Gathering in France 2015, we are definitely going.

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Dormy
Posts: 226
Joined: Tue Feb 21, 2012 11:45 pm
Info: Sleeping on the job.....Zzzzzz
Location: Norfolk

Re: Gathering in France 2015, we are definitely going.

Post by Dormy » Sat Jun 06, 2015 3:47 pm

Sorry this is a bit late posting but we have had some other important things to deal with after returning home.

We made it. Had some ups & downs. But hey ho, we enjoyed ourselves and are glad we went.

Drove to Dover on a sunny Sunday and stayed in a Premier Inn so we could catch the 10am ferry next day. I had recently replaced a faulty condenser which allowed me to get Dormy running again, but we were going to haunted by a missfire (and more !) throughout the entire trip.
Unmistakably Dover
Unmistakably Dover
Monday was a little bleak. On the ferry they warned of gales but actually the crossing wasn't bad. However, as we drove south west along the Normandy coast, we were battering Dormy's nose straight into the gale force winds which as most would know - kind of reduces progress. Didn't let this bother us too much as we had plenty of time and it had been my intention to keep down to a cruising speed of 55mph so we would just role with the lorries. In fact we were tucking in behind those lorries whenever we could, but damn they are fast and weren't held up by the wind at all !

Finally arrived at Lyons La Foret and booked in: -
Made it !
Made it !
Our pitch
Our pitch
Dormy
Posts: 226
Joined: Tue Feb 21, 2012 11:45 pm
Info: Sleeping on the job.....Zzzzzz
Location: Norfolk

Re: Gathering in France 2015, we are definitely going.

Post by Dormy » Sat Jun 06, 2015 4:42 pm

For what I am going to tell you next, I want you to understand that the above serene picture was actually taken later in the week and does not show the continuing gale and frequent showers that loudly heralded our arrival. We waited a little while peering through the windscreen and looking at the pitch next door. What was attracting our attention ? - A holiday chalet in the form of a very secure and warm log cabin !

Yes, I abandoned Dormy and went back to the office to make enquiries. You should have seen how Dianne cheered when I returned with the keys in my hand ! Traitors we did not feel, as the changeable weather continued right through to the Friday morning when we would have to vacate the chalet. It also meant we were completely free to use Dormy to get around the local area without having to mess around with the roof etc. etc.

We managed to make the most of the week as each day alternated between rain in the morning and sunshine in the afternoon, or vice versa. Our first trip was the relatively short walk into Lyons la Foret to see what a pretty town we were staying by (sorry, forgot the camera). Next saw us take a run down to Les Andelys with its history and castle (sorry, forgot the camera again !). From the campsite, we also took a walk around one of the local forest trails (I had the camera !).
Long Walks
Long Walks
Then a trip to the large town of Rouen.
Rouen
Rouen
Rouen was especially dramatic, not only for the town's architecture but also the very imposing churches and Catherdral.

Now our story takes another twist. We had left Dormy at the Park & Ride and taken the bus into Rouen. On our return I noticed I was having to pull the choke a little bit more than expected to manoeuvre out of the car-park. The exit from the car-park is directly onto the busy ring-road and thinking the engine would quickly warm, off we went. It soon became obvious that all was not well. As we careered our way out of Rouen Dormy was needing the choke to keep running. We could maintain about 40mph so were not holding up the traffic, but I was just a little more than worried. Eventually, we stopped in a lay-by outside the town where there was a petrol station and bar (!) nearby. I opened the bonnet and fiddled around. Tried the old - rev it and cover the inlet trick, all to no avail. Now apart from tick-over, Dormy didn't even want to run ! 1st gear - low box and we crawled into the petrol station car park. Recovery Services were summoned and into the bar we went. About 45 mins later half way through my second beer, the recovery truck turned up and off we went back to the campsite (after the recovery driver had got us lost). We wanted at least to be there when Mick etc. all arrived so the recovery agreed to come back for us on Tuesday. Back at the campsite we reversed Dormy up to the tent.
All set-up
All set-up
Dormy
Posts: 226
Joined: Tue Feb 21, 2012 11:45 pm
Info: Sleeping on the job.....Zzzzzz
Location: Norfolk

Re: Gathering in France 2015, we are definitely going.

Post by Dormy » Sat Jun 06, 2015 5:32 pm

Saturday morning and our story took twist number 2. On opening the rear door into the tent I noticed the smell of petrol fumes. Thinking this might be related to our problems (leaking fuel pipe ?) I investigated, only to discover Dormy's fuel tank had developed a slight leak and the breeze was wafting the fumes into the tent, then up into Dormy via the back door. I now had to move Dormy away from the tent to allow the fumes to disperse.
What smell !
What smell !
The fact that Dormy had broken down was more of a worry on this occasion than it might have been. The recovery services were very good and promised a car if we needed it etc. But, we were timing things to get home, have one day to sort ourselves out, then off to Sheffield for our daughters wedding on Friday. Coupled with this, while in France, Dianne had received some bad news about a family member which would make the need to get home promptly even more urgent.

Mick, family and friends turned up in the afternoon and once set up we all had a good evening sitting, chatting and drinking around the barbeque. All worries forgotten for a little while.

Next morning Mick and I discussed Dormy's woes and came to the conclusion it was worth stripping the carb. Sure enough, there was a little bit of petrol lacquer lodged in the bottom of the main jet (Dormy sits too long too often). It had probably been putting my hand over the carb that had finally drawn it firmly into the jet and subsequently prevented the engine running even with choke. A road test revealed that all now seemed well and the recovery company was informed of the 'local' repair.

Another plan of action was called for as we could not chance breaking down on the way back to Calais and suffer the subsequent delays etc. waiting again for recovery. The decision was we would return to Calais on the Monday so if there were any problems, the recovery people would have us sorted out before our Tuesday sailing. If Dormy ran OK back to Calais, then we would probably get back to Norfolk. As it happened, we got back to Calais without further mishap and slept in Dormy in the overnight carpark Mick had used on the way down. Tuesday, saw us catch our ferry and get back to Norfolk safely.
Returning home
Returning home
Dormy
Posts: 226
Joined: Tue Feb 21, 2012 11:45 pm
Info: Sleeping on the job.....Zzzzzz
Location: Norfolk

Re: Gathering in France 2015, we are definitely going.

Post by Dormy » Sat Jun 06, 2015 6:30 pm

Having got home safely, we got to our daughters wedding which went very well and Dianne has now gone to visit her family and spend some time there.

But what of the misfire which plagued us - I never mentioned it throughout any part of the story !?

After swapping the condenser which had developed a fault returning home from a previous trip, Dormy seemed to be running fine. However, within 20 miles of setting off for Dover this little misfire began to appear. Thinking, *&^%$ cheap condensers, we stopped and I swapped it for another. No improvement, the slight misfire was still there. I wasn't chancing going to France with the engine not running properly so turned around and back home we went. At home I got a spare coil and tried that - much worse, would barely run ! Put the original coil back and decided to bite the bullet and transfer the electronic ignition from another engine. About an hour and half later we were off again and everything was OK all the way to Dover and across to France.

3/4 of the way to Lyons la Foret the misfire began to return. Occasional and only minor it very gradually got more frequent. Eventually the misfire seemed to be there most of the time but was still minor and only had a slight affect on engine performance. I had stopped in a lay-by and fiddled with all the ignition LT & HT connections but it made no difference. Anyway we were now fully committed (or maybe should have been !) and made it to the campsite.

Next morning, I fiddled with all the connections again. Cleaned all the contacts and reset the spark plugs. Ran the engine and all seemed fine. Our trip to Les Andeleys went without a hitch. Though I am not entirely sure, had the misfire returned again just before we got back to the campsite ? Next trip out was to Rouen and a little before the town the misfire was definitely there again. But as you know, a bigger problem developed and the misfire was forgotten about for a little while.

About 3/4 of the way back to Calais the misfire reappeared ? Same as before, started occasional then became more regular but didn't seriously affect the engine. Fiddled with the connections on the way and again when we got to Calais. Following morning it was off on the ferry and across to Dover. Half way up to the M25 and the misfire began to creep back in ! The misfire was persistent, but still not significantly affecting engine power. We continued our journey and eventually stopped in services on the M11.

Before leaving the services I decided to adjust the engine tick-over which had been left a little fast since stripping the carb. While adjusting the throttle stop screw, my brain realised I could here the unmistakable 'click', 'click', 'click' of a high voltage electric spark ? Looking at the coil, I could see a spark jumping from behind the HT rubber boot to the insulated LT terminal leading to the dizzy ? I stopped the engine and bent the LT terminal away. I also rotated the HT lead as its end had a shaped brass contact with two small tails. All I wanted to do was put as much distance between the HT and LT leads as possible. It did the trick ! We drove all the way to Norwich without another murmur from the engine. Safely home, I will probably renew the HT leads and dizzy cap (everything else is new) and of course, replace the petrol tank !

Just to prove none of the above spoiled our holiday: -
Compulsory selfie
Compulsory selfie
Final question; Could the errant spark be what caused the condensers to go, or it it true about trouble coming in 3's !?
AlexB
Posts: 466
Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2012 8:01 am

Re: Gathering in France 2015, we are definitely going.

Post by AlexB » Fri Aug 28, 2015 5:46 pm

Really enjoyable report - many thanks. Wish we were there this time.

In answer to your final question

It's those errant sparks that have convinced me that diesel is the future !!
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