Baby Blue - Progress Thread
- Thread starter Faheem
- Start date
Good thread mate, nice job 
29/07/17
Finished installing the on board computer. Replaced the original clock with the OBC version a couple of months ago when I bought the sport seats but never got round to sourcing and installing the BC stalk and the outside temperature probe. Picked the stalk and temperature probe up today from near Mansfield. Installation all done today in a couple of hours.
Looks like it hasn't calibrated correctly yet - 13.2MPG
or that I have a heavy right foot.
![IMG_20170729_191753[1].webp](https://zcoupe.net/attachments/img_20170729_191753-1-webp.61850/ "IMG_20170729_191753[1].webp")
More info here
Also sourced two fog lights after the little fall out I had with a stone at the side of the road. Painted the covers next to the fogs in satin black whilst they were out.
![IMG_20170714_171150[1].webp](https://zcoupe.net/attachments/img_20170714_171150-1-webp.61852/ "IMG_20170714_171150[1].webp")
![IMG_20170729_192448[1].webp](https://zcoupe.net/attachments/img_20170729_192448-1-webp.61851/ "IMG_20170729_192448[1].webp")
Bill - 29/07/17 - £35
Finished installing the on board computer. Replaced the original clock with the OBC version a couple of months ago when I bought the sport seats but never got round to sourcing and installing the BC stalk and the outside temperature probe. Picked the stalk and temperature probe up today from near Mansfield. Installation all done today in a couple of hours.
Looks like it hasn't calibrated correctly yet - 13.2MPG
or that I have a heavy right foot.More info here
Also sourced two fog lights after the little fall out I had with a stone at the side of the road. Painted the covers next to the fogs in satin black whilst they were out.
Bill - 29/07/17 - £35
While this might not be an upgrade, it's a fix that I've been trying to figure out for almost two years.
When I first bought my car I had an issue with the third brake light not working and this was because the wiring in the boot loom had cracked in the middle. At the time I asked the garage to do the work and they happily soldered each of the broken wires together and put heat shrink tubing over the wires.
When I got the car back I noticed that the remote locking wasn't working so took the car back to the garage. After a long while they came to find when they disconnected the brown wire in the loom the remote locking worked but the boot light didn't work. Obviously I chose to keep the remote locking and have a boot light that didn't work. The remote locking locked both doors but not the boot. Very odd.
After that I decided to have a look myself on a couple of occasions and tried swapping the micro switch along with a new actuator that I bought, however this didn't fix the issue.
So today, with nothing else to do, I took out all the wiring out from the boot lid and stripped back along with all the insulation to examine the wires for any cracks but none could be found.
Plugged everything back together and it was all working! Remote locking, boot light and the boot locked correctly.
After about an hour of trying to figure out what was going on I found out that previous owner had replaced the boot lid and when they were putting the wiring back in they muddled the connectors up, specifically the one for the actuator and the one that goes into the boot latch - presumably for the boot light. When the connectors were put in correctly the boot locked and unlocked and the light extinguishes when the boot is closed.
Anyway, really happy that it was a simple fix and all I needed for this one was a pair of spade connectors which I bought from halfrauds for £3.89
When I first bought my car I had an issue with the third brake light not working and this was because the wiring in the boot loom had cracked in the middle. At the time I asked the garage to do the work and they happily soldered each of the broken wires together and put heat shrink tubing over the wires.
When I got the car back I noticed that the remote locking wasn't working so took the car back to the garage. After a long while they came to find when they disconnected the brown wire in the loom the remote locking worked but the boot light didn't work. Obviously I chose to keep the remote locking and have a boot light that didn't work. The remote locking locked both doors but not the boot. Very odd.
After that I decided to have a look myself on a couple of occasions and tried swapping the micro switch along with a new actuator that I bought, however this didn't fix the issue.
So today, with nothing else to do, I took out all the wiring out from the boot lid and stripped back along with all the insulation to examine the wires for any cracks but none could be found.
Plugged everything back together and it was all working! Remote locking, boot light and the boot locked correctly.
After about an hour of trying to figure out what was going on I found out that previous owner had replaced the boot lid and when they were putting the wiring back in they muddled the connectors up, specifically the one for the actuator and the one that goes into the boot latch - presumably for the boot light. When the connectors were put in correctly the boot locked and unlocked and the light extinguishes when the boot is closed.
Anyway, really happy that it was a simple fix and all I needed for this one was a pair of spade connectors which I bought from halfrauds for £3.89
How many times have I seen issues caused by "previous owners"... not sure, but quite a lot! Probably took them more time to bodge it, than to do it right the first time... 
Finally got the wiring for the heated seats done today, took just over a week - on and off of course but unfortunately faced a few annoying issues along the way.
Drivers side heating element both the base and the back had burnt out.
Essentially a lot of burnt wires. New wires put in and buried into the foam.
Hog rings were an absolute pain so went with heavy duty zip ties instead.
Also faced issues with the fabric that needed stretching back into the metal clips under the seat. The fabric had started to tear in places so had to stitch it back together.
Changed the bushes whilst I had the seats out and original bushes were in surprisingly good condition..
Then had an issue with the seats going forward when clicking on the backwards button and backward when clicking on the forward button.
View: https://youtu.be/T8seafT365c
I couldn't figure out why this was happening but in the end I swapped the physical position of the motor - unscrewed it and flipped it around. This fixes the issue and the seat now goes forward when you click the forward button and back when you click the back button.
Unfortunately I felt like the motor was failing because it was getting really hot after a few tries and would stop moving, luckily I had a spare motor that I was able to use from an old seat!
Fitted the seats back in this evening and it's looking really good.
Let's hope the heated seats stay working as I don't have the energy to do this again!
Bill 15/10/17
Heated Seats Adapter £~90
Soldering Iron - £7
Solder - £1.65
Flux Paste - £5
Heat Shrink Tubing - £5
Bushes - £7
Total £115.65
I think next will be my brakes but I think I deserve a 'break' before I start.
wow.... I'm exhausted. 
Faheem
Drivers side heating element both the base and the back had burnt out.
Essentially a lot of burnt wires. New wires put in and buried into the foam.
Hog rings were an absolute pain so went with heavy duty zip ties instead.
Also faced issues with the fabric that needed stretching back into the metal clips under the seat. The fabric had started to tear in places so had to stitch it back together.
Changed the bushes whilst I had the seats out and original bushes were in surprisingly good condition..
Then had an issue with the seats going forward when clicking on the backwards button and backward when clicking on the forward button.
I couldn't figure out why this was happening but in the end I swapped the physical position of the motor - unscrewed it and flipped it around. This fixes the issue and the seat now goes forward when you click the forward button and back when you click the back button.
Unfortunately I felt like the motor was failing because it was getting really hot after a few tries and would stop moving, luckily I had a spare motor that I was able to use from an old seat!
Fitted the seats back in this evening and it's looking really good.
Let's hope the heated seats stay working as I don't have the energy to do this again!
Bill 15/10/17
Heated Seats Adapter £~90
Soldering Iron - £7
Solder - £1.65
Flux Paste - £5
Heat Shrink Tubing - £5
Bushes - £7
Total £115.65
I think next will be my brakes but I think I deserve a 'break' before I start.
wow.... I'm exhausted. Faheem
I think next will be my brakes but I think I deserve a 'break' before I start.
Its nearly Christmas day Faheem, you can have that day off....
Top job mate, I tip my hat to you
Congrats for sticking to the task mate. Jobs a good un!
Tony.
Tony.
Cracking read Faheem, great work .
.
At least he will still be around when Zeds become a true classic pal, unlike most of usMaybe three things then bud, how old are you?No rush Faheem, enjoy what you've achieved for a bit then think a bit bigger.
Tony.
, great read Faheem, you have come a long way young man.
Thank you all for the kind comments.
Tested the seats this evening and I'm amazed, when tested with a battery and in the car whilst the car was stationary and turned off I didn't feel much but after a good run with the heated seats turned on I have to say it does feel like sitting on a hot water bottle.
And it's also the first time in almost 2 weeks that I've driven the zed properly... Do like driving it more than I like fixing it.
Tested the seats this evening and I'm amazed, when tested with a battery and in the car whilst the car was stationary and turned off I didn't feel much but after a good run with the heated seats turned on I have to say it does feel like sitting on a hot water bottle.
And it's also the first time in almost 2 weeks that I've driven the zed properly... Do like driving it more than I like fixing it.
About time I updated this thread.
Summer 2018:
Only issue now is that my aftermarket exhaust that I had fitted 2 years ago does bottom out occasionally over speed bumps!
Summer 2018:
- Polybushed Rear Beam, Trailing Arms & Differential
- All rear brake pipes renewed using kunifer brake pipe
- All shocks and springs replaced with Bilstein B12 kit (includes Eibach 30mm lowering springs)
- Rear beam, trailing arm and diff - rust removed and painted in POR 15
- All brake pads upgraded to EBC Red Stuff
- Front Calipers upgraded to use calipers and vented discs from 2.8
- All 4 calipers painted
- Fitted Stainless Steel Brake Hose to replace old rubber brake hose
Only issue now is that my aftermarket exhaust that I had fitted 2 years ago does bottom out occasionally over speed bumps!
24/10/18
Purchased this last October for the grand total of £25, and whilst it fits the interior really well, it wasn't for me as no option for Bluetooth or Aux and the built in Amp wasn't very good.
So instead I sold it (for silly money - surprised how much these things are worth) and bought this Alpine head unit which allows RGB customisation to get the exact colour that you want: the match isn't too bad, and it's got Bluetooth, DAB, FM, USB and CD.
Purchased this last October for the grand total of £25, and whilst it fits the interior really well, it wasn't for me as no option for Bluetooth or Aux and the built in Amp wasn't very good.
So instead I sold it (for silly money - surprised how much these things are worth) and bought this Alpine head unit which allows RGB customisation to get the exact colour that you want: the match isn't too bad, and it's got Bluetooth, DAB, FM, USB and CD.
Great job
Blimey you have been busy mate.