Scallops has a happy breakdown!

[Scallops]

Distinguished Colleagues,

Yesterday on my return from the GCLRO AGM, and driving Matilda, I felt a few stutters from the old girl as I drove through the Greenbank area....pulled over at a servo and she just went dead....followed by what sounded like 2 rifle shots...the "shots" after the engine had completely died. Scared the heck out of me.

Anyway, I tried the starter again - turned over but no fire. Opened the bonnet - all looked good, Killer then pulled up as he realised I'd stopped, and we both had a bit of a look...but to cut a long story short, I ended up calling RACQ and requesting a tilt tray...those cracks sounded like gunfire and seemed pretty terminal.

Anyway, Mick had to head off, and I sat there in my truck, feeling slightly despondent. But the RACQ tilt tray was going to be at least an hour, so once I'd calmed down a bit, I went and opened the bonnet again. I was going to have to work out what was wrong sooner or later - I had an hour, so why not start right there and then?

Fuel, Air, Spark - my mentors had taught me (thanks Blknight, Zulu Delta, Col.Coleman, Killer, HoHar etc)....So I took the fuel hose from the petrol pump to carby and checked for fuel - tick that box. Checked the air cleaner - it's fine. So I then looked over the electrical side of the equation....plug leads all good, keep looking, keep looking...It all seems fine...can't be though, it doesn't go! Keep looking....Ah HA!!! A small thin wire was hanging loose from the coil....I was pretty sure this needed to be attached to the distributor cap, but I must admit - I wasn't completely sure (but don't tell anyone)...anyway, I used some pliers to cut a new length of bare wire from this and I just hooked it around a clip that seemed to me to be the place that wire might have attached to the dissy cap. I figured, if I hit the starter button now, and it starts, I've found the problem and fixed it....if it still doesn't start, well the tilt tray will be along soon......

So - back in the driver's seat - hit the button.....GLORY!
The old girl fired first pop and I was up and running. Phoned RACQ, cancelled the tilt tray, and went home happy as Larry and feeling pretty good about myself and that lovely old car....

You know what? I think I can do this....I think I can turn into a real Land Rover Bloke after all!

Most of all though - I want to say thanks again to all the kind souls who have persevered with me over the past few years and taught me "car stuff" - I've now actually managed to fix a broken down car, and it's a feeling I'll never forget....

PS - I'll always carry a workshop manual in future, but the wire in question was the low voltage condenser wire. I have now removed the clip from the dissy cap and reattached the wire properly....all good.

[Sleepy]

Well done Scallops.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

That's the great thing about the pre-electronic stuff. Unless something mechanical breaks it's "fuel, air, spark" with a few spares in the toolbox you can almost always get a series Landy running.

Remember there weren't any tilt trays in those days so they were designed simple and are usually simple to fix.

Great work Scallops

and excellent job done mentors Blknight, Zulu Delta, Col.Coleman, Killer, HoHar!

Diana

[hodgo]

Well done Scallops, back in the pre-electronic days fault finding was a subject taught to all army drivers and you were tested on it and if you failed it you did not get to become a qualified driver it was part of your trade.
the way you listed your check procedure remained me of those days when the trainees would recite the procedure like a kid learning the alphabet
Don't worry about carrying a repair manual i will find an old fault finding card and post it for all those that may find it usefully, and how to make parts like a rota button, condenser, spark enhancer, distributer cap, how to stop a leaking radiator, energize a battery from local material.

Hodgo

[Killer]

It's a good thing I had to leave, otherwise a; I may not have found said wire, b; if I did you wouldn't be able to bask in all this glory.
Well done series Bloke.

Cheers, Mick.

[Col.Coleman]

Consider yourself worthy to come a spannering on my vehicles

CC

[Blknight.aus]

Most of all though - I want to say thanks again to all the kind souls who have persevered with me over the past few years and taught me "car stuff" - I've now actually managed to fix a broken down car, and it's a feeling I'll never forget....

You now know why I do what I do and get impatient with people who sit there and just want me to make the problem go away. I would rather work on someones car for free if they were willing to learn about it as opposed to take the job as a cashie for someone who wont.

Wait for the day when you get to pass the knowledge onto someone else and then hear that they've put your instruction to good use.

[The ho har's]

well done Dan i have 2a fire wall to wire

HO HAR

[Lotz-A-Landies]

If this is a scallops work schedule booking thread, I have a 130 Dual Cab to remove at Dayboro, no electronics, just spanner work!

Oops - forgot this is a Series LR owners thread!

[The ho har's]

Looks like you are going to find out about series wiring Dan

Mrs hh