Amazon: New (to me) 1963 Volvo 122

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Othen

... So now I have a solenoid operating a solenoid operating the starter. The impedance across pins 85/86 was about 80Ω, so the switch in the cabin should only be passing about 0.2A now, instead of maybe 40A instantaneously and perhaps 10A continuous current whilst the starter span with the original design.

It all seems to work fine, GAM started up normally half a dozen times, so I hope the intermittent starter switching problem is solved.

These simple fixes are so satisfying on older motor cars.

I had left GAM since I fitted the relay yesterday morn, it wasn't a particularly cold night out (about 6C). After Bob got back from his first walk I tried starting GAM: and I'm pleased to say it started on the first turn of the key. It is always hard to be absolutely sure with intermittent issues, but I think I have nailed it by fitting the relay (touching wood...).

Assuming this is a good long-term fix, it was the right thing to do. The relay and wiring are all easily removable, no wiring or metal was cut and it could be returned to its original state in 15 minutes. The alternative would have been changing the ignition switch to a modern one - which would have been problematic because of the armoured cable to the coil... so GAM would have ended up being quite a bit less original.

I do so enjoy solving these little issues with older motor cars .

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Wagon Sailor

Thanks.

I can see that the in-line switches might be a bit cheap-and-cheerful, but that's all I need from time to time. I'll remove the thing once the 240 gets back into regular use and normal charging cycles. (And then probably put it on something else.)

I ordered one of these little battery isolators after our recent discussion WS, and got round to fitting it today:



... the cost was just £4.85 delivered, and it took perhaps 2 or 3 minutes to fit. To an extent this was a solution looking for a problem in that I don't have a current leakage issue with GAM, but it does allow me to isolate the battery with no tools, which might be useful if I left the Amazon laid up for more than a week or two. As a bonus it would be a really effective anti-theft device (although it is hard to imagine anyone stealing GAM - it is probably the only bright red 122S in the county!).

[Othen]

I was looking for a use for the two LED bulbs I tried (unsuccessfully) in the Barge's reversing lights; an ideal location turned out to be GAM's front position lights, which have always been a bit dim.

Fortunately the LEDs have quite a small head and fit in the space meant for the B15s 5w bulbs; they are also considerably brighter and whiter, which should make GAM easier to see:



... nothing goes to waste

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

I was looking for a use for the two LED bulbs I tried (unsuccessfully) in the Barge's reversing lights; an ideal location turned out to be GAM's front position lights, which have always been a bit dim.

Fortunately the LEDs have quite a small head and fit in the space meant for the B15s 5w bulbs; they are also considerably brighter, and whiter, which should make GAM easier to see:



... nothing goes to waste

Nice to see they've found a good home!

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Othen

I was looking for a use for the two LED bulbs I tried (unsuccessfully) in the Barge's reversing lights; an ideal location turned out to be GAM's front position lights, which have always been a bit dim.

Fortunately the LEDs have quite a small head and fit in the space meant for the B15s 5w bulbs; they are also considerably brighter and whiter, which should make GAM easier to see:



... nothing goes to waste

The difference is much more stark at night:



... that is a really good improvement in road safety.

[142 Guy]

Something to consider. The position light and the signal light lens are adjacent on the Amazon . A really bright position light is going to make a blinking signal light harder to discern at night. When OEMs first came out with modular headlight, position, and turn signal assemblies the position of the turn signal adjacent to the headlight made the turn signal hard to see at night. I don't know whether it is now a vehicle standard; but, just about all modern OEMs that use a common housing for the headlight and turn signal suppress the headlight on the side where the turn signal has been activated to improve the visibility of the turn signal at night.

Your position light is not nearly as bright as a headlight; but, your signal light is not particularly bright either. You might want to give it a test to confirm that the signal light is still easily discernable next to a very bright position light.

[Paulk]

Looks like you may be able to get LED indicator lights?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/384882306...Cclp%3A2047675

[Othen]

Originally Posted by 142 Guy

Something to consider. The position light and the signal light lens are adjacent on the Amazon . A really bright position light is going to make a blinking signal light harder to discern at night. When OEMs first came out with modular headlight, position, and turn signal assemblies the position of the turn signal adjacent to the headlight made the turn signal hard to see at night. I don't know whether it is now a vehicle standard; but, just about all modern OEMs that use a common housing for the headlight and turn signal suppress the headlight on the side where the turn signal has been activated to improve the visibility of the turn signal at night.

Your position light is not nearly as bright as a headlight; but, your signal light is not particularly bright either. You might want to give it a test to confirm that the signal light is still easily discernable next to a very bright position light.

The standard indicator bulb is a 21w (compared with 5w for the position light), and so is quite a bit brighter. Good point though.

Alan

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Paulk

Looks like you may be able to get LED indicator lights?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/384882306...Cclp%3A2047675

The problem with LED indicator bulbs is they don't draw enough current to activate the flasher relay (so it will flash too slowly). I've fitted them to quite a few bikes, and always had to change the relay to a much lower powered one. It wouldn't be a huge issue to swap GAM's flasher relay to a lower power one, but it needs a little thinking about first.

Alan

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Paulk

Looks like you may be able to get LED indicator lights?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/384882306...Cclp%3A2047675

Yes, but not those, they're 24V!!!

Also no indication of the Lumen (Lm) output of those bulbs so no guarante they'll be bright enough for indicator or similar bulbs.

EDIT - you can also get combined DRL/indicator LED bulbs and also combined reverse/rear fog LED bulbs so you add rear fog lights to cars that only have reverse lights.

Originally Posted by Othen

The problem with LED indicator bulbs is they don't draw enough current to activate the flasher relay (so it will flash too slowly). I've fitted them to quite a few bikes, and always had to change the relay to a much lower powered one. It wouldn't be a huge issue to swap GAM's flasher relay to a lower power one, but it needs a little thinking about first.

Alan

More likely to cause hyperflash than slow flash on a car Alan, either way a 6 Ohm 50W metal clad ballast resistor across each LED indicator bulb will draw enough power to make the flasher relay operate as it should or you could simply fir an electronic replacement relay.