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1987 Renault GTA :: Gone to a new home


PhilA

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Or sooner!

 

The weather here has been uncooperative recently. We're getting mid-afternoon thunderstorms and rain at about 3pm until 8pm and that's the point where I get off work and have a chance to actually work on the vehicle.

 

I need to buy some plastic tube to bleed the brakes also.

 

--Phil

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest bonehead

Phil, I found you again although it appears you are on a different forum here at the shite! I am still pursuing the POS 1985 alliance 1.7 dl conv. I almost have it going right but need to know more about the TPS. I have installed a new one and the instructions with it say to set it at .5-.8 v at zero throttle position. Mine reads at the top end of the scale around  4.25v. someone has rewired the harness connection and the colours match up. I was wondering if somehow it is hooked up incorrectly but am finding zero in the haynes manual. I can't even see it on the schematic, it appears to wire into the trans. computer,auto by the way. but I have no idea what it does. My tranny seems to be shifting incorrectly, I am just starting to drive it so I will know more after I fix the brake line, it has been siting for years and I have tracked a lot of issues so far.

 

I am glad to see you are active again, it was a helluva long winter up here in Canada, cheers and thanks

 

dan

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Phil, I found you again although it appears you are on a different forum here at the shite! I am still pursuing the POS 1985 alliance 1.7 dl conv. I almost have it going right but need to know more about the TPS. I have installed a new one and the instructions with it say to set it at .5-.8 v at zero throttle position. Mine reads at the top end of the scale around  4.25v. someone has rewired the harness connection and the colours match up. I was wondering if somehow it is hooked up incorrectly but am finding zero in the haynes manual. I can't even see it on the schematic, it appears to wire into the trans. computer,auto by the way. but I have no idea what it does. My tranny seems to be shifting incorrectly, I am just starting to drive it so I will know more after I fix the brake line, it has been siting for years and I have tracked a lot of issues so far.

 

I am glad to see you are active again, it was a helluva long winter up here in Canada, cheers and thanks

 

dan

 

Dan

 

Sounds like the thing's wired up backwards. Does the value change at all as you move the throttle? If memory serves, if you pull the plug off, you should have the two ends of the pot on either side of the plug, and the wiper arm in the middle. You should see a fixed resistance across the two outer ones and between the middle and an outer it should change.

 

If the computer thinks it's got 4.5V across it at all times, then that'll be wide-open-throttle (I think) which will make the gearbox change really late and slam into each gear, as if you were trying to accelerate hard.

It'll also not idle worth a hoot.

 

Edit:  Also, if you poke the outer two pins from the wiring from the car side, you should have just about 5.0V (probably 4.7-5.2) between them. There should be almost zero between that and the center pin. Check see.

 

--Phil

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I can't help but feel that the only thing holding this thing back is the bizarre electronics.

 

Could you not fit a small block V8 on carbs, you'll probably save a heap of hassle!

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Guest bonehead

Thanks for getting back to me, the car is getting a brake line fixed and then I should be able to work on that wiring. I suspect that it is hooked up incorrectly. Talk to you later

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  • 3 weeks later...

I've been avoiding the car recently because thinking about going to fix it is depressing. Mostly because I head down to go sort something out on it and get collared to mow the yard / fix the toilet / clean up after someone else. Misery-inducing.

 

I'm trying to keep the battery in top shape though, stuck the battery charger on it the other day and charged it up. I need to go get the little solar panel thing out of the car and wedge it in the window here, connected up. We have enough sun to keep it charged, I think.

 

Still need to buy some hose and a couple non-return valves to bleed the brake hydraulics. How long have I been saying I need to do that? I must be in contention for some sort of Autoshite procrastination award by now.

 

--Phil

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I must be in contention for some sort of Autoshite procrastination award by now.

 

--Phil

Don't feel bad, there's strong competition for that award. The brakes on my Golf have needed bleeding for about a year and a half now, for similar reasons.

 

Go on, inspire me to do better :-)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Okay, so

 

Yesterday the weather forecast was severe thunder showers and generally unpleasant weather, so we decided to stay in and do housework and such. Weather was therefore pleasant.

 

Today, weather is supposed to be nice. The yard's flooded and now the sun's come out so it's just humid outside. Not even going to bother.

 

Therefore I decided to screw about with electronics again.

 

20140726_181250.jpg?m=1406417022

 

Started by drawing things out on paper. Went down to Radio Shack and got the various bits and bobs that the had on the shelf. Couple of op-amps and other niknaks.

I need to get a 2.7V Zener diode and a P-channel MOSFET but other than that the circuit is complete.

 

20140726_181314.jpg?m=1406417054

 

Got that bit built..

 

20140726_181322.jpg?m=1406417100

 

That bit built (was easier)

 

20140726_181202.jpg?m=1406416856

 

Set it all up on the table..

 

20140726_181219.jpg?m=1406416963

 

Pushing buttons makes it all light up- that's a good sign

 

20140727_210622.jpg?m=1406782381

 

Then pulled out the big guns and set about testing it. the two traces on the screen (the - _ - _ - _ bits in green) match so that means I did something right!

 

Reason for all this? Interference. I was having a hard time making the old system work. This one is a bit different. Imagine a gutter, attached to a roof. If I poured water in, the presence of water means that the circuit is on, and there's a data bit 1 present. Conversely a dry gutter means 0, or off.

 

Noise is the equivalent of it raining at the same time. Is there water in there or not? Yes? No? Sort of? Computers don't much like "sort of" and will take at face value the presence of whatever is in the gutter at any time.

 

So, this system does it a bit differently. I pour in a large volume of water, more than can be supplied by any rain, and put a waterwheel at the other end. If the waterwheel turns fast that's a 1, if it turns under a certain speed, that's a 0. We watch the current flowing through the wire instead of any voltage present. This might be the definitive design, it was used on old Teletype machines back in the seventies to transfer data over crappy wires quite a distance. We'll see. Bench testing proves it works, but bench testing the Rover K series worked also. It's no guarantee.

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mmmm, is that a Tektronix 465 you got there? With the optional DVM too.

 

Proper kit from the golden age of electronics. If Renaults had been made by Tektronix, they would still all work.

 

No, it's a 464 which is even better, analog storage, and the DMM can do time delay measurement :D

 

It was powered up after 20 years on a shelf, was all still within spec and was pressed into service after a bit of adjustment of the storage mesh flush circuit. That's the car equivalent of having to fit new wiper blades because they were "a bit streaky" after having it parked in a barn for 20 years and the rest of the car being just fine...

 

--Phil

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Shite update today.

 

I went ousted the wildlife out of my toolbox today and transported it up to the house here.

 

It was sunny. Thankfully left in the sun for ten minutes the thing dried out after being taken apart then thoroughly hosed down (wasp nest the size of my fist inside, plenty of spiders) and is now taking up space in my utility room.

 

I still have to clean the contents and the thing looks like a relic off the Titanic.

 

Made enquiries about moving the car on a trailer up here also.

 

There might be photos, but probably not many because I'll be organising the logistics.

 

Watch this space. Hopefully.

 

Phil

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Stuck the battery in, it's been kept topped up with my solar panel. Twisted the key, started up like it was run yesterday. Took it down the road. Brakes are definitely gassy, the pedal had improved a little in the year it's been sat.

 

Drove it up and down the street a bit, rinsed the dust off and discovered some rust on the boot lid.

 

Moving it will hopefully happen some time this week. Going then to get the brakes done, change out the CV boot etc.

 

Yeah, I've resigned myself to getting someone else to do the brakes.

 

There is actually light at the end of the tunnel. Mojo boost!

 

Alternator just seems to have not liked being sat up- did the light-on thing again, but running it a while saw it go out and the voltage stabilise. Yes, it actually fixed itself...

 

Phil

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Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there..

 

The GTA is, as of this evening, insured. Having sat up, the brakes have improved, some of the air must have risen up. I can now brake hard though the pedal is low. It's driveable.. so I'm going to bite the bullet and get it going.

 

Next up, a waste of an afternoon at the DMV to get the title papers and a shiny new plate for the back.

 

--Phil

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Yup. Insured, registered and inspected.

 

 

All stickered up with 7.3 miles under its belt. Not too many squeaks and rattles, surprisingly. Will be due a marathon re-torque session soon. Brakes work but the pedal's low. Steering's good. Gears are insanely close-ratio, change gear at 4000 and it'll put you at 3000 until you hit fifth, whereby you jump to cruising revs.

 

Driving position's remarkably good. Put half a tank of fuel in it and forgot to take a picture of it at the station. I fail. I was kinda worried about how it'd go, but it's running better now. Gotta run the engine in so a mixture of driving has occurred already. Accelerated pretty hard in second just now, goes well enough :D

 

--Phil

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Wedge the brake pedal hard down overnight, long pole into a cushioned seat back , or something. You've a 50% chance that it'll move that recalcitrant air bubble out,and miraculously raise the pedal.

 

Use might jiggle it free too, sometimes happens as the brakes settle down.

 

Nice to see it legal

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Great to see this is on the road.  Looks brilliant;  a two door saloon is certainly a novel concept from a UK perspective.

 

I'd love to see a petrol station shot - the more modern American stuff in the background the better.  I expect the GTA doesn't blend in with US traffic even as well as, say, an R9 or R11 does in GB or Europe.

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I'm going to jetwash it today, get the green muck and the rest of the detritus and loose paint off

 

Should look a bit better after that

 

I put $20 of pez in so it'll be a while before it's at a fuel station but I'll try find one that's got a good "Merkin" feel to it and pap a shot.

 

 

--Phil

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