[Paul Burridge]

Thanks for the photos. I’m not a sunroof expert but i wonder if shrinking of the fabric is pulling the folding roof part up away from its frame – causing a bigger gap than intended?

With a Webasto there is no adjustment for the tension wires used to open the roof but, as yours is a different brand, i wonder if you have some means of adjusting the cable length/ tension? In other words a means to allow it to pull forward/ closed more?

If it IS to do with shrinkage, then options are live with it, some kind of period deflector, get the roof recovered? Have you sought the advice of a sunroof specialist? Even though yours is not Webasto, any expert should be able to advise on the problem and solutions. Even a specialist in soft tops can probably offer some insights around wind noise.

By the way, a quick google for ‘wilsons sunroof services” comes up with a Bradford phone number and address. Could all be unreliable AI but might be worth calling the number??

[Paul Burridge]

Hi Ralph
To put up a photo here, you need to have the photo hosted somewhere else – then provide a link to it here.

i have a free account with ImgBB. I put the image up there and embed the code as ‘BBcode full linked’, then simply copy the code created and paste it in to any post here.

[Paul Burridge]

You’ll need to remove engine and gearbox as there is not enough clearance. It will make subsequent work significantly easier and with more likelihood of success – and so only needing to do the job once.

As peter says, liners can be horribly seized and rusted in. Though if yours have already been replaced and ‘upgraded’ it might not prove so tricky for you this time around.

Pulling the whole engine and gearbox out will also enable you to examine the camshaft oil seal at the base of the distributor. i recall you had a leak from somewhere in that area and that seal is worth changing regardless.

[Paul Burridge]

John
Are you grappling with your ignition/ starting wiring yet? I feel we have done this before? But these drawings might help. Both are for RHD cars (though in terms of the starter/ ignition there isn’t really any difference with LHD).

This first one shows the key-operated starter. The dotted line from the key unit (listed as parts of ’47’) goes all the way over towards the battery side of the drawing as the key unit has an extra pair of contacts for starting the car. (Those extra contacts are shown as separate part 32 in the drawing). Turning the key closes the contacts of/ at 32 and current flows down to the starter motor and solenoid – shown as part 11.

The second diagram shows the bvh/ semi-auto set up. Notice how the dotted line from the key doesn’t go all the way towards the switch (part 32). The other connections of the key/ 47 into the loom otherwise seem the same as for the diagram above. I’ve put a clumsy dotted red line around the bit that is different: the ignition/ starter wiring.

Up at the battery positive is a starter relay (part 16). I sometimes call it the daisy, others call it a solenoid. A wire goes from part 16 to a pair of starter contacts (shown as part 32). This is the starter switch that is closed when the gear wand of a BVH/ semi-auto car is moved. The wire from that switch goes back into the loom and comes out in the engine bay. it is joined (tee-ed) to a wire connected to the terminal marked ‘L’ on the voltage regulator (part 15 in the drawing). The voltage regulator provides a route to earth. When the gear wand is moved and closes the contacts of 32, it closes a path to earth through the voltage regulator. That flow of current energises the daisy/ solenoid up at the battery terminal and that bridges that gap for the big fat cable down to the starter (part 11) and the starter turns.

On the later bvh/ semi-auto cars, the reason that switch 32 is connected to the voltage regulator 15 is this: once the engine is running, the charging circuit causes a relay inside the voltage regulator to open – cutting of the circuit between the starter 32 and earth. That means that with the engine running, if you accidentally move the gear wand to the starter position, it won’t operate the starter motor. As soon as you turn the engine off, that relay in the voltage regulator closes again – ready for the next time you want to start the engine.

I can’t work out what you are converting from and to? So what components do you have/ do you want to keep? By which i mean what bits are you trying to wire together. As you converted your car to semi-auto, do you already have the daisy up at the battery (16)? Do you already have sterring/ gear column with a pair of contacts up near the gear wand for starting the car (32)? Do you have an ignition init (47) with spring loaded 1/4 turn for starting the car (manual gear change) or does your key unit only serve to connect the other circuits and release the steering lock (bvh/ semi-auto version of 47)?

based on these two drawings, if you were clearer about your starting poin and what you wanted/ needed to achieve, i’m sure we could suggest a simple and easy wiring circuit to give you an ignition solution.

[Paul Burridge]

At the end of the day, surely it’s the load that a particular wire needs to carry that determines how thick it needs to be and many cables sold are based on amps/ current. Does it really matter if it’s described using an American or UK gauge?

Peter made his own loom and used a dizzying number of colours in accordance with one or other standard. i’m sure he knows what’s what.

With a semi auto car, the car is started by moving the gear wand. With a manual gear change car, the car is started by a turn of the key. The key/ ignition unit has extra contacts so that the turned key can start the car.

If you swap from a manual box to a semi auto box and plan to have your car start using the gear wand, then you might be able to reuse your ignition unit from it’s manual days and simply not connect the wires that do the do the starting bit. The key will still turn against the spring as if to start the car, but that is (literally) a small price compared to sourcing a different ignition unit from a semi auto car.

[Paul Burridge]

My Webasto has a flimsy green spring=loaded thing that tips up as the roof is opened

But I’ve also seen far more substantial fold-up screens on Ds. This photo is from Citroen Classics.

Of course it is only of use when the roof is open. is that when you have your noise problem – or when it’s closed?

[Paul Burridge]

I did some Googling. I know the Webastos have a little spring-loaded deflector flap (and a big fold up flap?) inside for when the roof is open, but i guess you are talking about when the roof is closed.

I have a metal DS roof and donor Webasto (needs restoration) that i may/ may not fit as an alternative to air con, but it doesn’t have any external deflector. I Googled ‘Tudor webasto’ and none of the images that popped up on any cars/ models showed a deflector.

What does a vintage/ 70s defector look like? What would look ‘right’? Even something from the 80s might look better than something from the 2020s

I guess fitting a deflector of some sort is not the issue. It’s whether it makes a difference or just moves the noise problem elsewhere?

[Paul Burridge]

Peter Bremner is the man to talk to on this one. He should be along soon……

[Paul Burridge]

Hi Steve
ANOTHER fader-related question if I may…As well as having an ancient Continental Edison radio, I have bought a discrete Bluetooth receiver and amp to fit to my DS.

The radio will go through the equally ancient front/ rear fader control that came with it. I’ve had to buy a new 4 ohm front speaker and anticipate buying a 4 ohm rear speaker. i plan to add 1 ohm resistors in series to both, so that they then have the 5 ohm resistance specified by/ expected by my radio. I’m assuming that my fader control is also designed for an expected 5 ohm resistance (values of the fader resistors are in a photo in my earlier post).

I want Bluetooth to use the same parcel shelf and front dash speakers as the radio (I will wire them up so they are mutually exclusive – the Bluetooth can only be used if the radio is off). The amp is said to be suitable for resistance between 4 and 8 ohms so should be okay with 5 ohm speakers. I could wire the Bluetooth amp up directly to both speakers, but it would be nice if the bluetooth/ amp cables first went through the fader control. And so here is the question:

Given that my fader is very clunky with lots of components and was designed for a vintage radio, am i like to burn it out if I put a modern car amp through it?

As i say, I am planning to increase the resistance presented by the speakers to 5 ohms and if I understand your earlier reply it’s the resistance that governs the current drawn through the circuit/ fader.

If it helps, the Bluetooth amp spec. claims to be:

*Channel: 2
*Voltage Supply: DC12V
*Rated Input Current: 3A
*Frequency Response: 20Hz~20KHz
*RMS Power: 500W
*Output Impedance: 4-8R
*Output power: 2x18W
*The Signal Level: 200MV 47K

front speaker is the one from ‘ChromeLondon – it’s the only one i could find of the correct size. 4 ohms and claims to be 40 watts. Not bought a rear speaker yet.

Hope you can advise!

[Paul Burridge]

I’ve got this to come – then i can find out about those seals. There is still one – the long thin, flat rubber strips – that I’m not clear on at all.

[Paul Burridge]

Thank you. Here’s a scary ‘before’ photo from 2016. The car had been off the road for 16 years at that point – so 26 now. That’s nearly half it’s lifetime

[Paul Burridge]

I’m often startled by the amount of water you sometimes see during from a car exhaust – but i’m confident it’s a natural process. The D exhaust is level until it reaches the back box then the tail pipes point upwards under the boot until they terminate. Condensation gathers at the back box and only burbles out occasionally, or when the car is pointed up a slope.

As Peter says, exhausts rot out because of the condensation sitting in them. This is particularly so of the back box which runs cooler than the front box. The front box evaporates away any condensation. and it probably migrates to the back box/ pipes.

[Paul Burridge]

As a Club member you should be able to get advice from the Clubs ‘International Liaison Officer’ – but the post remains vacant.

Under the circumstances, I suggest you email Philip Chidlow. He is a Club official (a Director and also oversees display ads) but also organises trips to/ around France. So he will almost certainly know.

His email contact for his display ads role is in the back of the Citroenian magazine (display-ads@citroencarclub.org.uk) I suggest you use that and explain the circumstances. Alternatively, he can be phoned on 07777 610186 – again, that number is in the back of the Club magazine.

[Paul Burridge]

Hi.

Did you see the basic/ quick write up i did with photos?? it;s here. a work in progress but hopefully helpful.

https://ds-restoration.blogspot.com/p/draft-front-wings-glass-covers-and.html

Part 9 also holds the glass in, as does the 4,5,12,22 rod set up.

Part 2 is a shaped black rubber/ foam strip. i’ve just bought a couple of new ones 9as my old ones were all compressed) from Citroen classics.

https://shop.citroenclassics.co.uk/gasket-for-headlamp-glass-967-3115-p.asp

part 3 is indeed a flat rubber solid strip. It’s not long enough to go around the full circumference of the glass. I’ve just been out and measured one: 10.7mm wide, 1.5mm thick. It’s only 620mm long. It doesn’t glue in the light pod. It sits under the bottom edge of the glass and partly wraps around the sides. if you think about it, you don’t want glass sitting on the metal of the wing.

I think parts 3 and 21 have become muddled in the diagram in the manuals but the description of the parts is correct. There is a flimsy foam strip – like a household draught excluder seal on a door – that sits in the edge of the pod. It’s about 1300mm long.

I can’t really work out the last bit of your message about “There must be one or two more M5x16/20 items 23 x 6 (M5 x 12)”

[Paul Burridge]

How about this guy: makes his own door skins.

[Author]

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