for optimum visibility. In many cases, these deficiencies may be overcome by fitting one or more warning-light clusters, such as that made by Lucas Industries Ltd., in Great Britain, which was original equipment for the Triumph Stag (a few exported to the USA), Triumph 1300, 1500, 1500TC, 2000 & 2500, Triumph Dolomite, Dolomite 1500HL & 1850HL and Dolomite Sprint.

Customising Warning-Light Clusters

The 60 mm diameter Lucas warning-light cluster, of which there are at least two significant variants I personally possess, (illustrated in the following pictures), comprises eight equal segments, with interchangeable, plastic coloured filters; available in red, orange, yellow, dark-green, dark-blue and magenta. Rimmer Brothers Ltd., a Triumph spare parts supplier, in Lincolnshire, England, list several different part numbers, for Lucas 8-segment, warning-light clusters, but do not illustrate each of the variants.

Unlike the other coloured filters, which are made from translucent plastic, the orange filter, is made from transparent plastic. It is only found in the early model-year cars, whilst the magenta filter is exclusive to late model-year cars. I made my own orange, light-green and light-blue filters, from off-cuts of translucent coloured acrylic sheet (i.e. ICI Perspex®).

Although the external, circular, clear-plastic lens, features painted symbols representing specific warning-light functions, these can be readily removed if desired, using strong organic solvents, such as paint thinner. Custom designed symbols for the warning-light cluster, could be easily substituted for the originals, by printing them on a circular mask of thin, transparent sheet material, which would fit behind the external, circular, clear-plastic lens.


Home-made transparent mask orientations, for customising the warning-light symbols of a Lucas, 60 mm diameter, 8-segment, warning-light cluster.

Image


The types of material (some of which are compatible with photocopiers and computer laser printers) used for overhead projection transparencies, would be suitable for this purpose. Symbols could be printed onto the transparent sheet, either by hand printing with a fine-nibbed, permanent marker pen, photocopying a paper master copy, or laser printing directly from a computer-generated design. Sometime during 1997/98, using Adobe Illustrator, on an Apple Macintosh computer, I produced the specimen, custom warning-function symbols, for the following:


Right-Hand Direction Indicators

Image


Left-Hand Direction Indicators

Image


Trailer Direction Indicators

Image


Headlamp Main Beam

Image


Headlamp Dipped Beam

Image


Front Fog Lamps

Image


Rear Fog Lamps

Image


Auxiliary Reversing Lamps

Image


Flood Light or Roof-Mounted Auxiliary Driving Lights

Image


Battery Charging

Image


Oil Temperature

Image


Coolant Temperature

Image


Since the late-1990s, the number of warning-light & switch-function symbols has increased dramatically, examples of which are illustrated at the following Internet links:

http://www.hella.com/switchshop/pdf/sym ... ols_en.pdf

http://www.kramp.com/shop-gb/en/815525/ ... tch+symbol

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Hel ... &FORM=IGRE

If the colour filters must be made thinner, to accommodate the transparent mask, this may be done by rubbing against wet, fine-to-medium grit, silicon carbide (aka "wet & dry") abrasive paper, backed by a solid surface (e.g. on the bottom of a basin, partially filled with water). Incidentally, I used this method, when making some substitute orange, yellow, light-green & light-blue, illuminated-switch lenses, for the VW Type 3 & 4 pattern heated rear-window switches, utilised in my 1973 VW Type 2, for auxiliary front driving lamps, front fog lamps, rear fog lamps and auxiliary reversing lamps.

Electrical connection is made via a multi-way, thermoset-plastic connector block, with captive, latched, female, push-on, copper connectors, which fit onto riveted brass pins, on the back of the warning-light cluster's printed circuit board. Although replacement push-on connectors, are probably unavailable, they are relatively easy to salvage and re-use; having myself successfully done this in 1984, when I retro-fitted such a warning-light cluster, to my 1974 Triumph Toledo. The warning-light cluster, is held in place within the dashboard instrument panel, by means of a large-diameter (i.e. > 60 mm) helical spring and retaining ring.

Fully-assembled, early & late-pattern, warning-light cluster units, with helical spring, retaining ring and multi-way connector blocks

Image

Image


Early pattern, warning-light cluster lens with separate right & left-hand direction-indicator warning lights

Image


Late pattern, warning-light cluster lens, with single direction-indicator warning light and heated rear-window warning light.

Image


Early-pattern (dark-brown PCB on left) and late-pattern (light-brown PCB on right) printed circuit boards with bulb holders & bulbs

Image


Early-pattern (dark-brown PCB on left, with 8+3 rivetted brass connection pins) and late-pattern (light-brown PCB on right with 12 rivetted brass connection pins) showing the connection pins and associated push-on connector blocks.

Image


Both early & late-pattern circuit boards, with bulbs, coloured filter segments and reclaimed, captive, latched female copper connectors.

Image

The factory-stock, coloured plastic filter segments, for the early model warning-light cluster, are:

red, orange, yellow, green & blue.

The factory-stock, coloured plastic filter segments, for the late model warning-light cluster, are:

red, yellow, green, blue & magenta.

For my own purposes, I have made additional coloured filter segments, in the following colours:

orange, yellow, light-green & light-blue

If salvaging and customising second-hand warning-light clusters, is beyond one's scope, there are various accessory warning-light clusters available, of which the following are two examples, but one is likely to pay dearly for the privilege!

Shown on page 81, of the 1997 Europa Specialist Spares catalogue, is an SWF, 2-position, rectangular warning-light module, with what appears to be a choice of 31 different, coloured (red, orange, yellow, green, blue & white) warning-light lenses, with or without symbols. These warning-light modules, illuminated rocker switches and/or blanking plates, can in turn be mounted, into a 3 or 6-position, in-dash or under-dash, switch & warning-light panel.

http://www.europaspares.co.uk

Circa 1997 etc, SWF modular warning lights & lenses.

Image


Circa 1997 etc, SWF modular warning lights & lenses.

Image


Shown on page 22, of the 1992 VDO Automotive & Industrial Product Catalogue, is a VDO "Modular Cockpit", 8-position, rectangular warning-light module, with what appears to be a choice of 20 or more, different, coloured (red, orange, yellow, green & blue) warning-light lenses, with or without symbols.

Circa 1992 etc, VDO modular warning lights & lenses.

Image


Circa 1992 etc, VDO modular warning-light lenses.

Image

_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering, for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=308177758

Upgraded 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 (Toledo / Dolomite HL / Sprint hybrid)

Onetime member + magazine editor & technical editor of Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 10:53 pm 
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Why dont you just buy a modern car :lol:

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PostPosted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 11:31 pm 
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Personally I regard the plethora of warning lights in modern cars an unnecessary distraction from the business of driving. And I positively hate the modern tendency, especially on low to middle budget cars, to delete the temperature guage in favour of a warning light which usually comes on too late to accomplish anything other than to confirm you're in the s**t!
I have 6 dials in the Carledo and (in order of importance, at least from my POV) they are :- Rev counter, oil pressure, temp, speedo, fuel guage and voltmeter. I do not have any trouble keeping track of these while driving and would humbly suggest that anyone who can't, shouldn't be driving.
However I do like gadgets so if that's what floats your boat, carry on!

Steve

_________________
'73 2 door Toledo with Vauxhall Carlton 2.0 8v engine (The Carledo)
'78 Sprint Auto with Vauxhall Omega 2.2 16v engine (The Dolomega)
'72 Triumph 1500FWD in Slate Grey, Now with RWD and Carledo powertrain!

Maverick Triumph, Servicing, Repairs, Electrical, Recomissioning, MOT prep, Trackerjack brake fitting service.
Apprentice served Triumph Specialist for 50 years. PM for more info or quotes.


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PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 2015 9:27 am 
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To be frank Steve, if a dash light illuminates in any of my 'moderns' I just assume it's a fault with the over complicated electronics!

The majority of them are Alfa though!


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PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 2015 9:44 am 
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A temperature gauge is very important on an old Triumph.

I didnt like much that our corsa has a light only, but it doesnt seem to matter much in practice, but then its young....

When its old it won't be my problem.

No harm in a light AND a gauge....low level warning light in the expansion tank would be good...

Jonners

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Note from Admin: sadly Jon passed away in February 2018 but his humour and wealth of knowledge will be fondly remembered by all. RIP Jonners.


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PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 2015 5:53 pm 
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Quote:
A temperature gauge is very important on an old Triumph.

I didnt like much that our corsa has a light only, but it doesnt seem to matter much in practice, but then its young....

When its old it won't be my problem.

No harm in a light AND a gauge....low level warning light in the expansion tank would be good...

Jonners

In a temperature fussy and overheat if a teaspoonful of water is missing Sprint, I can see the point in a low coolant light! My main objection to the lack of guages in modern stems from having to work on them, how can you tell if its up to temp after changing a water pump or even antifreeze for example? I know you can check if the stat is open, but with a rising guage you know WHEN to check instead of sitting there worrying! Plus when i'm driving, I like to know what's going on!

Steve

_________________
'73 2 door Toledo with Vauxhall Carlton 2.0 8v engine (The Carledo)
'78 Sprint Auto with Vauxhall Omega 2.2 16v engine (The Dolomega)
'72 Triumph 1500FWD in Slate Grey, Now with RWD and Carledo powertrain!

Maverick Triumph, Servicing, Repairs, Electrical, Recomissioning, MOT prep, Trackerjack brake fitting service.
Apprentice served Triumph Specialist for 50 years. PM for more info or quotes.


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 27, 2015 4:35 pm 
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Quote:
Why dont you just buy a modern car :lol:
I would be loathe to buy a modern car, which would be too expensive to run, owing to the combined cost of insurance, road tax, MOT inspection and non-DIY maintenance costs; besides which, there have been few mechanics whom I would trust to properly maintain any of my vehicles.

In principle, I could have kept my father’s 2004 SEAT Leon Cupra 20V Turbo, after he died in September 2011, but the running costs were prohibitive and I didn’t like the hair-trigger brakes, which required minimal brake-pedal movement or foot-pressure, to initiate heavy braking. I might even retro-fit a brake-lights-activated warning light, so that I don't have to rely upon hearing the click of the brake-light switch.

My 1973 VW "1600" Type 2 has hydraulic-pressure-activated brake-light switches, so I have a momentary push-button switch & relay to activate the brake-lights, when slowing down under engine-braking only. :D

I much prefer my Toledo’s brakes, which are very progressive in action and I can activate the brake-light switch (to warn following drivers that I am slowing down by easing off the throttle and using engine braking) whose click is audible, by light-pressure left-foot braking, without applying the brakes.

Quote:
Personally I regard the plethora of warning lights in modern cars an unnecessary distraction from the business of driving. And I positively hate the modern tendency, especially on low to middle budget cars, to delete the temperature gauge in favour of a warning light which usually comes on too late to accomplish anything other than to confirm you're in the s**t!

I have 6 dials in the Carledo and (in order of importance, at least from my POV) they are :- Rev counter, oil pressure, temp, speedo, fuel gauge and voltmeter. I do not have any trouble keeping track of these while driving and would humbly suggest that anyone who can't, shouldn't be driving.

However I do like gadgets so if that's what floats your boat, carry on!

Steve
As I stated in my introduction, warning lights should not be regarded as a substitute for calibrated gauges. However, if they and their associated sensor switches are properly designed, they do provide early warning that something untoward is happening, prompting one to check the gauge for more precise information. One should not need to periodically scan warning lights, as their sudden illumination (i.e. flashing on) should attract one’s attention.

Apart from certain tell-tale warning lights, the speedometer is the only vehicle instrumentation that is legally required!

My 1973 VW “1600” Type 2’s original factory-fitted instrumentation, comprised only a speedometer & fuel gauge, plus warning lights for generator voltage, oil pressure, side-lights, headlamp main beam and direction indicator; which experience had shown to be wholly inadequate! Having an air-cooled engine, rapid indication of engine overheating, owing to the cooling system being compromised or severe spark-knock, is essential to avoid catastrophic engine failure within minutes, if not seconds.

All vehicles with a liquid-cooled engine, ideally require an oil-pressure gauge and both coolant-temperature and oil temperature gauges. Those which are turbocharged should also have a turbo-boost gauge and exhaust-gas temperature gauge. Naturally-aspirated engines would also benefit from an inlet-manifold vacuum gauge, which gives forewarning of a variety of faults. Let's also not forget the once popular ammeter, with which the FWD Triumph 1300 was equipped as standard.

Some gadgets are very useful, whilst others are superfluous! I’m looking forward to retro-fitting a Rain Tracker™ RT-50 or RT-50A rain-sensing windscreen wiper controller kit, to complement my existing SWW wash-wiper blades.

Quote:
To be frank Steve, if a dash light illuminates in any of my 'moderns' I just assume it's a fault with the over complicated electronics!

The majority of them are Alfa though!
Then let’s hope that none of your modern-cars’ critical warning lights never illuminate to warn you of impending catastrophe!

Quote:
A temperature gauge is very important on an old Triumph.

I didn’t like much that our Corsa has a light only, but it doesn’t seem to matter much in practice, but then it’s young....

When it’s old it won't be my problem.

No harm in a light AND a gauge....low level warning light in the expansion tank would be good...

Jonners
A coolant temperature gauge is important on any car; not just old Triumphs.

Visually checking the fluid levels in the coolant expansion tank and brake-fluid reservoirs, has always been part of my weekly maintenance ritual, but a real-time check is useful if a leak develops.

_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering, for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=308177758

Upgraded 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 (Toledo / Dolomite HL / Sprint hybrid)

Onetime member + magazine editor & technical editor of Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club


Last edited by naskeet on Tue Jul 28, 2015 3:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Mon Jul 27, 2015 9:33 pm 
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Some interesting points there Nigel - and a couple of interesting gadgets! I like the idea of a manual brake light (though I have a hunch it might be illegal - don't know why) but I have mixed feelings about rain sensing wipers, my wifes Picasso VTX has them and they're a PITA. Being french they come on when it's not raining and don't when it is. And the intermittent wipe gets more frequent the faster you go till at 40 or so MPH they're near constant and there's no delay control. Nanny knows best! GRRRRRRR!!!!!!
I can understand the need for an oil temp guage in an aircooled Veedub but in a watercooled engine, oil pressure and water temp is enough, the oil's not going to boil without the water boiling first! Ammeters were dropped in favour of voltmeters for the very good reason that ALL the cars circuitry save only the high amp starter circuit had to run through the guage, this was fine on older cars with only a handful of circuits but putting a modern on this system would be crazy. Plus if the ammeter packs up (as it had on a TR6 I was working on recently) EVERYTHING stops working! Personally I like vacuum guages and one of my triple SUed Zodiacs had 3, one for each carb in a pod atop the dash, I could keep an eye on exactly how my carb balance was doing but then I am a gadget freak! But I wouldn't regard one as NECESSARY, just nice to have and impresses the impressionable. I would hate to have a turbo without a boost guage but i've never seen an exhaust temp guage, not even on highly stressed turbo'd jap drift cars.
I too am of the "old school" who routinely check underbonnet items and stuff like tyre pressures on a weekly basis - and I currently have 6 street legal cars. However, if my customers (with moderns) are typical, then most motorists these days seldom if ever open the bonnet, i've even had one or two in asking how to do it! and several come to me to blow up their tyres or top up the washer bottle rather than do it themselves! So I guess for these "folks" a pretty light coming on to tell them some fluid or other is low, is a good idea!

Steve

_________________
'73 2 door Toledo with Vauxhall Carlton 2.0 8v engine (The Carledo)
'78 Sprint Auto with Vauxhall Omega 2.2 16v engine (The Dolomega)
'72 Triumph 1500FWD in Slate Grey, Now with RWD and Carledo powertrain!

Maverick Triumph, Servicing, Repairs, Electrical, Recomissioning, MOT prep, Trackerjack brake fitting service.
Apprentice served Triumph Specialist for 50 years. PM for more info or quotes.


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 27, 2015 9:59 pm 
The rain sensing wipers on my Freelander are a total pain.


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 27, 2015 11:41 pm 
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Dito our Corsa....

Apparently this was all started by Peugeot developing it after BMW claimed to have it as an april fool joke, which pug didnt get.
Or was it the other way round....

Anyway a right waste of time...

Fast slow and intermittent...all you need and all you get on the V8 P6, which has one of the best instrument setups known to man.
fuel amps oil press and temp, speed and revs too natch, plus all the warning lights you need...even one that tells you when to put the choke off, not when its just on, all in sensible colours.

Lovely.

Jonners

_________________
Note from Admin: sadly Jon passed away in February 2018 but his humour and wealth of knowledge will be fondly remembered by all. RIP Jonners.


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PostPosted: Tue Jul 28, 2015 9:14 am 
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Rain sensing wipers are much older than that, my 87 Cadillac Seville had them along with auto dipping headlights which were another PITA, every time the sensors caught a back reflection from a road sign they dipped the lights, not useful on country lanes around here, but at least you could turn the function off! I believe some Caddys and Lincolns had rain sensing wipers from the early 60s though it was probably a much more robust and agricultural system then!

Steve

_________________
'73 2 door Toledo with Vauxhall Carlton 2.0 8v engine (The Carledo)
'78 Sprint Auto with Vauxhall Omega 2.2 16v engine (The Dolomega)
'72 Triumph 1500FWD in Slate Grey, Now with RWD and Carledo powertrain!

Maverick Triumph, Servicing, Repairs, Electrical, Recomissioning, MOT prep, Trackerjack brake fitting service.
Apprentice served Triumph Specialist for 50 years. PM for more info or quotes.


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PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 4:19 pm 
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Quote:
Some interesting points there Nigel - and a couple of interesting gadgets! I like the idea of a manual brake light (though I have a hunch it might be illegal - don't know why) but I have mixed feelings about rain sensing wipers, my wife’s Picasso VTX has them and they're a PITA. Being french they come on when it's not raining and don't when it is. And the intermittent wipe gets more frequent the faster you go till at 40 or so MPH they're near constant and there's no delay control. Nanny knows best! GRRRRRRR!!!!!!

Steve
If the rain-sensing wiper controllers are not behaving appropriately, then it would be better not to have them! However, if they do behave appropriately, then they could be a great boon under certain circumstances, such as mist, fog, variable light drizzle and sudden deluges of spray from passing vehicles. Further discussion of this, should ideally continue in a new topic thread, entitled “Upgrading Front & Rear Wiper & Washer Systems”; an especially important one which I was going to initiate soon anyway.

Quote:
I can understand the need for an oil temp gauge in an air-cooled Veedub but in a water-cooled engine, oil pressure and water temp is enough, the oil's not going to boil without the water boiling first!

Ammeters were dropped in favour of voltmeters for the very good reason that ALL the car’s circuitry save only the high amp starter circuit had to run through the gauge, this was fine on older cars with only a handful of circuits but putting a modern on this system would be crazy. Plus if the ammeter packs up (as it had on a TR6 I was working on recently) EVERYTHING stops working!

Personally I like vacuum gauges and one of my triple SUed Zodiacs had 3, one for each carb in a pod atop the dash, I could keep an eye on exactly how my carb balance was doing but then I am a gadget freak! But I wouldn't regard one as NECESSARY, just nice to have and impresses the impressionable. I would hate to have a turbo without a boost gauge but I've never seen an exhaust temp gauge, not even on highly stressed turbo'd jap drift cars.

Steve
We seem to veering slightly off topic, so it might be better to address these issues in a new related topic thread, entitled “Factory-Standard, Alternative, Modified & Supplementary Instruments”, which I was going to initiate soon anyway.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=29524
Quote:
I too am of the "old school" who routinely check under-bonnet items and stuff like tyre pressures on a weekly basis - and I currently have 6 street legal cars. However, if my customers (with moderns) are typical, then most motorists these days seldom if ever open the bonnet, I've even had one or two in asking how to do it! and several come to me to blow up their tyres or top up the washer bottle rather than do it themselves! So I guess for these "folks" a pretty light coming on to tell them some fluid or other is low, is a good idea!

Steve
One of my recent mathematics students, who has owned her circa ten-year old non-BLMC (i.e. BMW) “Mini” for at least a year, admitted to me that she didn’t know how to check and top-up the fluids for the engine-oil, engine-coolant, hydraulic brakes or windscreen washers, nor did she know where the reservoirs were located.

With each successive generation of modern car, car-owners’ handbooks are becoming progressively thicker and thicker, whilst the corresponding DIY workshop manuals are becoming progressively thinner and thinner! Ferreting out basic information from the handbook, has become less simple, as I discovered with my father’s 2004 SEAT Leon Cupra 20V Turbo.

_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering, for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=308177758

Upgraded 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 (Toledo / Dolomite HL / Sprint hybrid)

Onetime member + magazine editor & technical editor of Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club


Last edited by naskeet on Tue Nov 10, 2015 4:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 7:55 pm 
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Upgrading rear wash wipe system :?

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1980 Vermillion Sprint - 174bhp


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PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 8:39 pm 
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Quote:
Upgrading rear wash wipe system :?
OK, no Dolomite has a rear wash wipe system, nor does it need one! However I'm quite sure that the majority of Dolomite owners have a "modern" as well so this could be of interest! I've long since worked out how to get the rear wiper to engage automatically when reverse is selected and when the front wipers are on (a couple of years ago, Renault devoted an entire TV ad to promoting just this) and all that is required is a 4 pin relay, some wire and a bit of nouse! Harder on canbus systems though, as I will freely admit, I don't really understand how they work!

Steve

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'73 2 door Toledo with Vauxhall Carlton 2.0 8v engine (The Carledo)
'78 Sprint Auto with Vauxhall Omega 2.2 16v engine (The Dolomega)
'72 Triumph 1500FWD in Slate Grey, Now with RWD and Carledo powertrain!

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 21, 2017 4:20 pm 
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Joined: Tue May 06, 2014 4:38 pm
Posts: 535
Location: South Benfleet, Essex
When adapting the Lucas 6WL, 60 mm diameter, 8-segment warning-light clusters for non-standard use, one needs to be aware of which brass connection pins serve each particular warning-light segment.

Although not marked on the warning-light clusters themselves, the moulded, black, thermo-setting plastic, circular multi-way connector blocks, which fit onto the brass connection pins, are marked with terminal numbers 1 to 13 inclusive, although there are only either 11 or 12 connection pins.

These terminal numbers and original wiring colours, are shown on the electrical-circuit wiring diagrams, of the official BLMC Triumph, brown-plastic coated, 4-ring, loose-leaf ring-file, workshop manuals, for the “four-headlamp” Triumph Dolomites, plus probably the Triumph 1300, 1300TC, 1500, 1500TC, 2000, 2500 & Stag.

It was my impression that the green/orange wiring colour was used exclusively for the low fuel-level warning-light function, but the electrical-circuit wiring diagrams and the second-hand parts I have salvaged, have cast some doubts on this.

The PCB – printed circuit boards cum bulb-holders, are also designed to provide common Earths or common ignition-controlled positive battery supplies, to two or more warning-light segments.


Early-model, 8-segment cluster with 8+3 connection pins

There are no connection pins labelled 4 or 13, which are blank, un-pierced spaces in the connector block

Warning Function Pin No.

Left Direction Indicator 1 & 6 (Common Earth)
Choke 2 & 9 (Common Ignition-Controlled Supply)
Handbrake 3 & 9 (Common Ignition-Controlled Supply)
Right Direction Indicator 5 & 6 (Common Earth)
Fuel Level 7 & 9 (Common Ignition-Controlled Supply)
Ignition 8 & 9 (Common Ignition-Controlled Supply)
Main Beam 10 & 6 (Common Earth)
Oil Pressure 11 & 12 (Ignition-Controlled Supply)


Wiring Colour Pin No. Function

Green / White 1 Left Direction Indicator
White / Blue 2 Choke
Black / White 3 Handbrake
Green / Red 5 Right Direction Indicator
Black 6 Common Earth
Green / Orange 7 Fuel Level
Brown / Yellow 8 Ignition
White 9 Common Ignition-Controlled Supply x 4
Blue / White 10 Main Beam
White / Brown 11 Oil Pressure
White 12 Ignition-Controlled Supply


Late-model, 8-segment cluster with 12 connection pins

There is no connection pin labelled 13, which is a blank, un-pierced space in the connector block

Warning Function Pin No.

Handbrake 2 & 1 (Common Ignition-Controlled Supply)
Fuel Level 3 & 1 (Common Ignition-Controlled Supply)
Ignition 4 & 5 (Common Earth)

Main Beam 6 & 5 (Common Earth)
Direction Indicator 7 & 8 (Earth)
Oil Pressure 9 & 10
Demist 11 & 5 (Common Earth)
Choke 12 & 1 (Common Ignition-Controlled Supply)

Wiring Colour Pin No. Function

White 1 Common Ignition-Controlled Supply x 3

Black / White 2 Hand Brake
Green / Red 3 Fuel Level
Brown / Yellow 4 Ignition
White / Black 5 Common Earth x 3
Blue / White 6 Main Beam
Green / White 7 R & L Direction Indicators
Black 8 Earth

White 9 Ignition-Controlled Supply
White / Brown 10 Oil Pressure
Green / Orange 11 Heated Rear Window Demist
White / Blue 12 Carburettor Choke

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Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering, for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

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Upgraded 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 (Toledo / Dolomite HL / Sprint hybrid)

Onetime member + magazine editor & technical editor of Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club


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