Jafia

So a stupid question :P How do you change a headlight globe in a BF Falcon. I'm use to the older models where is was simple to change the globes, and honestly from the looks of it looks like a pain in the bum :/

So all my new toys arrived for the old girl, A brand new stereo and today I picked up the wiring harnesses in order to connect it up.... Yay! Finally a stereo that works in my car, *wees* So I plug everything in connect it all up and..... NOTHING Yep, plain old boring nothing, no lights on the new stereo, nada. So it looks like no stereo for me still until I can figure out what the hell I am doing wrong or if there is actually an issue with the car causing the stereo not to work... Any ideas? The next option is to throw money at auto elec, which I'd rather not do if it's something simple that I can fix myself....

yep

Heh, fuses were the first thing I checked. Although I suspect I missing something, there is no actual fuse labelled 'stereo/radio or similar. but I checked the accessory fuse and a few others but all are fine. Then borrowed a multi meter.... Seems like there is no power coming through the wiring for the stereo, so it looks like I'm gonna have to take her to auto elec after all and hopefully see if they can diagnose what the issue is... knowing my luck, it will be something stupid... Well this just proves it when it comes to car stereos I am cursed... I only ever seem to have problem after problem when it comes to them :/

Ok, so I've finally decided to get of my butt and actually install a functioning stereo in my old girl, after 18 monhs of no stereo it is finally getting to me. So today I thought I'd actually give it a go and have a look at what I could do with it... So I found an old head unit, from one of my old cars, and looking at the plug on it, I'm not entirely sure what is happening with the wiring, old dodgy job :/ or let alone whether or not the plug will even fit the old girl and don't even get me started on the bloody anti theft screws holding the original head unit in. So I failed miserably, need tools and from what I could gather a different plug than I have on the head unit. Ultimately I know I need to just bite my bum and buy a new head unit, would be easier, however, having to get a new fan clutch installed and rego all in one week has broken the bank and nope, no funds, so I'd figure I'd at least see what I could do to get me through until I buy a new one... But I'm feeling a bit outta my depths here. Does anyone here happen to know what kind of stereo plug an 1994 NC Fairlane has and whether or not I could get a converter to fit it to an old *cough* very old Sony Stereo unit? Pictures if possible would be good for me to be able to wrap the old brain around it, I've tried google, but that's proving somewhat of a headache too.... TIA

*wees self* new toys I ordered in for my old girl are starting to arrive...

Brand spankers, it'd wanna be for the price :/

Yep, the faster I'd go the hotter she'd get and the warmer weather didn't help either. I had an almost identical problem this time last year and the my mechanic at the time contributed ito to clogged radiator fins, which cleaning them out fixed the issue. I have a new mechanic now, when I took it in he diagnosed the problem straight away. Now I hear a slightly different sound in my car, a fan that is actually working at full capacity Also makes the car sound meaner lol

Ok, so after further investigation, and the rightt tools, I am a few steps closer to finally having a stereo. I decided to make the 50km trip to the nearest car parts store, the joys of country living, athough it did give me a chance to test the new fan clutch and I'm thrilled, she's back to her normal cool self. Here's a pic of her standard running temp at 100km/h in 30 degree weather with the air con: And people wonder why I start getting worried when the needle goes to half way, So anyway, I found out the plug type I have in the Fairlane: Figure it might help someone who was wondering. So I've ordered in a few parts to convert the current plug in my car so I can just 'plug and play' another stereo, although, I'm thinking I am going to need to buy a new stereo... Bum... At least I'm a few steps closer to having a stereo installed. Another interesting thing... The more I delve into the bits on the old girl... oh that sounds rude The more things I notice that a factory standard but somewhat different to the general standard, almost like the original purchaser added on a lot of factory extras, if that's even possible for the Fairlanes considering it is the luxury model...

So recently I have had some electrical Gremlins showing up in poor ol' sqeak (1994, NC, Fairlaine Ghia) First it was a blown dashlight, not biggie, could still see all the readings, and when the headlights were on the main dashlights were also on. Recently they've gotten worse, they other week, the dashlights when the headlights were on started flicking on and off, then a about a week ago they refuse to come on, which also means my warning sound when I leave my headlights on also doesn't sound (it's disturbing how reliant I've become on that little sound Anyway, today I noticed that my tail lights are also dead and brake lights too. Reverse lights work and the back brake light on the parcel shelf work though. Fuses are okay, spent the time to check those. Next need to check the globes for the tail and brake lights, although I suspect that will not do much, usually one globe will go not both and usually you will get brakes but no tail lights or vice versa, and both at once, not unheard of I suppose, but I suspect unlikely. I am suspecting a short somewhere *sigh* which will mean off to an auto elec, because I know nothing about the electrical side of things in cars Anyone had any similar issues? What turned out to be the problem? And expensive to fix?

I am an IDIOT!!! After taking a better look in the daylight, I realised that I didn't check the Tail Lamp Relay, so I replaced that... Yep it was dead, although still had no brake lights, turns out that although I thought it was unlikely both bulbs were blown... $10 and 5 mins time and I have no more gremlins in the electrics *phew* and more $$ to actually spend on getting her a decent service and a bit of TLC

I took her to my local mechanic, who was kind enough to test the battery and alternator for me free of charge

Ok, so I have just noticed an issue with my 1994 Fairlaine Ghia. Just today, I noticed on startup that she is very weak to start, cranks slowly and then starts. Usually in my experience that signals something is usually wrong with a) the battery or b ) the alternator... Joy. Thing is I am not seeing any battery light come on which usually means it not the alternator, but, usually, the battery light in any other Ford and car for that matter that I've owned, when you turn the car to ACC, the battery light will come on and stay in until you start and then turn off. In this car, I can't for the life of me find the 'battery light' when I do this. So now I am starting to wonder, where is it for a start, and could the issue be alternator related. Another issue is as well, the back dash light is blown, whilst I can still see the speedo, etc they are just dim, and well to get a light changed, I been quoted up here a ridiculous price of ~$200 due to the work involved of pulling out the dash, could this be an issue with the 'non-existent' battery light'? Checked it just before, turned lights, etc on and started the car to gain further symptoms, and as I was expecting, as the engine slowly cranked and started, all lights dimmed significantly, high beams became park lights basically and the interior lights also dimmed. It signals to me that there is not enough charge somewhere. The battery is less than two years old, but I also know that doesn't always mean that it's not the battery. Also if the alternator was not charging the battery properly, I would've thought that the battery would be completely dead after the amount of driving I did today, which leads me to think perhaps it's the regulator, although again that usually causes the battery light to come on intermittently. I honestly feel like I am missing something obvious with the battery light issue... Any suggestions? Obviously I will be taking the car to a mechanic as soon as I am able, I'm just trying to figure this out... TIA

So it turns out both the battery and alternator are fine, the problem lies with the starter motor, it's on it's way out....

Double post

Yeah, I also thought $200 was a bit steep myself, but it's also the joys of very few auto elecs out my way that can deal with it and yeah, I could try and do it myself, but the problem that I face with cluster, is I have absolutely no idea what I am doing, despite researching, and don't want to pull it apart and find I stuffed something up. Hence why I still haven't got it fixed. It still lights up and is still visible. so that's what matters... Been thinking it's the battery, Which is a pain, but with all the driving I do and the heat we've been getting up my way, wouldn't surprise me if the battery is on its way out, the main thing that confused me I guess is not being able to find the battery light at all. But I guess this one is different and perhaps the battery light doesn't come on when turned to ACC and only comes on when there actually is an issue

Cheers. When she's been washed, she looks like a completely different car, pity it doesn't stay clean for very long. She's also a dream to drive, best car I ever owned, driving along the highways around here I have to make sure I engage cruise control, otherwise I find I'm doing 120km/h instead of 100 lol. For her age, she's in pretty good nick

Not entirely sure where to post this so I hope in here is okay So, at the risk of sounding like a dumb female here I am just trying to work out a few things with my NC Fairlane Ghia... In a few weeks, if things go as hoped, I should be moving soon, Whoo, now more dirt roads and 'off road' driving for poor old squeak, I am planning on hooking up a trailer and moving that way to save $$$, plus I am a tight arse lol. There are two options for caged trailers, a 8 x 5 or a 15 x 6. I am just wondering being a Ghia which trailer would be best to use, or better still, the max towing capacity for the old girl, as I don't want to put too much strain on the engine. If it was the old EA Falcon I use to have I would've chucked the large trailer on it as that car before I bought it off my folks towed a 18ft caravan. However, this is a significantly different car, and am just curious.... Any input would be appreciated

Well I'm a complete twit, after taking a closer look at my towball, and clearing some dust it states the capacity on it... 1200kg, Stupid female moment perhaps? The sooner I get away from dirt roads the better. So that being said I think the smaller sized trailer would be the better idea. Probably the heaviest items are the fridge, bed and couch. I'm moving size wise the equivalent of a two bedroom house, so not exactly a lot and I always spread the heavier items out across the loads anyway

Dex - This pic shows the towball on my car, probably not the best pic, but it's a bit too dark out now for a better pic. Dean, - I understand where you're coming from, however due to location, the nearest truck hire company is around 160km away, and all have 'limits' of around 100km per day, after that limit they charge you through the butt per extra km. :/ Sorry for some reason I cant get the pic to show :/

Ok, so I have a question about my 1994 NC Fairlaine Ghia, just today I have noticed that she is running hotter than normal, not overheating, but running warmer and with previous experiences with Alloy heads, I know to pay attention and figure out what is causing it, before it causes a bigger issue. She's sitting between the 1/4 and 1/2 mark on the temp gauge when driving on the highways, usually she'll sit below the 1/4 mark with the air conditioner going, however, today I haven't dared to turn the air con con. The only other times she has got that warm, is at a particular point just outside of Melbourne with all the hills, however dropped back down as soon as I get over the hills. I'm thinking that it is possibly a failing thermostat, so I have brought one and plan on installing it tomorrow. Just wanting to pick your brains, is this usually typical of a faulty thermostat? Usually when I've had one die, the engine gets so hot it pushes up towards the red. I'm hoping that's all it is because it's a cheap fix, my other concern is could it be something else? I'm probably being a bit of worrier, but just trying to figure this issue out before it gets worse and causes significant damage...

Yep, that's the next thing I'm investing in

Problem Fixed I have my girl running back at her normal cool self. Good thing I stuck to my guns, the mechanic tried telling me half way was still normal, however I told them for my car it's warm and best to pay attention to changes in the cooling system. They pulled out the radiator and thanks to all the mud and dirt up here, it was clogged up, with grass seeds, dirt and other crap. Dave you were spot on with the issue $200 and 4 hours later and the radiators been cleaned, a new air filter and alternator belt has been installed. I took her for a nice long drive yesterday (200km) and she barely got above cool and sat below 1/4 just like she normally does, I can rest easy now and no longer stress... which also means now me and the other half can get back to work

Just thought I'd update, spoke with mechanic this morning, common issue up here at the moment since the heat has started is clogged radiators thanks to all the dirt up here and mud from all the rains, she's booked in Wednesday for a radiator clean out, so hopefully things go as planned and I have my girl up and running at her normal cool self, will post again on Wednesday to let you all know the outcome Thanks everyone for all you help, greatly appreciated

Never use just water, always use coolant...