RobH

I believe the basic motor, solenoid and electrics is usually sourced from Denso. AFAIK Powerlite and Wosp add the necessary adaptions to the basic motors, to fit classic cars - so there shouldn't be much between them in terms of function and reliability.

That's probably just poor maintenance, not bad construction.

Guinness in Ireland is better. Best pint I ever had was on Sherkin Island off Baltimore, Co Cork. It even beat the pint at the Guinness factory in Dublin. Mind you, that might have been something to do with the location.......

I read through the FBHVC responses and am not too sure about the bit highlighted. The FIVA definition seems to exclude any car in daily use, from being considered 'historic' . That seem to me to be nonsensical - surely frequency of use should have no bearing ? As it is this seems to open the door to agreeing to restrictions on use - which I know exist in other countries but not yet here. Dangerous territory ? Q1 - What is a historic or classic vehicle? Answer: FBHVC consider that the international definition advocated by FIVA (Fédération Internationale des Véhicules

I would very strongly disagree with that statement, though as I said above, testing periodicity should reflect usage and wear. The inspection shouldn't just be about plugging things into a tester - it's also about seeing what things are connected where. I have seen some bad examples of what people can do with computer gear, fan heaters and extension leads in offices. PAT is about saving lives, not saving money. I would hate to be the one in court explaining to a judge that someone was electrocuted because the tests were not done on cost grounds.

Those testers use a current of 100-500mA which does conform to the low current test in the present Code Of Practice and is still far better than the tiny current a meter uses. Probably OK for IT equipment and most domestic stuff but......? The high current test was the original requirement when PAT was first introduced and still stands.

The earth-continuity test for class 1 equipment should be carried out with a high current of 10 -20 Amps, which a multimeter can't provide. The reason for that is the very low meter current can show a good connection when there really isn't one, and your safety relies on the earth connection being good enough to carrying enough current to blow the fuse. A proper PAT machine does that but they cost serious money. ( I'm afraid we are seriously derailing John G's topic with all this safety chat ! ) Using a Megger with very high voltage can damage equipment which has noise-filter ca

Would you use the same argument about the Mot then Ian ? Part of my responsibilities when at work was as a "Senior Authorised Person " responsible for the electrical safety of personnel, processes and equipment in several electrical/electronic workshops, experimental laboratories and offices. In my experience there is no doubt that PAT carried out at sensible intervals depending on equipment use, can be a good preventive measure. The faults found may be few, but electricity doesn't usually give you a second chance. In the Repair Cafe you do come across some electrical horr

Well that is a bit open to opinion Jim. I favour the ammeter as I believe it can tell you more, but I'm 'old school' and have spent my life with measuring instruments. Some people don't like having the connections to the ammeter behind the dash as they feel it is unsafe and are happier with just a voltage indication. A voltmeter will tell you what the battery voltage is before starting the engine and will tell you the alternator output voltage when the engine is running. That's about the sum, of it. The meter is slow to respond, by design, so doesn't react to transients. It doesn

The solenoid coil earths through its body and mounting screws - are you sure there is a good clean connection?

Yes Jim, that will do it. The ammeter is only supposed to show current going into or out of the battery, so once the battery has re-charged after starting, the ammeter should show zero. If it doesn't, it should be an indication that something isn't right as the battery should not take continuous current . It should act as a warning of a battery fault or maybe an alternator fault - too many volts. Wired as it is, that diagnostic is masked. Of course having it showing a reading all the time isn't a detriment to anything working - it just isn't supposed to be like that.

C'est un canard.

Put the spares for the car in the trailer and carry the spares for the trailer in the car. Simple !

Yes that would be the correct way to do it. Wired as it is the ammeter will show a 'charge' all the time the head lights are on. People forget that once the engine is running, it is the alternator powering everything, not the battery.

If you want to be able to charge the phone when the ignition is off, you need to wire the feed for the fuse to that outlet, from a permanently-live point Alf.