November 2006 Activity Log

11/28/06
S2 - Traced the wiring associated with the turn and hazard signals. Began modifying the S2 diagram to properly reflect the Federal S2 wiring. I'll be posting updates to the new diagram until it's complete.


All of the photos I took today are here

11/27/06
S2 - Removed the dash to gain access to the wires on the back. My arthritis doesn't favor the "Lotus position" so I decided to tilt the whole mess into the cabin. To liberate the dash I removed the following (my crash pad is already out, your dash may vary):
    - First, DISCONNECT THE BATTERY!
    - The armrest (my PO had installed a screw and a cabinet knob in place of the snap).
    - Two screws in the ash tray mounting plate.
    - Two nuts holding the choke and heater pull knob bracket (hold a 7/16" wrench on the bolt head in the tunnel).
    - Lift the choke/heater knob bracket off the protruding bolts.
    - The gearchange knob and boot.
    - Lift the tunnel cover off and remove it from the car.
    - The two 7/16" nuts securing the steering column to the dash. The column then simply rests on the drivers seat.
    - Four bolts at the top of the dash. The two outermost have nuts while the others screw into threaded bobbins.
    - Two nuts securing the bottom of the dash to the tunnel. (The left bolt serves as chassis ground for the wiring).
    - The door courtesy switches which secure the dash via metal straps on each end.
    - The dash vent hoses to the plenum.
    - The speedometer cable and trip reset cable.
    - My PO had installed a radio which was attached to the heater box, so I removed the knobs and nuts at the dash.
    - After the dash was pulled forward enough to see the rear of the radio I freed it from the heater box and removed it from the car.
    - The window switch sub-panel (make sure to mark the wire locations).
    - The dash will tilt into the cabin (be careful not to break any wires).


Now that it's loose, I need to clean up the rats nest of wires and reattach the amp meter hold-down.
All of the photos I took today are here (the last two are through the windshield so there are ghosts).

11/26/06
Put 460355 under cover for the winter and moved 0716R into the garage. Will spend the winter working on it and resume sanding 460355 when the weather breaks. Plan to rebuild the brake master cylinder, which tends to weep a little and will disassemble the dash to trace the wiring for a new S2 Federal wiring diagram I'm working on. I need to remove the radio, replace the window switches and replace a missing gauge hold-down strap anyway, so this is a good time to do it.
All of the photos I took today are here.

11/14/06
Today I received the 3022-W9 LED Festoon bulbs I ordered from superbrightleds.com and installed one in the interior lamp from 460355 to check for fit and brilliance. It was necessary to slightly file the phenolic attached to the rear of the fixture to make the bulb fit and the contacts needed adjustment to contact the 30mm length but I think this is the best solution for festoon lamps. The incandescent bulb that was in the lamp is marked "12V5W" (37mm long) and draws a measured 470 ma at 12V, while the 3022-W9 (30mm long) draws 75 MA at 12V. The incandescent bulb gets very hot but the LED bulb stays much cooler.

Photos: Incandescent, 3610-W4, 3022-9W, Filed to fit

More on LED bulbs here
All of the photos I took today are here.

11/11/06
S1A - Sanded the area around the taillights and engine screen. Next is the front plenum.
Paint stripping albums:
Front/Right Quarter - Left/Right Sides - Engine Cover/Rear

11/10/06
S1A - Finished sanding the channel that the engine cover sits it and the area around the rear window today.
Paint stripping albums:
Front/Right Quarter - Left/Right Sides - Engine Cover/Rear

11/9/06
S1A - Sanded much of the channel that the engine cover sits it and most of the area around the rear window today. Lots of small areas that will need hand-sanding remain.
Paint stripping albums:
Front/Right Quarter - Left/Right Sides - Engine Cover/Rear

Recovered the door hinge stub that fell into the right door sill when I removed the door. Vacuumed about ten pounds of crap from the area under the seat bottom supports.

All of the photos I took of the seat and door sill area are here.

11/03/06
Yesterday I received the 3610-W4 LED Festoon bulbs I ordered from superbrightleds.com. Today I installed one in the interior lamp from 460355 to check for fit and brilliance. The fit is good, and while brilliance is slightly less, the light produced is much whiter. The incandescent bulb that was in the lamp is marked "12V5W" (37mm long) and draws a measured 470 ma at 12V, while the 3610-W4 (36mm long) draws 30 MA at 12V. The incandescent bulb gets very hot but the LED bulb stays at ambient temperature.

I also installed one of the LED bulbs in the license light, which had a bulb marked "12V6W" (38mm long), and there is very little difference. The license light from 460586 had a bulb marked "12V15W" and it is much brighter, but it is also 43mm long and the lamp fixture was damaged when the PO bent the contacts to fit. I also ordered two of the 3910-4W (39mm long) LED bulbs but they are too long to fit either fixture.

More on LED bulbs here
All of the photos I took today are here.

11/01/06
No Lotus time today. Spent most of the day detailing the wife's 1993 (41,000 miles) Volvo and getting it ready for Winter. The 2x6 in front of the driver's tire is so she knows when to stop before hitting 0716R!
Did get time to visit Home Depot and bought a Ryobi detail sander for some of the difficult spots on 460355.
Lotus Cars Webring
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