c7ollie

Thank you this is exactly what I needed to head off in the right direction. Cheers.

Thanks - I will check out the alternator situation separately. That's one thing ruled out. The car has hardly been used in 12 months and I keep it on the trailer, I noticed a small deposit that looked like a v small leak on the trailer near the radiator but didn't think much of it and didn't have time to check closely, it could be that the water content of the leak had evaporated and just left a coolant deposit so yes a slow leak is possible. I will check the fuse. How do I check the switch and circulation?

Can anybody tell me what is the best way to diagnose a cooling problem? SV 1800 K series. 2002 Today on start up. Red engine warning light was on. Coolant was ok before I set out. Car only blatted twice since last service 12 months ago. Dashboard toggle switch shows a reading on the gauge rising to around 120oC for both oil and water and fan doesn't kick in. Tried to drive 7 miles for MOT and repair but had to return home after the engine overheated and I lost all the coolant out of the filler cap/valve. The radiator is only about 3 years old and in good condition and the thermostat looks ok but I am sure that means nothing. I have had to bail and go to work but is there a sequence of checks so that I can diagnose the problem? Is the problem really obvious?? If anybody knows a link to guide how to drain and refill the system correctly, it would be appreciated. To get me home I am now probably 20/80 coolant to water! Thanks Ollie

I have just ordered a new Banner battery and it is being delivered dry. My local motorbike dealer can give me 1L of electrolyte at 1.36SG. I have researched and found a very informative piece by Chris Wyles which mentions max charge is 1.27SG Will 1.36SG be ok? Will 1L be enough? Any guidance appreciated.

£35 each. Pair of black leather seats from an SV for sale. Only selling because I have replaced with carbon tillets. Comfortable and in good condition on top, a bit of evo stick needed underneath the base and behind the back supports to tuck everything in. Hence £35 each. Pictures available. Ideal if building on a budget or want some comfy seats for a long blat/rally. Selling as a pair but still a bargain.

Do you want to see some pictures to make sure it's the right one? I bought it and when I got round to fitting it, realised it was the wrong one but I had left it too long to return it!

Brand new and boxed £125 ono. Pictures available if needed.

Magnetron starter motor brand new, unused, boxed. £195 Pictures available

For a rover K series is there a particular one to get and will it work with the existing gauge/toggle switch?

Cheers. Yes the apollo. Thanks for the advice.

In my naivety I thought maybe they would last longer than the oil pressure sender. Is it a quick wristed undo and swap like the pressure sender or do you have to drain the oil?

I am resisting laughing for fear my head my come off!

Oil pressure sender replaced and pressure gauge now working again. Now trying to fix the oil temp gauge. When toggle switch over to water, the gauge reads fine but when toggled to oil - zero (even throughout a track day). I have pulled the wire out of the temp sender in the Apollo and touched it to the car with the ignition on and the needle goes to max. Any ideas? Is the sender shot? Is it likely that the temp sender could be broken on an eight year old car?

Ordered!

Sounds good to me. I'll probably go for that then.

How did you get on? I'm thinking about getting some Tillet B6's for my SV.

13.4v after full charge dropping to 8.7v while starting then 14.6v while running. I topped up the cells to the marker (nearly 1/4 litre in all) immediate improvement to 10v during starting and then after faffing around fitting a cigarette lighter for dashboard charging, the voltage during starting only dropped to 12v I have left it charging (maintaining) over night but I think I'm done. When I think about it I can't ever remember starting the car so many times in a row without a problem. I think my work here is done! Thanks all

Pardon my ignorance and sorry to offend 😶‍🌫️ Now I understand the table you posted earlier 100% - 75% etc. I've got a digital meter now so will cross reference against your table.

The battery cells have a few mm of fluid above the cells, not the 10mm suggested by banner and about 5-7mm below the marker. Will this make a big difference or has the battery had it?

Ok so... Starter cleaned and lubed appropriately (not sure it needed it) New red and black battery cables Clean terminals everywhere else Starter relay now running off the battery with a fuse rather than scotchlocked off of the MFRU Battery after full charge is somewhere between 12 and 13v on a basic battery tester When starting it drops to 5v approx based on the basic battery meter I think there has been an improvement but need to get blatting to really find out. I'm not 100% convinced but only time will tell (starter heat shield is on order) All cables tied away from the manifold Is it right that the battery drops to 5v during starting? Thank for all your help.

Thanks, i will get a decent meter and try it. The meter I have is only basic. For belt and braces I'm going to connect the relay directly to the battery.

Thanks Johnty, I'll follow your advice then just clean and lightly grease the solenoid parts with high temp grease. If you have any thoughts as to why the starter seems to strain/sluggish on the first turn, I'd appreciate it. Starter Relay done and connections checked New live battery cable (with no melted bits where it touched the exhaust) bought Starter stripped and cleaned Battery reads 12v on a battery tester but is 3ish years old. Before I put it all back together is there anything else I could/should check or do?

Thanks Duncan, I'm glad I asked. Like I said, I'm no mechanic!

I am not the most knowledgeable mechanic in the world but in an effort to get my starter motor singing like a normal car ie get rid of the click of death, I have wired a separate relay which means the car now starts every time but on the first turn of the engine, it turns as though the battery is virtually flat (which it's not) before firing up the engine. I'm still not confident of it starting every time. I am now stripping down the starter motor to clean the contacts and grease it up etc but when I removed it, I noticed that the flywheel is bone dry with rust staining. The cog that engages the flywheel is black and dry. Could someone tell me if this is normal, is the flywheel supposed to be coated in oil? or grease? Or sloshing about in anything? What grease do you recommend for the starter and is the flywheel ok? It's a rover K Series 1.8 with a 4-2-1 exhaust. Once done, I am going to wrap the starter in heatproof shielding and hopefully it will be sorted?

Yes they are adjustable but don't already have the extenders. I'm going to get them from CC then give the car to somebody who knows what they are doing. Bearing in mind all this effort is to go from 16" to 13" without dry sumping for both track and road, I'm not going to compromise handling on track am I? Its just that the 16" are errrrr whats the word? rubbish on track especially in anything slightly wetter than bone dry conditions and even then they drift too easily.