Author Topic: Russell's 2fifty build  (Read 5902 times)

firefife

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Re: Russell's 2fifty build
« Reply #15 on: November 21, 2019, 10:14:18 AM »
Argy, this is the bracket that the wiper motor bolts on to
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firefife

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Re: Russell's 2fifty build
« Reply #16 on: November 21, 2019, 10:16:48 AM »
And this is with the motor fitted in position, hope this helps
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argy

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Re: Russell's 2fifty build
« Reply #17 on: November 21, 2019, 02:41:08 PM »
Thanks again for this, it's a lot clearer picture.

I've built a bracket this afternoon, can you tell me if the motor mounting holes are M6 tapped or M6 clear to take a nut and bolt?

I've built the side bar from 5mm mild steel and the cross bar / curved section from 3mm stainless. I've also added an additional fixing at the other end of the curved section to the engine bay bulkhead. Hopefully that wil do the trick.

firefife

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Re: Russell's 2fifty build
« Reply #18 on: November 23, 2019, 09:58:14 AM »
From memory (& mine isn't so good these days) I believe they were tapped. I guess either way would do though.

Any additional fixing or mounting can only be good

Good luck buddy
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Mechman

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Re: Russell's 2fifty build
« Reply #19 on: December 30, 2019, 05:42:22 PM »
Hi Argy, from your pic it looks like yours is an early kit like mine. The door and boot lock systems were changed later on. I did make mine work in the end but it took months! For the door handle system I would talk to Grass bank Conversations and don't cut any holes in the doors until you do. The tribute door system is a bit basic but it works with less disruption of the BMW door system.
Best of luck with your build.
Regards  Mechman.

argy

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Re: Russell's 2fifty build
« Reply #20 on: January 01, 2020, 04:30:56 PM »
Hi Mechman,

Thanks for your comments but they've arrived a bit too late. Fortunately I have a working solution to the door opening issue. I've trawled other people's build diaries and with a bit of help from Grassbank Conversions I've got a good working solution.

The photo shows an earlier version of what I've done. Since then I've replaced the cable with something which is a bit more flexible and I've used aluminium ferrules from my local rope and cable merchants to crimp the cables rather than using the electrical crimp. The original cable was too rigid. Getting the balance between the desired action and applying tension when at rest was a challenge.

The original solution shown here works well except that the door locks won't open if there is any tension whatsoever on the door release mechanism. The problem only shows itself when you lock the doors with the central locking then try to open the doors again.

I bought 5m of 'soft' 1.0mm cable from ebay for a couple of quid (plenty left over if anyone needs some). This allowed me to have a tiny amount of slack before the door release mechanism moves and so avoids the lockout issue.

My kit didn't come with the oval shaped pieces which attach to the door release mechanism so I had to make my own. In the process I modded mine to allow me to loop the cable over an M6 bolt which is prevented from slipping off again with a penny washer and an M6 nyloc nut. This approach allows me to be able to easily remove the door handle if required.

What do your rear lights look like? I've got the MGB lights and am searching for a better solution similar to what the others got with their kits...

Russell

Mechman

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Re: Russell's 2fifty build
« Reply #21 on: January 05, 2020, 12:39:48 PM »
Hi Argy,  my rear lights are also MGB  , but with  the lower part supplied by DNA. You need early B lamp and the lower part was 3D printed
I think the company that  did it for DNA was 3D print shop Ltd,  try them on 01179390631 or 07811355327. I think his name is  Mark Bryant. Good luck with it. Regards Mechman.

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Re: Russell's 2fifty build
« Reply #22 on: January 05, 2020, 12:52:27 PM »
Hi Mechman,

Thanks for your comments but they've arrived a bit too late. Fortunately I have a working solution to the door opening issue. I've trawled other people's build diaries and with a bit of help from Grassbank Conversions I've got a good working solution.

The photo shows an earlier version of what I've done. Since then I've replaced the cable with something which is a bit more flexible and I've used aluminium ferrules from my local rope and cable merchants to crimp the cables rather than using the electrical crimp. The original cable was too rigid. Getting the balance between the desired action and applying tension when at rest was a challenge.

The original solution shown here works well except that the door locks won't open if there is any tension whatsoever on the door release mechanism. The problem only shows itself when you lock the doors with the central locking then try to open the doors again.

I bought 5m of 'soft' 1.0mm cable from ebay for a couple of quid (plenty left over if anyone needs some). This allowed me to have a tiny amount of slack before the door release mechanism moves and so avoids the lockout issue.

My kit didn't come with the oval shaped pieces which attach to the door release mechanism so I had to make my own. In the process I modded mine to allow me to loop the cable over an M6 bolt which is prevented from slipping off again with a penny washer and an M6 nyloc nut. This approach allows me to be able to easily remove the door handle if required.

What do your rear lights look like? I've got the MGB lights and am searching for a better solution similar to what the others got with their kits...

Russell

Smart job on the door latch Argy, very similar to how I did mine.

Using the builders angle bracket helped by giving the extra leverage, and they have worked great from when I fitted them.

Mine not as smart as yours though, nice one.
If Airfix plastic model planes are made exactly to scale, why don't they fly?

Sir Percival

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Re: Russell's 2fifty build
« Reply #23 on: January 05, 2020, 12:57:58 PM »
Hi Argy,  my rear lights are also MGB  , but with  the lower part supplied by DNA. You need early B lamp and the lower part was 3D printed
I think the company that  did it for DNA was 3D print shop Ltd,  try them on 01179390631 or 07811355327. I think his name is  Mark Bryant. Good luck with it. Regards Mechman.

This is very useful....A smashed back light has to be a worry when you don't know where to get a new lens cover...I will "file" this in case a Granny attacks the rear of my car in a Fiat 500  ;)
If Airfix plastic model planes are made exactly to scale, why don't they fly?

argy

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Re: Russell's 2fifty build
« Reply #24 on: January 05, 2020, 10:04:03 PM »
Thanks to both of you for the feedback. I'll be following up on the leads

Russell

argy

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Re: Russell's 2fifty build
« Reply #25 on: January 07, 2020, 03:34:26 PM »
For the sake of completeness, this is what my passenger side door handle mechanism ended up looking like.


argy

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Oops, where can I get a replacement headlamp lens / cover ?
« Reply #26 on: January 09, 2020, 12:30:18 PM »
As the subject says, my driver's side lens had a small accident with an angle grinder. Does anyone know where I can get a replacement?

It's beyond polishing...

Russell

argy

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Re: Russell's 2fifty build
« Reply #27 on: January 09, 2020, 06:55:41 PM »
Got that wrong, thankfully

I managed to polish it out, phew!
:-)

argy

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Wiper motor wiring
« Reply #28 on: February 21, 2020, 05:03:56 PM »
Hi,

My kit didn't come with any wiring harness / connectors so I'm having to work out how to connect the 4 wires that come from the Z3 bulkhead connector to the wiper motor's 5 way connector.

In the DNA 2Fifty video there is a clip which shows (at 25:43) the wiring for the 5 pin plug (see attached) but I don't see how that relates to the original wiring.

My original wiring consists of:
A. Brown (Looks like earth)
B. Brown / Green / Yellow (Looks like switched live and is thinner than the other wires)
C. Black / Red / Yellow
D. Black / White / Yellow

The Video shows the 5 pin connector as

1. Brown
2. Earth
3. Black & White
4. Green & Yellow
5. Black

Here I'm using the pin numbering protocol from the wiper motor manufacturer's data sheet (see attached)

The manufacturer (Car builder solutions) tells me that the motor wiring is:

1. Earth
2. When the wiper switch is in park mode this should connect to pin 5
3. Fast wipe
4. Switched live
5. Slow wipe

I understand that I have to run a long earth cable to one of the pins, but not sure which of the earths.

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers

argy

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Re: Russell's 2fifty build
« Reply #29 on: February 22, 2020, 12:45:06 PM »
Solved,

The problem was two fold.

1. Not knowing which coloured wire did what
2. Not knowing how the "clever" wiper system works

There are 4 wires from the original BMW Z3 / E36  and combinations of how these are paired together by the control system determines what the wiper motor does.

What I needed to know was where to connect each wire on the 5 terminal connector on the wiper motor and the answer is as follows. Please refer to the above photo for the connector pin numbers.

The Z3 wiring diagram shows the colours using German short codes, I've translated these into English full colours and then mapped what the original harness uses to what I had available. I've ordered a 5 pin Lucas plug from Car Builder Solutions and will use that rather than using the spade connectors once it arrives.

The photo below shows how I set about adding the extra earth to terminal 2 of the 5 pin connector which I think is a better solution that the long cable that the DNA video recommends.

So the colour scheme is

Pin 1. Earth BN (Brown) I stayed with Brown
Pin 2. Also earth. This is the cable that DNA suggest making long enough in case you need to remove the wiper motor in the future. I just coupled off pin 1 with another brown cable
Pin 3. This controls the fast wipe setting. SW/WS/GE (Black / White / Yellow) I went with Blue
Pin 4. Switched 12V from ignition. This is the thinner of the four cables BR/GN/GE (Brown / Green / Yellow) I went with Yellow / Green
Pin 5. This controls the normal speed wipe. SW/RT/GE (Black / Red / Yellow) I went with Grey

The second issue was the behaviour of the system, I had read (and ignored) somewhere else on the forum that the wiper system behaviour is speed dependent. At slow / stopped speeds intermittent position seems to stop and the first / normal speed seems to become intermittent. The second (Fast) speed behaves as normal. When I tested the wiper behaviour when the car was static it didn't behave as expected. When I lifted the car and got it in 2nd gear then it behaved as expected.

I hope this helps anyone else that struggles with this.

Russell