Peter Truman Posted Sunday at 20:31 Report Share Posted Sunday at 20:31 On a 2 week club tour of Tassie I carried a spare drive shaft water pump & UJ's, coil, but on normal driving & weekend trips a small tool bag with a set of spanners & sockets, screwdrivers etc. Tools my very old ones mostly ones I've had since a teenager, now just short of 80! In the glove box a spare Accu spark electronic ignition just in case, you lot have me scared, BUT in 20 years! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James H Posted Monday at 06:15 Author Report Share Posted Monday at 06:15 (edited) On 13/10/2024 at 10:28, Chris A said: coil 12 hours ago, Peter Truman said: coil Funny you both mention something I don't actually carry, I'll add it to the already comprehensive list especially since I bought the car with running issues, above all that it would gradually break down when up to temp, which turned out to a faulty coil, how did I not think of that one... For now though, since doing the comparisons with Johny I've left everything out of the car and have decided to risk fate and enjoy the extra performance, lets see how short lived that will be ! Edited Monday at 08:52 by James H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James H Posted Monday at 06:40 Author Report Share Posted Monday at 06:40 9 hours ago, Peter Truman said: now just short of 80! And still enjoying the cars ! I'm a wee lad in comparison, a mere 50, still too old to understand the appeal of social media though, never been on it which I'm led to believe makes me a highly suspicious character in the world today... I have a friend in his late 60s thats just retired to France from the UK bringing with them their top of the range luxury motorhome with plans of touring the country at their leisure for the next however many years, he has just discovered however that french law dictates that it will be no more than two or three since here he would apparently have to redo his driving test at 70 of which half is theory and he doesn't speak a word of french... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted Monday at 08:35 Report Share Posted Monday at 08:35 1 hour ago, James H said: he has just discovered however that french law dictates that it will be no more than two or three since here he would apparently have to redo his driving test at 70 of which half is theory and he doesn't speak a word of french... I think there is some confusion here, you don't have to retake a test at 70, or any other age for that matter ( there has been discussion at EU level but that's another point). What he has to do as he is taking up residence is convert his UK licence to a French one, and yes that could be within 3 years. I don't know what the rules are exactly now that the UK is out of the EU, but when I moved here in '94 I simply changed my licence for the equivelent French one, no test required if done within 2 or 3 years (can't remember which). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James H Posted Monday at 08:44 Author Report Share Posted Monday at 08:44 4 minutes ago, Chris A said: I think there is some confusion here, you don't have to retake a test at 70, or any other age for that matter ( there has been discussion at EU level but that's another point). What he has to do as he is taking up residence is convert his UK licence to a French one, and yes that could be within 3 years. I don't know what the rules are exactly now that the UK is out of the EU, but when I moved here in '94 I simply changed my licence for the equivelent French one, no test required if done within 2 or 3 years (can't remember which). No the problem is two fold, he is playing a balancing act with double residence, keeping things "financial" back in the UK while also taking advantage of the post brexit ability to now stay here 12 months of the year on a visa alone as oppose to 6 max previously. While our old Uk licenses included long wheelbase vehicles etc, switching to a french one would default him to just a basic car license... this is all just what he has told me of course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James H Posted Monday at 09:01 Author Report Share Posted Monday at 09:01 (edited) I was genuinely shocked by the apparent "12 month loophole"... I fully expected post brexit for things to become impossibly complicated for the brits but the inverse seems true if you're willing to compromise on some things. You can now buy a property here and stay 12 months of the year with a relatively easy to obtain "visa", although paying both the property tax as the owner AND a "habitation tax" as if you're actually renting your own home PLUS a "wealth" tax if the property was purchased for over a million. All this while keeping things financially in check back in the UK. The only real downside to the scenario I can see is health care complications... or apparently planning a retirement in a luxury motorhome... Edited Monday at 09:07 by James H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James H Posted Monday at 09:11 Author Report Share Posted Monday at 09:11 Grey skies have arrived which has reminded me of the ignition light remaining faintly illuminated under normal driving despite having an alternator conversion, is this just another thing one can accept as normal on a Vitesse ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted Monday at 09:17 Report Share Posted Monday at 09:17 No thats not normal James. Either light is getting in from another source and making it look as if the ign is on, possibly the bulb has been changed for an LED or theres a problem with the system. It needs investigating Im afraid... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James H Posted Monday at 09:21 Author Report Share Posted Monday at 09:21 Its definitely illuminated albeit very faintly and only noticeable in low light... car seems to run fine regardless and no battery issues but thanks will investigate... just shows how important it is to know what are quirks and what aren't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted Monday at 09:25 Report Share Posted Monday at 09:25 So noticeable even with all other lights in the car off? Measuring the system voltage when off and running is a good start👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trigolf Posted Monday at 10:37 Report Share Posted Monday at 10:37 It might be the slip ring brushes wearing down. Had the same fault on Dad's Capri - faint alt light on. On investigation the brush that runs on the centre slip ring circular contact had worn thro the copper contact into the plastic backing and was only making intermittent contact. Or, it might be your regulator on the way out.🤔 Gav Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James H Posted Monday at 11:02 Author Report Share Posted Monday at 11:02 20 minutes ago, trigolf said: It might be the slip ring brushes wearing down. Or, it might be your regulator on the way out.🤔 Thanks Gav, good to know, will check but first need to verify its not an LED as I have previously discovered one elsewhere... Presuming you've got a 2 liter any chance you're willing to post a time ? With Johnys car and mine being tuned completely differently it seems we need more times in order to learn much from the test... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James H Posted Monday at 11:16 Author Report Share Posted Monday at 11:16 1 hour ago, johny said: So noticeable even with all other lights in the car off? Yes and its not LED. So voltages : off 12.7 at idle 12.4 at 2000rpm 13.6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted Monday at 11:24 Report Share Posted Monday at 11:24 do check there is no stray light around the old tube that shrouds the warning lights they do degrade . a glow is normally a sign one of the diodes has failed , we found on recon alternators they would snip the wire to the diode to stop this but you reduce the charging ability (nobody knows till it all gives up ) this was from a questionable reputable recon company I view any starter/alternator/injection pump/clutch with more doubt than is rational much of the trade were crooks . nice coat of paint and well presented box thats the limit of good . Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James H Posted Monday at 11:31 Author Report Share Posted Monday at 11:31 Cheers Pete, checked and definitely faintly illuminated by the system but not even noticeable in the summer brightness... personally never had recon anything but sounds about right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted Monday at 12:07 Report Share Posted Monday at 12:07 47 minutes ago, James H said: Yes and its not LED. So voltages : off 12.7 at idle 12.4 at 2000rpm 13.6 Charging voltage not great so you could set your multimeter to AC volts and see how much ripple your getting in it. As you probably know the alternator generates 3 phase AC which gets rectified to DC but not very well if one of the diodes is playing up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James H Posted Monday at 12:18 Author Report Share Posted Monday at 12:18 (edited) 16 minutes ago, johny said: Charging voltage not great so you could set your multimeter to AC volts and see how much ripple your getting in it. As you probably know the alternator generates 3 phase AC which gets rectified to DC but not very well if one of the diodes is playing up... I confess I didn't know that, so AC mV : at idle 0.4 at 2000rpm 1.4 Edited Monday at 12:23 by James H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted Monday at 12:24 Report Share Posted Monday at 12:24 ooh youve caught me out now as Ive no idea what AC ripple is acceptable but I would have thought 1.4v high - anyone know? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James H Posted Monday at 12:26 Author Report Share Posted Monday at 12:26 Sorry just corrected it to mV, of course someone will know, this forums worth its weight in gold ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted Monday at 12:26 Report Share Posted Monday at 12:26 Not good James as Google is saying 50 - 100 mV... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted Monday at 12:39 Report Share Posted Monday at 12:39 yes 1.4mV looks better but I still think theres a problem possibly with the diodes that supply the field which are separate from the main ones that feed the cars electrics. Not sure how you can test them though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James H Posted Monday at 12:42 Author Report Share Posted Monday at 12:42 Running out of board but I'll chalk it up as one more thing to keep an eye on 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted Monday at 12:55 Report Share Posted Monday at 12:55 I remember now Ive had this more than once and as trigolf said it turned out to be the brushes worn short and no longer making full contact. It should be easy to remove the alternator end cover and pull the brushes out for a check. In the end the charging voltage drops and you suddenly have a flat battery usually at the worst possible moment😭 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted Monday at 13:07 Report Share Posted Monday at 13:07 4 hours ago, James H said: switching to a french one would default him to just a basic car license... this is all just what he has told me of course Could be, licncing categories are different here so a standard licence 'permis B' might not cover it and it depends on what is listed on his UK licence. I 'lost' my motorcyle licence during the conversion because this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted Monday at 13:10 Report Share Posted Monday at 13:10 On 13/10/2024 at 14:26, James H said: I said the same for years, mainly because many french do too but it turns out its actually not correct, its 'quand même'... you're welcome 😉 Comme même & quand même exist, slight difference in meaning to the French, tricky for an English translation. It's more in the tone of voice and possibly a shrug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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