Hi folks.

Well after the dismal and continuing failure of my Bamboo I am now going through the electrical side trying to "improve" things.

I am not after originality on this car....reliability is all I want. Starting would be a luxury!

So couple of questions (because I am not that technically minded, but electrics are a complete mystery to me)

1) Coil - As far as I am aware the one I have fitted works. Its probably the original. I also have four spares. Is there anyway of testing them out of the car? I understand they convert the "low current" to "high current"....and in doing so they can get hot. To assist this they are filled with some kind of goo that either leaks or goes somewhere. It seemed logical therefore to put them on the kitchen scales, that would reveal the "goo" content wouldnt it ?....and I found the four of them ranged from about 500g to nearly 700g, I assume that is the only way of knowing how much "goo" there is in there. But can I test the terminals in any way?

Also a couple of people I have been speaking to recently have now gone for these "yellow" jobs. I noticed ECAS selling them at L2B....they are not much short of £100 which isnt a critisism if they work and eliminate another weakness. Everyone happy with them ? Are they worth the investment?

2) Battery - Mine appears to have just gone from being perfectly fine to utterly dead. No warning, just doesnt want to play anymore. So I need to see if its just a dead battery or if anything is draining it. However, I feel that in the case of reliability I need a new battery. Halfords of course sell them (wow they have gone up in price) and Sam mentioned some "on line place" that I knew I would forget. HOwever is it worth upgrading to a bigger battery ?

3) Finally...my main problem and cause of why the car didnt get to the L2B is that I simply hadnt realised a connection on the front had gone "unconnected". Those push fit connectors really are all a bit rubbish. Anyone "upgraded" the lot for modern fixings? Again not after originality, just fed up with it not working. James....do you have any recomendations.....must be better stuff used on boats that go to sea ?


Thanks for any thoughts

The yellow coils are brilliant, you can sit in traffic all day and it doesn't splutter to a halt.

Squeeze,
1-
coil should read 3.5 ohms accross the 2 small pins when its hot, ECAS used to have the weights on their site.

yellow coils are good but its an expensive way to go to find out its something else. the original coils form ecas are cheap and should give you a further 20 yrs, Ive got a £15 Harley coil on one car and a £40 new high output resin one on the other, and a big box of original ones in the shed.
points assisted Boyer on one Velleman/Maplins on the other- stops the problem of the crap condensors.

if your on points do not use intermotor stuff off the internet its worse than useless

2-
if your modern battery has discharged because you left it with something on(Ignition overnite? that would kill the coil too!) then its sometimes impossible to get them back

bought a nearly new Fulmen off the scrap yard for 10er. Surprisingly folk spend a fortune on new bits for the mot - it fails and ends up in the scrap with 2 new tyres a new exhaust and battery. The battery out of any small French car, Vauxhaull or Jap should do it. 063 is the proper size but at the scrappy it a case of point and say gimme that one( make sure they load test it not just flash the terminals-cuse you cant tell if its a 6 v spark or a 12.5 v one)

3-
clean the terminals and roll them in your fingers to tighten up the female side

You have to squeeze as well

To keep the bullet connections tight use some old petrol pipe. It's just the right size to squeeze everything together.

Squeezebox, I don't think there's any absolutely 'right' answers to most of your Q's. There are 'ultimate' solutions, but that will, of course, cost.

My ha'penny's worth is:

1) You are half right - coils convert low voltage (12V) to high (1,000's) . I don't know how to test them, although the resistance value given by Sean above must be a good start. I kind of doubt the weight 'loss' in yours is down to missing goo - I think leakage would have been quite obvious? The 'yellow jobs' certainly seem to be the ultimate, but are they necessary? I very much doubt it, unless there's something about your driving conditions that justifies it - like idling for hours in traffic. The standard coil is keeping almost every 2CV on Earth running quite happily - I, personally, would replace mine with another ordinary jobbie if needed.

2) Battery. As long as it still fits in the tray, I'd certainly recommend choosing a slightly larger capacity battery if you can. This won't in itself transform starting, but it will have an extra reserve when a tough cranking requirement is called on! They are limited by their physical size, tho', so I doubt you'll get a huge increase in capacity. I'd personally consider spending an extra tenner or so on a larger capacity battery a good investment, rather than £100-odd on a new yellow coil.

3) Connectors. I'm sure James can point you in the direction of high-quality connectors as used on boats. But I don't think there's that much wrong with the originals, to be honest. As long as they haven't corroded or fatigued so that they don't grip properly, then they've done the job for decades and should continue to do so. They are worth checking and making sure they are clean, and grip securely. Give them a gentle wire-brushing if needed, gently squeeze closed the female end (really - only a tiny bit) and then coat them in - what? - copper-grease? Vaseline? before pushing them home again. They should be fine.

Obviously, check your points and the condenser. Then - if you can't stretch to a fully-electronic ignition system - get a points-operated unit like the Boyer, Vellman/Maplins, Sparkrite types mentioned by Sean above. These still use your points, but will take the load off them so they'll barely wear and will also give you a much better spark. And they shouldn't be affected by a failing condenser either.

Thanks folks, thats much appreciated and great to have your advice.

I should have mentioned perhaps that I have a DG electronic ignition.....and the fault appears to have been the wire going to that....feel like an idiot cause that has wasted me a whole week and also being able to do L2B.

I have now cleaned all connectors, got them as tight as I can and will live with that until I find a better way....

The battery I still dont understand. I hadnt left anything on at all, simply fitted the CD player about two weeks ago.....but even I know that they draw little juice, barely nothing, just to hold the memory. I have done what Sean suggested and got a second hand one that says it does 45 amp hours.....I dont know what that means....but pulling the bracket out to its very edge it kind of fits....and boy does it now start. FINALLY IT STARTS....

Coil...I am a bit skint at the moment, so maybe work through what I have got and then splash out...will try the test on them....thanks.

Great advice and thanks for it !

Cheers !

...right now need to roll something in my fingers, find a tight female and squeeze....

squeeze you need a battery like mine
at the frogless legs camp it powered my fridge, and charged my phone for 3 days fine and started fine afterwards

i use heat shrink connectors always now,
something like this only
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Blue-heat-shrink- ... 5630335c13
they do them in ring terminals, spade terminals etc pricey, but once youve done it once itll last ages
you will be able to drive your car in the sea and theyd still work

Will be ordering some of those, thanks !