I am now back into writing mode and can tell the tale – the story might be called “two days, two Lancias and a bike crash”.
It started with me enjoying checking over my Fulvia on Wednesday 17 April to take part in the Phoenix Inn Lambda gathering the following day – the first real outing for my Zagato this year. All went well - the Phoenix meeting and lunch were great. It really is a privilege for me and my car to take part in these events – extraordinary cars and extraordinary people. Although most of the return journey was in torrential rain the 120 mile round trip was a delight - although I was a bit miffed that the radio seemed to have stopped working. As I put the Fulvia back into its lock-up that evening a neighbour told me that the horns had sounded out of my locked up garage for an hour or so the previous evening! I apologised, tried the horn and it was dead – hence my investigation of horn relay and the post which started this thread.
On the Friday I decided not to bother with the Fulvia problem and to leave that to later. It was a fine afternoon and having just recovered from a bad back problem I thought the smart thing to do was to cycle over to the Turner house in Hackney to work out what to do with their Augusta which was up on axle-stands after John had ceased to work on it last summer. The weather had been too cold for me to contemplate this over the past few months. The Augusta was up in the air to help diagnose a suspected broken front-spring that was a cause of worry, but not a serious one as the car was drivable up to that time, even if a bit clonky.
I put the wheels back on the Augusta, observing the left-hand threaded Rudge-hub nuts on the off-side, and using John’s small trolley jack and his wooden blocks (just as primitive and precarious as mine!) I gently lowered the car to the ground. I expected to have to put the battery on charge, but connecting up the battery terminals showed lots of energy in the spot light that inadvertently had been knocked on. It’s about 50 years since I have started an Augusta from cold so I had to work it out – like which is the push-pull control for the petrol tap, the lever for the choke (not to be confused with the lever for the radiator blinds) and as I remembered the starter button is foot operated way up to the left. The ignition key is just as an Aprilia so that was easy. All set and with stab at the starter button and the kick from the battery’s 12 volts (saved from last year) into the six volt starter motor, there was a bark and a bang and then it ran as sweetly as if it had run yesterday. I warmed it up in the garage and ran it up and down just to check the brakes weren’t binding and decided to call it a day. The following week was going to be put some air in the tyres and run it around a bit. The idea is that Christine and at least one of John’s daughters will use it.
Cycling back home to Muswell Hill was really enjoyable in late afternoon sun with a good sense of satisfaction – Fulvia, Augusta and a healthy back. And then crossing the Seven Sisters Road on a green light for cyclists I was hit hard on my left by another cyclist jumping a red light. The result being that more than two weeks on I am still recovering from a smashed collar bone which now has a four-inch steel plate, seven screws, a ‘button’ and plastic tie-ropes to hold it all together. The bruises below the shoulder that show the print of his helmet are still evident. The police haven’t yet filed their report on the incident and when they do, I hope to take action against the offender, whoever he is.
Meanwhile, my one-armed partial recovery has enabled me to investigate the Fulvia. The horn-button circuit seems fine and I think the cause of the problem was a failure in the horn-relay which decided on its own to lock on, this caused the horns to run until one (the lower tone one) decided to short circuit, which tripped the fuse that is shares with the radio. All of which sounds simple to fix, but the horns on my car are buried below the air-box, hidden by my electric fuel pump and pipes and of course it’s all below the hinge on the blind-side of my sideways opening bonnet. Such fun!
Anyway, it looks doable and I have sourced a modern relay that should do the job. My handicap is that I am working one handed and will be unable to drive for another four weeks!
I now know how it must feel to be a one-legged man in an ar*e-kicking competition!
Colin
