1996 continental type R

[John Botfield]

I have recently purchased my first Bentley, the cruise control and the oil temperature gauge do not work . Are these common problems with easy solutions?

any help would be appreciated

BDC 21964

john B

[John Robison]

The first place to check when your cruise is out is the brake lamps. I don't know if UK cars have two or three. In the USA we see a failed center brake lamp go un-notced by the driver and it knocks out the system. Wrong wattage lamps can do the same.

If lamps are ruled out you get into checking the brake pedal switch and the control unit. Control units go awry pretty often and there are several specialists in the UK who fix them

As for the temp gauge - I do not remember if the gauge on that car is actually connected to a sensor on the motor in a simple circuit, or if it displays a calculated reading derived from the fail injection sensors and calculated by the ECU. You would have to get the wiring book and see.
_________________
John Elder Robison

[John Botfield]

John, thank you. The detective work starts now

[A P S Kimberley]

I have owned a Continental R for about a year, so I'm no expert.
My Temperature Gauge does work - I think - as it gives a reading, but never anything useful, as it sulks in the bottom of the range even after climbing a hill in hot weather. Hot weather by U.K. standards, that is.
The Cruise Control in my car does work, but around the national speed limit of 70mph it is very uncomfortable, frequently 'hunting' around the set speed, which makes progress feel very choppy, particularly for passengers.
I both cases, the specialist workshop who look after the car tell me that my experience is normal.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that, if you are a 'perfectionist' nature, you will have to fix these faults, but that, although mine work, neither has been much use to me, so it might not seem so urgent.

[R Alan Cartwright]

Hello John,
A bit of a late response and you may have had advice from others. Reference the oil temperature gauge: Having rebuilt a 1985 Turbo R and now owning a 1997 model Continental R and looked into these things, I endorse what Adam says about the oil temperature gauge. Even under the most arduous UK driving on a hot (UK) day, the needle will barely move off the bottom stop. If it is doing that, then you're fine (i.e. an almost imperceptible move fro the 'ignition off' position). Unlike other machinery systems (I am a Marine Engineer - so compared to ships' engine systems, etc.), the Bentley oil temperature gauge just isn't very well calibrated by design. The system should have been designed so that the 'normal' reading was at or just below half gauge reading. However, they didn't, but we have a gauge to distract us. Many people think that the gauge isn't working. Best thing is not to worry about it - just concentrate on the one that will give you the earliest indication of a head gasket or other trouble - the water temperature gauge.
Ref the cruise control: lack of use - particularly in cars where there has been infrequent and/or low mileage - can cause the relays to stick. I had same problem for that exact reason (previous owner had done only about 2,500 miles in 7 years' ownership). Get your garage to check/replace the relays. If not that, then probably the cruise ECU (more expensive). All best.
Alan

[John Botfield]

Gentlemen, many thanks for your advice and guidance. I have changed the stop lamp bulbs. I think I am slowly reaching the same conclusion. The oil temp sensor is really difficult to get at and I can live without Cruise Control.

however one little irritating fault has developed. the luggage compartment lights have stopped working (both). Manual says the switch is by the right hand hinge, but I cant seem to find it

john b

[R Alan Cartwright]

I think the switch is hidden well up behind the hinge (which is 'J' shaped), so also likely to be a bother to get to. I'm checking my car over on Wednesday, for this weekend's BDC Welsh Weekend run, so I'll have a crawl into the boot and see if I can find it, then report back. The Lights should come on with the boot open just a couple of inches. Worth checking the lamps and the fuse - JUST in case both have gone or the fuse blown, but probably the switch, as you surmise. I'll have a look and see which fuse it is and where the switch is and report back.
All part of the joy of owning 'a hand built car, Sir'!

[John Botfield]

Alan, you are proving to be the font of knowledge here. Now my expectations have changed I can see that the Oil Temp Gauge is working. its range (April-- and gentle driving) is between the low end of the blue segment to the top end of the blue segment and the 'OFF' position is further left.

A question where do I find the 'cruise control' relay?

To add some help to other owners, when I bought the car the remote and central locking did not work ( I suspected ECU plus Problems). However when cleaning the car we noticed the back window moved about 2mm. the sealant on top and both sides had failed. Eventually I found an Autoglass fitter that was willing to fix the problem. Now the remote and central locking works. Range isn't great but it works.

its a balance between a Joy and Frustration--- Life Eh!!

[R Alan Cartwright]

John,

Your oil temperature gauge is spot on!

Relays and control unit associated with cruise control are viewable on the Bentley Motors spares on-line catalogue (well worth keeping as a 'favourite'). The following links come from my car's entry (a 1997 year model Continental R, registered in late '96) but should be pretty much the same for yours. It would be worth checking for connections that are loose/dropped off and continuity, as a first stab, on the following:

Brake light associated relays (which affect cruise on/off control):

http://heritage.bentleymotors.com/en/catalogue/partCatalogue/926?chassisNumber=SCBZB15C3VCH53348#search-by-categories

Cruise Control module and mounting bracket (under offside inner wing vanity panel):

http://heritage.bentleymotors.com/en/catalogue/partCatalogue/925?chassisNumber=SCBZB15C3VCH53348#search-by-categories

Actuator (under bonnet, with cable to throttle body):

http://heritage.bentleymotors.com/en/catalogue/partCatalogue/921?chassisNumber=SCBZB15C3VCH53348#search-by-categories

At the BDC 'Welsh Weekend', just gone, I was talking to a BDC colleague who had had similar troubles. In his case, the problem was dirt/dust in the switch (RH 'lever' behind steering wheel), so it might be worth having a look at that, to make sure the thing is switching on/off. Here's a link to the image, but I'm afraid I haven't had that bit apart on my Turbo R or Continental R, so you might have to have a careful look as how to extract the switch to clean it.

http://heritage.bentleymotors.com/en/catalogue/partCatalogue/927?chassisNumber=SCBZB15C3VCH53348#search-by-categories

By the way, I had a look for the boot light switch - it is definitely in there, somewhere, but well hidden behind the back carpeted board of the boot. Sorry but I couldn't see quite how to get in there. The parts catalogue lists it as the same as the glovebox switch but shows it (if the drawing is accurate) attached to the nearside boot hinge (which also shows an operating bracket, on the drawing of the hinges):

http://heritage.bentleymotors.com/en/catalogue/partCatalogue/1909?partDescription=ASSY%20SWITCH%20BONNET%20LAMP&chassisNumber=SCBZB15C3VCH53348#search-by-categories

One clever way of getting these things fixed is to attend the BDC 'Continental Breakfast' event, at Wroxham, which is followed by a lovely country drive down to Bentley Cheltenham. The chaps there will give your car a check over (for free). If you let the technicians know that you have a few snags, here and there, they will have a look for you and (I found) download advice/drawings from Crewe. They love playing with the classic models, so are usually very helpful at fixing/advising.

Worth a go, anyway and the BDC event is a jolly good day out, in any case.

Good luck,

Alan

Good luck!

Alan

[John Botfield]

Alan you are a star. I will report back and certainly go to the Continental breakfast

john b

[R Alan Cartwright]

As a member of the 'black hand gang' (as my naval colleagues pejoratively call their Engineer Officer chums), part of my enjoyment of Bentleys is 'getting the overalls on and diving in'. Amazing what one finds. Generally, when the salesman/service manager says "Well, it is a hand-built car, Sir", what he means is that every jolly part is different (as the development of the cars moves at almost the same pace as production), that parts' fitting (or not, without a degree of 'fettling') is a game of chance, and the electrical wiring diagrams are fairy stories, in comparison with what is actually fitted.
All adds to the pleasure, joy and surprise of Bentley ownership!

[John Robins]

Moons ago, the British motor industry was frequently accused of letting its customers do the development on its behalf. The result was that folk who didn't know, or didn't wish to know, about the workings of their cars, but who were looking for reliable transport about the place deserted the British car industry and bought Datsuns with 50,000 mile warranties. The cars rarely failed to proceed, but rusted away in about six or seven years.

Having cured the rust problem, you can now buy a reliable and long lasting car for £20k, and expect ten years and 150,000 miles from it without anything more than minimal work in dock.

Are we now to believe that ten or a dozen times that amount of money spent on a new Bentley will result in a car that is, once again, letting the customer do the development work?

[John Murch]

I rather assumed that Alan's comments refer to pre VW cars. I do hope so.
John

[A P S Kimberley]

The joys of the 'hand built car' as described above certainly extended to the (off topic!) Maserati Biturbo I owned at the same time as my first Bentley (a 'T', about 20 years ago).
The wiring under the bonnet - and indeed, the position of some of the electrical components - bore no relation to the handbook. Neither, more worryingly, did the colours of the wires!
On visiting the Maserati stand at the Motor Show a few years later, I asked whether the new model would be more electrically reliable than mine had been. To cut a long story short, Security escorted me from the stand...

At least with Bentley we can rely on the colours of the wiring, and the positions of the components under the bonnet, in my experience.

[A P S Kimberley]

Update!
On the hottest day of the year (so far, in the U.K.), almost 34°C - or 93°F - after my car had been running for an hour or so, I climbed a steep hill. Near the top, glancing at the remarkable bank of terribly useful gauges, I noted that the oil temperature was reassuringly dead-centre, while the other temperature gauge had, for the first time in my experience, moved out of the Blue sector, and into the White. Exciting stuff. Only a little into the White, perhaps 15% of full-scale-deflection, but it's a start!
If it happens again, I'll pull over and check that it's not boiling...

[R Alan Cartwright]

Great discovery! See, it really is a useful gauge 😉 - tells British drivers when we're having a heat wave.
Alan