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Old 26th June 2021, 21:19
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Default Sometime the simplest jobs....

Thanks to Jack and Mick for your kind comments on last weeks update.
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I'm trying to complete two tasks per week and this weeks tasks looked like some easy wins.
My list simply said "recover windscreen trim and fit Interior light and mirror" what could be simpler?
First, I had to push the car out of my garage to access the loft above and the car is certainly getting heavier with so much now fitted. Luckily, the windscreen trim pieces were in the box that I packed them in 8 years ago! And on first sight didn't look to bad.....

Windscreen trim by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr
Windscreen trim by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

But when I started to strip of the old covering I found the rain had soaked into the foam backing and rusted the metal former.....

Windscreen trim by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr
Windscreen trim by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

So I first stripped of any remaining paint and glue with some paint stripper. I then coated it in some de-rust gel to remove most of the rust and after that sanded it smooth. A coat of rust converter and then some new black paint restored it back to almost new condition.
Then it was recovered with some new foam and cream vinyl. I then trail fitted the interior light and mirror before refitting to the car.

Windscreen trim by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

Having connected up the interior light I decided to test it by connecting the battery. As I reconnected the battery there was a spark and a small pop sound. Hmmmmmmm
I checked the main fuse panel and sure enough Fuse 2 had blown which is the supply to the courtesy lights. The interior light has three connections Earth, Perm supply and switch supply. The colours of the wires match the Sabre loom so I just connected them up.

Interior light by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

It has three wires because like most interior lights it has a little slide switch which over rides the door switches. After a bit of head scratching and studying the switch I realised it was designed for a 'switched earth' circuit but the Sabre loom is a 'switched live' circuit. (This was my scribble on the bench)

Interior light connections by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

The simple solution was to swap to 'switched live' by swapping the purple (permeant supply) and the black (earth) wires. The wires are soldered to the light fitting so quite easy to de-solder and swap the wires over.

Finally, I could screw it all back in position....

Interior light and mirror by Sabrebuilder, on Flickr

So I got my tasks done this week but it took much more time than expected but it's all part of the fun

Until next week, stay safe, Peter

Last edited by peterux; 26th June 2021 at 21:23.. Reason: typo
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