VB Commodore Problem
Hello all,
So i got myself a VB commodore as well now and i need some help.
I've got the following issues.
1. Gages don't work, speedo works, km's on the ODO doesn't go up, neither does trip meter.
(Dash light around that area is very dim), what will happen however is that if you have a full tank of petrol it'll show up only as half way.
2. The brakes i need to push then pedal right to the floor for the car to stop, I haven't taken a good look at the engine as of yet, might be low brake fluid?
3. Just a general question, It has air con from factory, however the belt is not attached, what reason could someone have as to not have the proper belt on ? When i turn the knobs i can hear the hiss sound of the gas, so i assume it works provided i have the right belt.
Thank you,
These is a little wheel/gear on the odo that breaks or comes off - can be fixed but will need to be pulled apart, it is a common problem. Fitting some new globes to the cluster is fairly easy and should sort out the lighting problem. The brakes sounds very dodgey, check the fluid but could also be air in the lines or a host of other problems - best get checked by a brake specialist. Some people disconnect the A/C compressor to gain more power, especially if it is stuffed.. put a new belt on and see what happens.
captain halfajob
1. kms, i dunno. the above sounds good. for the dash lights, try turning them up a bit. there is a dial for instrument brightness, on a VK it is next to the headlight switch. for the fuel does it go down to empty? if not, your sender unit in the tank is probably split. will need replacing. if you wanna do it yourself, you need to be pretty damn handy with a spanner or else send it somewhere to get done and expect a large bill.
2. whether the fluid is low or not you need to bleed your brakes. that is, of course, as long as the pads and rotors are still ok
3. lol@the hissing sound of gas... the air cond was probably disconnected because the gas ran out and its a huge drain on power. reconnecting the belt probably wont do didly squat, it will most probably need to be thoroughly serviced and re gassed.
vh ftw
belt will be off the a/c so it would be esey to start in winter had the same thing on my vh
1. agree with the others - odometer gear has broken. As for the other gauges, maybe the electrical connector at the back of the instrument panel has come off, a blown fuse or a blown voltage regulator. Dull lights on dash - check the dimmer control is wound on full power. But usually blown illumination bulbs. AHowever even if you replace them all, don't expect a bright dash. VB-VK instrument lighting was dismal at best. I run LED lights in mine to brighten it up.
2. brake system may need a bleed, master cylinder could be stuffed - or other brake components could be stuffed. DANGEROUS - don't drive it until repaired. If you don't know what you are doing when it comes to brakes, get a qualified mechanic to check it out!
3. Not common at all to find the A/C belt removed on older cars. Compressor usually seizes up, which snaps the belt or makes one hell of a noise. People usually just remove the A/C belt if the system stuffs up if they can't be bothered fixing it. VB Commodores used a vacuum switch control for the A/C and vents. That would be the hiss noise you are hearing. You won't hear any gas noises from the A/C itself unless the compressor is going. My guess is that is the system would be completely empty.
Would anyone know where I could get that gear replacement from?
Would something like rare spares have them?
I have a very strong feeling that they need a bleed in because the car was in storage for 4 years until jan this year. i also checked and i'm a bit low on brake fluid, so i'll top it up and see what happens.
I'll get 2 belts tomorrow and see what happens with the air con.
COG ODOMETER Holden Commodore VB VC VH VK VL NEW - eBay Speedometers, Gauges, Car Parts, Accessories, Cars, Bikes, Boats. (end time 13-May-10 18:55:16 AEST)Originally Posted by mainpath
if the car has been sitting for 4 years, I would highly recommend replacing the brake fluid plus bleed. Brake fluid asborbs moisture, and is supposed to be replaced every 12 months or so. Once it's full of moisture, it boils prematurely and corrodes your brake components.
As for the A/C - you should be able to turn both the outer pulley on the compressor by hand, as well as the clutch itself (the centre of the hub). If either of these don't turn by hand, the compressor is bin material. You can also check the gas by finding one of the service ports and pressing the valve (it's like a tyre valve) - usually there is at least one located on the compressor. If gas comes out under pressure you have some sort of gas in the system. If nothing or very little pressure comes out, it's out of gas, therefore has some sort of leak
captain halfajob
no need, i can tell you what will happen when you top it up....
nothing.
as darren has said, it needs a bleed and probably much more. deal with it.
As above, the level of fluid in the reservoir doesnt affect how the brakes work when its low, its there to keep fluid in the master cylinder at all times so as long as it is above the bottom you brakes will be unaffected no matter where the level is as long as it has enough to have the cylinder filled at all times. Bleeding brakes isnt very hard so i also recommend you do it ASAP.
ari666 what a pointless and worthless response!
VK SL 202: Thank you I didn't know that, I'll bleed the brakes tomorrow and see where that takes me. i'll report back once done.
mate if you are going to bleed the brakes, then flush the old fluid out first. It doesn't take a lot more effort. Just empty the reservoir, re-fill with new fluid and pump the fluid out each wheel with the pedal with the bleeder attached. You'll see the new fluid coming through when it has flushed the old stuff out. Probably need 2 containers of brake fluid to do the job properly. Just don't push the pedal all the way to the floor or you risk damaging the seals in the master cylinder.
You are never going to get good brakes with 4 year old fluid.
Ok a bit of an overdue update,
Brakes are now fixed, the rear drum brakes needed a manual adjustment, clean and inspection, and now it all works as it should, thank god, next service i need to change brake pads, and machine discs.
I've ordered that Cog and it should be here next week, that should fix my issue with the the speedo i hope.
On the dash the temp doesn't work as i need to fit a new temp sender unit, which luckily i have at home, and that should all come back to life.
The Economy section of the dash, had a loose wire in the engine bay and that is why it wasn't working.
The lights are now slightly better then before, we have found that the dimmer switch needs replacing (i'll never do this one), and possibly a change of globes to make it nice.
Petrol gauge is my biggest problem still as i have no idea why it's only showing up half way, i might need to get a new sender unit with rare spares seems to have, i'm just not sure how big of a job it is and could i take it to any mechanic to do?
AirCon: We couldn't find a pulley at repco that would fit it properly, we ended up finding one in the garage that fit it perfectly, because it hadn't been used in such a long time, it did make lots of funny noises but now it's al back to normal.
Only thing left to do on the car is,
- The temp sender
- Air con re gas
- New fan belt
- New Lights all around inc dash
- Fix the Petrol Gauge
- Figure out why I have no reverse lights :-(
- & install that Cog.
Thank You all for the replies they have helped me a lot to figure out the problems.
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