[Paul Burridge]

I’m one year+ behind with my blog – but i will update it with posts on key milestones. With the help of a friend i recently refitted my roof. I removed it in 2000 and it’s not been back on since! As a consequence, I was so stressed out about the refit that i didn’t take any photos….

As well as English language manuals i also download French (and German). i find that the translations in the English versions are not always correct and diagrams and part numbers get muddled…. I’ve pointed some of these out to tony and helped him correct a few. I’ve also downloaded a lot of the ‘Notes d’Information’ and ‘notes technique’ that were sent out to dealers. these help to make sense of some of the changes in the parts books and repair manuals.

[Paul Burridge]

Hi
Tony is still active updating and correcting various manuals. He also works to simply improve the quality of the images/ words. Tony has had occasional trouble with his site – with it’s provider renaming and deleting links to many files, plus losing access to his own files!

I’ve checked this morning and this Dropbox link to his ‘green fluid’ folders was working.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/sh9wavmri1ejtsokag5kl/AFw5jdVQS2d0hllnQxdRnLY?rlkey=bvelxdi33vs3d90y2h442v5vh&e=4&st=t2os6lgo

Rather than go online to access the manuals, i download a copy to keep on my laptop. for that reason i’ve suggested to tony that he puts some kind of date or version control on a file when he updates it. i don’t think that’s happened yet so i either live with a good – but not latest version or periodically re-download.

I scoop up manuals from a variety of sites – including Jint’s. Some years ago i wrote this:

https://ds-restoration.blogspot.com/p/citroen-factory-workshop-manuals.html

Some of those other links (‘HD19’ etc) are worth following up.

It’s also worth going through Tony’s ‘red fluid’ files

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/9loakb722py9pn0ki2mp1/AGIEFllsTSvNLx6-wevnumc?rlkey=wkfhm2ur4qnkacgd2k2lxx760&e=1

And his General files

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ksobj5cxt5vz0ytyzccwo/AL4_Htqueb0spIhbHCg8cDs?rlkey=ss1m5ngj2jdouv8sgdugbxu6c&e=1

[Paul Burridge]

Is it really as drastic as that? I don’t have an eft so am denied the joys of a throttle cable.

I would always try the simplest solution first but equally be prepared tp have to go the difficult route if it doesn’t work out. What is the risk with trying to re-thread? is it that the end might catch and/ or fray as you thread it?

the Citroen car Club have started a new private facebook group just for CCC members. It’s worth joining that Group and asking there too.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/citroenianclub/about

[Paul Burridge]

Hello again
Olivier at French Classics manages to turn up some very nice cars. Yes, your timing is good for the D Rally. you can ask about potential purchases there and might even find something for sale.

Like you, bodywork is NOT my Superpower.I think the jury’s out on doors. Whether you buy old doors or new doors, some kind of significant work (repair or Fettling) is going to be necessary. I judged it to be beyond my skills and so got my car painter to also fettle my new doors.

[Paul Burridge]

I’ll let Peter answer about the relay, but it might help our shared understanding if i tried to unpack the rest of your post.

“On most of the plan layouts it makes the stick a negative switch”. Yes. That just means that – sequentially – the switch is after the solenoid coil on the battery and between the coil and earth/ ground (as opposed to being between the battery and the solenoid coil).

“When I rebuilt the car we put the original starter motor, along with the relay” (in this context, I’m assuming by ‘relay’ you mean the solenoid that piggybacks on the starter motor?)

“what I have done is to join wires from the starter motor and starter relay together” So being manual gear change at the moment, the car has two cables going down to the starter – one fat (to turn the starter) and the other thin (to operate the solenoid).

“and fitted the two wires to a 32amp solenoid”. So up near the battery (in other words NOT at the starter end) you’ve joined the two wires together and fitted those to ONE terminal/ prong of a new 32amp relay – probably a bolt head?

“with another cable going going from the battery positive to the other large bolt head”. Do you mean you’ve connected a length of fat cable from the battery to another terminal on your 32amp relay?

“This solenoid also has two prongs to take a one wire from the stick to one of the prongs and the other prong on the solenoid to the negative of the battery so when the stick is activated the engine should fire up. ” I think I understand and it sounds correct – as long as you’ve connected things to the right terminals/ prongs: when you operate the gear stick, power flows into the relay and out to the battery earth. Within the relay, that action connects the fat cable from the battery to the two cables (fat and thin) that go down to the starter. The thin cable will operate the solenoid on top of the battery which (1) closes the bridge to connect the fat cable to the starter motor and (2) throws out the starter pinion so that the starter engages with the flywheel.

“But I am checking to ensure I do not cause a fire or short circuit”. Providing you have connected fat and thin cables to the right ‘prongs’ on your 32 amp relay, I can’t see why you should have a problem. how did you settle on a 32 amp relay? Was that advice from somewhere like Citroen Classics? If so, then again i would not expect you to have a problem.

“There is also a rubber button on the end of the solenoid so as to enable one to turn over the engine when the ignition key is operated one can start the car by just pressing the button on the solenoid.” that sound the same as the ‘proper” DS solenoid:you can press the button and the starter turns. if you put the ignition key in and turn circuits on and then press the button – the engine could/ will start because the key is what controls current to the ignition coil..

have i understood you correctly?
Paul

[Paul Burridge]

Hi John
I probably wrote something very similar last time but if it helps again:

the later (1969 onwards) cars start with a turn of a key. Since a bvh car starts with the gearstick and not the key, its ignition unit doesn’t need the two extra wires for car starting. Nor does it have a spring loaded return for the key (whereby on a manual car you turn the key a 1/4 turn against the spring, the car starts and the the spring forces the key back.

If you already have an ignition unit for a manual car I can’t see why you couldn’t connect up all the same wires that used for bvh EXCEPT the two that are used for car starting. For peace of mind though, you might seek out a proper bvh unit – though that won’t be cheap.

Above you say you have “two connectors for the stick”. My thinking above re: key/ starter assumes that the gearstick you use for bvh will have the start contacts on it.

starter relay: are you referring to the relay connected to the positive terminal of the battery? It is something a lot bigger because it connects the battery to the fat cable going down to the starter. It is the part labelled ’16’ in the diagram in the previous thread on this subject. So no – 16 is not a standard relay.You can buy reproductions that look and function like the Citroen original – though i don’t think the quality is as good. Alternatively people have fitted relays from land rovers and other vehicles.

[Paul Burridge]

Sean Fontain wrote:

Just checking are the front spheres set at 75 bar on the Ds?

Depends on the type of sphere.

the older split spheres (with a fat band around the waist) should be 59 bar for the front.

Very late in production (1975?) Citroen started fitting some cars with welded spheres. those were 75 bar.

In terms of spheres available now, i’ve seen welded spheres offered for sale with 75 bar, but also offered with 59 bar! And of course welded spheres are used on other later Citroens, so some are sold as being suitable for a DS but are not really.

[Paul Burridge]

And today an ideal day for polishing the windscreen. I have vague memories (we’re talking late 1990s) of night driving being difficult because of wiper scratches on the screen: a hazy sheen all across the line of vision. The screen also has a few stone chips but i’m not attempting to reduce those.Polishing is quite a messy process, so i thought it best to do it before the screen went on the car.

The screen sports French tax and insurance certificates for 91/92, so that is probably the last time it was used there. It also sports a UK Jan 1999 expiry tax disc, meaning I took it off the road some time after that and cashed the next tax disc back in.

[Paul Burridge]

Thank you Peter. I couldn’t believe how nicely they came up – especially as I’d failed to make an impact with isopropanol alcohol.

When i dug them out they were wrapped in old newspaper dated 2002. And i think I must have removed them before that even. So for all that time i’d been dreading trying (and failing) to clean them. In the end they cleaned up quickly and nicely and I’ve already put them back in the car.

The front ‘Citroen’ seatbelts came out well too. I have three.

it’s tempting to think they they all started out the same colour but that two faded. however the stitching colour is different and the lighter ones are light even in their dimmest recesses – so not fading. Also, I’ve seen photos of other cars with the same light coloured belts.

My interior is brown, so maybe I’ll get them re-webbed in gold or brown one day. I’m just waiting for the rear seatbelts to dry.

[Paul Burridge]

I’d guess about £120 per sphere rebuild – on top of you providing your old sphere. It’s essentially what Darrin and Citroen Classics offer. Going direct to Plaiedes might be marginally cheaper but I think they hang on to your spheres, rebuild them and send you the same ones back – so there is a time delay. Providing he has them on his shelf, Darrin will send you a different pair of spheres, so the turnaround is quicker.

a couple of years ago I p/x’d a pair of old spheres through Darrin. To negate postage costs i timed my purchase so that I could collect the new spheres at the June D rally – where i also handed over my old ones.

[Paul Burridge]

Not sure I understand what you mean there Sean?

[Paul Burridge]

I’ve got split spheres with removable dampers – the kind that can be dismantled. Providing (a) you get the right shims and (b) you know what shim combinations to use, you can alter the behaviour of the spheres.

[Paul Burridge]

can’t give you an opinion as a user but i think – being softer – they mean more body roll when cornering hard, but give more of a ‘waft’ in general driving.

[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.

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