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Re: Overdrive story

To: David Gates <dgates@mailcc.com>
Subject: Re: Overdrive story
From: David Brock <davidb@ilx.com>
Date: Tue, 02 Mar 1999 15:06:02 -0500
I agree with David.  If that wiring harness is bad, replace it, and if it's
that brittle, it sounds bad.
I had to replace my wiring after not realizing how shot it was.  It all came
clear through the smoke billowing out from under the hood as I drove through
my Uni campus one fine September afternoon, however.

;-David

David Gates wrote:

> Dean,
>
> It sounds like your wiring my have seen better days.  If the wiring fell
> apart on the switch and then on the solenoid, your wiring may be very
> brittle.  You could have a broken wire in the middle somewhere.  It may be
> a good idea to ohm out the wires to be sure they are good.  Wire is pretty
> cheap.
>
> David Gates
>
> On Monday, March 01, 1999 5:35 AM, Dean  Dashwood
> [SMTP:DDashwood@softwright.co.uk] wrote:
> > Hello list!
> >
> > Recently, the J-type overdrive on my Spitfire stopped working - it
> > wouldn't engage.  So I checked the Haynes manual which said that the
> > likely causes are low gearbox oil, faulty wires and faulty solenoid.  So
> > I checked the wires on the switch - and as I took the switch off, all
> > the wiring fell apart!  Ok, I thought, that's the problem.  So I
> > re-wired the switch, and it worked - for about 3 days, then it stopped
> > again.
> >
> > I checked the wires in the switch - still good, so I decided to take off
> > the gearbox tunnel and check out the rest of the wiring.  Again, it fell
> > apart as soon as I touched it.  So I sorted all that out, checked the
> > gearbox oil while I was there (it was fine) and put everything back
> > together again, expecting the problem to be cured.  But it still doesn't
> > work!
> >
> > Seems like I might need to replace the solenoid.  But solenoids don't
> > come cheap, and I'd like to know that this is what's wrong before I
> > cough up the cash.
> >
> > Does anyone know how to test a solenoid?  Is this a really stupid
> > question - is it obvious whether it's working or not?  I have absolutely
> > no idea, and Haynes does an excellent job of completely avoiding the
> > issue!
> >
> > I'd appreciate any advice anyone has!
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > Dean Dashwood
> > '77 Spit 1500 (doing 4000rpm on the motorway)


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