Dangers of the carwash

Now, I'm not much of a washer and polisher - my bike hasn't been washed in about 2 years (and I commute most days on it in all weathers) and our family car still sports the mud splatters from our October camping trip.

But after changing the banner photo of this blog, I realised Zedster was looking a bit of a state. So out with bucket and sponge and he was soon looking sparkling again (there's not actually much to clean). Now, this is where I went wrong - years ago, in a fit of madness, I washed my bike and it refused to start. I must have got water in a connector somewhere and, fortunately, it dried out by the next day and started OK. However, since then, I've got into the habit of going for a drive after a wash, to ensure everything's still OK and to speed up any drying out needed. Today was no different and so after the wash, I popped out for a refreshing blast.

But, disaster, despite the roads being dry and clear, my route down some back roads went past a farm and the tractor had obviously been out - I got splattered:

So, after no wash for 3 months, Zedster got 2 in a day (even I couldn't leave it like that). Next time, I'll stick to main roads only for my post-wash drive.

Softbits have finally admitted they made a mistake with my roof, so the correct one is under construction.

A couple of cold commutes to work made me re-think my outfit. I've got a new, down-filled jacket which is amazingly light and warm but my head is frozen. However, while following my daughter round Primark, I spotted a deerstalker and it felt amazingly warm, although it looks a bit stupid, to be honest. But for £5, it's amazing and my first trip out in it today was a revelation - toasty and warm - genius!

Despite the mud splatter, my short drive out was great fun and I'm not sure why, but Zedster is sounding great at the moment. I don't know if something has actually changed (and I might do a check for exhaust leaks) or if I've just not noticed before but there's a lovely bass note to the exhaust which sounds great at anything above idle.

Hoping this isn't the kiss of death but kit car life is good right now...

Return of the Growler

Sadly, no chance of getting the alternator replaced under the warranty - the fact that it had only been used for 2 months cut no ice with the manufacturer. I looked around for a secondhand one but nothing showed up. I decided to just clench my behind and buy a new Denso - GBS swapped the pulley off the broken one so that I could buy the slightly cheaper V-belt Denso they now sell and they let me off the postage, so I saved £25, I guess. Still annoying...

So back on the road and went out for a brief run this morning to check all OK. Finally found a car almost as low as Zedster:

A Lotus owners club meet:

I'm not sure why but Zedster is sounding more growly and feels quicker than ever - must be a bit more run in, I guess.

Finally found a straight bit of quiet road to try out a 0-60 time but only managed 7.2 seconds because it was a bit damp and the wheels basically spun for the first second or 2. When I tried mashing the throttle a bit more, I spun the wheels for even longer - great fun but not conducive to a fast time. I'll probably have to wait for spring and the roads to dry out. 

The spark has gone

It's name-and-shame time - this has been a very bad boy:

Go on,  tell everyone what you've done...

The fact that the alternator is on my bench and not bolted to the car should give you a clue - the damn thing has died. Coming back from a drive last weekend,  I noticed my voltmeter gauge was showing 11v rather than its usual 13v and revving the engine made no difference. A few more tests (with the advice of Simon) and it is a non-working alternator. It's only been used for,  what,  2 months!

I'm just hoping GBS will honour the warranty which is probably only 1 year and I think I actually bought it over a year ago but it hasn't been used for long.

I've sent the roof back to Softbits - there was no way it was the right size. I hope I don't have to wait another 9 weeks!

So,  I'm off the road,  although with the cold weather and no roof,  that's not the end of the world.

Alive and kicking

Just in case my hundreds (?) of fans are missing me,  a brief update.

Zedster is still going well although  my oil leak is back and I think it's from the sump/block join. I'm guessing I should have used more instant gasket. The leak is very small and only occurs after a high-revving run - my daily commute doesn't seem to bring it on. I'll keep an eye on it and I guess I may have to take the sump off and redo the seal,  although I'm not looking forward to that (not a difficult job but awkward without a ramp to get the car up in the air).

After 9 weeks,  I finally got the roof delivered from Softbits BUT it doesn't seem to be the right size to me. The rear straps should line up with the rollbar supports but don't:

... and the front just doesn't look long enough - I'm sure it should go an inch or so further down the frame:

Now,  obviously, it's not under tension yet but it is not stretchy fabric so I can't see it fitting.  However,  Softbits reckon it will fit,  so I'll give it a go, hopefully this weekend.

I took a friend for a test drive and his reaction was hilarious. He is not a car person but he was quite enjoying it,  saying how fast it felt. At that point,  I finally got to a clear bit of road and caned it - the poor guy almost wet himself! Over 5500 revs,  Zedster has a real banshee wail which is really quite freaky and a bit scary,  even to me.

So,  quick then.  Oh yeah,  and I can spin the rear wheels - in SECOND gear! OK,  not a Top Gear style tyre shredder,  just a squeak but I've never had a car with anything like that ability. Awesome....!

Also,  I've found an app for my phone which can record 0-60 times - that's my weekend sorted :-)

The adventures keep 'a comin...

A work go-karting  evening gave me an excuse for another drive but the weather report wasn't promising - rain at about the time we were due to finish. I decided to risk it - bad move....

The go-karting started late and the rain started early. Luckily,  I had put my emergency roof (a piece of tarp and some bungees) on before the event but the rain was hammering down and the tarp is only small,  so it didn't stop rain coming in the sides.

The journey back was.... er....  interesting. When I said in a previous post that the rain just gets blown over the car,  that's true if the rain is light but in heavy stuff,  nope - you get wet. Actually,  the rain wasn't as bad as the huge puddles on the road - I need doors.

So I got soaked but there were some positives;

1. My wipers rock,  although they couldn't do anything about the rain on the inside of the screen.

2. My headlights are pretty darn good,  especially on high beam.

3. Zedster got properly soaked including a couple of tidal waves over the bonnet and didn't miss a beat,  although maybe I should hold off on saying that until I try go out on my next trip.

A funny thing happened...

... on the way to work (not the Forum).

I keep forgetting to mention that the Park function on my wipers never worked. I spent ages trying to work out the wiring needed on my switch but when I got the wiper motor in and wired up,  it just didn't work. Up to now,  I've been busy with other stuff,  so I've forgotten about it.

Today,  on the way to work,  I went through a pothole and,  suddenly,  the wipers moved into the middle of the screen. Switching them on and they still worked but the Park now also works! The thump from the pothole must have knocked a contact on the wiper switch,  or something.

Only problem is that the motor parks in front of the driver and I bought left-hand parking wipers (because I thought it wouldn't matter as the Park didn't work anyway). There is a procedure for swapping a cam inside the motor to make it park on the other side but that means taking it all apart -  too much effort.

New wiper arms on order...

I can see clearly now

.... because I have working wipers!

My problem was of my own making; when I first fitted the wipers, I was supposed to make a bend in the tube that goes from the motor to the first gearbox. However,  in my usual ham-fisted way,  I kept bending too much and creating a kink which prevented the wire moving through the tube.

Where I went VERY wrong was thinking that the tube was just to protect the wire and so wasn't critical,  so I kept cutting out the kinked bits of tube and eventually I was left with this:

So when the motor switched on,  instead of pushing the wire straight through  the gearboxes,  it just bent in half. The tube is there to keep the wire in shape so the pushing force of the motor gets through to the gearboxes.

So GBS kindly sold me a small piece of the tube and Simon once again came to my rescue by explaining the technique for bending it; basically lots of tiny bends every few mm,  using a loose vice (don't tighten it otherwise it will crush the tube).

All this took over 2 hours because I had to also take the dash off to get to the gearboxes etc. but it worked perfectly and incredibly satisfying to see the cute little wipers flipping away.

Next problem is the windscreen washer which doesn't work but I think is just a wiring issue.

Should also hopefully have my roof in a week or 2...

Also,  my wind deflectors do help although they aren't a miracle cure and,  for reference,  my Gaz shock settings are:

Rear -  5 clicks up from softest.
Front -  6 clicks from softest.

The adjustment has 20 clicks but how anyone has it anywhere near that high,  I don't know.  I tried it on 10 clicks and the ride was rock hard.