Project Ed's Zed is underway
- Thread starter enuff_zed
- Start date
North West Surrey
Attleborough, Norfolk
Almost forgot to update on our progress!
Sunday was a busy day as we went on the Cars'n'Coffee run with Jock156 and Stevo.
Then in the evening we decided to take a closer look at the centre storage lid which was jammed shut.
Downside of that is you need the roof up to get at the top of the centre trim piece to remove it. Got a bit warm!!!
Getting the lid open was a 10 second job with a thin trim tool.
With the trim removed we could see the locking mechanism was stuck and would not move whatever we tried.
The solenoid pin was fully across, but whether that is due to the solenoid failing or something broken inside the lock we are not quite certain.
Half the fun of this is teaching Ed new stuff. After half an hour of chat he asked what a solenoid was! Silly me, making assumptions. So out came the pen and paper and a basic introduction to electrical coils and magnetism.
Anyway, back to the problem. Pulled the plug off the solenoid, stuck my multimeter across it and got Ed to lock and unlock the car with the key while he watched the screen. Sure enough, a voltage spike on every operation. To me that hopefully means the GM5 is behaving itself.
Jamie_Z4 is dispatching a new lock and solenoid and hopefully we can get this small annoyance sorted out.
The most disappointing part was that when we did open the lid it was completely empty! :roll:
Sunday was a busy day as we went on the Cars'n'Coffee run with Jock156 and Stevo.
Then in the evening we decided to take a closer look at the centre storage lid which was jammed shut.
Downside of that is you need the roof up to get at the top of the centre trim piece to remove it. Got a bit warm!!!
Getting the lid open was a 10 second job with a thin trim tool.
With the trim removed we could see the locking mechanism was stuck and would not move whatever we tried.
The solenoid pin was fully across, but whether that is due to the solenoid failing or something broken inside the lock we are not quite certain.
Half the fun of this is teaching Ed new stuff. After half an hour of chat he asked what a solenoid was! Silly me, making assumptions. So out came the pen and paper and a basic introduction to electrical coils and magnetism.
Anyway, back to the problem. Pulled the plug off the solenoid, stuck my multimeter across it and got Ed to lock and unlock the car with the key while he watched the screen. Sure enough, a voltage spike on every operation. To me that hopefully means the GM5 is behaving itself.
Jamie_Z4 is dispatching a new lock and solenoid and hopefully we can get this small annoyance sorted out.
The most disappointing part was that when we did open the lid it was completely empty! :roll:
Finally, after delays all week, Ed and I have just completed a few more little jobs. My phone was dead and his dad was elsewhere, so no pics today.
Firstly, using the parts sourced from Jamie, we sorted the central storage lock. Turns out it was, as expected, the locking actuator that was seized. I always thought it was a solenoid, but from what I can see through the semi-transparent plastic it is in fact a small electric motor. We will take it apart and show Ed how it works.
It was a simpler job than I thought, only requiring the small piece of upper trim removed. The lock assembly moves forwards and slots off the actuator rod, leaving room for that to be pulled into the middle and wriggled out. Today Ed has learned how to refit a screw into a recess using a magnet on a stick and a small screwdriver to hold it in place. I'm constantly impressed about his ability to pick these tricks up and execute them so well.
Then we fitted an LED in the storage compartment before fitting two more to the number plate lights.
Young smart-ass got one over on me as I was burning my fingers trying to remove the light that had been on for the last half hour.
"Why don't you close the door and do another job while it cools down?" (I like to think it is my training that has developed this logic :wink: )
Final job was to adjust the drivers door window inwards to touch the seal and stop the wind noise. This is where having an agile 10-y-o is bonus as it saved me laying around under the door, on a sloping drive, with all my brains rushing to my head.
Too hot to do any more today, but I've learned that the trick is to do a little and often to keep boredom at bay.
Firstly, using the parts sourced from Jamie, we sorted the central storage lock. Turns out it was, as expected, the locking actuator that was seized. I always thought it was a solenoid, but from what I can see through the semi-transparent plastic it is in fact a small electric motor. We will take it apart and show Ed how it works.
It was a simpler job than I thought, only requiring the small piece of upper trim removed. The lock assembly moves forwards and slots off the actuator rod, leaving room for that to be pulled into the middle and wriggled out. Today Ed has learned how to refit a screw into a recess using a magnet on a stick and a small screwdriver to hold it in place. I'm constantly impressed about his ability to pick these tricks up and execute them so well.
Then we fitted an LED in the storage compartment before fitting two more to the number plate lights.
Young smart-ass got one over on me as I was burning my fingers trying to remove the light that had been on for the last half hour.
"Why don't you close the door and do another job while it cools down?" (I like to think it is my training that has developed this logic :wink: )
Final job was to adjust the drivers door window inwards to touch the seal and stop the wind noise. This is where having an agile 10-y-o is bonus as it saved me laying around under the door, on a sloping drive, with all my brains rushing to my head.
Too hot to do any more today, but I've learned that the trick is to do a little and often to keep boredom at bay.
Just a little update as not much has happened lately.
Had a panicked call from Scott (Ed's dad). Parked the car on his steep drive and when he tried to apply the handbrake it shot past his ear with no effect whatsoever.
At this point I admit I only sidled over lowly, fearing the worst.
Sure enough, up and down goes the lever, and apart from pointing out the location of the rear view mirror it was achieving bugger all else!
Stuart (bigwinn) was an immediate source of comfort! "Ooh that'll be the prop shaft and exhaust off for access at least!"
Not good news to someone with 2 axle stands and a gravel drive.
Anyway, never one to avoid grasping at straws, I pulled back the trim. Then I noted that the adjuster lever (which takes off the tension while you set up the clearances) was engaged.
Out came the BF screwdriver and I gave it a good old ping to move it.
Lo and behold, it popped off and the handbrake went back to functioning properly.
First action was to message Stuart to ruin his gloat-fest
No idea how it engaged itself but thank f@@k! An easy fix for once.
Something to bear in mind if it happens to anyone else.
Had a panicked call from Scott (Ed's dad). Parked the car on his steep drive and when he tried to apply the handbrake it shot past his ear with no effect whatsoever.
At this point I admit I only sidled over lowly, fearing the worst.
Sure enough, up and down goes the lever, and apart from pointing out the location of the rear view mirror it was achieving bugger all else!
Stuart (bigwinn) was an immediate source of comfort! "Ooh that'll be the prop shaft and exhaust off for access at least!"
Not good news to someone with 2 axle stands and a gravel drive.
Anyway, never one to avoid grasping at straws, I pulled back the trim. Then I noted that the adjuster lever (which takes off the tension while you set up the clearances) was engaged.
Out came the BF screwdriver and I gave it a good old ping to move it.
Lo and behold, it popped off and the handbrake went back to functioning properly.
First action was to message Stuart to ruin his gloat-fest
No idea how it engaged itself but thank f@@k! An easy fix for once.
Something to bear in mind if it happens to anyone else.
enuff_zed said:Just a little update as not much has happened lately.
Had a panicked call from Scott (Ed's dad). Parked the car on his steep drive and when he tried to apply the handbrake it shot past his ear with no effect whatsoever.
At this point I admit I only sidled over lowly, fearing the worst.
Sure enough, up and down goes the lever, and apart from pointing out the location of the rear view mirror it was achieving bugger all else!
Stuart (bigwinn) was an immediate source of comfort! "Ooh that'll be the prop shaft and exhaust off for access at least!"
Not good news to someone with 2 axle stands and a gravel drive.
Anyway, never one to avoid grasping at straws, I pulled back the trim. Then I noted that the adjuster lever (which takes off the tension while you set up the clearances) was engaged.
Out came the BF screwdriver and I gave it a good old ping to move it.
Lo and behold, it popped off and the handbrake went back to functioning properly.
First action was to message Stuart to ruin his gloat-fest
No idea how it engaged itself but thank f@@k! An easy fix for once.
Something to bear in mind if it happens to anyone else.
Me??? Never
Go on, at least admit you were glad it wasn't you.bigwinn said:enuff_zed said:Just a little update as not much has happened lately.
Had a panicked call from Scott (Ed's dad). Parked the car on his steep drive and when he tried to apply the handbrake it shot past his ear with no effect whatsoever.
At this point I admit I only sidled over lowly, fearing the worst.
Sure enough, up and down goes the lever, and apart from pointing out the location of the rear view mirror it was achieving bugger all else!
Stuart (bigwinn) was an immediate source of comfort! "Ooh that'll be the prop shaft and exhaust off for access at least!"
Not good news to someone with 2 axle stands and a gravel drive.
Anyway, never one to avoid grasping at straws, I pulled back the trim. Then I noted that the adjuster lever (which takes off the tension while you set up the clearances) was engaged.
Out came the BF screwdriver and I gave it a good old ping to move it.
Lo and behold, it popped off and the handbrake went back to functioning properly.
First action was to message Stuart to ruin his gloat-fest
No idea how it engaged itself but thank f@@k! An easy fix for once.
Something to bear in mind if it happens to anyone else.
Me??? Never
But I must say thank you for at least answering my queries.
enuff_zed said:Go on, at least admit you were glad it wasn't you.bigwinn said:enuff_zed said:Just a little update as not much has happened lately.
Had a panicked call from Scott (Ed's dad). Parked the car on his steep drive and when he tried to apply the handbrake it shot past his ear with no effect whatsoever.
At this point I admit I only sidled over lowly, fearing the worst.
Sure enough, up and down goes the lever, and apart from pointing out the location of the rear view mirror it was achieving bugger all else!
Stuart (bigwinn) was an immediate source of comfort! "Ooh that'll be the prop shaft and exhaust off for access at least!"
Not good news to someone with 2 axle stands and a gravel drive.
Anyway, never one to avoid grasping at straws, I pulled back the trim. Then I noted that the adjuster lever (which takes off the tension while you set up the clearances) was engaged.
Out came the BF screwdriver and I gave it a good old ping to move it.
Lo and behold, it popped off and the handbrake went back to functioning properly.
First action was to message Stuart to ruin his gloat-fest
No idea how it engaged itself but thank f@@k! An easy fix for once.
Something to bear in mind if it happens to anyone else.
Me??? Never
But I must say thank you for at least answering my queries.
Always a pleasure bud