Wouldn’t that be a more accurate test if the pot had more water and the thermostats were suspended in the water rather then sitting on the bottom of the pot.
May just be an illusion but in the photo looks like the stats are sitting on the bottom of the pot.
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you are probably right…
Looks like the wax capsule is submerged, it’s not that accurate either way
The thermostats tested should certainly not be in contact with the pot metal, Wayne. It renders the test meaningless or, at best, inconclusive as the thermostats are heated by the metal - not the water…
Frank
xj6 85 Sov Europe (UK/NZ)
That was my thoughts exactly.
Let`s not overthink this… the water was heated in a water heater. Then poured into the pot. Of course it had metal to metal contact but I was merely trying to figure out if one opens before the other. And it did.
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I have nver understood why a car with an 82c
T\stat is less likely to overheat than one withan 88C t\stat. Nor will an 82C t\sta “fix” n un derperforming cooling system.
Aye, the 88C will allow more efficient use of the fuel.
And, some claim that the 82C T’stat will allow and engine to develop more power.
In my view, the numbers are close enough so as to function just fie in the real word.
MY lump functions fine with a 90C stat. Ho, medium or cold weather. Well, our cod is mild compared to that in Germany. been there , done that.
Carl
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So somhow the bottom of the 3 bolts holding the thermostat housing while lubed up perfectly seems to no longer grab. I do not understand it but as usual if there is a way for my car to be a PIA it will do it…
The headlights seem to be more of a problem than I anticipated. Yes David was correct that all the bulbs were broken. That is unfortunately only half of the story. I have changed all the bulbs with new ones or verified old one from the parts car.
I get no power on the high beams on the right. H1 and H5.
The low beams in the outer H5 is fine on both sides.
The bottom front fog lights seem to get nothing either.
I have checked all fuses under the steering wheel. on the passenger side and under the hood and they are all original Lucas with papers in them and they are all fine as far as continuity on a multi meter.
Even the spare one are still there. I suppose the next step is to figure out where the current stops. I will take some sandpaper to the fuse box and figure out if there is juice being delivered there and if not I guess I will more up towards the light switch. A better wiring diagram would help a lot if anyone has one.
As far as inspection I can probably live without the fog ones but I need the High beams to work.
Anyone have a better wiring guide for the S3? The fog lights are not even on this one. Also this fuse box has 5 not 4. No idea what #1 is for…There is 12V on that one!
1 is for the fan…
Goes to red relay
[quote=“XJFamilyJag, post:1334, topic:400182, full:true”]
So somhow the bottom of the 3 bolts holding the thermostat housing while lubed up perfectly seems to no longer grab. I do not understand it but as usual if there is a way for my car to be a PIA it will do it…
[unqoute]
**
It would be very unusual for the threads in the manifold to fail, Max - is the very long bolt long enough. Compare to the spare car’s…?
[quote]
I get no power on the high beams on the right. H1 and H5.
The low beams in the outer H5 is fine on both sides.
The bottom front fog lights seem to get nothing either.
I suppose the next step is to figure out where the current stops. I will take some sandpaper to the fuse box and figure out if there is juice being delivered there and if not I guess I will more up towards the light switch. A better wiring diagram would help a lot if anyone has one.
[unqoute]
The wiring diagram shown is good enough for this purpose be aware that the two 35A fuses serve ‘high’ beams. One for ‘right’ and one for ‘left’ (inners and outes) - the ‘right’ wiring loom crosses over the crosspiece over the radiator.
The wires from the light relay (not shown) has the same colors as the diagram, but since the ‘left’ side is working as it should; the relay is working as it should. As is the light switch - however, the fog lights is designed only to operate with the light switch to ‘fog’. In US that position is blocked, but all Europeans should have it. And the fog wiring from the light switch is separate, and is separately fused (#15).
When searching for power ‘lost’ it’s advisable to use a test lamp rather than a voltmeter…
Frank
xj6 85 Sov Europe (UK/NZ)
Alright I figured out this one. Looks like this bullet connector was just getting very very hot and barely letting anything to the lamps. So I need to clean that but the fog lights now work.
Everything in the fuse box was cleaned seems to work fine.
After that I figured it would be a good idea to start looking under the rubber parts of the bullet connectors… Boy those things suck. They are in terrible shape! No wonder the Voltage is so low. I have my work cut out for me. I guess I will be spending some quality time cleaning up a million of them under the bonnet.
Spoiler alert. All the lights on the front end are now working as they should!
Happy MaX 
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You richly deserve any success coming yopur way, Max!
Frank
xj6 85 Sov Europe (UK/NZ)
1 Like
umm, no, as I noted earlier, you are lucky if you can get these bolts out, steel bolts, alloy mani, the female thread in the manifold will be stripped out, those long ones are bad for it, same as the Otter switch fasteners
I now almost always use thermal cycling in these situations, and my failure rate has reduced significantly
How exactly do you “thermal cycle”, @Frank_Andersen ?
I work in IT so know what “power cycling” means - you turn it off and back on again - so does thermal cycle mean you heat and cool something?
Perfect timing as I’m swapping a thermostat this weekend. Last time I did it there was no problem but…
I posted that answer, and I normally just use a butane torch
for larger fasteners, you can use MAPP gas, oxy, or even a stick welder held on the head of the fastener and/or the surrounding boss
I normally just let it cool naturally, or spray penetrant
I will do this a few times before I even try to turn the fastener
The problem is bi-metallic reaction, which turns the softer metal to white dust
The issue is exarcerbated by fluid and electrical potential difference
I think that is what happened… It came out without a hitch as it had a ton of lubricant on it placed there by me when I put things back together. I honestly thought I snapped it putting it back in but it does not look broken. Kind of an unnecessary pain. At some point this car needs to understand I am not giving up… and maybe it will surrender! But I will check the bolt situation today because the engine is dry at the moment.
Yes… The female inner thread is garbage. I took it off and tried to re-
tap it. Looked like It would sort of work by the resistance in the tap. I resembled carefully but at the slightest start of pressure it just gave in again.
Alright I guess that’s me! One Lucky Jag owner.
The idiot inside me wants to keep it original so that begs the question. I have a same length 3/8 NF24 that would work. It is quite a bit larger but of course fine thread. I do have the tap set for it on hand.
Alternatively I would have to get something closer in size in Metric somehow making very non stock. Anything non metric would be hard to find without dropping 20€ in shipping and waiting for weeks.
I really do not want this to leak either. Nothing is easy huh…
I would go with what’s the easiest Max.
Many will see, few will understand.
More like the other way around and nobody will ever know
Max,
I perfectly understand your desire to keep this as close to original as possible. It is not only for looks, but your daughter one day might be replacing this water pump and curse the guy who mixed one metric bolt into an imperial car … so, yes, count me into the few who understand!
Of course, it is a royal pain to mail order each fastener, but then there might be a couple - actually, quite a crowd, since you’re located in the Rhine army heartland - of British wheel experts around your location … no matter whether Landies or MG. If you tell them your story and build a relation I bet they will pass you a large box with old bolts and let you pick one that fits.
Good luck and great job with the lights!
Jochen
75 XJ6L 4.2 auto (UK spec)
1 Like