Here is my introduction:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5850

It seems my 2CV is a mixture of different parts. I was hoping someone can tell me about it.
It has a 71 chassis but I think has later model parts. It may not even be a real Charleston. Please feel free to point out anything that does not match up.

I'm having some issues with Photobucket at the moment so here is my album. Please have a look:

http://s222.photobucket.com/user/turbof ... t=2&page=1

Is this car a real Charleston? Some say the paint scheme is not correct. Others say the seats should be diamond pleated velour instead of vinyl.

The chassis is apparently a 71 model but the car has disc brakes and I think a 600 cc engine. Can someone verify this based on the serial number plate on the engine?



Also what about the instrument cluster? When was this version used?

I have no idea why it as mismatched French plates!

I have ordered a Haynes manual but has not arrived so for now some trivial questions:

Although in good shape, this car has some bugs to be sorted out.

Can anyone point me to a link to where I can download an owner's manual for this car? Even though the car seems to have a 71 chassis, I think the rest of it is from an 82+ model. That would actually answer allot of question I below.

Electrical:

This car is no exception when it comes to poor contacts in the fuse box like with my Fiats and Trabant. The rear taillight and front park lamp did not work. I traced it down to the top fuse and rotated it a bit to make better contact. I have a universal fuse "block" similar to what's on the car I plan on using. Rather than installing an ATO type like I did in my Trabant.

Can someone tell me the order starting from top to bottom which fuse does what current rating is supposed to go in it?

There are four on top and one fuse on the second block below it. I'm not sure if it even has the correct fuses in it.

Which fuse does what? One reason I ask is last night I had the car out for the first time after dark and could not tell which was dipped and which was not!

I got home and against my garage door, one light is dipped and the other side is not. Push the stalk inward then the opposite lamp is dipped and the other side is not! I think someone has the low and high beam wires crossed up at the fuse box causing this problem since the wires going to the bulb could not accidentally be connected to the wrong filament.

That's why I wondered what the position of the stalk should be on high beams so I know which headlamp is wired incorrectly.

Why are most of the wires on this car green?

OK if someone can post a diagram off the instrument cluster, indicator lamps, climate controls, etc. this would answer all my questions below.

I found one but it must be for an earlier model . I have not found one for my model yet.



Stupid question. How do you know if the high beams are on? Stalk pushed forward or back? In one position, a green lamp lights up. Ordinarily a green lamp indicates lights on and stays on on both dipped and non dipped, then a blue light should light up on high beams but there is no blue lamp. This green lamp goes off when I toggle between dipped and non dipped.

Starting at the top left. When the headlamps are on, this green light is on. Push the stalk in the opposite direction and it goes off.

The red light below it turns on with the hazard lamps and to the right, red lights up with the indicators. The red one to the right of the top lamp does nothing. Is that the high beam indicator? Maybe the bulb is burned out?

The switch below the dash is not hooked up. Appears to be an add-on for the rear fog lamp.



Is the switch below the wiper "factory"? Is it a manual plunger for the windscreen washer fluid? It does nothing with I push it but I think the tank maybe dry. DUH!

I still have no idea what the toggle switch is for. I don't think it's original.



Engine oil is black and needs to be changed:

I think 10W-40 is what is recommended for my climate (-3C January night to 36C daytime August). If my car does have the 600cc engine, how much oil to add?

Are there any equivalent oil filters that would work in the meantime? For example a 1980 Fiat 124 Spider and a 1994 Jeep Wrangler use the same oil filter. thread size and pitch are the same as well as the gasket size.

Gearbox:

There was some considerable free play in the clutch when I got this car. I found that the cable was loose at the bulkhead. I tightened the nuts up and eliminated the free play. The clutch would engage about 1" from the floor. Now it's about 1" from rest. I think I did the correct thing by adjusting it at the bulkhead?

Problem is the car wants to grind in 1st gear unless I come to a complete stop. I can live with having to do this but based on my experience with old Fiats, they are known for bad syncros.

It also occasionally grinds when going from 4th to 3rd. Adjusting the clutch did not fix this. So I've been pausing between shifts to allow the RPMs to drop which is what I probably should do anyway.

Any chance someone put the wrong gear oil in the car? I know if you do not use GL-1 in a Fiat gearbox they may grind gears.

I've read to use GL-4 in the 2CV but what weight and how much (I read .9 liters somewhere)? Could I get by with a heavier weight oil that might eliminate this grinding in 1st and occasionally when going from 4th to 3rd?

Couple of other dumb questions:

Can you open the rear doors from inside the vehicle? I can lock them from the inside but not open them unless I use the exterior door handles.

Car rides very smooth but has some serious body roll like my 1998 Chevy Van before I added a rear anti-roll bar.

Is this normal? Are the hydraulic cylinders worn out? Is it missing sway bars?

That's about all for now.

Thanks!

Black Engine plate indicates (normally Red) = Citroen replacement Engine.

Firstly check out the wires around the ignition coil to check if they're wired incorrectly for the headlamps (a common mistake). All 2CVs have green plastic covered wires. You should have little plastic end pieces in different colours* that are used as the code of what it powers and connect to an identical wire. Don't worry too much about seats, originals don't tend to wear well and they're likely to be replacements. Speedo is the type fitted to a Charleston.

*UK English spelling.

Just noticed the buttons on the dashboard are the later type as fitted from about 1982 to the end of production in 1990.

I'm on my mobile phone at the moment so not looked at the link in any detail, but I think it might be of help. http://www.2cvsrus.com/manual_e.htm

Or a 1970s engine. Exchange engines have "echange standard" on the engine plate.

I presume that this is a 1973 engine (black plate, fourth digit is a 3 (I think)), with a later, twin choke, manifold bolted to it to bring it up to later spec. I can't remember what an A 06/684 is, though. It appears to still have the earlier heavy flywheel/coil spring clutch, which was replaced by the lighter flywheel/diaphragm clutch for the 1982 model year.

I'll have a look at the other pictures and questions now.

That instrument cluster was introduced in the mid-1970s, and would have been correct throughout the lifespan of the genuine Charleston (1983 - 1990 for grey Charlestons). The font on the mileometer suggests an earlier one, as the digits reduced in size sometime in the mid-1980s.

It looks as though the car has been painted in black and light grey, rather than the genuine dark/light grey combination?

The decals are not genuine, and the painting has been done in the style of later (post-1985) Charlestons, with the bodyshell painted the darker colour - this is most obvious around the windscreen, which was light grey on the earlier models, and dark grey on the later ones.

Charlestons did indeed have the grey quilted seat covers (aside from the very first maroon and black ones, which were black/white houndstooth pattern).

I assume, like many in the US, it's a late car that's had an older identity given to it to comply with your regulations. The body has been repainted in Charleston style, and, seats aside, it looks like the car is mostly appointed as per the standard Charleston.

Paint is just paint, so I wouldn't worry about it not looking exactly like a Charleston would from the factory, and I hope you have a great time with it!

P.S. Yes, the plunger is for the windscreen washers. Have you pumped it a few times? Pushing it down and holding it won't work.

The two fuse box arrangement is as per a late 1980s car. I've got details of which fuse does what, just not on me at the moment. I'll have a look later, but somebody else such as Ken may well be along with the info first as he won't have to look it up!

It's entirely possible that the wires leading to one of your front lights are the wrong way around. These wires have their junctions on the headlamp bar, near the coil.

For the light switch positions: -

Stalk turned once (position V): Pulled towards you = sidelights only. Pushed away from you = dipped beam

Stalk turned twice (position R): Pulled towards you = main beam. Pushed away from you = dipped beam (so you see there are two positions for dip)

The wires are all mostly green, but their connections are colour-coded.

There wouldn't have been a main beam telltale light (for most markets), nor indeed a turn signal telltale. The wiring's there though, as some countries, such as Germany I think, did have them wired in from new. I imagine some non-standard lights and wiring are on your car.

Yes, that switch below the dash is one that's been added on at some point. However, the toggle switch next to the washer plunger you mention is an original rear fog light switch!

Hope this helps you a bit. I'd better get on with some work now.