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TR6 Getting rid of chronic problems

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Wire-Wheels

Wire-Wheels

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Life has slowed down a bit so I can address some of the chronic problems plaguing my TR-6. I got its clutch issues worked out last month with a redesigned clutch rod I whipped up on my mini-lathe. I also have the oil leaks stopped for now. The last one turned out to be a leaking sender I had installed for an oil temp. gauge, [just not tight enough]. This month I installed a new diaphragm in the driver's seat. I found them at The Roadster Factory in Pa. I am glad I bought some of the pieces for this car early, as prices are going up. This winter I want to take the interior apart and fix a few things. I have all LED dash lights waiting to be installed. I need to address some wiring issues under the dash too. I also want to fix some of the weather stripping the previous owner had installed [but not securely enough]. I also think I might install a pair of Smith's rally timers I have had stashed away for a few years. Mechanically, she is running pretty good [for now]. I want to keep it available for the occasional warm winter days this year. ...J.D.
 
J.D.

Sounds great. Keep us posted. I have a 14 page document titled "Future Projects" for my TR4A. As you say, I just need life to slow down....

Bob
 
Ahh....Winter. I used to hate it. Now I realize, no lawns to move. No nails to hammer, etc. A few years ago, I installed a natural gas heater in one of my garages. Now me and my mechanical toys can cohabit in warmth and shelter from the cold and rain and make so good progress. Just about that time to tear into some of the "deeper things" I cannot do when I am trying to enjoy top down driving. ...J.D.
 
Nothing more frustrating than having your car up on jackstands in prime driving weather. I may have to look into heating the garage.

Bob
 
Well, I ALMOST made it through the summer. My clutch slave cylinder gave out in August. I was too busy, and it was too hot outside to fix it until October. Sometimes the plan works, and sometimes not. Summers here are brutal. ...J.D.
 
Getting into some wiring repair this week. Can anyone supply me with a wiring diagram for the U.S. version CF series cars
[1973-76] ? All I have are diagrams for the U.K. versions. There are a few differences, I am currently working under the dash. The U.K. diagrams I have do not show the interior lighting circuit, or the glovebox light. Trying to get this all sorted correctly BEFORE I modify it to LED dash lights. ...J.D.
 
charlie74 said:

Have a look there…
Click to expand...
Yesterday, after I posted this, I was digging around in my "library" of automotive stuff. I found what I was looking for. There is a whole U.S. diagram printed in the owners manual. I did not get a owner's manual when I bought the car, but I bought a used one on Ebay and had not looked at it much until now.
...J.D.
 
Today I found where my heater is SUPPOSED to be connected, but I am going to change that. It connects to the stop light circuit, on the ignition wiring. I installed a 6-position, blade fuse box on the firewall last year. I am going to move the heater to its own dedicated fuse on the new fuse panel. I also have plans to replace the old 4-fuse box with an 8-fuse panel. Again, blade fuses, because they resist breakage from vibration better. The wiring upgrades have been ongoing since I purchased the car 2 years ago. I want to make the electrical a little more reliable by giving it more, lower amperage fuses, and lessen the electrical load by converting a lot of the lights to LED's. I am doing all this a little at a time because I try to keep the TR road ready as much as possible ...J.D.
 
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Don’t know if you’ve already done this but I installed a separate fuse block in my’73 TR6 to separate the hi-beams and the low-beams.
I also installed two relays for the lights to take the load off of the panel switch. If the panel switch were to burn out it would be a PITA to remove the dash and replace the switch.
 
I went at that in a different way. I used all the original headlight wiring, relays, dimmer etc. Instead, I converted to LED headlights, driving lights, taillights. They are all LED, [not the signals yet]. The dimmer switch, headlight relay etc. are drawing a pretty light load. I used plug and play bulbs in everything, so no rewiring was needed. The headlights are the European spec. H-4 type. I can still use the original alternator this way. I think my next move this week is going to be to tackle the dash lights. I already have the LED's to go in them. Getting to them is kind of a pain. I just take my time. I am old and get tired easy, but I got my heater fan wired up today !
(y):smile:(y). Just put on some old music and tinker. It SURE beats working for a living. ...J.D.
 
Time and other jobs in the shop have kept me from installing my new dash lights. I did get a chance to get familiar with the dash light circuit. It is ultimately feed by the "red fuse" on the original fuse panel, via the light switch and rheostat. I am not a fan of BLM wiring. They are putting this on a 35-amp fuse. I think I am going to disconnect the dash lights from the rheostat and route them to a fuse [5-10-amp] on my new panel already dedicated to use by the auxiliary driving light control relay. I think I will keep the existing power to the rheostat in place and maybe use it to feed a map light later. The forced interruptions in this job at lease gives me time to think it through. Back to this later. ...J.D.
 
I also installed LED dash lights in my TR6 a few years ago. You can gain access to some gauges if you remove the top dashboard ashtray (if you have one). I ended up bypassing the rheostat since it never worked anyway. Also, you may need a diode to use a LED light for the turn signal indicator because of polarity on LED bulb.
 
I hope to get back to this project soon. Too many things going on right now. It is pouring rain here intermittently right now, so it is a good time to take the TR out of service and address some of these things. I don't think I am going to bother changing my turn signals to LED. They do not get used that much and work well, as they are. What I am finding with these cars is the wiring layout is horrible. It looks like something "Farmer Fred" rigged up on his tractor. Granted, this is my first deep dive into a British car, but I get the impression the factory was trying to save wire. Everybody likes to slam Lucas Electric, but I think BLM's electrical engineers are more to blame. I am keeping as much of the wiring original as I can, but it is a case of more circuits and fuse protection are needed. Sound like you encountered the same issues. ...J.D.
 
Wire-Wheels said:
I hope to get back to this project soon. Too many things going on right now. It is pouring rain here intermittently right now, so it is a good time to take the TR out of service and address some of these things. I don't think I am going to bother changing my turn signals to LED. They do not get used that much and work well, as they are. What I am finding with these cars is the wiring layout is horrible. It looks like something "Farmer Fred" rigged up on his tractor. Granted, this is my first deep dive into a British car, but I get the impression the factory was trying to save wire. Everybody likes to slam Lucas Electric, but I think BLM's electrical engineers are more to blame. I am keeping as much of the wiring original as I can, but it is a case of more circuits and fuse protection are needed. Sound like you encountered the same issues. ...J.D.
Click to expand...
I can say at this point I have things pretty well sorted out electrically in my car. I also didn't change the turn signals, they still have the original filament bulbs and they are fine. However, the LED lights in the dash gauges were a big improvement.
 
Today I ordered some bar stock for a project on the TR. I want to make some quick release seat pins so I can take my seats out easily. $10 online for a 1/2" X 12" piece of round steel. I can get 4 pins out of it, with stock left over. Just cut them to rough length on my chop saw and put them in my mini-lathe. Just things to do to stay busy. Still tied up with other issues taking up my shop time . I should get back to the TR early next week. ...J.D.
 
I have decided to keep the TR intact and suspend any upgrades for now. The weather is just too nice to keep it out of service. I put the seats back in after measuring the bolts holding them in. I may I will do some machine work on the new seat pins, but I am driving to TR-6 for now. The weather is warm, sunny and awesome ! The old TR6 is also running awesome as well. Had a nice time out locally with it for about an hour this morning. Tee shirt weather. ...J.D.
 
The warm weather continues here. I bought some snaps and an installation tool to fix the worn-out snaps on my tonneau cover. Job looks easy enough. Just drill out the rivet on the inside of the old snap, remove the old ones and put a new one in its place. Crimp it in place and you should be good to go. I will get back to the stuff that requires me to tear everything apart later, when the weather gets cold. Had a nice run up to a friend's house yesterday with the top down. The weather is still in the low 70's in the afternoon, but it gets down into the 30's at night. ...J.D.
 
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