2.0 litre Sterling Coupe manual with cruise control

[dollysprint]

Still have to run the wiring but thought I'd stick this up for interest.








Dave

[Kyle]

Nice looking coupe. I've always liked oxford blue and the lighter colour interior.

I think 17s really set off the coupe though.

Not so much a fan of the single airbag dash or the colour coded steering wheel !

Which cruise control setup are you fitting?

[dollysprint]

You won't find an air bag in that Coupe, long since removed. The whole interior came out of a 1992 Coupe except the wheel which came from a 1992 Sterling.
Cruise system came from a 1996 420 GSi, switches are pure 800.
Agree about 17in Vitesse alloys being the best looking on a Coupe, but both my sets need a refurb and those 15's are on for comfort and to use up the tyres.

Dave

[scoobyh123]

Definite improvement getting rid of the dash-mounted IEDs (airbags) and fitting the older style dash and colour coded steering wheel/nacelle!!!

Good luck getting the cruise control up and running, never quite understood why Rover said "V6 only" even on Sterling models.

[stanker]

Hi Dave.

The 2.0 litre I've just bought was showing a drop on the temperature gauge when I drove it back yesterday. About sixty miles into the journey the needle started dropping down to cold, then back to normal, then down to cold again, is it something simple like thermostat or temperature gauge?

Also the radio has WAIT showing, any idea how long?

Regards

Ian
.

[dollysprint]

Hi Dave.

The 2.0 litre I've just bought was showing a drop on the temperature gauge when I drove it back yesterday. About sixty miles into the journey the needle started dropping down to cold, then back to normal, then down to cold again, is it something simple like thermostat or temperature gauge?

Also the radio has WAIT showing, any idea how long?

Regards

Ian
.

Being that erratic its most likely the single pole temp gauge sender below the CTS going faulty. To check the gauge put the single pole connector to earth, gauge should read at its highest point.
With the radio somebody has entered the radio code incorrectly, having done that the radio goes into "wait" mode. From memory its something like 3 mins the first attempt, 10 mins the second attempt and 30 min the third attempt, if the code is still wrong it will lock out. Try disconnecting the radio from the car completely and then plug it back in, thats if you have the code of course. If it still says wait then its probably locked out for good.

Dave

[dollysprint]

Definite improvement getting rid of the dash-mounted IEDs (airbags) and fitting the older style dash and colour coded steering wheel/nacelle!!!

Good luck getting the cruise control up and running, never quite understood why Rover said "V6 only" even on Sterling models.

All my cars get the air bags removed if they are fitted, near 20 year old pyrotechnics and moisture don't mix, or rather they do mix and the igniter wont fire anyway. Air bags originally had a 10 year life, that was extended to 15 years by most manufacturers about 2002/3, hoping of course that most 15 year old cars would be scrapped by then. No testing ever took place past the 10 year point originally specified. Dad crashed his 1997 Sterling in 2012 doing 35mph, the air bags never deployed.
The other thing is on both the 800 and my Discovery the airbags take away a very handy shelf and on the discovery a very useful grab handle to aid getting in. On all 800's so fitted its easy to remove the air bags as the wiring circuit is completely stand alone and clearly marked in yellow conduit, with the new mot laws regarding wiring modifications I then also changed the dash instruments so now no SRS symbol either. Last thing to do is change the door windows as they are marked with the SRS symbol. Of course getting hold of a non airbag dash, wood facia and instrument panel end closing panel is getting ever harder. The Streetwise and the Jag X type will have to keep the airbags though as by 2004 the airbag loom had become integral with the rest of the loom.

The 2.0 litre cars not having cruise is a bit of a disgrace to be honest, especially when you have it on the lower segment 420 GSi as standard. Mind I don't think the 1.8 75 ever got it either even as a Connoisseur SE.

Dave

[stanker]

Thanks Dave.

It looks like the radio might be locked out for good, I've left it on for an hour now and it's still showing WAIT, I'll disconnect it from the car in the morning and try that, typical, nice clean looking radio, fooked!

What is the CTS?, you know my technical knowledge only runs to steering wheel and tyres!

Regards

Ian

[dollysprint]

Look at the engine bay picture above, just below the fancy blue oil filler cap you can see the thermostat housing with a connector on the front of it(thats the lambda connector leading down the exhaust manifold), between that connector and the small bore coolant pipe to the expansion tank you can just see the brass part of the CTS, coolant temperature sensor, just below that, but you cant see it in the pic is the temp gauge sender. Don't rule out the stat but I'd change the sender first.

Dave

[stanker]

Thanks Dave.

The radio is fixed, by the time I'd got back to the car to take the key out of the ignition and lock it up for the night, WAIT had gone and CODE had appeared, phew!

Ian

[SJG]

Did you change the gearbox from the auto because you had problems with it Dave? Knowing that there are weaknesses with this box I was just curious.

[TDHFastback]

That interior is lovely Dave and looks factory fitted. You are indeed a man of many skills.

Kate

[TheOldMan]

Cruise system came from a 1996 420 GSi, switches are pure 800.

Dusan had a go at that too, with exactly the same parts.

But he never got it to work.

Have you got your cruise running?

[stanker]

Look at the engine bay picture above, just below the fancy blue oil filler cap you can see the thermostat housing with a connector on the front of it(thats the lambda connector leading down the exhaust manifold), between that connector and the small bore coolant pipe to the expansion tank you can just see the brass part of the CTS, coolant temperature sensor, just below that, but you cant see it in the pic is the temp gauge sender. Don't rule out the stat but I'd change the sender first.

Dave

Hi Dave

The connector from the wiring harness to the CTS is broken, any ideas where I might be able to get some sort of replacement?

Regards

Ian

[dollysprint]

Did you change the gearbox from the auto because you had problems with it Dave? Knowing that there are weaknesses with this box I was just curious.

The autobox had started to rattle slightly although I had several spare boxes so the conversion was more to do with improving economy and my ever growing annoyance at the ZF's gear change points in town and A/B road driving, its fuel economy was on a par with my 2.7 auto Sterling, which having cruise always made it the car of choice for long journeys and the Coupe was just not getting used. So this conversion should improve the situation on both counts.

Dave