BXProject

[Terry]

Hi All .......I got me a prob
I've just had a new clutch fitted in my '92 tzd.
All the garage has done is fut a new clutch unit.
I've just collected the car,and the guy who did the job for me [an ex bX owner......recommended by a fellow 2cvgb member] warned me that "The coolant might need topping up when you get home".
I started the car and the coolant light and STOP lights lit up on the speedo panel ...............I checked the coolant there and then and if anything,it looked like he'd overfilled it.
I drove the car gently about 1 &1/2 miles home,with the lights on [coolant level & STOP] .............on getting it home I checked the water level again,and siphoned about 2" out of the plastic bottle.
The lights still aint gone off.
The engine does'nt seem as though its overheating,the heater blows hot air ........and as I was looking at it .........[whilst still scratching my head and wondering what the prob could be] ........the electric fans cut in.
Now I aint no expert,but it would seem to me that perhaps hes left a wire off a sensor somewhere ..........
So ........wise ones ................What do you suggest I do
btw .....the mechanics parting words were ....."If you have any probs,bring it back,but I wont be here until Tuesday"
I dont wanna wait that long if I can help it.

[mickey taker]

sounds like a sensor wire to me , either not connected or snapped somewhere

[Terry]

sounds like a sensor wire to me , either not connected or snapped somewhere

That's what I thought ..............but I cant see anything amiss [not that I've much idea where or what I'm looking for]

[Way2go]

sounds like a sensor wire to me , either not connected or snapped somewhere

Actually the way lights work on the BX is by grounding to earth via switches so the opposite is likely to be true ie a wire has been pinched and shorted to earth. Or there is a large air lock if the level switch is on the rad like it is on the Petrols.

Try first of all disconnecting the switch wires of the rad (might be the bottle on the TD ) and if the light goes off then it means the switch has gone short circuit if the rad is full of water If it stays on, you need to follow the switch wire that is not connected to ground back and you may find it pinched in the clutch casing or bared somewhere else.

[Terry]

There are two wires coming out of a block on the rear of the bottle ...........these disapear into part of the wiring loom...could they be the sender unit?
There is also a red block connector with two green wires on it ....thats down in the depths near the LHM pump ..............I cant see anything which it looks like it might connect too though...it looks like I'll have to remove the battery [at least] to gain access to that ...
Fumbling around in the dark with a torch aint much use though....I'll have another look in daylight tomorrow ....meanwhile,if anyone else has any ideas ....all suggestions gratefully recieved.
Fookin 'ell .............I was gonna have a drive over the Woodhead & Snake roads to Manc. and back tonight instead of larrupping too much ale down me neck ........again .............Just my Fookin Luck.

[sleepy0905]

I had a similar problem after having a clutch done on my TGD it was traced to a load of wires which had been trapped between the bellhousing and engine i had to get the loom repaired and the garage fired the lad who did it.

[Way2go]

Fookin 'ell .............I was gonna have a drive over the Woodhead & Snake roads to Manc. and back tonight instead of larrupping too much ale down me neck ........again .............Just my Fookin Luck.

It's an ill wind eh, Tel!


Good luck with the checks tomorrow!

[Bx Bandit]

Try putting some tape over the lights so you can't see 'em!!!

[docchevron132]

Erm ,red plug, two green wires...

Me thinks that should be attached to the header tank!
The big bottle thing with the rad cap on top.

If you can get to the plug, get a bit of wire, or a hair pin, or anything slim and metalic really and bridge the two contacts in the plug together, if the stop light and coolant light go out, then stick said plug on the switch on the bottle. Jobbed.

[mnde]

I had a similar problem after having a clutch done on my TGD it was traced to a load of wires which had been trapped between the bellhousing and engine i had to get the loom repaired and the garage fired the lad who did it.

Exactly the same thing happened to me after having a clutch job on the Meteor. It seems the wires from the two sensors (i.e. connected to the yellow and red overheat lamps on the dash) are liable to get trapped twixt engine and bellhousing if the garage ain't careful. I had to snip the two wires because there was no way I was able to free them... then rejoin the two ends.

Red overheat and STOP lights went out

Mark.

[mickey taker]

cant think of many things worse than getting something stuck in your bellhousing !!!!!

[Philhod]

Or having to cut your wire in half and join it back together

[Terry]

I tried tracing the wires today,I cant find any obvious sign of them being trapped/bared or shorting.
I tried disconnecting the block connector and bridging both terminals with a short length of wire ........
Both "STOP" and "water level" lights remained on.
Whilst doing all this I noticed that the radiator was still cold .............now ok,this is not connected with the lights problem,but further investigation proved the thermostat be virtually closed all the time.
So today was spent fitting a new thermostat and bleeding the radiator [which I might add differs to the radiator and cooling system in both my [2x versions] of Haynes "Books of Lies & Bollox".
And then it got too dark to do owt else
Anyway,having ascertained that the cooling system now has no air locks and its working as should be [not that there was fcuk all wrong with it before TTBOMK]........tomorrow I'll get on with checking the circuits of the wires on the "Low Coolant" sender unit.
Now if my assumption is correct ........
by disconnecting the connector/plug at the rear of the overflow bottle ......
and connecting one end of a test lamp to the + battery terminal ....
and the other end to each of the two terminals ...........only one of them should light the test lamp ..............if they both light up then one of the wires is shorting [assuming that one of them is "earth" and the other is "live"] ............
My problen then,will be to work out which one should be "earth" and which should be "live" ..........

btw,there are several wires which seem to lead nowhere,some of them have been taped up for what looks like years,there is also the previously mentioned "red conector & two green wires" ........which has nowhere remotely obvious to go too .........
I fookin hate electric probs ......how much fckin about is involved in simply removing the bulb

[Bx Bandit]

As w2g mentioned, try disconnecting the conn block to the expansion bottle without bridging the terminals...the lights should be off (with engine running) as there is no path to earth. If reconnecting the conn block brings the warning lights back on, then you'll have a dodgy low level warning switch.

Your test with the lamp will help to some extent. It will prove a path to earth or not.
So, one terminal should light the bulb
The other should not. With the terminal that doesn't light the bulb, disconnect the lead from the bulb to the +ve on the battery and connect to the -ve, the bulb should light just as brightly, showing there is a good 12v supply. If the above is the case, this should also point to the low level switch being the culprit...

[Terry]

...... try disconnecting the conn block to the expansion bottle without bridging the terminals...the lights should be off (with engine running) as there is no path to earth it...

Hiya Bandit ......... That was one of the first things I tried this morning ........the lights stayed on.

After fcuking about for an hour or so [to the extent of comparing my BX system to those of a friends Pug 40?some-thing-or-other {1.9 n/a engine} & another buddy's ZX 1.9 turbo] .........I noticed that the rad was still cold.
That was when I thought I'd sort out any cooling probs .........
At least I know now that the rad is cooling the engine .........tbh, it would be easier to either ignore the lights now,or remove the bulb [and therefor remember to check the water level frequently] .....

It's just the facts that ...........
[a] That bl**dy STOP light does much more than warn you that the water level is low...so i dont wanna disconnect it.
And its fcuking annoying me now ............I dont wanna be driving round with a bl**dy great big red light burning my 'kin eyes out and saying "STOP" all the time.
[c] And,assuming I decide to sell the car .......who the fcuks gonna buy it with a bloody great "STOP" light on the dash ..........I know I certainly would'nt.

I suspect that [and I'm no expert at "electrics"] ........a couple of tests with the ignition "on" and "off" on each terminal should prove something ...or at least give me pointer where to look for the prob...
........It's gotta be a short circuit ........ ..............but where

[Bx Bandit]

Charlie had a similar but intermittent fault on his BX...they were either dirty contacts or possibly I even think some wires got mixed up...
I'll have a peek under my 'hood' tomorrow mate and see whats what...cos I have a few unused connections too.

BTW, does your rad get hot now? I had a problem about 8 yrs ago and the rad was blocked up due to poor maintenance (not me )

Where was this red-disconnected plug again?

Also, just be anal, you said "I tried tracing the wires today,I cant find any obvious sign of them being trapped/bared or shorting.
I tried disconnecting the block connector and bridging both terminals with a short length of wire ........
Both "STOP" and "water level" lights remained on."


But I said "try disconnecting the conn block to the expansion bottle without bridging the terminals..the lights should be off (with engine running) as there is no path to earth"

[Terry]

Hiya bxb ......
I tried cleaning all visible connections [with "Electrical Contact Cleaner Spray"] .............there are also "some connections" at the bottom of the rad on the R/H side near the alternator ................I cleaned those up too.

The rad gets good and hot now ..........there was all manner of crap in it...it was as cold as a witches tit before I replaced the thermostat & bled it ............although its never caused me any probs in the 4years & 20k miles I've had the car.
Maybe the guy who changed the clutch had'nt filled the rad up correctly and had gotten an airlock in it .............I dunno
Bleeding it was a nightmare,it's nothing like described in both of the Haynes manuals I have....there is only one bleed point [L/H side,at the top]

The red disconnected plug is just forward of the LHM pump,near the battery securing bolt,judging from the position it was/is in .............it looks like it should go into a socket somewhere under the intercooler rad thingy .........but its also the same connection as the water-level sender plug on my buddys Pug 1.9 n/a ..........[it wont fit the BX one,its slightly the wrong shape] .............it makes me wonder if maybe they used two sorts of connections on the sender units [although I cant figure out why they would do that] ........Or maybe its something to with four[?] cut-off/taped-up wires which go under the fuel filter/thermostat housing [I dunno what they were used for,but they've been taped-up/cut-off for 'kin years judging by the state of them.

I'm intending to try all possible permutations of con block off/on & ignition on/off etc tomorrow ................it should prove something ......................but I'm fcuked if I know what .............

Tel

[Way2go]

Also, just be anal, you said "I tried tracing the wires today,I cant find any obvious sign of them being trapped/bared or shorting.
I tried disconnecting the block connector and bridging both terminals with a short length of wire ........
Both "STOP" and "water level" lights remained on."


But I said "try disconnecting the conn block to the expansion bottle without bridging the terminals..the lights should be off (with engine running) as there is no path to earth"

Yes, Bandit's right, you must create OPEN circuits through the switches or sensors for the lights to go out.

It definitely is the water level light thats illuminated with the stop light I take it because if you are low on LHM for instance that will also illuminate the stop light too. As will the overheat sensors which you could have cooked if the thermostat had failed for any length of time but I'm sure you know the indicators for them.

Just need to test the wires and switches methodically, you;ll get there.

[docchevron132]

Erm , I'm pretty sure that the red plug with two green wires has something to do with this. Since every BX I've ever seen has said red plug with two grren wires plugged into the expansion bottle / rad....

It rather sounds as if somewhere along the line someone's done some re-wiring under the bonnet....

[Terry]

Erm , I'm pretty sure that the red plug with two green wires has something to do with this. Since every BX I've ever seen has said red plug with two grren wires plugged into the expansion bottle / rad....

It rather sounds as if somewhere along the line someone's done some re-wiring under the bonnet....

SORTED .........
I dunno whether to kick myself ,the car or the dumb bsatrad who put the clutch in ......
Somehow,he's made the Brown connector fit the bottle .............I "assumed" this was right ........ [until I read your last post Doc ........ .............that several beers I owe you at Huntingdon matey]
I think youre right there too about the rewiring ........some-one has deffo been "tinkering" with the wiring at some point.

It just leaves the question ........Where does the Brown conn block [with two green wires,one live,the other to eath] go .........I cant see anything obvious which aint working as should.

Anyway guys ..............thanks to all for all the support and advice. This forum is 'kin brilliant.

Tel