alanrichey

I do have a copy of the original wiring diagram and you say, it tells us there are 3 relays (ECU/Lamda/Fuel Pump). And they are not the 3 relays in the picture, those turn out to be for the Demisters, the Fog Lights and the Horn. I have tried pulling everything and it hasn't really helped. I still have the following outstanding problems: 1. I cannot find the 3 relays (ECU/Lamda/Fuel) mentioned on the Wiring diagram. The build Video seems to indicate they are mounted grouped together in the engine bay on the firewall but I cannot see anything remotely like relays there. 2. I cannot find what the 2 relays on the left (marked 'L' & 'R') are for. They are definately not the headlights, but removing either of them stops the Fuel Pump.. Maybe they are 2 of the 3 missing relays ? 3. I cannot find the headlamp replays anywhere although they must exist surely ? It may be they are deep inside the scuttle and inaccesible without removing the dashboard ? 4. I cannot find a Cooling fan relay although surely there should be one ? 5. I have figured out the Main 4 fuses are:(1) Horn/Headlights (2) Instrument Panel (3) Demisters (4) Fog Lights. And one of the 6 in-line fuses is for the Reversing Lights, but the others are a complete mystery. All 5 of them stop the Fuel Pump (but that could be an ECU fuse as well) but all the accessories continue to work. 6. I cannot find any fuse for the indicators/hazards or the wipers/washers ? So working through slowly, but it is very frustrating.

Looking to eventually replace the Escort Instrument cluster on my Superspec with stand alone gauges. On the cluster, the Tacho, Fuel and Temperature gauges each have 3 connections marked 'E', 'S' & 'B+'. The 'B+' & 'E' are common to all 3 instruments I am assuming that: E = Earth B+ = 12V S = Sender Correct ?? I picked up a couple of gauges at the Newark Autojumble and they have different marking. (Why am I not surprised ) The Fuel gauge has 3 connections marked 'Earth', 'B' & 'T'. The Temperature gauge has only 2 connections marked 'B' (or '8') and 'I' (or '1' or 'T'), although I assume the case will act as Earth ? Is 'B' the same as 'B+' ?, i.e. Power. And are 'S' & 'T' the same ? And like many of us my present gauge displays backwards. Don't really care if the new one works correctly or backwards, but is there any danger (fuse overload) in just substituting the new one for the present one. ? Al

Still struggling with this. I naively thought that if I pulled each fuse/relay in turn and then tested all the systems to see what didn't work then I would be able to figure it out. Fat chance Here is the electrical panel in the passenger foot well: You can see the Main bank of 3 relays, 2 seperate replays on the left marked 'L' & 'R', the 'Kill' switch, a bank of 6 in-line fuses and just off the right of the picture a bank of 4 more fuses. Unfortunatly what I found makes very little sense to me. For example: 1. I pulled the 2 relays marked 'L' & 'R' and found that everytihng I could think of still worked (All of the lights, the Demister (both sides), the Indicators/Hazards, the Horn, the Cooling Fan, the Wipers/Washers, and the Fuel Pump). I didn't try starting the engine so maybe the 'L' stands for Lamda Sensor ? I suppose the other might be the ECU ? Can anyone think of what I may have missed ? 2. The other 3 relays appear to be Demist, Horn and Fuel Pump 3. The 'official' 4-way fuse box gave me: 1. Horn/Headlights 2. Instrument Panel 3. ?????? (Again everything appeared to work) 4. Fog Lights 3. The 6 inline fuses were also very confusing: 1. The windscreen wipers (But the Fuel Pump didn't work either) 2. The Demisters 3. Fuel Pump 4. Fuel Pump 5. ???? Everything appeared to work. 6. Reversing Lights and Demisters So 3 of them appear to relate to the Fuel Pump ? Is there something common here ? So I could not find any fuse for the indicators/hazards and no sign of a relay for the Headlights.: There must be another set of fuses/relays somewhere but I cannot find them. Although I admit I haven't checked around the steering colum. Not expecting miracles here but can anyone see any sort of logic with these findings ? Al

Absolutely And Sealy Auto Probe ordered, thanks for the steer.

Thanks Dan. But I can confirm that ALL the lights work with ignition off, as does the radiator cooling fan and the horn. As I understood it the previous owner of my Superspec simply followed the wiring loom instructions, just plugging in the connectors, unfortunately not labelling anything, and did not make any changes to the original design. There are 6 relays on the panel, all unlabelled except 2 of them that are labelled 'L' & 'R' (Indicators maybe?). I guess I will have to use trial and error to figure out which is which and how they are wired up.

Can anyone think of a logical reason for this ?. To my simple mind the fuses for the headlight and the horn should be on the high-power side of the individual relays (Pins 87/30) and completely seperate. Having said that, they both operate with the ignition off, so maybe they have a common 12V feed to the switching sides of the relay (Pins 85/86) that has another fuse in circuit ? If so what about all the other lights that still work with the ignition off and the fuse blown ? Or do we have 2 seperate 12V non-igntion switched supplies, one to provide power to the relays and one other one ?

As far as I know. I bought the car already built but the previous owner boughtt it as a rolling chassis direct from GBS so no reason to believe it is anything else.

Wow !! Spolit for choice Do I assume the ones I need are Sierra & Sapphire (non Cosworth) Rear Wishbone Bush Inner 2 PB011 £9.71 £10.69 Sierra & Sapphire (non Cosworth) Rear Wishbone Bush,Outer 2 PB012 £10.06 £11.07 ??

Thinking of replacing the rear suspension bushes on my Superspec as well. Where did you get the bushes ? E-Bay seems to concentrate on Cosworth ones that cost a fortune.

Agree entirely. Such a beautiful day today, took mine for a run around Rutland Water, parked at the Nature Reserve for a wander around with a packed lunch. Sheepskin jacket, gloves and a wooly hat essential kit though. It doesn't get any better than this,

Is this worth a visit ? I see it is run by a Classic Bike team. But I assume it covers cars as well ?

That sounds incredibly sensible, glad you caught me before I disconnected it I found the one that Nigel suggested on E-Bay for £9 so I'll give that a try. If it doesn't work then I like the idea of simply adding a new housing inline.

Does the sensor have to go into the water ? If so what's the best method ? Although I saw on an Amazon review that he simply taped it the hose ?

Looks like my cooling problems are because the Fan switch is not activating (shorting it out and the fan runs OK). It isn't a major problem, as the previous owner fitted a manual override switch for the fan. But I would like to fix it. I haven't taken it out yet but the trouble is that it seems to be a bayonet fitting into the radiator and all the ones I can find on the 'net are screwed in. Does anyone know what car the Superspec radiator came from ? Does anyone know a source for bayonet-type cooling fan switches ? Al

I'm sure I speak for a lot of members when I say we are all breathing a sigh of relief. It's been a fascinating journey, both here on the forum and at Hollowell, so many thanks for sharing it with us. A very useful addition to the forum knowledge base. And congrats to the 3 of you for finally figuring it out.

Thanks, hadn't reaiised it was so wide-spread. Maybe someone can confirm the logic of the fuel system to me so I know how to rebuild it. Obviously I have the standard (2") concertina tube going from the tank to the filler cap. Then there is a separate, 1/2" tube that goes from another outlet near the tank input up to a side feed to the neck of the filler cap. Then there is yet another very small, short, tube right in the middle of the tank which is simply open to the air. I was working on the principle that the small open-air tube was a general vent for day-to-day use and the 1/2" tube was to release air during filling ? Am I right ?

Wouldn't be a problem for me, no floor under the fuel tank so in some ways it is already external

Thanks for that, good information.

I'm looking to reposition the Fuel Filler Cap on my Superspec from it's default position on the back. Apart from having a very convoluted flexible hose, making it a VERY slow filler, I find it leaks petrol a bit during hard left turns when the fuel swills into it. Are there any legal/MOT requirements I have to adhere to ? For example, can I mount the cap directly on the fuel tank (and open boot cover to fill) or do I have to have some of filler neck of a minimum length ? An does the filler cap have to be on the outside of the car ? And I note the MOT regulations specifiy it must be a locking cap, but my Volvo doesn't have a locking cap and passes the MOT ? If I did have it inside the boot would a locking boot cover count ?

Thanks, now successfully added myself

I love it Classic lateral thinking.

Thanks, good stuff. I must admit I had assumed the camber could be adjusted by simply adjusting the nut that I can see under all the protective tape. I see now what you mean about it being only a single turn. And yes, my top wishbone does slope slightly down, but not by much and I get the impression that when I sit in it, maybe with a passenger, it will be almost horizontal. And my 'mushroom' dummy strut looks as though it has also been welded to the hub as well as being held by the pinch bolt. I know the previous owner wouldn't have done that so might it have been done by RH before sale ?

Just to close out this thread, I've done it !! I know this is bread & butter for most of you, but it's a first for me so I am quite chuffed, another step along the learning curve I took all the advice here and from all the contacts at Hollowell (particularly Kerry) and didn't move the lower mounting point. I got the tool recommended by Ed and wound the spring up to match his picture. Sump clearance has gone from 2" to 3.5". That may very well be enough, but I shall watch over the next few drives to make sure I don't get coli-bound and see if I can get away with a bit more. It's handy that you can actually see the springs in a Robin Hood I made the mistake of not checking the camber before I started, but once the springs were wound up I am getting -1.0° on the offside and +0.7° on the nearside, so I am guessing they probably weren't correct before. From what I have read this will be safe, but it would be better to get the nearside a bit on the -ve side ? A job for next week. So thanks again for all the advice and help.

Can we add the Member Map to the list as things that need to be fixed ? I can't add myself to it. Thanks

Thanks, I'll give you a ring.