Why was this disconnected?

[AJ_Spider]

Hi,

1980 Lancia Beta Spyder 2000 828BS,

So here is my query – after taking the battery out for the Winter I noticed that the two pin plug (which I have circled in yellow in the photo attached) was disconnected (I have since re-connected it). I was just wondering why it wasn't connected and if I should leave it so before hooking the battery back up or keep it connected (I won't be doing this for a couple of months yet). It could have been done before I bought it, or maybe one of the mechanics I have had working on it over the past 18 moths did it, but they didn't mention it to me. Hoping somebody can answer this for me.

Cheers,

Andrew

[peteracs]

Hi Andrew

What did you connect it to?

I assume from the position it is either the reverse gear switch or brake pad sensor?

Peter

[JohnFol]

What did you connect it to?

That might be the missing clue, otherwise I'd guess electric fan switch (as mine routes under battery box).

Can't quite see the cable colours. Might be able to reference on wiring diagram though

[AJ_Spider]

Hi Peter,

Thanks for the reply. The photo was taken from the nearside wing, so the male 2 pin part was to the right of this and the cabling went down to the right and the female (at the top in this photo) was to the left? I've attached a couple more photos which should make it a bit clearer, and hopefully will help you.

I have checked the driver side wing for a similar wiring set up but couldn't see anything to match.

Thanks again,

Andrew

[AJ_Spider]

That might be the missing clue, otherwise I'd guess electric fan switch (as mine routes under battery box).

Can't quite see the cable colours. Might be able to reference on wiring diagram though
[/quote]

Hi John,

Hopefully you can see that the wire colours from the female end of the plug are white and yellow, and on the male plug they are black and white with a green sleeve. I remember that the warm air lever of the electric fan (in the cabin) was not working, but had put this down to age! Maybe it was disconnected because of this!

Cheers,

Andrew

[JohnFol]

ok, I think it's reversing switch . . .

[AJ_Spider]

Hi John,

Thanks for the advice. It wasn't mentioned in the last MOT that the reversing lights weren't working but I'll investigate when I put the battery back in.

I see you have a Beta Spyder as well - any general advice or things to look out for?

Cheers,

Andrew

[peteracs]

Hi Andrew

FYI I was sorting out the spare gearboxes I have earlier today at my parents where I am unfortunately isolating for the next week and one of them has the reversing switch with an attached cable and connector with what apparels to be two black wires rather than, what I assume is the earlier, spade connections.

Peter

[AJ_Spider]

Hi Peter,

Yes, it has two spade connectors with one black and one white wire attached. I guess I'm just puzzled as to why I found it disconnected when I removed the battery (with no apparent issues), and whether I should keep it connected (as I've done since) or un-connect it again?

Cheers,

Andrew

[peteracs]

Hi Andrew

Keeping it connected should not be an issue unless it is blowing fuses and the bonus is you should now have reversing lights!

Peter

[frankxhv773t]

You probably need to go through a process of elimination and ask yourself what reason there would be for it to be disconnected. Is it just a mistake or does connecting it cause some sort of problem like the battery going flat or perhaps random unwanted lights being activated. Assuming this plug is for the reversing lights, maybe start with it disconnected and fit the battery loose while you check if the reversing lights are still absent. Assuming they are then whip the battery out, connect the wires and try again. If the reversing lights activate then that answers the first question.

After that I'd check nothing strange and unwanted happens when the reversing lights are activated. My Y10 had an MOT advisory for power leaking from one bulb to another in the rear light cluster. Assuming no problems there, leave the battery connected to check it isn't going flat over time.

[JohnFol]

Just a FYI, the reason I think it was gearbox is I was able to reach through the battery tray and follow the cable with my hand. Rather than go to radiator, or indicator (on wing), or bulkhead it went to gearbox. Might be worth a similar approach too to confirm we are all thinking the same thing, particularly as you said the MOT did not reveal a non-working reverse light

[peteracs]

Hi

Is the reverse light working part of the test?

Peter

[frankxhv773t]

Reversing lights only require testing on vehicles first used from September 2009 so would not have been required on the MOT of a 1980 car.

[AJ_Spider]

Hi all,

Thanks for all of the suggestions and I will look into it when I put the battery back in. I was experiencing problems starting, but I was puzzled by this as I was still getting this problem after replacing recently with a Yuasa, which was recommended as reliable.

Frank, as you suggested I will try a process of elimination and see what's what. Hopefully though it may perform better if it is connected, but we'll see.

John, I will try to track the wire tomorrow as I'm going to do some cleaning of the battery tray and get some of that black paint off it.

Peter, nobody has told me that the reversing light wasn't working (including the MOT advisories) but will check when the battery is back in.

Watch this space!

Cheers,

Andrew

[frankxhv773t]

Is your "black paint" actually black paint? It looks a bit like dirty rust preventative. If so some white spirit might clean it off effectively without damaging the underlying paint.

[AJ_Spider]

Hi Frank,

I thought it was the black rust preventive paint which covered the rest of the engine bay when bought, and I removed this with white spirit. It turns out that these patches on the battery tray are just worn paint, so I will have to get some rosso red to re-touch I think.

When cleaning the tray on the weekend I took another photo trying to see where the 2 spade wire was going to and it does look like it's headed for the gearbox. The other part of the connection (with the white and yellow wiring) is going back into a loom of wiring further back. As the weather is getting milder I will put the battery back in this week and try out the unconnected and connected options, so should have something to report later in the week hopefully.

Cheers,

Andrew

[frankxhv773t]

Battery trays are always vulnerable due to spilt battery acid. Am I right that the battery tray unbolts so you can take it out for repainting?

[mtulloch]

4x13mm bolts on my VX. Just re-fitted it last week!

[JohnFol]

Hi Andrew, if you suspect electrics as the issue then changing battery will get you so far. Earthing crops up quite a few times on this forum, so too does checking HT leads, battery terminals etc. For example I have had my alternator reconditioned as I was only get 12v output. I still have feint glow on charging light and also have lower-than-expected voltage on wiper motor so I need to trace through a bit more of my electrics. Going on the fact mine was registered 1 year before yours I'm guessing there might be some common themes.

FYI I currently have carb, radiator, battery and starter removed for cleaning / refurb for the remainder of this week and next. If you need photos of "under the battery tray" or questions like "How long are the cables" I might be able to help.