Grahamgl Posted June 20, 2014 Report Share Posted June 20, 2014 Hi, Took my 4A out for a spin this morning, following the replacement of discs and pads. It was obviously not my day as I had two problems. Firstly the car pulled to the nearside on braking. The harder the braking the greater the pull. After research on here my problem could be a bent hose or a sticking caliper. Well, I hope it’s not the hoses are Goodridge, two years old. First question how do I unstick the caliper without dismantling it. My thought would be to put the old, thinner pads, back in and depress the brake pedal to allow the piston to move further in towards the disc, then lever the pad back to move the piston and then repeat the procedure a few times. Am I on the right track? The second problem was that the voltmeter was only showing 12.5 volts on the run. The ammeter was just into the positive side. Later, at home, I started the car again and the voltmeter moved up and was showing 13.5 volts for a couple of minutes, it then moved backwards to 12 volts. I put a multimeter across the battery, no engine running, and found 12.78 volts. With the engine running the same test showed 12.29 volts. Battery not charging I assume. I then started to try and check the output from the dynamo. When I tried to join the two wires from the dynamo, ignition off, there was a spark, between the two wire ends. The ends I used were the ones on the Regulator box. I did not go any further. Can the electrical gurus on here help with diagnosis and advice please? Thanks Graham Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ctc77965o Posted June 21, 2014 Report Share Posted June 21, 2014 (edited) Hi Graham, As you have probably guessed, if it pulls left only under braking then the problem is inaction of the right front caliper, if it pulls left even after you release the brake pedal then the problem is the left front caliper not releasing. You say you just replaced disks/pads and (we assume) before that the brake balance was OK. Could it be contaminated pads/disc on the right side? Exercising the caliper as you suggest really only helps in the 2nd scenario where a caliper doesnt release...the hydraulic pressure under braking is easily enough to overcome any stickiness in the caliper piston...so i think you should look at the bits you changed...is the pad free or jammed in the caliper? is the disc clean? For the electrical, you are right, it's not charging...sounds like you still have a regulator & control box....i would point the finger at the control box assuming your wiring is intact. Control boxes can be adjusted, but its quite a precision device and quite easy to screw-up. Can you borrow one off someone to confirm your CB is misbehaving before you attempt any adjustment? Edited June 21, 2014 by ctc77965o Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted June 21, 2014 Report Share Posted June 21, 2014 Hi Graham, did you bed in/run in the pads. There is a routine for most pads when fitted as new. Contamination - remove pad, wash in brake cleaner and allow to dry. Run a hot flame over it to evaporate any oil etc. If the brake piston was working before the pad change why would it be seized now!! As for the electrics - get an Alternator. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AlanG Posted June 21, 2014 Report Share Posted June 21, 2014 If the pistons were corroded or contaminated when you pushed them back into the calipers this may cause a seizure. Alan. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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