10 replies to this topic

[dojo]

So my mini is totally stripped out. 

The steering column cluster wiring is a mess and the stalks themselves have seen better days - esp the left one and the whole thing has tendancy to rotate when you turn!!!

Looking to replace the cluster seems a fairly costly task esp when I don't really want one.

I was thinking about relocating the whole lot to the dash board - indicators, wipers and lights on switches and the horn on a button!

I was also thinking about changing out the ignition for switches??

[nicklouse]

you would never be able to reach half of the switch's.

 

but anything is possible.

[paulrockliffe]

I did this once, such a pain running without stalks! I was young and daft.

I've just moved all my switches apart from the stalks to a control box by my right hand though, because I couldn't reach any switches when strapped in with harnesses.

[Dusky]

You could mount the indicators to thumb buttons like they use for launch control etc. Mounting them on the dashboard would get tireing very quickly.

[mab01uk]

An early mk1 Mini steering column has everything on the dash except the indicator stalk with green flashing light on the end, and the headlights were dipped by a foot switch on the floor. As said can be a pain with seatbelts on though.

[paulrockliffe]

I did put mine on the wheel, but the indicators then don't latch and it's a pain holding the button as you turn.

You can make them latch with an Arduino fairly easily though.

[Icey]

You can make them latch with an Arduino fairly easily though.

No need for an Arduino, there are much simpler circuits or there are latching relays.

In general, you can get away with everything except indicators, massive pain not having those on the column.

[paulrockliffe]

I thought that was the case, but couldn't remember what they were called!

 

I think the wipers being moved would annoy me too, I'm always messing with those if it starts to rain a bit.

 

I think when I did it the first time around I put a On-Off-On switch for the indicators between the seats and then used buttons on the wheel for quick indication, which is fine but I missed the self-cancelling of the stalks as you get used to it driving other cars and always leave them on.  I think using latching relays would be OK though.

 

Thinking about it, if you added buttons to do headlight flash and to switch between main and dipped (using another latching relay - I presume you can get a change-over one), indicators, horn and wiper single wipe that would probably work fairly well. 

 

You would need switches somewhere else to cover the indicators if you wanted to stop the car with the indicator on (and I presume timed latching only would fail the MOT?), and the wiper two-speed.  You could move the horn too I suppose, but leaving it gives you an even number of buttons at the wheel and it's good to be able to get to it quickly when you do need it!  If you wanted to reduce the number of buttons from 6 to 4 though, move the horn and you cold lose the main beam flash and just use two presses of the latching button to flash the main beam and it would be fairly OK.  Do you need the flash for the MOT?

 

When I did it originally, I used some curly multi-core wrapped around the column, some micro buttons that I bought on eBay for pennies and a scrap of carbon fibre that went between the wheel and the boss that I drilled and shaped and that all worked really well.  I presume you can buy proper button mounts these days though.

 

The other thing to bear in mind is that if your car has a key and steering lock on the column it is an MOT fail not to have the electrical and mechanical and electric immobilisation of the car in sync with each other and for cars after (19??) the mechanical immobilisation is required for the MOT.  So you can't just move the electrics to a separate key or remove the steering lock.  

 

I've just been rewiring my car and have set it up so that the key on the column does nothing except activate two 200A relays, the relays then supply power to the switched fuse boards.  That way all the electrics is switched at a new control box, but the immobilisation still works.  There's two relays because if you move the controls away from the dashboard it's easier to add a second fusebox and relay in the boot or behind the front seats to take power to the switches than to trail wires from the dash and then back again.  I've also wired the relays such that if one failed you can by-pass it in seconds to restore power.

[panky]

Like a Citroen Visa - the indicators are on there somewhere

 

[paulrockliffe]

Wow, that could be the answer!  I wonder if the whole dash fits??

 

[panky]

It doesn't even fit in a Visa