Technical Trivia Five
compiled by Jim Werner
From the Healey Internet Mailing List (HML), referenced sources and the cobwebs of my mind (JW)
Turn signal flashing too fast? Bill Wilding has this problem so we asked the internet group for a response. — The flasher unit's rate is determined by current flow. The More current drawn the slower it flashes. If it is flashing too fast this is an indication you have a burned out bulb (Front, rear or dash indicator) or one of these bulbs is the wrong type (e.g., Lower wattage than normal).
You do not have a short in the circuit as this would cause the flasher to go too slow. On the other hand this could be caused by a high resistance connector at the lamp housing or any of the bullet connectors in the wiring to the turn signal lamps. (HML)
One of the frustrations with driving a BJ8 occurs with the top down. The dash mounted rear view mirror often reflects the hood cover and not the road behind. First be sure the mirror is correctly positioned. The mirror stem contacts the mirror below center on a BJ8 and can be 180 degrees out resulting in a lower mirror. I recently recovered my dash pad and made two modifications. I traced the base of the mirror onto 1/4” wood and cut two shims equal to the base of the mirror. One I glued under the dash pad where it contacts the car. The other was glued between the top of the dash pad frame (removing the foam) and the mirror. The result is the mirror now sits 1/2 higher. (JW)
Added fuse protection--Several circuits in the Healey are not fused. In case of rear end collision a electrical meltdown could erupt. Also the rear harness tends to abrade as it passes over the rear axle. Here are two tips off the Internet: I was also advised by several to add fusing to the rear running lights as they are not fused. In checking the wiring diagram I found that the front running are not fused either. I decided therefore to fuse the #41 red wire coming off the S1 terminal of the light switch. This line feeds the front, rear and panel lights. Use a 9 amp fuse. Also the rear license lamp is not fused. At the end of BJ8 production an in line fuse was placed in the boot for protection. (HML)
