240 General: New (to me) 1980 Volvo 244

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

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... and the answer is: the bottom knob does the up and down, the top one adjusts left and right.

Are you adjusting/testing the beam on dipped or main beam Alan?

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Are you adjusting/testing the beam on dipped or main beam Alan?

What do you think Dave? Have a guess.

Alan

PS. That wasn't supposed to sound quite so facetious as it was when I re-read it Dave. What I'm doing is lowering it 'a bit' against my garage door, I don't own a beam setter. I'll try it again after dark until I'm happy it isn't dazzling anyone (on dipped beam of course).

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

What do you think Dave? Have a guess.

Alan

PS. That wasn't supposed to sound quite so facetious as it was when I re-read it Dave. What I'm doing is lowering it 'a bit' against my garage door, I don't own a beam setter. I'll try it again after dark until I'm happy it isn't dazzling anyone (on dipped beam of course).

What prompted me to ask was the beam pattern on the pics further up Alan. Normally there should be a definite "kick-up" (yes, that's the official name!) on the left hand side of the beam and where the kick-up meets the horizontal is the centre point of the beam.

The image in your pic looks more like the SAE pattern of dipped beam or not-quite-right main beam.

Normally the best way if using a garage door or similar is to drive as close to the door as possible and using insulation or masking tape, make a cross on the door where the kick-up and horizontal parts of the beam meet on dipped beam. Then reverse back 10-15ft and aim the intersection about 2-3" lower than the cross. Postimages seems to be playing up or i'd post a pic of the correct UK/EU beam patterns so you could see what i mean.

Postimages seems to have recovered so here's the pic of beam patterns :



The bottom one is the one to aim for (oops, pun unintentional!) on dipped beam. Silly question, you've got the LED bulbs in the right way up? The masking piece on the body of the lamp should be lower than the LED filaments. That could cause an unusual beam pattern.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

What prompted me to ask was the beam pattern on the pics further up Alan. Normally there should be a definite "kick-up" (yes, that's the official name!) on the left hand side of the beam and where the kick-up meets the horizontal is the centre point of the beam.

The image in your pic looks more like the SAE pattern of dipped beam or not-quite-right main beam.

Normally the best way if using a garage door or similar is to drive as close to the door as possible and using insulation or masking tape, make a cross on the door where the kick-up and horizontal parts of the beam meet on dipped beam. Then reverse back 10-15ft and aim the intersection about 2-3" lower than the cross. Postimages seems to be playing up or i'd post a pic of the correct UK/EU beam patterns so you could see what i mean.

I'll be happy to get it more or less right for now Dave; when I was driving last night I thought it was a tad high, so I'm dropping it down a tad (a technical term us surveyors use).

Once I'm happy I have the mixture and emissions right I'll probably take it back to F1 (who did the MoT) to check it on their CO analyser and let me borrow their beam setter for a few minutes (all for a contribution to the tea fund). That might not happen for a month though.

The Barge has had its last compulsory MoT, so in a sense neither the emissions or the beam alignment matter much, but I'd still like to get them both right (myself if I can).

:-)

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

I'll be happy to get it more or less right for now Dave; when I was driving last night I thought it was a tad high, so I'm dropping it down a tad (a technical term us surveyors use).

Once I'm happy I have the mixture and emissions right I'll probably take it back to F1 (who did the MoT) to check it on their CO analyser and let me borrow their beam setter for a few minutes (all for a contribution to the tea fund). That might not happen for a month though.

The Barge has had its last compulsory MoT, so in a sense neither the emissions or the beam alignment matter much, but I'd still like to get them both right (myself if I can).

:-)

If you use their beamsetter, check the headlamp centre height and adjust the height of the Beamsetter to match. Should be a proud pimple in the centre of the headlamp glass to facilitate measuring, also check to see if there's a % figure on the headlamps, if so, match the dial on the Beansetter to this figure. Both my 760 and 827 are 1.2%, the Jag is 1% and yes, it does make a difference!

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

If you use their beamsetter, check the headlamp centre height and adjust the height of the Beamsetter to match. Should be a proud pimple in the centre of the headlamp glass to facilitate measuring, also check to see if there's a % figure on the headlamps, if so, match the dial on the Beansetter to this figure. Both my 760 and 827 are 1.2%, the Jag is 1% and yes, it does make a difference!

Meaning no disrespect Dave: I'll have the chaps at F1 show me how to use their particular beam setter, it may well be different from something you have encountered.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

Meaning no disrespect Dave: I'll have the chaps at F1 show me how to use their particular beam setter, it may well be different from something you have encountered.

No disrespect taken Alan, good idea getting them to show you how to use theirs, it should have the same adjustments (height and %) as they are both MoT requirements.
The good thing is, you're now aware of the adjustments necessary to be able to align your lights properly. I can't think of the correct word for the % measurement, as a surveyor you almost certainly have it on the tip of your tongue already but it represents the "drop" of the beam over a distance, a bit like a 1:4 incline might be termed 25% gradient. You get the idea anyway!
Having the beamsetter at the correct height for the lamps is self-explanatory though.

Mine was an ex-MoT station unit that i picked up cheap on ebay - cost me a fortune in gas to collect it though! That said gas was only about 50p/L back then and the 827 Coupe did about 32mpg on a run on gas so wasn't really that expensive. It was nearly a 300 mile round trip though.

While i was there, i was offered a jump-start pack also for a fiver - dead battery, no charging lead and faded from red to a pinky-off-white.
New 22Ah battery (originally intended for a mobility scooter but fitted neatly in place of the original 17Ah) and a new pair of croc clips on the leads and it's as good as new. Changed the "firefly in a jar" light on it for a 10W LED floodlamp so works well as a work light too.

Useful for power cuts as well!

[Bob 1967]

Just reminds me of the story of The Torch with the power of a Million Candles.

My old W114 Merc had P45 bulbs (hard to find pre internet), later ones had H4.
I purchased a set that I never fitted and now languish in the shed.

I remember riding a Honda 50 through the countryside, the fag in my mouth (open lid) had more illumination!
On the BMW R65, I fitted 2 Cibie spotlights to the crash bars wired into the high beam circuit.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Bob 1967

Just reminds me of the story of The Torch with the power of a Million Candles.

My old W114 Merc had P45 bulbs (hard to find pre internet), later ones had H4.
I purchased a set that I never fitted and now languish in the shed.

I remember riding a Honda 50 through the countryside, the fag in my mouth (open lid) had more illumination!
On the BMW R65, I fitted 2 Cibie spotlights to the crash bars wired into the high beam circuit.

Ah, the dreaded P45 bulbs! Nigh on impossible to find, even in main dealers! Those main dealers being the ones that supplied the vehicle with those horrible bulbs - seen more brightness in a dead glow worm to be honest!

There was a conversion halogen bulb available, quite expensive compared to standard halogen that were about £8 each in the mid-late 80s, think it worked out about £20 for the pair of conversion halogen bulbs but what a difference!

I could actually see at night without using the driving lamps and dazzling pedestrian policemen everywhere!

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Othen

With this recent cooler weather the Barge seems to be warming up slower than I'd expect. I took it out for a run (probably 5 miles or so) this morn and when I got back the thermostat housing was still only at 78C, but the radiator was quite hot (68c at the top). I suspect the thermostat is opening a bit too soon; I probably didn't notice it during our very warm summer as everything would have got hot quickly. I could take the old one out and test it - but that is a messy job and a replacement is only £11, so I'll just fit a new one.

Red block engines are so simple - and common user parts are cheap - hence I like them :-).

Alan

The replacement thermostat showed up with our postie this morn, I'm gradually shaking off this cold, so I thought I might as well change it.

The Barge was up on some ramps and half a bucket of coolant drained in no time. The old thermostat looked okay - the rubber seal was a bit scabby (but it hadn't been leaking), perhaps it was the original?



... I didn't bother testing it, and the new one was fitted in a few minutes.

I've taken the Barge for a short test drive - I'd say (subjectively) the needle is getting up to where it should be quicker and reading a tad higher (half way up the scale rather than just below the horizontal). When I got back I tested the temperature at the surface of the thermostat housing and got 85c (it was 78c previously), which I would say was about right for a 92c thermostat. The radiator is spot on: 65c at the top, 45c at the bottom.

Unfortunately my CO tester had not arrived, so I couldn't do a before and after check on the emissions, but my feeling is the old thermostat was opening a bit too early and so not getting the motor up to temperature. I suspect that was contributing to the higher than expected CO reading. The exhaust also looks a much nicer brown colour now, it was a bit sooty previously (that was probably down to disabling the constant air temperature device).

I'm looking forward to the gas analyser turning up now to see if I've solved this little issue.

I took the Barge out for a short run (Morrisons and back) after dark last eve, and I'm happy with the headlamp aim now (no measurements, just turned it down a tad).

:-)