Chalky

We had 10ma in the electronics labs at Lucas York Road. Whilst they were safer than the 30ma devices they were a pain in the proverbial since they kept false tripping. It's due to the false tripping that 30ma is widely used.

I had the same problem on the petrol variant of this engine. I tried a number of different gaskets and eventually found one of the older style thick card gaskets that sealed perfectly first time. A lot of the newer gaskets are made from thinner material and don't take up and irregularities as well. On the petrol variants at least one of the thermostat housing studs goes straight into the water jacket on the head and this is a known leak point. The trick is to remove the stud and replace it with some sealant round the thread. A close fitting gasket stops the coolant working up the stud and out of the nut. If the thermostat housing is damaged they are still made for the classic car market.

I tried a number of methods to remove the non slip paint on my roof. Angle grinder with wire brush worked however the best method was a sharp chisel used as a scraper. This got under the paint and lifted it from the steel. It was slow going and needed regular sharpening but it did work. Now I've got a compressor I'd be tempted to try blasting.

Didn't know there was a recycling facility in Rugby, I'll have to investigate. The Leamington one is usually very good and is handy for the canal. CV31 3PH

The main difference is the contact material used. If you use the wrong material than there's the danger of the contacts eventually welding and not opening, however this assumes they're regularly tripping. I've never had a breaker trip on the 12V system in 13 years so I'd put the risk as marginal.

I'd stick a common mode choke in the power lines and add a decent size zener in for good measure. With a decent scope you'll see + ve and -ve voltage transients into the kV region caused by things like the fridge switching. They won't kill it straight away but they will stress it and cause premature failure. Automotive power supplies are rated to 60v and reverse battery as well as surviving kV transients.

There was a different take on this used on the Metro turbo to control the fuel pump. The relay was driven off the oil pressure switch which operates the warning light. The main difference was that the switch was changed to one that closes under pressure instead of opening like they normally do. The relay was high side fed and earthed through the switch. The warning light was connected between earth and the relay / switch junction. Simple system that worked well and was fitted to 10,000 cars

If you want to fix it open it up and you should find a number of coils. If you liberally coat them in varnish and let it soak in then that should stop it. The noise is the magnetic fields in the coils vibrating the windings and causing them to sing. Gluing them up with varnish will stop the movement. Better quality parts will have this done when the coils are wound.

I use paraffin to clean parts on the MG. Degreases and cleans very well. A friend of mine put a cylinder head in the dishwasher (when his wife was away) and it came up really clean. It took 4 days to get the oil off the dishwasher! Suggests hot water and dishwasher tablets / powder may work. Machine mart sell a parts washer detergent. Not tried it, but it may be worth a go.

I've had the headgasket go on an engine (in an MG) and experienced a number of symptoms. I had mysterious losses of coolant, cooling system still pressurised days after engine last run, and perfect compression. After chasing it for a few weeks I pulled the head, checked it for flatness (all OK fortunately), and refitted with a new gasket. Problems went away. What you're describing sounds like a headgasket to me.

Check the oil separator first. This is on the front tappet chest cover. Inside there is a wire 'pan scraper' which collects the oil vapour and returns it to the dump. If this is clogged then it won't separate the vapour and it will get fed into the inlet. If this is OK then as Richard says.

The positioning of the heating header tank (with pressure cap to release excess steam/water) directly above the mains inverter is a particularly inspired piece of design! If they can get something as simple as this so fundamentally wrong what's the rest of it like?

You also need to ensure that the installation complies with BS8511. This specifies requirements for the hearth construction, thermal insulation / fire protection, air supply and flue as well as security of mountings. http://www.boatsafetyscheme.org/stay-safe/solid-fuel-stoves/new-stove-new-chimney/

My preference is for the crimps shown above or the sealed version of them ( they contain hot melt glue ). The scotchloc aka bodgeloc are responsible for more wire damage and overheating than just about any other connector.

When I fitted the boat out I ran a pair of 25mm cables from the domestic fuse box (via a 45A breaker) to a fuse box in the middle of the boat. The plan was to run a 12V fridge from there. I ended up fitting a mains fridge so they've never been used for a fridge however the cable has been useful for adding a number of circuits that have been added since the fit out (reading lights, sockets etc). If its only 2 * 2m lengths then fit the biggest you can or fit a local fuse box and distribute from there.

Imagine you're in the dock having to face a manslaughter charge because someone was electrocuted. Which is the better defence I installed industry standard parts to an approved method that unfortunately failedOr I lashed something together on the cheap that sort of works...There's a reason for engineering standards and why people use parts and designs built to them.

When you rebuilt the engine did you clean the oil separator in the crank case breather? On my engine (B series petrol) the breather is one of the tappet chest covers. It consists of a "wire pan scraper" and is designed to separate oil vapour. Washing it in petrol cleans the congealed oil off and lets it work properly.

On our 40' boat the tunnel light is run in 6mm cable to keep the volt drop to a minimum. When measuring the voltage do it with the engine running since this will/should increase the voltage. The graph (borrowed from http://www.civicforums.com/forums/182-7th-generation-civic/312313-what-head-light-bulbs-do-you-use.html)shows the effect cable size / volt drop can have on the output of a bulb.