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Ok Matt, yes its nice to get a diagnosis & pin down any defective components. If anyone wants to take any condensers to W&P I shall have my megger with me in the Shorland. If anyone wants screened HT cables tested for leakage I can test up to 50 gigohms at 2.5 kv

Matt that would be fine. But if you send me that SAE, I'll test yours out of interest & I'm sure I have a new one here you can have & I'll test it first & put it in the bag!

I have a fair number of official manuals covering vehicle movement from the ASC through to RLC, nowhere can I find any reference to the term of ground pressure. However the term might be of use with a tracked vehicle in consideration of soft ground, at least here the surface area of the tracks & weight would be known.

Matt as chance would have it there is an empty package for a LR condenser in front of me. It is labelled Intermotor 33710

I would second that. It really is the way to go, I've done that to two B60s. Do it now & starting getting of peace of mind with one less thing to worry about. It is easy to remove if you ever change to another Ferret or upgrade to a Humber:-D Although it is has significant outlay. You are buying reliability. What is the price of breaking down & not being able to fix the ignition problem at the roadside? It also will keep your plugs in good order.

Matt just a thought with the points gap. Bear in mind that if you have the less common Delco distributor the gap is double that for the more common Lucas distributor.

Yes Yes thats fine but I will be at W&P & there is a standing offer to anyone to bring their collection on condensers for testing (free there is no catch or attempt to sell anyone anything - but the majority of condensers I test have failed. Might "work" to a degree but are not performing as they should!) Do NOT buy a NOS one it will be not only expensive but will almost certainly be defective due to age. Fit a normal 0.2mfd condenser used in a Series 2 or 3 Land Rover. Different mounting but there is enough room. Of course it MUST be a distributor condenser as it has a maximum working of 500 volts, never use a low voltage condenser not designed for a distributor. Yes you really ought to, you might get away with it but you have less HT in a screened system due to the capacitive effect of the screened cable. Although that effect is reduced to some degree by it being a 12v coil in a 24v system (ie reducing the time constant by loading the circuit with resistance to offset the inductance of the coil)

There is 8315-99-571-3835 HOUSEWIFE UNFILLED But both the numbers associated with it (her) are RN Vocabulary codes, so that must be something special for sailors. There are two other types: 8315-99-130-8947 SEWING KIT,HOUSEWIFE DCTA Ref 23192 UK/SC/2528-23192 8315-99-571-3836 SEWING KIT,HOUSEWIFE 1-212-21877 The last one is a RN Vocabulary reference & if you compare this NSN with the top one you'll see it is consecutive & it must be the one with all the bits in. So the Army one is 8315-99-130-8947 & is to the specification of the Defence Clothing & Textiles Agency.

My broadband is back again & the 3G web is working normally now. I've not followed the news report but I drove past the site yesterday. So perhaps it was meant to be a theft, then when then hacked through the cables found it wasn't copper? Yesterday there were 6 BT vans with 3 teams working along the A36 plus a BT emergency control van with satellite dish. I know whichever ISP I used that would have taken it down. But I'm miffed paying for a 25 min call to India being told about resetting MY router as that was why I had no broadband. I'm not entirely impressed with BT sales though. Not knowing of this major fault I asked them to do a personalised speed test for me with a view to signing up with them. After a minute or so I was told it was about 2mbs. Funny that when the system was down! I normally get about 1.5mbs, but about 3 years ago it was generally 3.5mbs. That was until the wire in the lane came down, so they replaced a whole new wire from the junction box to the house. Must be less copper in the new wire!

So how were the points then Matt? They tend to close up as the heels wear. If you want any condensers testing, then send them with an SAE for proper testing on a megger. With the timing just set it gradually for smoothest running, has to be empirical with the fuel we use nowadays!

Well that post took over 2 minutes to upload. Makes the old dial up seem like a luxury!

Chas a dongle on the 3G phone system is all very well. But I have both Vodaphone & BT phones & for much of the day the 3G network has been very slow & stubborn, I assume a fair number of the 20,000 customers cut off from broadband have resorted to trying to do the net on the phone network. But gosh it is tedious doing this way. Just grateful radio & TV comes in through just an aerial!

Not thieves, it was vandals who cut the fibre-optic cables between Salisbury & Southanpton. Each cable has another 40 fibres within it. So going to be a while before they can be repaired & some cable runs replaced.

Today was the final straw with my ISP. Many problems over the years, 3 changes of name & protocols unilaterally. Having to reset account etc. Have had no service today still. Help (?) line tells me to reset my router to factory setting. As I bought it can,t help me. Well what do they know in India? Local evening news has my neighbour then the village PO saying they can,t function as thieves have stolen cables so that 20,000 broad band connections are out.Thanks India for putting me in the picture & messing up router. Ordered my MAC code. Yes I know another ISP would still be down but might get more help & honesty. Very tedious using phone 3G & that is quite slow as must be jammed locally.

Excellent news

Androo the carbon discs in the pile are quite brittle & are under considerable tension from the force of the solenoid altering their resistivity & in turn regulating the field winding which controls output. So once a stress line develops a spreading crack is inevitable sooner or later. One doesn't know whether they have previously been dropped & ageing takes its toll when it is put to work. The regulator has to be mounted in the prescribed axis, but I think cooling is an important factor. In the Pig the gen panel is in the cab just forward of the gear stick. Because of the extra armour in a Mk 2 it was moved into the engine bay, which struck me as not an ideal place to be kept cool. Where is it mounted in the Saracen? Perhaps the position is not conducive to effective cooling. Coupled with that maybe it has more work to do as perhaps the electrical demands of a Saracen are greater than a Pig? Hence the move to upgrade to the Rover 90A system? On the two Pigs I 've had I think I have got through 4 generators. Seemed to be brush problems mainly.

Paul, its a quite cunning system! Ok next stage undo the screws that hold the top cap assembly to the main body. In there you will see the 2 microswitches & 2 fuses. There is a 5A wire wound fuse that you can easily rewire. But I suspect your problem may be the main 25A fuse which is the main output fuse. It is a thin metal strip held at each by chunky screws with a screwdriver slot & knurled sides. If the fuse has blown then there should be some spare ones screwed into the lid. They think of everything! Once I had one of the screws for the spare fuses fall down & blow the main fuse as it shorted it to the case. The trouble was that this screw then shorted the live terminal to the case & partially melted the screw & terminal. I hope you have better luck!

Paul, ok thats the original 25-amp dynamo set up. The light stays on, but is it charging at all? Check the large metal cap on top of the gen panel. It should be fully screwed down otherwise it will only charge at 5 amps during wading. Underneath that cap should be a smaller cap, this is loose & must be stored there in order to press down on the central rubber protrusion that operates 2 micro switches. These must be pressed down to develop 25-amp charge option. (Sorry if you already know this. But the two caps screw onto the air intake & output on the dynamo when wading. Obviously no air cooling it will get hot, hence the limitation to 5-amp charge maximum.)

Al I think the rarity of the event is that most people would be totally unaware that they were being sold air. The nozzle is in the filler tube, you can see the digital counter telling you that you are spending money, the pump is making a noise & the vibration can be felt in the nozzle. I'm not suggesting that it is fraud on the part of the filling station, but some glitch in the procedure when perhaps the pump has run dry & the tanker has then delivered. I suppose it is only 3 occasions in 3 years for me, which is the period I have been checking. But most motorists will not be looking out for this problem & accept the displayed amount delivered in good faith.

You can get replacement sensors. As you turn on the ignition your meter needle is going hard over to the maximum temperature suggests that is ok. Just be careful when you unscrew the collar to release the 2-pin plug on the sensor, it is very easy to undo the connect itself & rip the wires to the pins. Just check nobody before has done that & the wires are not shredded & intermittent.

Paul. What sort of generator system do you have? Original with Dynamo: Generator No.2 & Gen Panel No.2 or Rover type Alternator: Generator No.10 & Gen Panel No.9

Ivor thank you. In the recent incident the fuel tanker was still parked at the garage, so that might fit. It seems extraordinary the manager was not aware of the possibilities. I found it disgraceful that he displayed such off hand & aggressive arrogance before cancelling the first "delivery" & then storming off & shutting himself in his office. There was no excuse for it, on my part there was no shouting, bad language, aggressive tactics or threats. I was very embarrassed & explained the situation as best I could in a crowded shop. So I won't be going there if I'm ever that way again.

Yes, I can remember old fashioned pumps had a glass chamber that showed there was fuel & flowing as it drove a little disc. That was a lot more reassuring than a digital display, counting the flow of air and/or fuel. http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.sciencephoto.com/image/339878/large/T1100577-Old_fashioned_fuel_pump-SPL.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/339878/enlarge&usg=__aAW3J48aIaEDfX39pKWh9Rsz7Fw=&h=530&w=398&sz=53&hl=en&start=38&zoom=1&tbnid=JRIign06DXZ23M:&tbnh=133&tbnw=100&ei=zSkKTu6sBJO5hAeszYzwDw&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dold%2Bfashioned%2Bpetrol%2Bpump%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3DFSz%26sa%3DX%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-GB:official%26biw%3D1095%26bih%3D601%26tbm%3Disch&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=499&vpy=216&dur=8187&hovh=259&hovw=194&tx=110&ty=191&page=3&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:38&biw=1095&bih=601

Has anyone experienced buying air in the filling station? I don't mean the airline for tyres, I mean air in the fuel. I suspect it is more common than we think. Most of us insert the nozzle in the filler tube squeeze & listen to the reassuring sound of fuel going in whilst watching the £ display jump by alarming amounts. After experiences last year I now hold the nozzle not fully in allowing me to see the fuel entering. On one occasion I could hear the rumble of the pump but couldn't experience turbulence of fuel flowing in the nozzle. I withdrew the nozzle to see there was no fuel being delivered but the counter showed I had purchased a pound or so of fuel. I couldn't attract the attention of staff, so had to go to the counter. I couldn't leave the nozzle without replacing it in the pump. The staff were adamant that albeit a small quantity of fuel had been purchased. I went back to the pump whereupon it functioned normally & for the sake of a pound I paid for 2 "deliveries" of fuel. The next time this happened I was more lucky as it was in my local where I am known & am a good customer in that I buy fuel for 5 vehicles on a regular basis. Luckily the manager was there, I was able to summon him & to my delight it only delivered air for him. He replaced the nozzle & tried again still air. Then when it started he replaced the nozzle, then on the third delivery it was working. So I was only required to pay for the third "delivery" of fuel. A few weeks ago I was at a garage which had just had a tanker delivery. As I pressed the nozzle it had reached £1.28 before any fuel appeared. I went to the manager who was totally disbelieving. He maintained that the pump would only register fuel if it had been delivered through the nozzle. Furthermore the pump couldn't be short of fuel as they had just received a delivery. He couldn't grasp the possibility of an air lock. He came out & personally filled up my tank demonstrating that there was no fault & that I was expected to pay for my two "deliveries" of fuel. After an impasse the manager became unavailable but had apparently now instructed the cashier to charge me only for the second delivery. So did he know that this sort of thing can happen & was maintaining a denial in case others try it on? Or had he never experienced a customer ever notice this? So is this something that happens more often? Do filling stations rely on people not noticing & if they do just get shirty & make out the customer is being fraudulent? I found it a most tiresome experience. On a similar note I sometimes experience frothy fuel at one filling station & others the fuel comes out in a streamlined way with minimal air. Does the frothed fuel register on the counter as if it is 100% fuel? I suspect it does if it can count "fuel" in when it is just air. Anyone had these sort of encounters & how do you handle it without being looked upon as a fraudster?

Neils you are correct it is the same. If it goes to maximum it means a wire, connection, plug or the sensor has failed & not forming a complete circuit or can be described as an "open circuit".