Being an informed rover owner.

[I Leak Oil]

Just an observation and maybe a suggestion on how we can make the tech section a little more interesting and reduce the repeat questions.

First off, I understand the concept of there is no dumb question and I certainly can relate to being a noob so this isn't a shot at anyone and I'm not going to preach the "do a search before you ask". But...Seems to me many of the questions could be resolved or atleast made more specific if the person asking would look into how the system in question works first. Or, dare I say it, take a wrench to the problem and see what might be going on first. Seems the internet bulletin boards have become the first go-to source for everything under the sun these days.

Hate to sound like my father but when I started rebuilding these things or working on cars in general I didn't run to the net' as my first go to. Picked up a manual and took a crack at the problem. Atleast then I could ask an informed question and was able to understand the answer.

Just a suggestion.

[parrie]

Guess what...you sound like your father!

Don't you know this the age of instant gratification? I have to admit, I may guilty of this on occasion...I call it the "Goog-a-lation" of society. Perhaps we should start a club?

[I Leak Oil]

Too busy being club president already!
Goog-a-lation of Society. That's a good one. Kinda like the difference between the active pursuit of information vs. the passive method of being spoon fed information.

[SafeAirOne]

For better or worse, I've always subscribed to the "can't make it MORE broke by taking it apart and seeing what's wrong" philosophy.


...OH!--and having a rudimentary knowledge how electricity works is all you need to troubleshoot and fix ANYTHING electrical on a series rover. Anything. Just a simple knowledge of how electricity gets from point A to point B will is all you need. There's no magic involved at all!

[TedW]

For better or worse, I've always subscribed to the "can't make it MORE broke by taking it apart and seeing what's wrong" philosophy.


...OH!--and having a rudimentary knowledge how electricity works is all you need to troubleshoot and fix ANYTHING electrical on a series rover. Anything. Just a simple knowledge of how electricity gets from point A to point B will is all you need. There's no magic involved at all!

It has been my experience that bad grounds are responsible for the vast majority of electrical problems on Series trucks.

[thixon]

It has been my experience that bad grounds are responsible for the vast majority of electrical problems on Series trucks.

....and every other old car I've worked on!

[I Leak Oil]

Funny because electrical questions are one of the major "my whatchamacallit doesn't work, what could it be?" types that are high on my list of thread subjects that started this. The basic DC circuits in these and, as Travis points out, most older vehicles are just so simple to understand.

[parrie]

This is "shocking" news...

[smukai]

Hmm, I'm unsure of the validity of being a novice electricican. I've found I needed to have a rudimentary understanding of how the smoke flows inside the wires and how to put it back in once it's been released....

For better or worse, I've always subscribed to the "can't make it MORE broke by taking it apart and seeing what's wrong" philosophy.


...OH!--and having a rudimentary knowledge how electricity works is all you need to troubleshoot and fix ANYTHING electrical on a series rover. Anything. Just a simple knowledge of how electricity gets from point A to point B will is all you need. There's no magic involved at all!

[mearstrae]

It's very easy to take care of the smoke problem (sorta) you return the electrical component (starter, generator, alternator, etc.)to the factory where they put the smoke back in and return it. Sometimes a costly endevour, but effective (until the smoke is let out again).

'95 R.R.C. Lwb
'76 Series III Hybrid 109
'70 Rover 3500S

[I Leak Oil]

It's very easy to take care of the smoke problem (sorta) you return the electrical component (starter, generator, alternator, etc.)to the factory where they put the smoke back in and return it. Sometimes a costly endevour, but effective (until the smoke is let out again).

I've heard the original is NLA and the new britpart alternative doesn't fit in the harness quite right.

[gudjeon]

I found the Rover manuals are written better than most. If you can read, you can use the factory manual to fix anything on a Rover. I found info on the net good to confirm what I thought would be a fix to my problem. I don't use the net to actually fix my problem. That is the appeal of these old things is that yopu can repair them while cut off from the world. The USB port I have affixed doesn't do anything except charge up stuff.