Rover P2 Reserve Fuel unit on tank

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RobHomewood
Posts: 320
Joined: Tue Oct 22, 2013 8:04 pm

Rover P2 Reserve Fuel unit on tank

Post by RobHomewood » Sat Feb 08, 2020 2:49 pm

Has anyone any experience of refurbishing these units?
I am trying to make mine work properly but struggled to get my head round what is a simple unit. In operation I could hear the solenoid clunk when I switched to reserve but it didn't seem to draw any fuel. I now have it apart to try and understand how it works. I made a rough diagram from memory which helped me understand that the dip pipes had been previouslyinstalled swapped over which I have corrected.
Reserve Unit Section Diagram.jpeg
I have cleaned the ball and the seat but it does not seem to seal.
I have set it up on the bench using a trickle charger to power the solenoid and a foot pump to test it by attaching to each dip pipe in turn. With the solenoid switched on the ball should seal the outlet from the main dip pipe chamber to allow the reserve pipe to take over but when I test it it feels partially closed but leaks air and therefore won't work.
Have I understood this correctly? And has anyone any suggestions to resolve it?
regards
Rob

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luli
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Re: Rover P2 Reserve Fuel unit on tank

Post by luli » Sat Feb 08, 2020 8:06 pm

In my experience the leaks are where the pipes join the main body, but it can be from the body itself. Remove the mesh, and immerse the whole unit in water , with the output sealed. compress air into the pipes, and watch for bubbles. also see more here: https://wp.me/pXLKy-1nF
Rover 10 1946 RHD
Rover 10 1947 LHD
Rover 12 1947 tourer LHD
http://lulisml.wordpress.com/

RobHomewood
Posts: 320
Joined: Tue Oct 22, 2013 8:04 pm

Re: Rover P2 Reserve Fuel unit on tank

Post by RobHomewood » Sun Feb 09, 2020 10:47 pm

Thanks Luli for your reply.
I am always suspicious of possible leaks where the dip pipes are connected but in this case I had resealed the threads when I swapped them over, back to their rightful positions as I believe it. And furthermore when I am pumping air into the main dip pipe and I can feel and hear it is NOT sealing, I can put my finger over the hole in the unit on the outlet side and it seals shut. This only leaves the ball closure as the only potential culprit as I see it.
So has anyone anyone any ideas about improving the closure? As far as I know the solenoid coil itself would not lose power because it is 80 years old unless it fails altogether but how can I make the ball be hold tighter into the seating? Could it make any difference that I am pushing air into the pipe rather than sucking it out of the outlet?
Rob

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luli
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Re: Rover P2 Reserve Fuel unit on tank

Post by luli » Mon Feb 10, 2020 10:11 am

For tests like that I have a small hand held vacuum pump and gauge (If I remember correctly even a bicycle wheel pump can be used). See more here https://wp.me/pXLKy-sa and here https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Vacuum-Pump
Rover 10 1946 RHD
Rover 10 1947 LHD
Rover 12 1947 tourer LHD
http://lulisml.wordpress.com/

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