My 86 magna is has a few problems. Anyone here know how to fix them?

1. Digital speedo often reads 0 (even when the car is moving :P) and then goes back to correct speed after a while.

2. Central locking only unlocks, when u go to lock the driver door only that door locks, not all the doors. But unlocks all doors.

3. U have to rev the engine for 5 minutes before it will run. Any less and it will just stall (automatic).

I'd appreciate any help.

With the engine rev thing, maybe someting is ****ed with your automatic choke? it maybe isnt coming on or something...

yea i thought it was that. i got a quote of $350 to fix it, is it reasonable?

My 86 magna is has a few problems. Anyone here know how to fix them?

1. Digital speedo often reads 0 (even when the car is moving :P) and then goes back to correct speed after a while.

2. Central locking only unlocks, when u go to lock the driver door only that door locks, not all the doors. But unlocks all doors.

3. U have to rev the engine for 5 minutes before it will run. Any less and it will just stall (automatic).

I'd appreciate any help.

1. Probably a bung connection or cable. Try pulling it out and checking all the connections.

2. Maybe one of your actuators is bung, once again make sure everything is plugged in properly

3. Could be anything. Timing, Idle Speed, Auto Choke. Might just need a service. Might also be the fact that it's an 18 y/o carby

1. Probably a bung connection or cable. Try pulling it out and checking all the connections.

2. Maybe one of your actuators is bung, once again make sure everything is plugged in properly

3. Could be anything. Timing, Idle Speed, Auto Choke. Might just need a service. Might also be the fact that it's an 18 y/o carby

1. Which connections should i check? got pic? would it be the sensor on the transmission? (dunno what it looks like though)

2. actuators bung? i don't think so cos unlocking work for all 4 doors, it's just that it doens't lock all 4 doors (only locks the one with u pushed the auctuator down on). could it be the controller?

1. Which connections should i check? got pic? would it be the sensor on the transmission? (dunno what it looks like though)

2. actuators bung? i don't think so cos unlocking work for all 4 doors, it's just that it doens't lock all 4 doors (only locks the one with u pushed the auctuator down on). could it be the controller?

1. http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7903 there are some pics in there. CHeck and cables comming out of the dash part. and if you have a haynes/gergorys manual chekc hte places where they join the motor atc.

2. Could well be the controller. Is it factory or a
fter market. And has it only just started doing this, or have you just bought the car?

1. no gregory manual

2. stock, and had the car since it was new. has been like this for over a year (i only found this forum today :D)

My 86 magna is has a few problems. Anyone here know how to fix them?
3. U have to rev the engine for 5 minutes before it will run. Any less and it will just stall (automatic).

I'd appreciate any help.
Investigate the transmission. Mine had a problem where the torque converter wasn't releasing properly at standstill, and causing it to stall.

get some carbi cleaner down the throat, flood the thing till its sparkling. wash away the 18 years of gunk! then check your timing, change your tranny fluid.

oh welcome to Aussiemagna (AM)

Investigate the transmission. Mine had a problem where the torque converter wasn't releasing properly at standstill, and causing it to stall.

Transmission was recondition lately as it died :(

get some carbi cleaner down the throat, flood the thing till its sparkling. wash away the 18 years of gunk! then check your timing, change your tranny fluid.

got instructions for using carbie cleaner? (me = n00b)

1: hand over $5 at ur local repco or equivalent for a can of carby cleaner
2: take airbox top off (there are 4 clips around the edges and i wingnut in the middle)
3: take cap of can off
4: aim can into the big hole right in the middle of the airbox (with lid off) and spray into it (angle can around as you go so as to wash away as much crap as you can. slowly work further down the hole spraying in short bursts as you go. you can spray in 1 continuous spray but be prepared to wait awhile for it to start and for the smoke to clear from your neighbourhood)
5: make sure all the crap u can c washes away
6: try and start car, it'll b hard but persist. dun matter if it smokes for abit. more the better, that means it worked.

:D

aim into the pipe which come into the throat aswell, they lead down into the float which is where the petrol is stored, mix as much into that mixture as possible and then once your trying to start the car they carbi cleaner is wasing thru the carbi a little and flushing it. nothing like a rebuild tho.

My 86 magna is has a few problems. Anyone here know how to fix them?

1. Digital speedo often reads 0 (even when the car is moving :P) and then goes back to correct speed after a while.

2. Central locking only unlocks, when u go to lock the driver door only that door locks, not all the doors. But unlocks all doors.


I'd appreciate any help.
the speedo: as said before check the wires...if not that take the dash back out and reconnet the 3 plugs and if not that it could be the pulse generator

the centrol locking: seenin as its the factory c/l try the passangers side lock to see if that locks and unlocks the others...if it does then its the senser wire on the drivers side actuators or the actuator it self...or it could be the c/l box or the plug might be loose on the box

the speedo: as said before check the wires...if not that take the dash back out and reconnet the 3 plugs and if not that it could be the pulse generator

the centrol locking: seenin as its the factory c/l try the passangers side lock to see if that locks and unlocks the others...if it does then its the senser wire on the drivers side actuators or the actuator it self...or it could be the c/l box or the plug might be loose on the box

is the pulse generator on the transmission? anyone got instructions on how to remove the dash?

none of the door locks lock the rest of the doors at the same time. u gotta lock each door individually, which is a pain in the ass. but unlocking works fine. i can stick the key into the driver door, unlock and all the doors unlock, same goes for the front passenger door. i've check the plug of the controller above the accelerator pedal and it's not loose. IN FACT I CAN EVEN HEAR THE RELAY CLICK WHEN I LOCK THE DOOR - it just doesn't look the other doors at the same time :(

The central locking sounds like the power in the actuators is gone. Try and feel how much force they apply when you unlock them... Also, listen to them - is there a slight delay between when the door you unlock clicks and when the others click? A working central locking should have all the doors unlock almost simultaneously.

If this is the case, you may need to replace the actuators...

That said, did the locks all stop working at the same time? Whenever I've seen this, (on my old Falcon, and on my sister's TM) the locks progressively stopped, with between days and weeks between one failing and the next....

Just some thoughts...

Well all 4 acutators still unlock the car, but they just don't lock. U got to manully lock all 4 doors. Do they require more force/power to lock than to unlock? Cos some of them seem to unlock slower than others.


The central locking sounds like the power in the actuators is gone. Try and feel how much force they apply when you unlock them... Also, listen to them - is there a slight delay between when the door you unlock clicks and when the others click? A working central locking should have all the doors unlock almost simultaneously.

If this is the case, you may need to replace the actuators...

That said, did the locks all stop working at the same time? Whenever I've seen this, (on my old Falcon, and on my sister's TM) the locks progressively stopped, with between days and weeks between one failing and the next....

Just some thoughts...

What happens inside is that they wear out, and then can't generate enough force in one direction... My sister's TM has one door which locks, but doesn't unlock, and one with the reverse...

I haven't invesigated the Magna central locking yet (too busy under the bonnet!) but I think that it's solenoid driven, not pneumatic. That means that there's a magnet which is pushed up or down by a coil of wire, like a speaker cone. This magnet pushes some gearing or levers inside the actuator. When the actuator gets old, the levers wear out, and then can't push in one or both directions effectively.

Oh, and usually the actuators are sealed up, so you may not be able to service it anyway, and you may have to replace it whole. Not sure if that's true of the Magna's but it is the case for every other central locking system I've seen...

What happens inside is that they wear out, and then can't generate enough force in one direction... My sister's TM has one door which locks, but doesn't unlock, and one with the reverse...

I haven't invesigated the Magna central locking yet (too busy under the bonnet!) but I think that it's solenoid driven, not pneumatic. That means that there's a magnet which is pushed up or down by a coil of wire, like a speaker cone. This magnet pushes some gearing or levers inside the actuator. When the actuator gets old, the levers wear out, and then can't push in one or both directions effectively.

Oh, and usually the actuators are sealed up, so you may not be able to service it anyway, and you may have to replace it whole. Not sure if that's true of the Magna's but it is the case for every other central locking system I've seen...
Yes, they are solenoid driven locks.

My 86 magna is has a few problems. Anyone here know how to fix them?

3. U have to rev the engine for 5 minutes before it will run. Any less and it will just stall (automatic).

.
http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30568
http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40090