Taxi Driver Online

Hi everyone,

First of all a big thank you to Gary for supplying a workshop manual, much appreciated.

A few niggles I am trying to sort out and am hoping someone can help.

I have a wire coming from the battery terminal which is labelled GRD j13, it is not connected to anything and I cant see where it would have gone, it lokks like its been sheared off as apposed to cut, any ideas?

My electrics appear to be playing up..... front electric windows and radio have stopped working.... Ive tested the fuses etc and they are fine, however it seems that no power is getting to the fuse box..... everything did work and I have had no water damage? again, any ideas?

Does anyone know what the two wires behing the pedals are? they are not connected to anything....

Does anyone know what the yellow thing in the metal bracket situated under the bonnet (drivers side) is? the red wire has corroded away and is not attached.

I have attached a new speedo cable (the old one had actually snapped) however the needle appears to be a bit jumpy and the milometer and odometer are not turning....again any ideas? I bought the cable as a sealed unit from Midland Spares did I need to grease the ends etc?

Does anyone have any spares going? I am looking on Ebay but as i'm sure you are all aware the pricing is a bit hit and miss......... I actually need a dash bulb holder ( my windscreen resovoir one is missing?), a passenger/luggage compartment interior door handle and a few other bits and bobs......

As always any help would be greatly appreciated

Not sure what your first two pics are,the first looks like it could have been for a radio circuit box or meter ? The third pic is a headlight resistor from memory.Is the speedo working but jumpy ? If so unplug from back of speedo head and drop a bit of oil in cable and try that.Dont know what you mean for the washer bulb holder ? Regards bpool

hard to see from the pics but if the switch is on the pedals its either for the brake lights or kickdown,maybe even the door lock/brakes interface,try and see if one of those doesn't work.

_________________
Selling Imperial tools for old cars.

Thanks for the replies, a quick update to my questions........

Cab wouldn't start this morning, but eventually fired up so I took it to a local garage for them to have a look...

Apparently the two wires behind the pedal could be the kick down? I have the turbo fitted and the cab kicks down and drives perfectly so not sure on that one.

I had a faulty relay that supplies the fuse box with power and this was replaced ( if anyone has any ideas where this is, please let me know for future reference).

I was told that the speedo mechanism was not turning properly and it was taken off and oiled, appears better but the milometer is still not working....

I was also told that the alternator was not putting out enough power and that they managed to rectify this but I would need a new one and a starter motor as it appears the bushes may be worn..... amazingly they have used parts ready to fit oh and I need a bigger battery (which I suspected).

Wire GRD j13 from the battery could apparently to do with a cab radio system???? still none the wiser though, but if it ain't broke.......

The yellow part with the disconnected wire apperently is to do with the dip/dim and shouldn't affect anything? Hmmmm then why is it there and what is its function?

Lights are now working fully as are the electric windows.....

Radio still not working but mirrors do........ am hoping there is a short with the radio wiring...

Was also told that I had some pipes loose in regard to the turbo, upon investigation it was only the pipe from the filter box that had come away and I put that back in........ Does anyone know what turbos were fitted to these? apparently mine is the most expensive??? The exhaust is sitting low, apparently the cleaning system part is not at the right angle causing it to jut out underneath, now I don't know how the exhaust should look so if anyone has pics??

Now I know labour costs are not on the cheap side but all this (bear in mind the cost of a relay) cost me £200 ...... so not too happy. This is my local garage (Mill Kabs in Hollway), as anyone had any dealings with them?. Won't know if the starting issues are fixed till I try it in the morning.....

The dim dip is not a legal requirement so it doesn't matter if its disconnected,it was a silly idea anyway.The fairways do need a big battery especially in cold weather.
If the kickdown works its possible the box was changed some use an electric switch on the pedal but I believe some don't.

_________________
Selling Imperial tools for old cars.

What Reg. is yours? I think only the very last ones used a cable from the throttle quadrant on the fuel pump to the gearbox for the kickdown. Mine is a P and has this cable.
Starter motor is a relatively simple job but you need a universal joint socket attachment.
I think eBay has some speedo/binnacles for sale.
I hope you find the manual useful

Its the stt emtec turbo youll have,the turbo is a garret.Take a pic of your exhaust and ill tell you if its sitting low,they do a bit as long as its not catching anything.The ecu/ brain for the system will be in the passenger side under where speaker is situated.Maybe there is a old radio com there aswell which could lead to cut wires.As for starting problems youd be unlucky for all three,starter,alternator and battery to go at once but you never know.Is the starter turning over lazy,is the battery light flickering on dash ? Most parts are readily available for fairways and any decent garage should be able to sort you out,maybe get a second opinion .I doubt the wires are for kickdown if its working,personally never kick my cab down anyway.Milometer is a common fault sticking especially on high milage ! Kickdown after p reg is on throttle cable adjustment.As for bigger battery i doubt whoever had it before put a smaller one on but possible,there about 90 quidish with 2/3 year guarantee.Good luck bpool

Hi,

The battery light is solid until it starts and the starter motor clicks normally, what happens is when you turn the ignition key sometimes it clicks then up to 10 seconds later it fires. I actually bought it through a third party dealer that obtains trade ins from a Ford dealership... He had no clue about Taxi's (didn't even know it was a Turbo model). The battery is a new Nissan battery but it appears to be for a car (it's standard size).Its a one owner P reg from Sept '96 with low mileage and a FSH, I'm writing to the original owner to get more of a background on it etc so am hoping I hear back with more of a concise history. I'll post a picture of the exhaust tomorrow.

I pulled the stereo out earlier (it's the original Clarion) and the fuse in the stereo was fine, as is the fuse for the stereo/mirrors, it all seemed connected properly so I'm guessing its just given up the ghost I have taken some pics of wires/connectors I found behind, hopefully I can find out what's what... I don't mind redundant wiring as long as I know what it's meant for, for future reference etc...

One thing I noticed was that there is a Lucas Wiper motor box under the dash, the connector plugs had been disconnected and paired together?? I plugged them back in and still no joy with the wipers working properly.....

I'll post some more pics shortly....

Thanks again

The Lucas wiper box under the dash which you allude to controls the intermittent wipe. With the two wires disconnected from it and plugged in together, you do not have an intermittent wipe, though you can still operate the wipers once by pressing the stalk down. This has probably been done to overcome a fault with the intermittent wipe, as, indeed, it has with my cab.

Thanks very much, I always thought it was a single wipe switch but having read your comment, found that mine was bypassed too. Not sure why because when I reconnected this box, the intermittent works! Will probably find out in the fullness of time why it had been bypassed... Hope not.

With mine, I had a problem with completely dead wipers, which seemed to be rectified by nudging the wiring beneath the dash. A cab mechanic recommended disconnecting the wires from the intermittent wipe box to see if that cured the fault which, fingers crossed, so far it has.

Hi Everyone,

Here are some pics of the exhaust.....






I have a few more photos of wires/connectors that are situated behind the radio and dash but will post those on a new thread, my main issue now appears to be no power going to the starter motor, it doesn't even click when the key is turned so am investigating that. Can anyone tell me what the circuit is for the starter motor? does it feed directly from the battery? and does it have a switch relay? or associated fuses?

On the plus side I managed to purchase a second Fairway which had no door keys and bad brakes, bodywork and interior are very good and it starts on the button, I have started the dismantling process for spares and have removed the starter motor as a replacement for mine.... As long as I know the wiring circuit I can literally replace the ignition and alternator and eliminate all possible faults one by one. Interestingly the exhaust on the my second Fairway is just as low.....

As always, any help would be greatly appreciated.

The turbo is just down from the Manifold so its not in your photos, you need to get the cab on a ramp and give it a few coats of kerosene looks a right rust bucket under there

Thats what I thought, luckily its all dirt and mud, its been waxoiled from new so am going to get it all blasted and re coated... does the exhaust look normal to you? like I said the exhaust is as low as my second fairway and is solidly fixed so it's not hanging... it just looks a bit low.....

They do sit low like that,the photo where the cat is looks a bit too low though.Are all the exhaust rubbers ok ? There wont be much play on the exhaust or else it will catch on body of cab.Its a aftermarket exhaust for the turbo/emission system fitted.As for starter is there no power at all to it ?Try arcing the starter,take the rubber cap of live/red wire coming of back of starter.Then with ignition turned on take a long screwdriver and touch it across the two lugs/bolts on back of starter.Making it touch both at same time should jump the starter.Watch your hands in engine though !!Failing that give it a whack with a hammer