Spent most of the weekend working on the Beast. There were various bijou jobettes that needed sorting.
(1) The Peltor intercom seemed only to work with a 9v battery, and not with the 12v battery eliminator PCB. It seems to need a spacer to ensure good PCB contact with the terminals, and a piece of slit rubber tube on the opposite end of the PCB worked wonders. Result!
(2) Then on to the Monit tripmeters - power was there, but no signal. Further investigation showed that both tripmeters had been wired up differently - but both of them were all kinds of wrong! After disconnecting the speed sensors I could see the correct wiring colour code and supply voltage, and after re-wiring the Monits they now both work perfectly. Result #2! Not rocket surgery, but seemingly beyond the wit of my garage's electrician :-(
(3) While the dashboard panel was off, I took the opportunity to shift the ERTF GPS bracket 15mm to the left, so that the side terminals wouldn't interfere with the Monit once the GPS is installed for the DC.
(4) We'd installed a big 4" blower to provide some airflow in the cab, especially when the Beast is stationary. But it was blowing in the wrong direction, so I bodged up a couple of brackets to re-position it, aiming upwards at 45 degrees from under the dashboard. Then I made a plastic flow-divider from an ice-cream tub lid (very Blue Peter!) to aim the air at our faces. It's a bit Heath-Robinson at the moment, but it works, and I'll do a more professional job once I've bought some parts.
(5) Is the gearbox crankiness due to the clutch fluid overheating? Well, the slave cylinder is very close to the exhaust, and probably only DOT4 fluid was used in the system. So maybe, although if the fluid was boiling I'd expect to lose pressure in the clutch, which didn't happen. But the fluid was filthy, with lots of blackish particles (definitely not sand, more like carbon). So I've bled all the old fluid out and replaced it with high-temperature DOT5.1, so let's see if that helps at all.
(6) Then Sheila wanted her footrest moved back an inch, and her wish is my command!
(7) I now have a Cunning Plan to install a couple of rubber buffers onto the top of the turret brace, to minimize the flapping-around of the fiberglass bonnet.
All in all quite a satisfying weekend. Next weekend we have the 5th round of the EMSF Desert Championship to look forward to, so watch this space.
(1) The Peltor intercom seemed only to work with a 9v battery, and not with the 12v battery eliminator PCB. It seems to need a spacer to ensure good PCB contact with the terminals, and a piece of slit rubber tube on the opposite end of the PCB worked wonders. Result!
(2) Then on to the Monit tripmeters - power was there, but no signal. Further investigation showed that both tripmeters had been wired up differently - but both of them were all kinds of wrong! After disconnecting the speed sensors I could see the correct wiring colour code and supply voltage, and after re-wiring the Monits they now both work perfectly. Result #2! Not rocket surgery, but seemingly beyond the wit of my garage's electrician :-(
(3) While the dashboard panel was off, I took the opportunity to shift the ERTF GPS bracket 15mm to the left, so that the side terminals wouldn't interfere with the Monit once the GPS is installed for the DC.
(4) We'd installed a big 4" blower to provide some airflow in the cab, especially when the Beast is stationary. But it was blowing in the wrong direction, so I bodged up a couple of brackets to re-position it, aiming upwards at 45 degrees from under the dashboard. Then I made a plastic flow-divider from an ice-cream tub lid (very Blue Peter!) to aim the air at our faces. It's a bit Heath-Robinson at the moment, but it works, and I'll do a more professional job once I've bought some parts.
(5) Is the gearbox crankiness due to the clutch fluid overheating? Well, the slave cylinder is very close to the exhaust, and probably only DOT4 fluid was used in the system. So maybe, although if the fluid was boiling I'd expect to lose pressure in the clutch, which didn't happen. But the fluid was filthy, with lots of blackish particles (definitely not sand, more like carbon). So I've bled all the old fluid out and replaced it with high-temperature DOT5.1, so let's see if that helps at all.
(6) Then Sheila wanted her footrest moved back an inch, and her wish is my command!
(7) I now have a Cunning Plan to install a couple of rubber buffers onto the top of the turret brace, to minimize the flapping-around of the fiberglass bonnet.
All in all quite a satisfying weekend. Next weekend we have the 5th round of the EMSF Desert Championship to look forward to, so watch this space.
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