TrabbieRonnie

Non-car post... Found (buried under a work bench) an absolute beauty of a welder at work today... Took me back to my apprenticeship days, it's been a while since I saw a proper oil-cooled pot. English Electric, couldn't see a date or serial number anywhere... With scant regard for the PAT Testing regime, I plugged her in to be rewarded with that lovely quiet hum... Funny the things that please me as I get older, what a time I had burning up the biggest rods I could find into the workbench! Appears to work perfectly, smooth power... feels like it would go all day if you wanted, lovely. Had to share it somewhere peeps, hopefully you can appreciate it! 😄 Cars are alright, new springs came for the Audi Coupe, racing red lowering jobs of course... Too much to expect an actual set though obviously, they've sent four fronts! Anyway, it's fronts I'm really needing, the backs can be done when the to-ing and fro-ing is completed... Wee Maz is going great, confidence in the fix is high. Much excitement here for a mission tomorrow, we found a guy clearing out his garage... full of Hilux Surf parts! Have arranged a lend of the work's van, and the initial deal is for a set of doors, and both front wings. After speaking to him on the phone, it transpires that a great many other useful (and now hard-to-get) parts are there too! I have gathered all my spare scheckels... The ol' jeep's refresh has just been taking too long, this should be a shot in the arm for us. Once it's up and running again, I'll be handing it over to no.2 son, for it's next driving chapter (and his first).

Well, long story short... the wee Mazda is back on the road! After barking up the wrong tree for a bit with the fuel pump/relays, we got to the right sensor. With all codes cleared, I turned the engine over, and in frustration really, let it churn for a good 20 seconds. This seemed to be enough time for the ECU to flash up a code again (it never had since the initial handful at the breakdown). The code was 2, which is 'crankshaft position sensor'. The car doesn't have one, instead using the cam angle sensor mentioned earlier (just under the rotor arm). I think this replaces the points in this halfway electronic set-up. The CAS reads the cam position, and via the ECU, signals the ignitor (a wee black box) to fire the coil. A read through the mx-5 forums showed that this part is now prone to age-related failure, although usually at start-up. Trying to find a complete unit was impossible, I think all bar the very earliest mx-5/miatas had 'coil on plug' ignition, doing away with the rotor arm? None of the castings looked exactly right either. I set about the thing on the kitchen table, and was faced with a pretty simple looking set of pickups on a plastic plate. It's a Mitsubishi-made part, and when I put the number into Google, up it came at a place down south! On the shelf and £55. Anyway, it arrived today, and within an hour it was on and going! Running sweet as a nut (just as before), we're all very happy. This wasn't a quick fix, with work shifts, weather etc... and there has been a bit of parts darts. It got both fuel relays, a fuel filter, an ignitor, and of course the new CAS module. However, I've learned a lot, and feel confident it is sorted. I'm planning a service and a cambelt when work next allows, although it still looks very new. For now it has been put back together and cleaned inside and out, and is just back from band practice (boot rammed full of guitars/amps/drums, just as it should be!). Phew!

Have you still got the wee rubber pipe that goes from the cowl to the exhaust manifold jacket? It goes brittle and can easily be lost when removing the cowl (also can be awkward to fit)? I couldn't see it in your pics, but it makes a huge difference to cabin heating... you probably know this as you say the heater works well, but thought I'd mention it as mine was in poor condition when I first got it. Good work again, it'll go a bit better after this job!

I needed a bit of work to the rear arches, like you say the repair panels were easy and cheap (back then anyway) to get hold of. I used a generic silicone sealant, as I did not want them to be impossible to get off again in future... they're probably due off for an inspection now actually, just realised how long ago all this was (2009-ish!). I actually want the roof panel off too, need to check/rust-proof the top rail, and should really take the front wings and door skins off too... As always, I have too many cars and not enough time!

The rear wings are easily removed tbh, the sealant used will be brittle now... There's a row of self tappers under the black trim strip, and a couple at the bottom... Be prepared for your first view of your rear wheel arches if/when you do though!!!

Received today with many thanks! Cheered me up as the old Mazda is playing silly buggers! Thanks for your efforts Captain!

Right, where am I? Faulty Air inlet temp sensor remains faulty (part of Air Flow Meter), and still no start. I have cleaned all the earth points I can see. Cleaning up the main battery earth resulted in the second fuel pump relay coming to life. It can heard/felt clicking on start. We took the back seat out and lifted the access panel for the pump, which we could then easily hear turning, quiet and smooth. I suppose I should check it's actually moving fuel around, but there are no fuel pressure codes. I wanted to confirm that the ECU was not allowing ignition, so disconnected the coil supply, and measured the voltage as my assistant turned the key. There should be 12 volts there according to the manual, there was initially 5v, which decayed quickly away. Not enough. The battery has held up well throughout all this, but is now on charge in case that's becoming an issue. It turns the engine over pretty easily still, but shows as weak on the load tester. Currently supping at 2 amps, so did need a top up. Off to peruse endless Mazda websites for clues, and possibly a 'new' AFM. I haven't removed the ECU for a look yet, but starting to wonder about it... 1992 wasn't yesterday after all!

Yeah, you're right, I didn't explain too well... The diagram in the book is of the terminals (sockets?) in the fusebox. C and D have power only with ignition (which energises the coil and pulls in the relay's switch across A and B, which always have power). The original and replacement relays all click with ignition on. The issue is that there is no power to the second relay, which should be supplied by the ECU once happy with everything else. I have again confirmed that the fuel pump runs with the relay bypass function in the diagnostic port. There is also no spark, with either old or new rotor arm/dizzy cap etc. It would appear that the car's brain is not allowing it to run, I just can't believe it's only the air intake temp stopping it?! It's part of the Air Flow Meter assembly, and many mx-5 (very similar engines) owners have changed them for this reason apparently. Off out to clean all the earth points and connectors I can find!

Well, it's not the cambelt anyway, all present an correct (cam observed to be turning through oil filler cap). Cleaning the earthing points for the cam angle sensor got rid of that code, but still no start. The one remaining code is for the air intake temp sensor. It is physically ok, and checks out within specs on the multimeter also. There is a second fuel pump relay, looks in good order, but no power is being supplied to it. I think the ECU would be in charge of that, can it really be stopping things completely for a intake temp sensor fault? Annoying, but at least not catastrophic... in for a break and some more research.

I think I might know what's up with this... I found a list of the possible fault codes (blinky light flashes) on a Miata forum. I'd dismissed the codes I'd seen as spurious due to the fuel pump failing, but did get 15, 3 and 2. The little chart I had at the time only had an explanation for 15, as an O2 sensor out of tolerance. However, I now know that 3 and 2 relate to no signal from the cam position sensor... maybe because it's not turning? Now, regular readers may remember the cylinder head and subsequent engine swap jobs on this car. At the time, I found that the valves could indeed contact the pistons on this supposedly (according to the internet) non-interference engine. When attending this latest breakdown, I did suspect a cam belt failure due to the sudden stop. There had been no horrible noises however, and the engine spins over sweet as a nut as normal. Hence me chasing other potential faults. What if, and hear me out, the valves could only interfere on the old engine because I'd had the head skimmed? Could this one have survived a belt snap, or just spat the tensioner and only gone out by a tooth or two? To my great shame, I put this 'new' engine into service without changing the belt, which looked new. I ordered a kit anyway, and planned to change it for peace of mind, but hadn't yet... looks like I (and Junior) may have paid the price. It's my last day off work, I'm having a sausage sandwich before starting, wish me luck and I'll update later! 🤞🤞🤞

Well, I'm learning...! Turns out you can't test for continuity across a diode with a simple multimeter anyway... a diode needs a certain voltage applied to it to create a circuit. My original relay may well be fine, as may be the used spare I bought. In my defence, I was on my own during the first fault-finding phase... with an assistant turning the ignition on, I'd have been able to hear/feel the relay click (as i did tonight with the Halfords one). A far better test than me relying on my very scant electrical knowledge! Will be doing so in the morning, the generic one obviously works, but doesn't fit nicely in the fusebox... That still leaves a problem however. I have done some reading, and it turns out that the wee Mazda needs a few electronic ducks in a row before it will 'bring the thunder'. On ignition, the fuel pump is supposed to start, prime the line, then stop once fuel pressure is reached (and sensed), until... The engine is actually started. The vacuum created in the inlet tract operates a flap attached to a switch, which via the ECU, turns the fuel pump on again. I believe this is in the MAF's vicinity, it can be heard flapping open during cranking. If therefore, the flap/MAF thingy doesn't send the right signal, or the fuel pressure sender, or (apparently) the coolant temp sensor, or even a cam/crank sensor (which i have never noticed being fitted* but there we go)... no start. Also, the second fuel pump relay is still to be investigated. Who knew a 1992 Mazda hatch would be so complicated?! Will update tomorrow. *Edit, might be connected to/part of the distributor, I do remember a few wires around there when fitting this engine...

Well, Suffolk Mazda supplied a (used) relay that tested exactly the same as my faulty one (no continuity across the coil). Unsurprisingly, it made no difference when fitted. I suspect it's the wee diode that fails in these, I get a reading through the coil if I test it beyond the diode... (I am almost instantly out of my depth when dealing with electrics, if that's not already obvious!) Now, I cannot face spending £70 on a new* genuine Mazda relay... it's just a four pin job. I took myself off to Halfords, bought a generic 4 pin relay and am just in from another failed attempt at starting the car. At the fusebox relay terminals, I have two showing 12v all the time, and two showing 12v with ignition switched on. I have the new relay connected thusly... pins 87 and 30 to the constantly live side, and 85 and 86 to the switched side (85 to the negative). There are no terminal numbers on the original relay to copy, so I'm hoping I've got the above right? I'm basically going by the info on the Halfords pack... As I understand it, because of the diode across the relay's coil, the polarity of that side matters, whereas the output side (87 and 30), doesn't really? Pictures... Old relay... Shown as it sits in the car, basically just to show how terminals A and B are on the output side, and constantly live. C and D become live when ignition turned on. New relay... Anyway, it turns out that this relay (under the bonnet) feeds another (under the centre console trim, yet to be dug out). I can hear/feel my new one clicking, but no pump. As I said in the above post, I know the pump turns when tested (relays bypassed via the diagnostic port), so I assume this other one is goosed also. Seems strange that both would go, any thoughts/advice/similar experiences would be very welcome...👍

Looks like the fuel pump relay has died... A combination of a fault code decoder chart in the HBOL (actually very useful book in the 323's case), and my wee jumper cable did the job. The car has a pre obd diagnostic port, that lets you test different circuits, bypassing their relays. The fuel pump could be heard fine when thus tested, but was silent when not bypassed. Sure enough, there's no continuity across the relay's coil. Various sellers on eBay, used ones are plentiful and around £20, or new for £60. Like lot of 323 parts, the relay is shared with the MX5, so more common than I feared! Edit... Used working order unit ordered from Suffolk Mazda for £15... The new one I'd seen came in at £78 with vat and postage, which seems an awful lot for a relay! Will see how we go.

Mazda 323 FTP... again?! Been a while since the wee beastie blotted it's copybook, but last night as an overtake was attempted she sputtered and died... Hence a 01:00 hrs dash out to retrieve the young'uns on board at the time, and make sure it was safely ensconced for a night out... Thankfully my eldest had managed to coast her into a farm entrance on the A-road, only having to push it the last few feet. I didn't much fancy towing it home in the dark at that time, so got up this morning and prepped the gear. The towing eye socket on the big Audi was not the usual corroded mess you find, being aluminium and nicely covered up. The Mazda's is just there, sticking out between a vent in the bumper. Got the towpole hooked up... ... and headed back to base. Unsurprisingly, 3.7 litres of Audi's finest didn't really mind pulling the 323, and made for a very comfortable recovery wagon! Apart from the clunk on take off, you could quite easily forget it was there. And so begin the investigations I guess, it feels like a fuel issue, the engine spins over fine, and the dizzy cap internals looked alright (bit of white build up on the contacts) last night. Will check for spark, but there's absolutely no smell of fuel when attempting to start. I'll lift the back seat and see if there's power to the pump. All that is after sausage sandwiches have been consumed however, I'm actually off until the weekend (how do these old cars know?), so plenty of time to tinker anyway.

They are incredible regarding range, I'm only seeing 26-30mpg (mines a petrol, and is spending a lot of time idling while i scrape the windows just now), but like you say, the mahoosive tank means fuel stops are relatively infrequent. I heard that the tanks are stainless steel, and that there's 5 fuel pumps all told?! I long for a unit with ramps somewhere too, in the meantime I'm thinking about various DIY methods for lifting the fleet to a workable height, with at least some safety involved...!

Good work man... I'd love to change the A8's gearbox oil but it's a nightmare to do apparently. There's no dipstick tube, it's filled from the drain plug until it overflows, at which point the car has to be suspended with all four wheels off the ground, running, and in gear(!), so you can get the last bit of oil in... I was thinking about doing it on 4 axle stands, with the wheels off, but the thought of crawling under the big lump while its going is just too much! It's sealed for life though, so I'm sure it will be fine*.

Running repairs on the big Audi (actually quite nice to be tinkering after the ABS saga)... One thing that has bothered me for a wee while, is the deterioration of my driver's wing mirror. Behold... In typical Audi fashion, it is no ordinary piece of glass. Heated and ful of LCD's(?) to provide auto dimming. If you squeezed it, the brown liquid moved around, and oozed out the bottom... nice. My friendly MOT man has been good enough to ignore this fault for the last couple of years, but it was getting annoyingly hard to see stuff. Of course, every man and his dog wants one, so the leading reclaimed A8 parts provider had a £79 price tag attached to their eBay listing! The 'make offer' button was employed, and to-ing and fro-ing resulted in a posted price of £65. Still faintly ridiculous, but there we are. You'll notice the black plastic trim around the old glass reader, this was missing on the replacement. Oh well, I set about removing it ready for fitment... this though, required many precious minutes of painstaking work! Yay! It held the metal 'track' contacts for the aforementioned LCDness. Imagine how delighted I was to discover (after teasing it carefully off the old one, sweating nervously), to discover the new mirror doesn't need it! It's slightly bigger, the black plastic trim doesn't fit anyway, and the LCD connections are on the back surface of the glass, as opposed to laid around the edge. Again, behold... Are the designers the real "Audi wankers?!" Onywye (as they say round here), it's all fitted now and looking, well... rearward. And the drinker's side for comparison... I don't know if the brown tint will appear on the new one when I switch the car on (or does it only switch when the headlights are on, or is there a light sensor, or do i have to plug the ol' VCDS in again?!), or if the passenger side isn't working and should in fact be clear?! Who the flip knows (or cares...), I will keep you informed dear reader, cheers just now.

Aye, spot on... Bit of OMGSNOKAOS down that way today, as the Macallan brae junction got jammed up with stuck cars/lorries. We're tucked up at home, fire on. Luckily not back on shift until the weekend...

Quattro yo!

One wall calendar please 👍

Early shift at work tomorrow, leave the house at 05:30... should be fun! We turned the ESP off and indulged in some hooning around today, feels pretty unstoppable (hope I don't regret saying that in the morning!).

Roseisle Forest, just along from Burghead 👍

Rosie's definitely Papyrus Weis (I bought some rattle cans years ago from TrabantWelt that were a good match), and looks the same colour as yours? Mind you, who's to say how consistent the paint was over the years anyway?! Mine has faded since 2009 when I bought the beast, which won't help with colour matching either. Great work with the wiring, and the headlights. I'm one of those people who's just been running around with my LHD lamps I'm afraid, changing the beam adapter stickers every ten years or so!

Thank you for that, I do think of them more as a collection rather than an assortment nowadays, they've all got something. I'm very lucky in both where I live and with whom! Up to yet it's never really been that expensive either, although I'm hearing horror stories about insurance renewals doubling? I generally pay to keep four insured on a multi car policy (sometimes changing the cars but not usually the amount), and the Trabi with Adrian Flux. Doubling in cost would not be good! We worked out the ownership cost of the A8 the other day after my previous post got me thinking about the spends so far. A conservative estimate was arrived at, including initial purchase, parts and fuel, of 32p per mile. I'm a great believer in that being the most valid comparitor when it comes to the value of a vehicle. Doesn't seem bad to me, I might do the same for the fleet, and then compare against financing a new one, but I'll need to be very bored first! I know it's only cheap because I'm not paying for someone's time in fixing them up, but there's a bigger payback there too in terms of gaining/passing on knowledge and skills, and arguably getting a higher standard of work than can be relied on at some garages these days. Plus, got a V8, innit.

Big Audi is back in the game after passing the MOT with only an advisory for a tyre (was on the front, now on the back...this thing munches the shoulders pretty quick!). Uniroyal Rain sports are lovely things, but sadly not up to this job, long term at least. I'm doing less miles for work now, so they'll probably do a while yet (if I can resist the loud pedal). Anyway, its driving lovely and smooth, and with everything working, we really have missed this car the last few months... I hear we've more of the white stuff due so maybe just in the nick of time too. Man maths on the A8 is still not too bad... Purchased for £1500, tyres £600, and the ABS module at £1100. Probably another £500 in wheel bearings and brake discs etc... Roughly £3700 over the three years and 20,000ish miles (edit... just checked, and somehow we've actually put 38,000 on this car?!). Next thing will be the cambelt, will attempt this job myself in the summer I think. In my head the car still feels like a bit of a bargain, just for the nice-ness of the driving experience really, there are obviously cheaper cars to run, but this is pure wafty goodness. My hope was to invest a bit in a car that would last a good while, with the ally body and the stuff I've fixed, this should now be the case 🤞. If/when my ship comes in, I'll get the S8 version, what a package those things must be! Found what looks like a good option for new suspension for the old Audi Coupe, so just waiting on payday before pushing the boat out (£400ish for shocks and springs, 40mm drop again). Although, she can stay off the road for winter now, so no real rush. This old thing has really become a bastion of the fleet lately, out in all weathers and running beautifully. Built with a different mindset these 80's I think, great car. Rosie the Trabi has been doing well on the new b-road commute, buzzing along fine and for literally pennies too. She must be pushing 50mpg again now, it's like running a wee motorbike! Can confirm that Trabants are toasty inside even at -8 outside, and deal well with icy roads. Mainly as you can feel everything, it's a totally connected driving experience. Last update is the laddo's 323... he's racking up serious miles in this wee car, and it too is going well. I've just ordered discs, pads and CV joints (very slight grumble when pulling off out of a junction), but nothing's very expensive for it, and it's a good car to work on. It's not quite as sparkly looking as the above pic just now, few blemishes creeping in, so the summer will see some rattle-canning no doubt. White wheels are a bit of work up here too, they're maybe looking at a refurb in a more normal colour. Cheers all.