Wiring Check Out

Now that the wiring is complete (standard Tiger loom, not Webcon Alpha loom) I decided to give it a little test.  It is much easier to fix errors now, before the body is on.  There were just a few gremlins to fix, like the relays in the wrong sockets and the low and high beam wires mixed up on the steering column switch.  Once corrected everything seems to be working correctly.

Here are the rear lights all switched on.  The camera on the phone has not coped too well though.

Once satisfied that the loom was all correctly wired in it was time to try the digital dash again.  Here all the 'tell tales' are illuminated.  Not something that you'd want to see while driving along!

There is just the reverse switch to wire into the digital dash.  The dash supports a reverse gear logo ('R') as well as 'calculated' gears.  To light the 'R' on the display requires a connection to ground.  However, the output of the reverse light switch on the gearbox is +12v, so I need to use a relay.

Once this reverse gear indicator is working I'll tidy up the Tiger loom and move on to the Webcon Alpha loom.

Thermostat Modification

As I have blocked off the two coolant bypass pipes I needed to remove the thermostat.  The thermostat housing is taken apart via just three screws and then the thermostat assembly can be removed.  With the angle grinder two cuts were made to remove the mechanism and just leave the outer ring.

A new rubber seal was used when replacing the modified thermostat in the housing.  The orientation was kept the same, with the air bleed valve at the top.  Not that it serves any purpose now.

Webcon Alpha Pro 4 Gold Throttle Bodies Kit

I've opened up the box and the kit is very comprehensive.  There's even a fuel filter and mounting hardware.  I will use this to replace the existing budget filter and home made bracket.  Should have read the kit contents before try to complete the fuel lines!

I was a little disheartened to find a large wiring loom.  I thought my wiring chores were over.  To be fair it is probably fairly straight forward and everything is labelled.  That makes a change.

Yesterday I made a call to Webcon to discuss connecting the ECU tacho output to the digital dashboard - didn't want to fry anything.  They were very helpful and happy to answer my technical questions in great detail, explaining how the ECU is built and operates.  I hopefully won't need their help, but it is very reassuring to know there is somebody there who can help.  Main piece of advice for installation was: don't touch any of the factory set screws that are thread locked.  Point noted.

Radiator Change

While at the Tiger at the weekend I discussed my plans for engine cooling.  Weighing up the pros and cons of the Polo radiator I had a change of mind and a further lightening of the wallet.  My car (is it a car yet?) is now adorned with a shiny alloy radiator.

This new radiator choice has also simplified the plumbing.  Now I'll just be using the two 32mm hose connections on the thermostat housing to the radiator and the 15mm connection on the bottom of the rad to the expansion tank.  Both heater outlets on the thermostat housing will be blanked and the centre of the thermostat removed.  It will take slightly longer to warm up, but as the car will not be used on very cold days it should not be a problem.

I've kept my 'puller' fan, but it means the rad has to sit a little high.  I will only know when I get the nose cone on.  There is probably a bit of room to move the rad lower with some slight tweaking of the mounting brackets.

Clutch Cable

With the Tiger floor mounted pedals the brake pipes are routed along the lower chassis rail.  Unfortunately this is where the clutch cable would normally be tethered.  There is pretty much only one routing where the clutch cable does not foul the brake pipes - that is in a vertical curve.

I fabricated two brackets and used rubber lined p-clips to hold the clutch cable in this configuration.  The clutch action seems nice and smooth and the cable stays clear of the brake pipes, oil filter and lower steering column.

This large bracket came in a multi-pack from Screwfix.  It is normally used to hold kitchen cupboards together.  After adding a 90 degree bend in the vice it is just right for the job.

Battery Bracket

Spent a few spare minutes (hours) fabricating a bracket for the lightweight battery.  The first attempt was very good, but turned out to be too large - I'd allowed a bit too much metal for the bending of the angles.  Effort number two I would rather not talk about.  Third time lucky.  Will fix this to the battery tray later with wing nuts to allow the removal/refitting of the battery.

Digital Dash

New model Acewell 7659 digital dash bought from Rally Design.  Powered up just to check that it works.