GT mediated Awesomeness

[panky]

Sounds nice when it does run.

[saintjamesy89]

She's a good'un. The fact that both the GT and TRS do pretty much the same, with dashboards out and some fuseboard connections unplugged makes me think it is potentially related to that, so I won't worry too much until everything is back together.

[saintjamesy89]

So the loom is pretty much sorted in the GT now, the other loose/suspect crimped section near the bulkhead has been moved inside by the fuseboard. Any other crimped sections have been inspected, wrapped in tape and secured for hopefully a long and trouble free future!

The TRS' loom is back in and slightly tidied, although it needs more sorting by the fuseboard - its messy and some wires are a little short, so I will need to undo the tape on the engine bay sections and make sure there is enough slack/length etc.

I installed the 'normally closed' vacuum solenoid on the GT, perhaps its a little large/over-specced but I didn't really know what to look for or what to buy! Fundamentally though, when the valve receives 12v it will allow vacuum to raise the idle to compensate for the compressor drag when the a/c is on. The new carb came with this 'idle puller', unfortunately back along I did buy a NOS (expensive!) part ready for the a/c install so I do have a spare.
I wired the solenoid into the a/c compressor clutch trigger wire, thinking that clutch engaged = idle raised to avoid too low an idle or even a stall, they joy of carburettors and a/c! I mounted the solenoid on the engine mount support, handy nut/bolt nearby for a earth too.

I have ordered some larger ID vacuum lines, the 3.5mm I had is quite a bit too small for this unfortunately.





That is all now until after we get back from France, we're off towards the end of next week and won't be back until July. It will be a race to finish this I think before the National on the 11th July! The remaining work is for both cars - drain coolant, HVAC out, cut GT bulkhead then install the a/c HVAC into the GT, remove and clean condenser and reassemble everything else. I have 3 full days to achieve this, perhaps it's doable?

If there is time I would like to test the system myself. The drier pressure sensor has 4 wires, 12v in and 3 sensor outputs. My understanding:

1. <2bar = too low pressure = no refrigerant, fans in series (slow speed) but compressor off to protect the system when there is insufficient/no gas.
2. 2-26bar = operating pressure = fans in series (slow speed) and compressor on (controlled by evaporator temp sensor).
3. >26bar = too high pressure = fans in parallel (high speed) and compressor off to allow the pressure to come back down to operating (17bar).

So applying 12v (or bridging the 12v feed to the sensor output wires) with the engine off, with everything connected, ignition on and interior a/c switch on I should be able to manipulate the system and get the desired outcomes. Hopefully any issues will be either dodgy relays or switches, I do have a brand new pressure switch to install.
If there is time I would also like to get the system vacuum tested and filled with R134a just in case it all wants to work!

There is always the C6 for the national but...

[saintjamesy89]

Bloody imgur... This is very irritating.

Well I obviously didn't get the BX finished for the national, so I did attend the Sunday in the C6 - I had a little worry, as I pulled up at the national to purchase a ticket the C6 was leaking coolant! Turns out my 'spirited' drive down the B road that leads to the village hall (in sports mode of course) corrected the overfull coolant expansion tank So no harm thankfully. It was lovely to meet some of the C6 crowd at the event, top stuff.

After our France holiday in June/July we have been busy at home, the new kitchen is in, the whole house has been painted except the stairs and the kitchen floor is done so not too much left to do now thankfully! Less good is the BX's have been given notice again, poor things have been moved about quite a bit over the past few years whilst I've been trying to get the jobs done. I have a chance of finishing this a/c project at the very least this time.

The GT had to be moved outside three weeks ago and bizarrely the cutting out issue seems to have gone away?! It ran very well. I have two thoughts:

-I finished the earthing points in the general loom

-I found a slightly loose wire in the engine loom that connects to the carb part that is involved in shutting off the engine. Relating this to the same symptom on the TRS makes sense, the original engine loom wire that now goes to the UK carb (non-emission control) has an additional/spare connector on the end of the wire that goes to the carb part involved in engine turning off. When the GT had it's new carb, this spare connector was looped back to the wire. I will try the same with the TRS and see.

So I have to get on with this now and leave the house stuff until after Christmas, the workshop where the BXs are needs to be sorted and empty before Christmas, it is a bit woolly but I think I have until the end of the month

[saintjamesy89]

Time for an update I think folks, I have been trying to get the BXs finished and think I will, at the very least, have the GT finished before the end of the month - not so sure about the TRS but we shall see!

Now that the electrics are pretty much done the next step was to remove the HVACs, a proper fiddle! Especially when the HBOL only tells you about the two securing bolts in the scuttle panel and not the two studs that are secured by nuts up in the windscreen wiper mechanism area! Then of course there is the heater tap to wriggle out of the rubber bulkhead seal, the drain pipe at the bottom to undo and all the wiring to avoid harassing.







The GTs coolant was very much in need of being changed, I was aware of this and hadn't bothered with it as I knew I'd be draining it for HVAC removal. Nevertheless, it was not a great colour... However, the TRS's coolant was lovely, clear and bright green even though it is likely over 15 years old! Just goes to show using proper coolant really does preserve and protect. The radiators were both removed and flushed with a hose, as were the heater elements/taps. Hopefully this won't give me leaks after its all back together

After a quick inspection of the HVACs they do appear to be pretty similar on the outside, certainly for my uses I expect the a/c HVAC to bolt into the GT, something I was worried about! Especially with the cars being LHD and RHD.
As for differences, the fan speed controls and wiring is completely different - the a/c HVAC uses two heater fans and a variable slider speed control (i.e. not speed 1, speed 2, speed 3 etc as per non-a/c cars) so unsurprisingly a totally different array of wires, I've already swapped over the (mostly) separate looms that serves the scuttle panel contents and a few other bits and bobs, so the GT should now be plug and play for the a/c HVAC.

The only remaining job to get the a/c HVAC into the GT is cutting new holes in the bulkhead for the recirculation flaps and freon pipe connections. Yikes.

Thankfully Citroen has helped me out a little here, there are raised areas to guide the cut and the insulation/carpet also has cut-outs to give a vague idea of where to get started.





The freon pipe cut was the easiest to do as the outline of the area to cut is done for me! A quick check and cross reference with the TRS confirmed that I needed to cut the outline of the raised area.

TRS freon connection hole



First GT cut, I could only do angles with my small jigsaw. It was a bit unwieldly but the proper metal blade went through the bulkhead like butter!



After a go with a grinding drill bit, a better shape now but still needs tidying up. I seem to have lost the photos I took of the tidied, de-burred and painted finished hole!



The recirculation flap holes were a little more tricky, Citroen handily pre-cut the general area of the insulation but I did quite a lot of deliberating, measuring and head scratching. In the end, I could only come up with making a card template and using that to guide drilling and cutting. The hole needed to be offset from the center of the holes. I used the TRS as a guide of course, it'd be almost impossible to do this otherwise! At least without making a gaping great hole for air and water to enter the car...





Cut!



Offered up the recirc flap, even if it sits top or bottom, left or right of the hole etc it should still seal nicely I think. I have some new chunky, adhesive backed, closed cell foam for nice new gaskets here.



At the end of the day I had an hour or two left, so set about doing some of the other fiddly jobs from my list:

-Finish installing the vacuum idle kicker for the carb when the a/c is on
-Install the slightly larger belt for the compressor/alternator (previous was just too short, too much tension even on the lowest alternator bracket adjustment)
-Find my battery tray and secure
-Remove condenser and flush with white spirit (I also did the evaporator, it came out a VERY dark yellow!)
-Fit the new radiator fan switch (TD spec)
-Renew all the fuel pipes between the fuel pump and all else in the engine bay, slightly relocate the new fuel filter.
(still need to do the two that come up from the hard lines under the car to the fuel pump)
-Replace air filter

[saintjamesy89]

Next I started planning the ICE overhaul that I have always wanted to do with this car, MK1 BX's are awful in terms of audio quality - even more so on the GT with just the two tinny, tiny dash top speakers working and no 'bass box'. Time for a change I think, especially as the dashboard etc is out - access will never be better.
I have also been thinking about the C pillar speakers, the GT has a grille there but I've never peeked underneath, it'd be great to have some sort of 'rear' speaker and I reckon another pair of 2" (like the new dashboard jobbies) would work nicely there. A bugger to get the wires to the correct location though without removing loads of trim, unless I could tuck the wires behind the plastics well enough.

The plan.

-Head unit upgrade (Blaupunkt Hamburg, modern DAB, bluetooth and all that jazz - but with retro looks)
-Replace dash top pair of speakers with wide-range 2" jobbies (so, not tweeters)
-Replace the 'bass box' 5" speaker (also, repair wiring for this)
-Install two decent full range/subwoofer speakers under the two front seats





Old on left, new on right - big difference in magnet size interestingly.


Satisfying








All looks well so far, nothing fitted just yet although everything has been offered up. I just hope the under seat subwoofers aren't too obvious visually!

Next steps are to reinstall the HVAC, insulate the scuttle area, ensure the bulkhead is sealed, make sure every wire and connector has the correct buddy, wire in the underseat woofers (new earths and power feeds, switched 12v from the rheostat) then start thinking about reinstalling the dashboard and testing everything! We're getting there...

[panky]

Blimey what a job, I'm most impressed with your determination and knowhow to get the job done.
The dash on DKK has a very annoying creak, until it gets warm, it looks like a fixing stud has broken off over on the passenger side so I'll be using your post to guide me on how to take it out.

[saintjamesy89]

A job indeed! Determination, yes but knowhow is a bit of a stretch

From what feels like distant memory, there are only 2 bolts that secure the dash, one at the top of the scuttle panel on either side. You should be able to see them above the washer bottles from the scuttle - hopefully an easy fix and one that doesn;t require dash removal!

[panky]

Only two, that'a surprise. It looks like one of the bolts is missing and a chunk of the plastic broken off. I might be able to make something to sort it.

[saintjamesy89]

More updates to follow later, but HVAC is in and its electrical testing so far a success. The front light bulb doesn't appear to work, so I'll see about that.

Both heater fans work including full speed via the relay on the HVAC (although they both still run slowly when the fan speed slider is far left, or off)

Both recirculation flaps work (although i had to make one good one out of the two I had for the drivers side. I have two sets)

20251025_104619.jpg

I've had another chivvying from hubby's aunt to get on and vacate, I'm hoping to have the GT done by Tuesday evening and then the TRS needs reassembling and rehoming.

[saintjamesy89]

More updates, I've been busy! I've also put together a pre-advert for the TRS for once I'm done with the GT - so check out the for sale section if you might be interested!

The next batch of jobs have been done in preparation for reinstalling the dashboard and getting everything back together. First off I wanted to get the speaker and new head unit wiring installed and in place, once the dash is back in this will be much more challenging! Also, to install the recirculation flap button in the correct place the centre console needed to come out anyway - I tried on the TRS to remove it with the console in place, waaay too fiddly.
The wires I'm installing here are for the under-seat subwoofers, they need their own live power feed, switched live, earth and RCA input. Quite a few wires to be running in a small space, I had to modify the underside and edge of the handbrake centre console unit so I could run the wires under a flap of carpet and through a gap between the seat runner and plastic part under the seats

Before they were tucked under the carpet:


The under-seat wires:


The rheostat is a useful source of a switched live 12v


Battery positive cable had a spare spade connector, so the under seat woofers are getting their fused power from here.


Unfortunately the woofers I had bought are way too big for the area under the BX's seats. A shame as they were nicely reduced in an offer, so I'll be returning them and having to spend 50% more on smaller replacements, this sound system better be good as it's quite an expensive business when you add up all the components...!

The next bit was the scuttle panel, I want to bit-by-bit improve this car to be more quiet, better to use/drive and easier to live with etc. So I have been thinking about adding insulation to areas where there is none, need to clean the scuttle first. No rust! Yes.





Then, once thoroughly dry - I applied some dodomat. I also got some alubutyl flashing tape to hopefully avoid any water getting into the joins between insulation pieces, not very pretty but preventative. The last thing I want to do is create an opportunity for rust to set in, especially in a prone area! Although this car is so clean in these places.



Onto the next job, installing the idle kicker to compensate for the drag the a/c compressor will exert. Because carburettor, this is an old school vacuum system, the parts off the TRS looked very ropey and were tied into the fast idle for the autobox I think, so I sourced a normally closed, one way, 12v vacuum solenoid for this purpose. I wired it into the compressor clutch trigger wire, so hopefully when 12v is applied to the compressor clutch, the solenoid opens and the rod on the carb raises the idle by an adjustable amount (HBOL says 200rpm I think?). I will need to check this at a later date and probably adjust.



Convenient mount for the solenoid:


Idle kicker and carb vacuum port for this system:


Next, finishing the head unit wiring and testing the sound system. The new speakers all have specified +VE and -VE spades, so I want to make sure this is correct before everything goes back together. The recirc flaps and blower fans need installing and checking their seal against the bulkhead, then a bit of wiring tidying and the dash goes back in! Whilst I remember, the coolant system will need filling/bleeding and the new a/c hoses installing too.

I'm working at a different site on Wednesday, it's a 50 mile round trip so I'm really hoping to use the GT to commute!

[saintjamesy89]

One more thing! I've been toying with getting another set of the small 2" speakers to go in the C pillars, it'd be nice to have a bit more of a surround sound and these then would be proper rear speakers. They are tiny but have good reviews, so I should think at £129 per pair!

For now, if I have time I will just run some wires to the C pillar grills. I'm hoping I can tuck them behind the trims above the windows and then tuck them down the A pillars to the head unit, I would worry about removing these old plastic trims - bound to break!

[panky]

Puts my £15 eBay pair to shame That's what I did for the C pillar speakers, tucked the wires behind the A pillar trim then along behind the edge of the roof lining.

[saintjamesy89]

Puts my £15 eBay pair to shame That's what I did for the C pillar speakers, tucked the wires behind the A pillar trim then along behind the edge of the roof lining.

Ah, glad it can be done!

[Jaba]

Both heater fans work including full speed via the relay on the HVAC (although they both still run slowly when the fan speed slider is far left, or off)

Slightly puzzled by this comment as the two "heater" fans speed control works in the same manner whether the AC is on, off or faulty.

One further query on the same subject - has your BX(s) got a moveable flap at the scuttle air intake. Some BXs I have had have this flap which is linked to the speed control and others don't have it at all and just allow the same volume of air to come in dependant on the car's actual speed without any throttling when the fans speed selected is low.

Great fettling work Tom and your attention to easily glossed over detail is enviously impressive.