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Genuine Granada Greenhouse Gassing Granadaland - The Beast Estate leaves the GGG - Caution: No P6 Content!


Junkman

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I tried, oh how I tried. 

 

All the towbar wiring has been disconnected, and the car's loom repaired. 

 

post-17021-0-65309800-1495220021_thumb.jpg

 

The result? HAZARDS!!

 

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I left them on for ten minutes to make sure it wasn't a fluke. The horn was also back in service, although it sounds like it's been chain smoking Woodbines since 1985. 

 

Notice the past tense there - the horn was back in service. Because as soon as I fired up the engine, the hazards and horn were gone again, and the fuse blows immediately, as before. 

 

What. 

 

My horn button pressing assistant reported that the interior lights were briefly working too. I thought he was mistaken, but when I felt them they were warm. 

 

They're not even on that circuit. What?

 

e: (they may be on that circuit actually, the fuse box cover only says horn and hazards)

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11 out of 10 for effort though!

 

Best place for the towbar is the bin imho, as is the case with most towbars. Most of them are shit and badly fitted like this one clearly was.

 

There's always been an irritating electrical fault with this car, sometimes it's fine but others it just shits itself. I always thought it was an earth fault or some wire(s) shorting together randomly. As I said before though, I'm shit at auto electrics so it was never solved or even found. An auto electrician would probably find the problem easily...

Is it worth checking the fuse box itself? Sometimes dirt and corrosion can get into the back of them causing these sorts of issues.

 

And yes, the horn always was shit! It got an advisory once for 'Horn sounds harsh!'.

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It turned out that the dead chief engineer was not responsible for all the malfunctions, though.

 

It was Skizzer!

 

Cigarette lighter, interior illumination, hazard warning indicators, horn, etc, etc all run by the ominous 16 Amp fuse that blew the moment you put one in.

When I took over the car, Skizzer pointed out that he had inflated the tyres using a compressor plugged into the fag lighter, and it blew a fuse.

That fuse.

So we disconnected the lighter, put in a fuse, which took us three hours to find, and most things came to life.

Interior lights, electric mirrors, horn, hazard warning flashers, the lot.

 

We also traced the starting problem to a borked fuel pump. It has an integral non return valve, which can get borked.

The HBOL clearly states that this leads to the car being difficult or impossible to start after being parked overnight.

 

New pump on order.

 

Wednesday it should get the exhaust pipes replaced, the towbar taken off and well - a fresh MoT.

 

So the only things not working now are:

 

- Cigarette lighter(s)

- Boot illumination (doesn't even come on with the switch, so probably bulb blown)

- One reading light (probably bulb blown)

- Antenna (borked)

- Passenger window still temperamental

- Headlamp washers (pump runs, so probably clogged jets)

- Central locking

 

I hope Mr Conelrad will post photos of today's doings later.

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Well done! Glad it's turned out to be something stupid.

Has the 'computer' thrown its toys out yet? It does this occasionally, and it flashes up all the warning lights on the roof console. No idea why.

 

How did you get the windows working? When I tried they'd be ok for a short time before playing up again.

 

Great work so far though, the cars clearly in the right hands!

 

Edit; btw, if you haven't found it yet, the dipstick wires have snapped too. Might be worth fixing while your on the electrics.

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There'll be a proper post from me when it's not 3am. However, I was getting concerned about this on the way home tonight:

 

attachicon.gifDSC05867.jpg

 

edit: patently wrong photo, although I was also concerned about a fox chewing a rubber glove

Don't worry about the temp gauge! It looks bad but it's not overheating. It never does!

It's (yet another!) electrical 'issue', when the cars headlights are turned on for some bizarre reason it makes the temp gauge go to the high end.

If you switch the lights off the gauge starts to drop to normal.

Don't ask me why but it's done that since I bought it.

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It was Skizzer!

 

Glad it's turned out to be something stupid.

 

That's maybe a touch harsh, Dan, but probably fair.  ;-)

 

 

Glad you're making good progress.  Sorry about blowing the fuse, but it was the only way I had to inflate the tyre and I was already running late. 

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That's maybe a touch harsh, Dan, but probably fair.  ;-)

 

 

Glad you're making good progress.  Sorry about blowing the fuse, but it was the only way I had to inflate the tyre and I was already running late.

 

I'm not surprised it was your fault!

You come over and take my car from me, then you rip out all my beloved stickers and then you ruin the electrics!

Some people!!

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How did you get the windows working? When I tried they'd be ok for a short time before playing up again.

 

Took the switches out and flushed them with a few gallons of contact cleaner, greased the rails and runners,

sprayed all kinds of snake oils into the motors, etc. etc.

They basically all work now, just the passenger side front one is still a tad temperamental.

I guess it's the motor itself that is borked, since it always makes an audible click when you press the switch,

but it only occasionally actually moves.

 

To answer your question re. the board computer - yes, it definitely did develop some HAL9000esque AI.

I had totally forgotten how annoying it is when you're low on petrol. Really makes you want to hit that

patronising little shit with a big hammer.

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Yes, that horrible sound it makes when your low on fuel! I hated that and it drives you mad. The button to stop it isn't that good either on this car, you've got to press it quite hard to make it stop.

 

I'd imagine a replacement window motor should be easy and cheap from the banger boys, they won't need them.

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I'm not surprised it was your fault!

You come over and take my car from me, then you rip out all my beloved stickers and then you ruin the electrics!

Some people!!

 

Not all of the stickers have been ripped out!

But yesterday that terrible tax disc holder that was still adorning* the windscreen has been ceremoniously binned

into the integrated bin, aka glove box.

 

Once Mr Conelrad has a spare minute, since he currently has the full time job of unborking The Beast Estate,

new and very appropriate replacement stickers shall be made by him.

 

Also, a bag of fuses is on order now just for precaution. I would have never thought those fuses could ever be hard to come by.

Would you believe it now, that we could only get them at the very last resort? At 1.59 for two of them in a fancy package!

 

Then again, it was me who once uttered the sentence "There will not be the day when Granadas and Taunuses are rare."

I guess being an augur would not have been a wise career choice for me.

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Yes, that horrible sound it makes when your low on fuel! I hated that and it drives you mad. The button to stop it isn't that good either on this car, you've got to press it quite hard to make it stop.

 

I'd imagine a replacement window motor should be easy and cheap from the banger boys, they won't need them.

 

The problem is that banger racing isn't all that popular oop Narf and they have moved on from Granadas quite a while ago.

For some reason banger racing is more a Southern thing, whereas in the North the BriSCA stuff dominates.

I hope Mr Conelrad kept the contact details of the guy we sold the borked Welsh Granada to, he lives in the heartland of

banger racing and is thus swimming in spares due to the Granada only meet they had last year at Ringwood.

But make no mistake, the Granadas that are still being raced today have been stockpiled for years and are thus pretty

plucked over by now anyway.

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I've not had to buy any of the fuses for years, I've got loads in my shed. Nothing really uses them now though I suppose. Most places won't bother wasting shelf space on them.

 

It's motorsport that's done the damage to these cars. If the banger boys didn't like them so much there'd be loads more Granada's, Cortinas, and Capri's around. Of course the shitty climate over here doesn't help either!

The guy I got this one from was a racer. He reckons he'd done literally hundreds of the mk1's and 2 over the years since the early 90's. He opened his garage and it was stuffed floor to ceiling with Granada parts. You name it he had it, he threw in a load of parts he knew I'd need too which was good of him. The windscreen in your car now came out of an A reg car he recently raced... the original having a huge crack in it.

 

Ringwood raceway isn't very far from me. That all Granny meet was ace btw!

As you say, most of the Granny's being raced now have been sitting in banger yards for ages. Most of them are absolutely hanging now too.

If you get stuck for parts, give me a shout and I'll ask around down here.

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I need an indicator switch that still self cancels (sorry, Skiz) and an original radio with woodgrain and ideally part of the original wire loom attached beyond the plug.

Also, the two small compartment doors at the sides of the boot are turning to granulate, so if a good set of blue ones can be found, that would be ace.

Alas, I guess they all look like this by now.

Also a rear offside door card that doesn't display the typical lift at the top yet.

I'd also take some spare headlights, indicators and taillights if there are some good ones kicking about, just in case.

How about bumpers? And maybe a computer that didn't develop a persona?

Oh, and an electric aerial.

The belt mouldings with intact rubbers.

Better rub strips down the flanks and the mounting brackets for them.

 

I'd love to rummage through his garage and just pick everything I want, then haggle over the pile for a few hours down the pub...

 

I just bought a set of LHD headlight glasses from Germany, for those upcoming Continental trips.

They are so easy to change in the ferry queue that I never bothered with those beam benders.

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Okay, progress. I borrowed the Rover's electric fuel pump and plumbed it directly into the carb. Loads of fuel in filter, but still no change to the starting issue. Not fuel pump. 

 

You might remember "I" repaired the Rover's electronic ignition by waiting until a random passer by stopped and fixed it for me. Well, I saw the same chap passing by today so I pointed him in the direction of the Granada. He moved around the engine with a multimeter for a bit before concluding that the black thing which moves the choke flaps was not doing anything. This was backed up by him holding them in position manually while I cranked the car. Which started instantly, from stone cold. 

 

So, that maybe.

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Is the choke thermostat (vulgo 'black thing') not doing anything, or is there no electrickery arriving at it?

If it's the choke thermostat itself, please let me know and I'll order a carb to fannymould gasket...

Or can you see a part number on it?

 

New fuel pump on order anyway, not a bad thing to have spare.

 

I also ordered two brand new original cigarette lighters with the beautiful green illuminated plastic crest - paid full whack scene tax, too.

Priorities, you know.

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I'll have a look around for the bits down here JM, next time I'm in town I'll see if the guy I got the car from is still there. Maybe he still has all the parts, or even a car to strip?

Are any of you on Ovalchat? Might be worth a wanted ad?

 

There's one headlamp glass in the box of goodies in the boot. I don't know which side it goes or if it's LHD or RHD I'm afraid, but Dan might. Also the missing bit of side rubbing strip.

That spare headlight glass is a RHD one (Drivers side I think?) I had to replace the headlight a while back as the silvering had gone, I managed to get hold of a new old stock genuine one but kept the old glass just incase.

I think there's a full set of new door glass weatherstrips in the boot too, since your doing the windows...

 

I put a new pair of front calipers and pads on this too not too long before you guys bought it. And it's had new rear shoes and cylinders before that. Most of that stuff had to come in from Germany. There's much more available over there for some reason?

 

 

Are you planning on taking this over to the continent then Junkman? I bet these are brilliant for that sort of trip.

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