Deep inspection and some disassembly has revealed a few more items that are in need of repair before it all goes in. The perils of buying components that have been in a crash! They're mostly minor items (although the passenger seat is bent underneath - it looks to be easily corrected though) so it's all good.

So it looks like it'll be a couple of weekends away at the least before I can get into the major work.

I've at least hooked the drivers seat up to my powered lab, and it moves in all directions. I needed to put the seat into the full-lift position so I could get to the Memory Module and harness carrier underneath. Being the nerd I am, I wanted to get it open and take snapshots of the circuit board.

Interestingly, the Memory Module has a '10 Way Barra Memory Module' sticker on the top which triggered a little excitement. So I disassembled the back of the drivers seat to see what I could make of it. Comparing the Lumbar in this seat to a single diagram in the BA Fairlane Workshop Manual Supplement, it looks like the whole Lumbar assembly needs to be replaced, and a custom motor installed, for the Lumbar + memory to work. Seeing as how there are two types of motor alreay, and every single one of them has a custom gearbox, I don't expect to be able to bodge up a Lumbar in this seat. And since the Lumbar is only optioned in the LTD, finding one will be next to impossible.

I'll hook the 6-way passenger seat up today and give it a run, as well as the Memory Mirrors. I've got all the bits for those now so hopefully they can be fired up in anger for the first time.


Luke

You don't happen to have a shifter from a 6-spd auto do you?

Correct, I don't. I have the guts of a 4-spd for the kids to play with, and so I can experiment with the tiptronic electronics.

Do you have a faulty one or just trying to get a new one? I did some reading about them, and it looks like they might have mini-CAN modules in them for Tiptronic. A 6-speed SY I played with had loads of extra broadcast messages, and the tip+ tip- message to TCM is digital according to the w/s manual, rather than the potentially flakey 'changing resistance' value provided by the 4-speed method


I have now confirmed that the Passenger seat works, but it needs some serious re-allignment. I also identified and labelled all plugs today. I had an issue locating the parcel-shelf stop light - but don't care since it's disabled in the XR's anyway. There's a large single pin female connector at the rear left passenger left shoulder area - no idea what that is. And there's an extra antenna cable for something. There's no NAVI in this harness so it doesn't look like a NAVi antenna.

Of note, however, is that the BA and BF Tiptronic connectors are the only real difference. Somewhat coincidentally topical eh?

Thankfully I have a Manual, so it's not required. Problem solved.



Lukeyson


Lukeyson

yeah, I'm trying to source one so I can play with the electronics side of it. Had I a four speed, I'd have what I want by now. The 6 speed does indeed use CAN messages for everything. Much harder to emulate.

Next I hope to simply be able to trigger whatever the shifter physically triggers. Hoping an optorelay or reed switch or something.

Hmm. I'm keen to hear more about that one.

Hopefully you'll start up a thread on your efforts and keep us informed.....!

The missus has a 4Spd Territory, so ultimately I'm keen to toy with a wheel-mounted tiptronic experiment. Specifically, a non-rotating lower-steering-column mounted unit within finger reach but not interfering with wipers or indicators. The mechanical part might be cause for a mini collaboration project.

But there are a few other things to do at my end first.....


Lukeyson

Seats submitted to the Leather Doctor for repair today. Fingers crossed. He's going to see how much it will cost to re-trim the rear seat side bolsters at the same time.


Lukeyson

off topic - i have a 6 spd auto shifter assembly

You have to lift the carpet - loom runs from behind drivers seat along a channel towards the center console (stuck down at 8 points various points - 2 behind each seat and 4 on the center console 'hump') then divides into 2 looms and the main loom carries over the center down behind the front passenger seat where it ends (well one loom anyway!), and connects to the other side loom. The other smaller divided loom runs up the center towards the front dash which has the handbrake etc.
Be aware that the standard XR looms do not have a rear footwell lighting - only the premium XR loom - found this out myself! I ended up running extra wires from the front right hand drivers piller to the center for the rear footwell lighting.

Hmm. You reckon the Premium XR loom has the rear footwell light line? I couldn't find anything on mine when I looked ages ago, but then I didn't pull the carpet up. My car didn't have side airbags though.

I did the same thing as you and ran an extra line from the front footwell lamps to power the rear footwell lamp by splicing a connector into the Dash loom before I swapped to DZ.

I've straightened up the passenger seat tonight. Much better. But it still seems to me to have a designed tendency to point toward the centreline of the car. Is that normal? Nothing looks bent anymore underneath.


Lukeyson

Should be straight - I tightened the front outside bolt first then ran the seat back and forwards a few times then tightened the front inner bolt. If I didnt do it this way it would point slightly towards the center and would not lock into position correctly. Drivers seat was the same - front outside bolt first then slide back and forward a few times then inner front bolt.

It sounds like you're talking about seats without motors. I think there's even a TSB about seats that don't latch properly because they weren't installed in allignment as you say.

But both the passenger and drivers seat from the BF Fairlane are powered, so there's no locking mechanism or lever here. I'll have a closer look now you mention it though.


Lukeyson

 

 

Attachments:

File comment: Before IMG_3094_WEB.jpg [ 35.6 KiB | Viewed 237 times ]

File comment: After IMG_3106_WEB.jpg [ 33.78 KiB | Viewed 213 times ]

File comment: The 'point to centreline' I mentioned. Looking at it, I might be able to adjust it out using the movement in the 4 mount pins. IMG_3105_WEB2.jpg [ 105.18 KiB | Viewed 251 times ]

How about the risers to the left and the right of the dashboard? These bits go to the door connectors, the roof loom on the RHS, and the tweeters on both sides.

Did getting that bit swapped require a dash-out?

I'm hoping to get away without the Dash-Out. A carpet-lift is OK (not completely remove, but it's coming up.) but a dash out will peeve me off a bit, mainly because of all the extra wiring I've run under there for audio boosters, video converters, bluetooth kits, electronic brake boosters etc.


Lukeyson

Last edited by Lukeyson on Thu Apr 24, 2008 10:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I got the seats back today that I was having straightened up a bit. Quite an improvement. Not perfect, but better.


The kids seats will hide the worst of what's left for a few years...



Lukeyson

 

 

Attachments:

File comment: Rear Base Passenger Side After RearBasePassAfter_WEB.jpg [ 28.11 KiB | Viewed 215 times ]

File comment: Rear Base Passenger Side Before RearBasePassBefore_WEB.jpg [ 28.1 KiB | Viewed 199 times ]

File comment: Rear Single After RearSingleAfter_WEB.jpg [ 26.35 KiB | Viewed 218 times ]

File comment: Rear Single Before RearSingleBefore_WEB.jpg [ 24.96 KiB | Viewed 204 times ]

Last edited by Lukeyson on Thu Apr 24, 2008 10:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

And more...

 

 

Attachments:

File comment: Rear Base Drivers Side Before RearBaseDriversBefore_WEB.jpg [ 28.43 KiB | Viewed 221 times ]

File comment: Rear Base Drivers Side After RearBaseDriverAfter_WEB.jpg [ 29.01 KiB | Viewed 215 times ]

I did mine without pulling out the dash - used builders spaghetti to run down the side of the dash then pulled up the new loom. The only thing I could not do was mount the loom down on the chassis.