KEEPING
DELTAS
DRIVING
Lancia Delta Integrale specialists and enthusiasts
Warning!
O
On the first drive out in our white Evo, all was going ok until the low water light came on. I knew the water level was ok, because I'd just filled the tank, so it must of course be electrical.
At the next stop I wiggled the joint and wires to the header tank sensor, that worked for a while, but the light soon came back on. Back home again, I had a proper look.
On this car there has always been a Scotchblok connector on the black and green wires, just before the joint to the expansion tank water level sensor. I suspected this fitting was faulty, so I pulled it off. It didn't actually join any wires, so I figured it was for an extra fitting sometime in the past.
I checked the Lancia joint and levered the sensor and its rubber seal out of the hole in the header tank, I turned it upside down and started the car, but the light stayed on.
I pulled the foam float off, but there are no visible parts to repair.
The inner workings of the sensor remain a mystery!
I then realised that the Scotchblok had been fitted to join the feed and return wires together, to complete a circuit and keep the warning light out.
A previous owner had cooked up a remedy instead of replacing the faulty sensor.
Water level sensor, kaput
A 3M Scotchloc, not to be trusted
The ingenuity of an Integrale's previous owners always amazes me!
It's always the previous owner too, as if we would do such a thing!
Scotchbloks are the devil's dumplings of electrical fittings anyway,
they should never be trusted, they can't even be trusted to keep
a cock-up secret!
I have cut the green and black wires where the block was, twisted them together and insulated them to make a complete circuit, so the warning light will stay out, and returned the sensor to its hole.
I can imagine hammering down the motorway, the bottom radiator hose blowing off and me not knowing because the warning light isn't working.
But I won't leave it like this for long!
A new sensor is easily available from AE car, so I'll order one very soon,
there's a new joining connector fitted to it, so I'll use the long wires left on the
old connector, and solder and wrap them to repair the cut wires properly.
