Renault Floride instrument panel removal

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Oscar01

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Can anyone tell me how to access the instrument panel on my Floride please ? I am converting the car to 12v. The only difficult part seems to be under the dash. I need to change the bulbs and also put a 12 to 6v supply to the fuel and temp gauges. I have undone the two nuts that seem to hold the panel in position but cannot pull it forwards because of the steering column. Can the plastic shroud be released from the panel ? Any ideas gratefully received. Oscar01 Cooroy SE Qld 4563

I have ordered a 12 to 6v block to power the windscreen wiper motor and think that I could power the gauges from that unless I can more easily access their power supplies somewhere else and could use some smaller voltage reducers as well.
 
Hi, One would assume you have the speedo cable undone too so it should come out without too much of a fight. The plastic surround is a fixture and can only be removed from the speedo mechanism once you have it all out.
 
The obvious question? Why? You can make them work perfectly well with 6V. If you are really going to that trouble, good luck anyway, genuinely.

Happily quite a few have done this so there some experience around. I can think of a couple running their 6V starter on 12V too, they spin pretty fast!
 
I have a 6V starter on My Floride 1092 and it won't start on 12 volts because it turns over so quickly that the solenoid fly's out as it does when the motor starts. Works on 6 Volts though.
 
Sunroof said:
I have a 6V starter on My Floride 1092 and it won't start on 12 volts because it turns over so quickly that the solenoid fly's out as it does when the motor starts. Works on 6 Volts though.
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Yes, not totally surprising!! I've heard a couple of the 12V cars with 6V starters! Wow.
 
All my other vehicles are 6v so I thought the exercise would be interesting but you have got me worried about the starter motor now ! All good fun . I have just parted with a Dauphine with a very successful 12v conversion by a previous owner.
Does anyone have any experience with a Caresa M34 carburettor ( a Solex look alike made I think in S America ) , it is said to have been used on a number of different vehicles inc Giordini.I got an unused one from the States. It starts and ticks over very nicely but won't pull and can even stall on acceleration . The original Solex seemed to have the auto choke jammed on and belched smoke.
Thanks for your comments.
 
I do know that the guy in Argentina who answers emails about the new carbies made there is smart and very obliging in my limited experience. Those auto chokes usually work well but the rotating disc does need to be able to move freely internally - might just need a good clean.

Not a yellow Dauphine is it?
 
Yes the Dauphine was yellow, repainted over blue.Very intact, no rust. The bonnet had had a ding and did not close perfectly .
 
Aha. Poor photo but this one I presume? Seen yesterday!
 

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It looks like it, it went to Sydney area. The distributor was from Argentina and with difficulty I managed to source a cap for it from that country.
 
The 12v conversion has been successful. The only difficulty really is accessing the instrument panel without removing all the wires but I managed with a mirror on a stick and made notes as I went. Looking at the panel from the drivers position ( I removed both seats from the car ) the top right contact array has been attached to the 12 v supply to run the gauges and the oil pressure light with appropriate bulb changes. The supply to the wiper motor and blower motor removed from the panel and connected to the voltage reducer to operated through existing switches. A separate 12 supply from the ignition switch powers the ignition light and its circuit to the alternator.
The Renault wiring diagrams of that era are marvellous, I can actually follow them ! Unfortunately my workshop manual did not show the correct diagram for my 1962 Floride but the drivers handbook which came with the car has a perfectly usable one which I could enlarge. There are also useful diagrams of the connections for the individual electric organs.

Now I have two new problems to solve !

1. the starter dog does not always engage, perhaps because the starter spins faster now ? Perhaps it needs a new dog ? I have seen them for sale somewhere on the internet. Can one buy a 12v starter motor ? ( I believe the USA cars were all 12 v ? )

2. The ignition switch may have some loose contacts inside. When i turn off the ignition to kill the engine, if I turn the key fully anticlockwise it seems to spin the starter motor. It is ok if I turn the key just enough to stop the engine and no further. I see the instructions in the manual to remove the ignition switch. Will this allow me to access the inside of the with to see if it is reparable ? Can one buy a NOS switch, so far I have not found any for sale on a few french Renault parts suppliers that I looked at .

3. Those funny little ( parking ? ) lights on the sides of the front wings, where do they switch on ?

thanks for your input oscar 01
 
Oscar01 said:
The 12v conversion has been successful. The only difficulty really is accessing the instrument panel without removing all the wires but I managed with a mirror on a stick and made notes as I went. Looking at the panel from the drivers position ( I removed both seats from the car ) the top right contact array has been attached to the 12 v supply to run the gauges and the oil pressure light with appropriate bulb changes. The supply to the wiper motor and blower motor removed from the panel and connected to the voltage reducer to operated through existing switches. A separate 12 supply from the ignition switch powers the ignition light and its circuit to the alternator.
The Renault wiring diagrams of that era are marvellous, I can actually follow them ! Unfortunately my workshop manual did not show the correct diagram for my 1962 Floride but the drivers handbook which came with the car has a perfectly usable one which I could enlarge. There are also useful diagrams of the connections for the individual electric organs.

Now I have two new problems to solve !

1. the starter dog does not always engage, perhaps because the starter spins faster now ? Perhaps it needs a new dog ? I have seen them for sale somewhere on the internet. Can one buy a 12v starter motor ? ( I believe the USA cars were all 12 v ? )

2. The ignition switch may have some loose contacts inside. When i turn off the ignition to kill the engine, if I turn the key fully anticlockwise it seems to spin the starter motor. It is ok if I turn the key just enough to stop the engine and no further. I see the instructions in the manual to remove the ignition switch. Will this allow me to access the inside of the with to see if it is reparable ? Can one buy a NOS switch, so far I have not found any for sale on a few french Renault parts suppliers that I looked at .

3. Those funny little ( parking ? ) lights on the sides of the front wings, where do they switch on ?

thanks for your input oscar 01
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Can't answer all the questions but, having stored "your" yellow Dauphine for a few weeks for the new owner, the starter certainly behaves despite the doubled voltage. It spins amazingly, as you know.

Old Niemans can be a pain. I just bought a new one for the R8 a few years ago. You'd have to check, but I suspect it is the same as yours: Electricité - Bretagne Auto Retro

The parking lights are switched, each side separately, with the rotary light switch (the Avercod) on the left of the steering column. Up from the neutral position is one side, down is the other side. The next position "down and around" is the side lights and tail lights, then low beam headlamps and then high beam headlamps. At least my 4CV works that way.
 
Thanks that is very useful information. Bretagne Auto Retro seems to be sold out of Neimans at present but a useful site to know. I will take the switch off and see if anything can be done. It seems one just removes the wires and undo 2 nuts on the bottom of the switch according to my Dauphine WSM.
 
Oscar01 said:
Thanks that is very useful information. Bretagne Auto Retro seems to be sold out of Neimans at present but a useful site to know. I will take the switch off and see if anything can be done. It seems one just removes the wires and undo 2 nuts on the bottom of the switch according to my Dauphine WSM.
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It would hardly be original, but I helped someone out years ago with a dead Nieman on a Dauphine by fitting an inconspicuous toggle switch for ignition and a push button for the starter. Theft risk is negligible, and you keep the Nieman as a steering lock.
 
I would try Der Franzose. They have a range of ignition switches that includes R4, to 15/17 and all in between. Although my 2018 catalogue does not show Dauphine or Floride specifically but they may have one or know that one of the others fits. I got an R10 one from them a couple of years ago and it is fine. One of the R4 ones also fits 8's and 10's apparently. They are very obliging and have English speakers on staff.
 
On my Floride S they are indicators, so John I would agree with you.
 
JohnW said:
It would hardly be original, but I helped someone out years ago with a dead Nieman on a Dauphine by fitting an inconspicuous toggle switch for ignition and a push button for the starter. Theft risk is negligible, and you keep the Nieman as a steering lock.
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That is a good fall back position, thanks
 
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