Rework jobs

Having got the rego sorted out, and the vehicle legally drivable on the road, it was time to sort out a few issues which arose.

Brake switch

This was the one that annoyed me most. I bought a brand new switch when I did the electrics, installed it, and all went well.

A couple of weekends ago I put the trailer on to get a load of sand (laying pavers, seeing you’re asking) and checked the lights, which I always do because trailer lights are a work of the devil. At least they were, since I put the sealed LEDs on they’ve worked consistently well, with only the usual intermittent problems with the trailer plug.

This time the brake lights didn’t work, and eventually I realised that the lights on the vehicle weren’t working either.

I thought the brake switch probably needed adjusting, so fiddled with it for a while, until I realised it was intermittently faulty, and wasn’t going to come good.

Cursing more-or-less silently, I ordered a new one from LR Series, and when it arrived 10 days later I installed it and the brake light problem went away.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the quality of some of these after-market parts leaves a lot to be desired.

Anyway, here’s a picture of the new switch, nicely installed.

Front vents

This didn’t start off as a rework job, it just turned out that way.

I hadn’t put the vents on prior to rego, so it served me right when it started raining while I was out and I got soaked. It’s amazing how much rain comes through the vents, although not having doors probably helps too.

I identified the vent rubbers as part 330621, and ordered them in from LR Series. They arrived in plastic bags identifying them as Britpart, so I should have known from the start I was due for problems.

Anyway, I went about installing the rubbers, which wasn’t a major drama with contact adhesive – see below.

I cleaned up the vent covers and levers, and they came up nicely. I had acquired some NOS levers for free, so I cleaned them up and re-painted them.

I then went to install the vents, and found some problems.

The rubbers as supplied were clearly not correct. They were about 10mm thick, and it was impossible to close the vents after I got the vents on. Cursing and swearing I pulled them off, and went to Clark rubber to buy some strips of self-adhesive rubber, which did the job nicely. Of course, I should have done this in the first place, but I had figured that the genuine part would be nicer.

Having replaced the rubbers and got the vent covers installed, I went to install the levers, and discovered what half of you have already worked out – they’re off a Series III, and work upside down compared to a Series II.

So it was back to the parts boxes in the shed, find the Series II levers, clean and paint them, and install them.

It’s a good job this is only a hobby, isn’t it? Pictures below of the finished article.

Fuel gauge

Right, my question as posted on the LROC Series II forum:

Start point - the fuel gauge isn't reading right, it always reads 3/4 full or above.

Known facts:

The gauge cluster is a Jaeger 560744, which corresponds to a IIa suffix D on. It reads empty when a 300 ohm resistance is put in series with it, full with zero ohms. It doesn't matter which 12v polarity is applied to the gauge.

The sender reads zero ohms on empty, 70 ohms full. It has part number 5347/07 on it, which corresponds to 519838 in the parts manual, which corresponds to a IIa up to suffix C.

It seems clear I have a sender/gauge mismatch.

Can anyone confirm that I should install sender 555844 to sort out the problem?

And the answer is:

OK, it's confirmed. Sender 555844 reads 280 ohms empty, zero ohms full and matches cluster 560744. My fuel gauge now works.

And here’s a picture of the new sender.

Battery

This wasn’t a real rework job, I just installed the old battery which had been sitting around for 2 years when I did the electrics. It worked fine (apparently) and I didn’t want to spend $200 on a new one if it wasn’t necessary.

Unfortunately, it was leaking acid vapour around the terminals, and the terminals were getting badly corroded, so I decided to bite the bullet and put a new battery in.

Seats

And finally something I had planned to do all along, but put off until after rego.

I’ve installed seats from a Defender, which bolted directly onto the seat box. A reasonably easy job, although I made up some spacers for the driver’s seat to get it into a more comfortable seating position.

I also took the opportunity to fabricate a new cover for the fuel tank under the seat, seeing that (fingers crossed) I shouldn’t need to go near the fuel sender again for a while.

The seats don’t exactly match, but getting hold of a set wasn’t easy. I’ve asked Santa Claus for a set of seat covers, and I’m reasonably sure he’ll cooperate.

And finally, a picture of the new apprentice, in his first day on the job.

And even more finally, look what Santa Claus brought me for Xmas.