Project BX17RD - the further adventures of PBO

[vulgalour]

It does make a good click when urned to full, and clicks when turned back to regular.  There's air coming out the vents at all speeds, and in the correct locations as selected, it's just a bit asthmatic.  Since all the settings are actually working, I didn't think there'd be any point doing the mod as mentioned above, also my circuit board as you'll have seen from the above shots, is of a different design to the one in the tutorial so I'd have to figure out how to apply that particular mod to my particular board if I did go that route.  I guess I just have a weak blower fan in this car, not a huge problem since I've got windows that open.

[mat_the_cat]

If it clicks then it sounds like your board does actuate the relay anyway. Windows open it is then, or find the rare twin blower setup from an air con BX!

[Meter rat]

Not that I’m an expert, but mine had a dribble of air coming out of it when I first brought it, even with the fan on full speed. I found that the  cable that opens the flap in the air box had not been connected  to the fan switch, so it was not opening as the fan speed increased. It now has a really good flow of air now. You’ve probably checked this any way.

 

[somewhatfoolish]

No blocked pollen filter or is the BX blower just shit?

[dean36014]

It's worth checking the flap under the heater motor is opening. If this doesn't open it significantly reduces the air flow. It's connected to the heater blender controls and can seize or the control rod fails.

[mat_the_cat]

58 minutes ago, somewhatfoolish said:

No blocked pollen filter or is the BX blower just shit?

No pollen filter, and I've never considered the blowers to be shit. I hadn't thought of the flap that others mention, so a good shout!

[vulgalour]

Hadn't thought to check the heater flap, perhaps it's that.  The fresh air flaps are all working as they should, checked those while everything was apart.  Am I going to have to dismantle the dashboard again, or do you think I can get to that by removing the centre console instead?  Hopefully I can get to it via the centre console since I want to pull that out for a deep clean anyway.

[dean36014]

You can check if the flap is working by lifting the heater motor up under the bonnet iirc. If it's become disconnected I'd just jam it open somehow as the rod connection to the heater unit is down by the clutch pedal and virtually inaccessible.

[vulgalour]

Had a free five minutes to have another look, managed to unbolt the heater box and move it just enough to get access to the flap without removing the wiper arm or scuttle panel.  The flap is very floppy, no resistance at all, so it seems likely it's not connected after all.  I set the flap to the open position, bolted the heater box back down, and the blower output was much improved, steadily weakening as the flap returned to the off position on its own thanks to things like physics and gravity.  Problem found, at least, I'll try and fettle it when I've a little more time.

[MikeKnight]

Just open the windows. ?

*hurriedly drives away in the P38, stalling every four seconds amidst a cacophony of dashboard beeps*

[Fumbler]

37 minutes ago, MikeKnight said:

Just open the windows. ?

*hurriedly drives away in the P38, stalling every four seconds amidst a cacophony of dashboard beeps*

And failing blend motors!

[MikeKnight]

3 hours ago, Fumbler said:

And failing blend motors!

I keep them open all the time, can't fail if they never move! ?

 

... seriously my AC is broken to hell.

[Meter rat]

The flap should be connected to the middle dial on the heater controls. It opens proportional to the fan..

[vulgalour]

It is connected at the dial end.  It doesn't seem to be connected at the flap end, so something between the two has either come off, or has broken.

[vulgalour]

Great success!  I located and fixed the issue with the blower fan flap operation, thanks to the helpful hint from Dean about having to fight for space with the pedals in the footwell.  If you stick your head right in the footwell and look down the side of the centre console where Citroen didn't bother to put a trim panel, you can see a bunch of Stuff, part of which is a small black plastic peg and a short metal rod with an eye on one end.  Now, it looks like someone has had this issue before and tried to resolve it with a blob of sealant but, due to the nature of the operation of this part, that's only worked for so long before popping off so I'll be using a push-fit spring clip fixing, like you use on emblem pegs, to hold this all together when I'm in the same place as the clips.  I've circled the two bits that need to be connected, this was a faff because I couldn't actually see what I was taking a photo of because you get in your own way and to replace this you need to do it blind, which is just super.

Before I got started, I manually operated the rod to see if it did what was expected and, when I found it did, after a bit of blind fumbling about, I got the peg in the hole.  Stop it.

Happily, full air flow now reinstated and the blower fan can get air all the way to my face properly now.  A relief that it was such a straightforward fix really and nice that I shan't need to dismantle bits of car.  By the time I'd done this it was getting dark so I got to see what the centre console actually looked like for the first time since redoing all that.  Looks like the cigarette lighter bulb has either blown, or the connector for it has come adrift, I'll pop the oddment tray out of the top of the dashboard and have a broggle when I've some light to work with, I bet the plug has come adrift a bit when I was putting everything back together.

Rheostat affects the centre console as well as the instrument binnacle, which I didn't know, since I've never been in a BX where all the interior lights actually work.

A small victory.

[dean36014]

Must be a common issue as I fixed Shonky's last year. 

[vulgalour]

Should there be something on the end of that peg, do you know?  I imagine my old estate had this same issue, you know, because the blowers in that were rubbish in the same way.  Wish I'd known it was this simple a fix, not that it would have mattered with what else that car needed, poor thing.

[dean36014]

I used one of those black aerated washers that push on and stay on, it's still holding good. I need to finish welding the c15 van then get shonky over for his head gasket change. I'm missing driving old French cars

[vulgalour]

The BX is proving to be a very rewarding car to own, and I'm enjoying it very much.  Cosmetic tittivation was on the cards today along with a very small mechanical fix.  The exhaust had started to bang on start up and, looking under the car, the rear most rubber hanger was looking tired and overstretched (I know the feeling), so I acquired a replacement hanger and while I was messing about with paint, Mike quickly installed it.  Probably the easiest exhaust rubber replacement job on any car ever because access is exceptionally good, which is not in keeping with Citroen's usual approach to these things.

The exhaust sits slightly better, but it's still too far inboard really so I'll have to get it on the lift at some point to see if we can correct that.  The important thing is the exhaust no longer bangs on start up, so that's a job jobbed.  The big one today was doing the door frames which were all the usual faded mess that BX door frames seem to be.  This is a job that requires a lot of time on preparing and masking the surfaces and about five minutes of actually applying paint.  I keyed all the old surfaces back and masked both the door holes to keep the black paint off the door shuts, and around all the frames.  I was glad of the indoor space for this one, the weather was too changable to risk doing it outside at home as I'd planned originally.

Northern skills were employed by reusing the paper that masked the roof, body sides, and windows on the other side.  This also sped up the masking of the window since it meant I already had pieces the correct size.  I know the proper way is new paper for both sides but, frankly, it wasn't necessary for this job and we only had so much paper available.  A coat of zinc primer first to prevent any rust creeping back, and then a couple of coats of satin black over that before peeling all the paper and tape off.  I was initially concerned that it might look too new because I'm so used to BXs having faded door frames.

Concerns unfounded, it looks fantastic.  The wind deflectors were removed before masking to make things easier and I'm seeing what the car is like without them for a bit before making up my mind about putting them back on, it looks a lot cleaner without them.  We did the front wiper arm as well and as usual, applied a little bit of heat gun to it to help the paint.  Trouble is, while this works exceptionally well with the Halford's satin black we normally use, this time we were trying out the Rustoleum alternative and it does not respond well to heat at all and the whole thing just blistered all over and had to be redone.  That's why the repainted wiper arm is sat on my sideboard until the paint has hardened enough to handle and reassemble it.  Luckily, the rain held off on the drive home.  Also luckily, the wiper arm nut came off the spindle with no drama at all and the washer jet portion of the spindle is in great shape.  I do need a new washer pipe, while all the clips on mine are fine, the pipe itself has certainly seen better days.  Trundled the car outside to get some better shots of the repainted bits.

What a difference that makes.  It does highlight that I need to repaint the front bumper trim since that has nearly no black paint left on it.  The nice thing is that re-blacking the frames has actually made the rest of the bodywork look better, not worse, and while there are still areas I want to address, it's just nice to see the car visually slowly improving.  I may be moving the rear reflector panel on too, I'm not feeling it as much as I was, I'm undecided at the moment.  Might take it off and run the car without it for a bit, see how I feel.

[Dan302]

It's amazing what a difference little details like that make. Looks great 

[vulgalour]

Wiper arm was dry enough to handle properly so that went back on and there are few things more satisfying than putting freshly painted wiper arms on a car.  You can see here the bit of tape that's repairing something on the washer pipe too, I haven't removed the tape since it's doing the job it needs to do, but I will need to replace that pipe anyway.  Ideas one what to get and where to get it from for this job are welcome, I was considering using just a length of rubber or silicone hose and stabbing some holes in it.

[Meter rat]

Chevronics do an aluminium replacement. I have a spare somewhere in the garage, if you can wait  until I get back from holiday at the end of the month.

[vulgalour]

I'm not in a rush, the thing works fine as it is.  Aluminium option sounds interesting.

[mat_the_cat]

On 8/26/2019 at 9:05 PM, dean36014 said:

Must be a common issue as I fixed Shonky's last year. 

I've had it too, discovered on a late night BX purchase in February. It was a long, cold drive back home with the flap completely shut!

[barrett]

Cracking effort on that. Every one I've had had faded door surrounds, and every one I thought to myself 'I'll just give that a quick rattle can blowover' and every one I never did. Maybe you could make a bit of money on the side selling making templates?

[vulgalour]

Since the market for such a template is probably you, let me know when you want a set and I'll get my craft scissors and stamps out so I can make and send you a prototype to try out.

Finally bought myself a set of proper screwdrivers today, rather than relying on the set I've got that has bits you stick in a ratchet handle.  For years, I've just been borrowing everyone else's proper screwdrivers, and when a set like this is only £12.50 in an actual shop where I can go and buy them without waiting on a courier, it's hard to see why I didn't buy my own sooner.

 

Bit of an impulse purchase really since I was buying paint and the screwdrivers were right there next to the paint.  Tried them out when I got home by removing the rear reflective panel on the BX.  I like the BX both with and without the reflective panel so I'll keep the panel back for now unless someone desperately wants it or I decide it's getting in the way and I don't want to refit it to the car.  I'm seriously considering getting the tools and materials to exactly replicate the original number plates on the car, as per the one on the rear, because I'm loathe to put a modern generic plate on or an anachronistic older style plate.  You can also see the chrome pen I used on the badges has worn off the Citroen badge almost completely while the BX badge remains pretty much unscathed, not really sure why that would be, so I'll be trying again with these another day and using some sealant on top to prevent the paint rubbing off.

[vulgalour]

Further to the above, I had a few minutes spare so decided to try out the new plan for the rear badges since all the materials were to hand.  Total time from grabbing materials to removing masking tape was 20 minutes, so this is a quick one.

Tools for this job:

Isopropyl alcohol and cotton buds or similar for cleaning the badges before paint

Some paper and good masking tape

Molotow liquid chrome pen

Humbrol acrylic varnish in Satin (not matt or gloss, this is important)

A steady hand

It's really straightforward.  Before you start, clean off the surface of the badge with the alcohol based product to remove any dirt and polish residue and prep your surface.  Then simply colour the surface of the letters on the badge with the Molotow pen.  If you go slowly with the pen you will reduce the streaking you sometimes get and stubborn streaks can be carefully removed by dotting the pen on them and letting the paint/ink in the pen flow out and smooth.  With all the letters coloured, let the chrome flash off, no need to wait for it to fully dry, which will take a while with these pens, and it might even be favourable not to given what happens next.  If you get the chrome anywhere you don't want to, a dab with purple methylated spirit will remove it in most instances.

Once you've done the chrome, mask off around each badge (I find it easier to do now, you might find it easier to do this first before the chroming).  I stuck some tape to the paper first and then slid the edge of the tape under the edge of the badge, this gives a nice clean finish and while it's a bit fiddly to slide the tape under sometimes, it is worth the effort.  After that, give everything 2-4 light coats of the satin varnish.  The chrome paint didn't react with the satin in my case, and hasn't any other time I've done this, but I offer no guarantees since we're mixing brands here.  The chrome paint should start to flow a little under the varnish and will sparkle a bit as it resettles, this is not a problem for the finish we're going for on this.

When the varnish is touch dry, pull off the masking et voila!  Badges redone.  It's not exactly the factory finish, I suspect they're tampo or pad printed from new rather than painted like this.  The satin dulls down the chrome enough to make it look more like the bright silver of factory and looks less spray-painted than if you use something like wheel silver.  The varnish also helps seal and protect the black plastic of the badge, preventing fading, and providing everything has gone as it should you shouldn't have issues with the varnish peeling off later since it is designed for use on plastics.

Another small detail that really helps the car look fresher and less tired.

[strangeangel]

2 hours ago, barrett said:

Cracking effort on that. Every one I've had had faded door surrounds, and every one I thought to myself 'I'll just give that a quick rattle can blowover' and every one I never did. Maybe you could make a bit of money on the side selling making templates?

 

I have to say I did this on mine last summer, but I was so underwhelmed by the end result (probably because my BX is tatty) that I didn't bother writing it up in the thread. I think my initial reasoning was correct, as it has a far more noticeable effect on a much tidier car such as this one!

 

[maxxo]

I think i saw this BX  today, it looks absolutly superb! well done!

[MikeKnight]

I parked my new Range Rover L322 on the drive when vulg came back from the shops in the BX.

Everyone else has been lovely with comments about how nice the 322 is, but what was the first thing vulg said to me?

"Get that MONSTROSITY out of the way so I can park my BX."

Me:?

But I moved. Because BX.