Yesterday I skipped out on working on my homework and studying for my exams to do some work on Ol’ Willoughby.
Willy has had some problems with dash lights. You see, he can’t keep ‘em lit up if the ignition is on. To make matters even stranger, when you did turn on the lights the gas gauge went to full. Well, I figured that the only two things the lights and gauge share is a ground and the gauges themselves.
For a test I reached up and checked the wires to the gas gauge, they were really loose so I wiggled them, low and behold the lights came on. Yeah, problem fixed, now to just do some out-patient surgery and Willy will be as good as new. Well, at least as good as a 35 year old German, underpowered air-cooled vehicle can get.
The shop I bought him from threw in a spare instrument cluster, so I had everything I needed. Then it was just a matter of figuring out how to get it out and install the new one. It turns out the difficulty lies in the removal of the heater control levers located in the instrument fascia.
First, I tried just yanking on the levers, nada. Then I looked at the repair manual, hahahaha, nothing. Then I consulted Willoughby but he holds his inner workings to himself and refused to help. I check a couple of websites out but nothing explicit, so I was on my own. I tried prying, pulling, pushing, wrenching, then finally I decided that those little nylon clips that hold the levers on have to be removed. Success!!!
The rest of it was straight forward enough. Just remove wires and install on the other gauge.
Before I put everything back together, I figured I better do a quick test. And just as I suspected, nothing. Crap! Now what.
Well that left my other initial thought, a bad ground. So, to test the theory real quick I touched a ground for another electrical devise (fancy way of saying I don’t know what it went to) and Blamo! I have lights.
Finished installing the new gauges and the old levers, after trying to find the darn nylon clips they like to hide. Took it for a test drive only to find out that the speedometer does not read the same as the old one. D’oh!!! Well, may be next time. This weekend I plan on changing the oil and doing my first of many valve adjustments. Plus, I need to fix an oil leak. For now Willoughby is sleeping and I am off to finish the homework I should have been doing yesterday.
