Saturday 22 August 2020

Back to the grindstone

 So, 2 weeks after my mega-trip, I went on a family holiday - to the French Alps! A very different holiday of rafting, cycling, walking - anything but driving (apart from the drive there and back).

It was actually a good comparison of a proper sports car and a modern family car, in this case my Lexus Rx400. Twice the power of Zedster but almost 3 times the weight, and it showed. Whereas Zedster scoots round corners with minimal roll and need for brakes, the Lexus rolls like a ship in a big sea and understeers horrendously. Obviously, not a fair comparison but interesting...

So time to get Zedster ready for his first MOT. 

First up was the reverse light which hasn't worked for a while. This was just because the bulb holder was a dud from when I first got it, so it doesn't make a good connection. Not wanting to have to replace the whole unit, I thought I'd change it to an LED. Obviously, I couldn't just put in a new bulb as it would have the same connection issue. I ordered a weird collection of LED pads and bulbs for £3 on ebay - they took 2 months to arrive! But the little LED pads are pretty good and I wired 2 of them up to the existing wiring and stuck them (they have adhesive pads on the back) to the inside of the lens, facing the reflector - job done.

Next, the horn which hasn't worked for a while. Turned out to just be the wiring (no, shock!) - replaced a couple of spade terminals and all good. While there, I noticed another wire dropped out of a spade terminal, which explained my non-working LED interior light - now working. 

The last thing to do is the main beam which hasn't worked for a while. A definite wiring problem because the main beam flash works but needs the dash to come off - job for another day.