4 pin device on back of speedo on s1 eclat

[mat grant]

Hi all,

 

I'm looking at the instrument binnacle from the eclat, on mine there is a small rectangular device with 4 spade connectors, 2 male and 2 female. From looking at the wiring diagram, plus looking at the loom, the only thing I can think it could be is the "voltage stabiliser".

 

Can anyone confirm what this is?

 

On my car I'm fitting the binnacle from an excel se and have a toyota alternator, do I need the voltage stabiliser?

 

Any suggestions welcome....

 

Thanks, Mat.

 

 

[USAndretti42]

I suspect it is the voltage regulator but I don't know for certain. However, I would be certain that you still need it even with a Toyota alternator as the instruments that use the stabiliser such as the fuel gauge, temperature gauge, etc. run at a lower voltage than the 14V the alternator puts out. This is so the instruments work OK when the voltage is a bit low.

[mat grant]

Hi,

 

Thanks, is it only the guages that need it then? If so that would explain it's location on the back of the instruments. Does an excel SE (VDO guages) have the same need for a voltage stabiliser? Those are the guages I am using. Looking through the wiring diagrams for the excel I haven't spotted a voltage stabiliser.

 

Thanks, Mat.

[Clive59]

The voltage stabiliser is only used for the temperature and fuel gauge on the Elite/Eclat. I would guess that the Excel would have one. They put out 10V so the gauges work properly for any normal battery voltage range. The Elite/Eclat ones are simple bimetal ones which give a crude 10V average. Basically max battery for a period, then 0V, then max....so that the average is 10V. Since the Smiths gauges have such a slow response it is fine, but my experience with VDO would say you would probably have a solid state one buried somewhere, as the VDO ones are probably much faster response.

[mat grant]

Hi,

 

Thanks, hopefully this is integrated into the instruments themselves on the VDO gauges, otherwise I'll look harder for a voltage stabiliser. The excel is famous for the fuel gauge to fluctuate quite a lot, someone has designed a "bodge box" I think with capacitance, to steady the gauge so it doesn't go up and down all the time as you go round corners.

 

The excel gauges have a multiplug connector (much neater than the spagetti style of the elite/eclat) which I am splicing onto the eclat loom, as virtually all the functions are the same. So hopefully no external voltage stabiliser function is needed.

 

On my eclat the gauges were one of the few things that actually did work properly - apart from the oil pressure mechanical gauge - you sometimes had to tap it with your finger to make it work - in the old British car style(!)

 

But the location of the gauges was not to my liking and the tally lights for indicator etc were very hard to see, resulting in a near miss from leaving an indicator on - which is when I decided to change the dash to improve this. Having a different (toyota) engine and an excel SE as a source of parts, i decided to use the binnacle and instruments from the excel. This is a bit of a mission in itself and is still in progress(!)

 

Thanks for the info though, all useful stuff.

 

Cheers, Mat.

[Clive59]

Photos please? sounds interesting.

[mat grant]

Yeah it's about time I figured out how to get photos on here!

 

I've only test fitted it in the car so far, It all fits with the heater in place, I bought an very scruffy elite dash for £10 to experiment with, cut it down to fit the excel SE pod and was able to get it into a good position with the instrument cluster at a nice distance and angle.

 

I've still got a couple of things to do with the heater controls, then the heater can go in, then the loom (once finished) can go in, the wiring is about 2 weeks of work on it's own because of all the parts I'm fitting.

 

I'll post up some photos.

 

Mat.

[USAndretti42]

Instructions on posting photos and videos are here

[mat grant]

ok here is a photo (hopefully)

 

the dash binnacle has been moved down slightly compared to this photo as this photo was taken beofre putting it in the car, the excel binnacle lower part is below the steering column, but the eclat is above, which means I'll have to improvise on the part which covers the indicator and wiper stalks.

 

I'm hoping to make it so that the binnacle part. can be separated in situ from the dash, which will make installing / uninstalling the dash much easier, but if necessary for strength and rigidity i'll fix it permanently to the eclat dash.

 

The excel instruments are on a steel plate, and on a multi connector, so a lot easier to remove than the eclat ones, which have individual wires going to lamps and instruments. I'm going to copy that technique with a piece of aluminium in the left part of the binnacle (previously housed the excel heater control and vents). In there I have to house the radio (or heater/aircon control panel if the heater doesn't work in the position I want to put it, where the radio usually is - got the idea from Dunc), the excel clock, hazard switch, power socket, heated seat switches if they don't fit at the bottom part), climate control temp knob etc etc.

 

I'm using the button that used to be the ice detection module display to house the "check engine" light, I've got front and rear excel fog light buttons - not sure what to do about these, as I've got no front or rear foglights, although I could fit rear foglights as I've got an S2 rear bumper.

 

The lower section of the dash centre from the eclat dash will stay as it is, I've cut the metal backing in half, the bottom part has to be kept because of where the vents come out, the cutoff point is where the old eclat heater controls were.

 

Eventually I'd like to get matching wood veneer finishing like the excel SE for all three parts, to make it look nice.I've got the two excel pieces, but the left part won't work any more, and I need the new bottom part.

 

I've also attached pics of the Siemens motors which I've used to replace the originals, they are from a recent vauxhall Corsa, and have a 4 speed resistor, so I can use 4 speed settings from the mazda heater control unit.

 

 

[The Nut]

Mat,

 

Almost certainly its the voltage stabiliser, on my S2 Eclat it also feeds the radio and digital clock as well as the gauges.

John