It’s starting to seem like Monday’s Cold Starts are just becoming updates on the progress I’ve made with my 2CV, and I think that’s a good thing because it (A) means I’ve made some progress and (2) I don’t have to scramble for an idea Monday morning. This weekend brought some good 2CV progress, again thanks in large part to local 2CV maven Til, who helped me sort out that absurd rat’s nest of wiring that had been intimidating me. Progress was made, but I’m not there yet, as there’s still a strange issue I need to figure out. Or, more likely, ask smarter people to figure out for me.
The main goal of the weekend was to get the wiring harness in some sort of basic order, so I can really see how bad it is and if I need to replace the harness, or if what I have can me made to work, at least for a while. Getting things shipped to the US is tricky right now, and I really want to know what works and what doesn’t!
So, Til and I methodically tested and checked each wire, and, incredibly, we figured out what they all did, and finally the electrical system started to come back to life; I had lights and indicators and dash warning lights. Wipers, too!
That’s the mess of wires, but now all repaired and labeled. It’s still not pretty, but it’s at least working better and a bit less incomprehensible.
As you can imagine, it was magical. Look at the glory of this indicator!
Majestic, isn’t it? Sure is. And these dash warning lights, that tell me two whole things! That’s technically plural!
The upper one is the brake warning lamp (I’m pushing the test button to make it illuminate), and the lower one is the oil pressure warning light. Oh, I guess the hazards have their own blinky light, so this dash has a lavish three warning lamps.
Some of that was short-lived, because when I was replacing headlight bulbs, I tested the sidelights, and the one I replaced came on, then went out, and now my headlights and brake lights and hazards don’t work again. The turn signals still do? I need to see what happened.
I was also finding that I kept popping the “blue” fuse (second from bottom) and wasn’t sure why, until we found that a terminal on the alternator was bent and grounding to the housing. A quick twist with some needlenose pliers and that solved that. And yes, I checked to see if it was a fuse causing the running lights to stop working, and it doesn’t seem like it is that.
But still, that can wait, as what I really want is to get this thing driving. Last week I had it running for a bit, feeding fuel from a gas can. Now I want to get the fuel tank reconnected and make sure it’ll run from the tank, as it should. I also wanted to get the cooling fan back on and button up all the other stuff I took apart last time when I was cleaning the points.
The guiding philosophy of the 2CV was that if you can get rid of a part, great, because a part can’t break if it doesn’t exist. This also means that whatever is left is necessary, even if it seems tiny and trivial. A good example of this is that rubber sheet thing that you install behind the fan, under the oil cooler, which is crucial for directing cooling air properly. Our own Stephen Walter Gossin found that Cadillac CTS fender bolts fit this part, so that’s what’s holding it in place now.
I also did this when installing the fan – which uses an odd reverse-threaded bolt – but I was able to extract the socket after just a few moments of mild panic.
Eventually, I was able to get everything reconnected, and was rewarded with this triumphant display of idling:
It sounds so good! Two determined cylinders, happily sliding back and forth in that numinous dance we call the Otto Cycle! It idled fine, but then after five or so minutes stopped, which confused me.
The coil felt pretty hot – hotter than I think coils like to be, so I connected this spare coil that very fortunately came with the car, because I don’t think Autozone stocks these weird double-ended coils. It seemed to run with the spare coil just fine, and that one wasn’t getting so hot, so I swapped it out properly, instead of just laying it on top like you see there.
But then later attempts at running the car – I was still hoping to take it around the block – didn’t quite work out. After a few minutes of idling with the carb choked, the engine would run rough and the choke flap (shown) would kind of cough and then the engine would cut out.
It’d be hard to start again after that, too. This thing did sit in a field for a good number of years; I’m not really sure what condition this carb or its jets are in. It could be dirty or clogged in there? This feels like a fuel/carburetion sort of issue, but I’m not certain. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated!
A more positive development is that my son Otto, who is now the tallest Torchinsky ever recorded, had figured out that he could drive the car even with the front seats removed using this method:
So that’s good to know.
Man, I want to get this thing on the road! It’s closer, but I’m not there yet.
Those indicators look like the are blurring out some naughty bits underneath!
My rule of thumb with carbs is it’s most likely them. Especially after sitting unused for more than one winter. Rebuild it, and replace any rubber you can before the carb (fuel lines and filter). Until you eliminate the possible contribution issue from the carb, you will always question it. Great news, otherwise!
https://a.co/d/dECusqB
Is that it??
Wiring is so bizarrely mysterious. Had I made it out there I would have been zero help. Possibly negative help. Every wiring job I have ever done was cringy.
Where’s the switch to change the active suspension between carrying/not carrying eggs? 😉
The carb will have three basic types of jets:
With the choke engaged I believe it’s bypassing the idle jets. Once the car is warm and comes off the choke, it won’t idle because the idle jet is blocked.
I recommend disassembling the carb and assiduously cleaning all the jets with carb cleaner; you can get a big can of Berryman’s carb dip at your local auto parts store and use the included basket to give the carb a good soak.
Resist the temptation to poke steel wire through the jets to dislodge crud: steel is harder than the brass jets and can adversely affect the metering holes. Use brass wire if you have it (e.g. from a brass brush) or a nylon bristle from a scrub brush.
100% this.
Serious wisdom here.
Man, I’m sure I remember ‘will it baby’ posts when Otto was a baby. Time just slips by without you realizing, then you see Otto now, and have a hard jolt into reality…
Darn it I’m old now.
My baby who was a baby during “Will it Baby” can now wear my clothes.
This takes ‘hand-me-downs’ to a new level. More ‘hand across’ and hand that back’ please…
Before coil plugs 4 cylinder and a few 2 cylinder motorcycles used coils like that. Could be an alternate source.
GM used them also on the original W bodies, single coils with dual leads. A six cylinder had 3 of them on a heat sink. Also a waste spark system.
Looks like the C2V will baby!
Yes, but will it teenager with all the seats in?
Wow… sure seems like Otto hit that growth spurt! What a great kid!
I have to wonder how tall the men on his mom’s side are since he clearly didn’t inherit what Jason calls the “shtetl hobbit” gene. Other than maybe the prehensile toes.
2cv carburettor problems
Also this, At one point in life I had more than twenty 2cvs! People gave them away!
I sold mine, but only for £300.
Un troupeau de chevaux?
“It seemed to run with the spare coil just fine, and that one wasn’t getting so hot, so I swapped it out properly, instead of just laying it on top like you see there.”
I swapped a TPI motor from an IROC Camaro into an El Camino. The coil on the Camaros was mounted in a little cutout in the firewall. Of course, the El Camino did not have this cutout so to get it running, I just laid the coil on the intake manifold near the passenger side valve cover.
And that’s where it stayed for 15 years or so before I ended up getting a new coil and attaching it to the firewall with a rubber-coated P-clip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QOVTNmeZsQ
This might help.
I keep reading Til’s name as “Today I learned” which is fitting if you think about it.
That kid’s definitely got some Took blood in him…
Will Otto get even taller? Will he need to shave off his beard before his Dad gets the 2CV sorted? Stay tuned.
Seriously, though, progress is progress. And seeing Otto more grown up makes me feel even older.
You definitely gotta go through that carb. Even if it isn’t THE problem, it’s going to be A problem after sitting that long.
Normally I tell people that carburetor is a French word which means “leave it alone” but in this case you’re right. After sitting that long tearing it down and drenching it in carb cleaner ain’t a bad idea. Make sure the floats float and the needles need and any diaphragms diaph.
Buy a kit and replace any gaskets and elastomers. Clean the rest.
When I re-did the HiF carbs on my MGB, I bought an ultrasonic cleaner to do the job.
Zero regrets. It was my second carb rebuild ever (I’m a diesel tech) and it purred like a kitten. Unlike the Honda CT70 I did as my first. I accidentally bored out the jets trying to clean them (I used Oxy torch tip cleaners).
Thanks for reminding me that the mystery tool I had been using for working on guitar nuts is really an oxy acetylene torch tip cleaner.
I lost it a few weeks ago and couldn’t remember what or where I got it. Must have been my dads, there hasn’t been an acetylene torch kit around here in 20 years.
+1 on the ultrasonic cleaner. I got one when I did the carbs on my Moto Guzzi and it worked great. It’s on deck to do my Honda Dream carb next.