Indicators, Hazard Lights and Instruments
9th February 2024

I'd had to wedge a piece of plastic in the hazard light button to make it stay in and the hazards stay off for my drive home the previous day.

The internet suggested that the instrument panel's fuel and temperature gauges were likely due to a faulty voltage regulator - this converts the ~12V to a stable 5v required for the gauges [I found this out here].

Some dismantling of the dashboard was required; pretty straightforward really.

I discovered that the voltage regulator module on my car had already been tampered with (plus my instrument cluster is different to the one via the link, mainly because my version doesn't have a rev counter); the regulator had been made separate from the instrument cluster at some point, probably when the regulator failed last time. I ordered a bunch of regulators but then realised that the ground wire had come loose on my module and so I resoldered it and hoped that would resolve the issue.

The speedometer, the seller suggested, could just require a replacement cable. But as I pulled the instrument cluster out it seemed possible that the speedo cable just wasn't seated properly against the gauge. As far as I could determine I need to reach round behind the instrument cluster and guide the cable into place, and then withdraw my hand as the cluster sat in place; it's a tight squeeze to do this, even with my slim wrists. Only with everything reassembled and taking the car out for another drive would I know if I had been successful.

I came to determine that the indicators and hazard lights all run through the hazard light switch in that the feed runs through the steering controls and through that switch, with one current having a permanent live for the hazard function, and the indicators having a live only when the ignition is on. After some fettling about, and dismantling the switch and gluing the broken plastic that I found, the indicators now work but the hazards no long will because basically the switch is knackered. The solution is to replace the switch, or do without hazards, and I can envisage I will regret the latter because when you need them you need them. I found a few used switched on ebay but I could see from some that they also suffered from cracked plastic and would likely soon fail the same way. Maybe some new old stock can be found; this and other parts can be common to other Ford models of the same era, such as Escorts and Granadas, but it's a case of figuring this out. For now I have ordered a used replacement that looks ok from the pictures.

----- Update: The fuel gauge works; I can only hope it's accurate. The temperature gauge also displays a reading but I don't know how accurate this is. The speedo, however, now has a wandering needle; it waves up and down but from where it hovers seems to give a good enough indication of speed; I think the cable is still not quite seated in place [more on this below].
 

The Checkup
14th February 2024

I had the car booked in to a local garage for a checkover; I wanted the brakes tested, the front wheels balanced, and the opportunity to look over things underneath.

The brake test revealed just a slight imbalance and sticking across the rear brakes; the mechanic suggested this could be the wheel cylinder.

I hadn't noticed any play anywhere or knocking noises while driving but he did detect some slight play in an inner joint of the steering rack; not enough that would fail an MOT, but perhaps sufficient to receive an advisory and I'm happy to leave that as it is for now, I just wonder if it's possible/practical to recondition the rack... My previous previous car had a reconditioned rack fitted and it only lasted a year before having play in it again.

Things look pretty good underneath; for the age of the car the mechanic said it's in good nick and I don't think I could have expected much better, there are just some areas I want to address in the summer, namely where the front and rear wheel arches come down and meet the sill, and along the edges where the inner and outer sills meet, just some rust treatment and underseal required.

The middle and rear sections of the exhaust are pretty new, there's just a lot of exhaust paste where the downpipe joins that I'll want to keep an eye on.

The tyre lad said one of the front wheels did indeed need balancing and it also has a slight buckle in it, although he's done his best with the weights to counteract that, so hopefully that's improved things above 50mph.