Does anyone know how to set the compass and "the other dial" on a Townace. They look very nice, but they don't appear to be telling the truth!! anyone help?? - (#829) Bob Amabile, 18 Aug 01

I have two indicators on top of my dashboard a compass and a multipurpose indicator that displays the Incline and Bank Angle of the vehicle when the G forces on the vehicle are zero, i.e. you are not cornering, accelerating or decelerating. If there are G forces because of the aforementioned forces then the indicator changes its function and indicates what these forces are in the rolling plane or the forward/backward plane. The whole numbers on the indicator are tens of degrees and the decimal numbers are tenths of a G. As far as I am aware there is no calibration for this but a simple check would be to set the vehicle on level ground and the cross pointer should be in the centre of the grid on the sphere behind. I can only image that instrument would be useful off road so that you would have some idea if the vehicle is reaching a point of no return but I have no idea what these limits are. However, it does make a good talking point.
As to the compass I set mine up in the following manner and it appears to work. Place the vehicle pointing either North or South. Turn both knobs until they are in their mid position. Then turn the North knob so that the compass points to either or North or South depending on the direction the vehicle is pointing. It can be very touchy to set-up and appear to swing violently but on mine the knob does not have to be moved very much from the mid position to do this. Then move the vehicle to the East or West position and do the same with the East knob.
As far as I can tell the compass on the dashboard is just a repeater. That is to say it is only an indicator, the actual flux sensor is elsewhere in the vehicle, somewhere where it is not affected too much by the magnetic field of the vehicle. But I have not managed to track it down yet. This means that high voltage power cables under the road affect it when it will swing wildly as you pass over them.
My compass does have a fault however. It appears to be temperature sensitive. When it is cold in the winter it sticks but when the interior warms up it’s OK.
Hope this helps? - (#834) Patrick Adams, 19 Aug 01

I was about to ask the same question about setting up the compass. When I got my car 2 months ago it was the least of my priorities and the instrument seemed to be haywire.
These instruments (see picture linked below) did get a reference in the 5th and 6th postings in the "Seat Variants" thread starting May 24.
I agree entirely with what Patrick says now about the clinometer. It might just have been useful the other day when I was parking in a very sloping corner of a car park - if only I had know what the safe limits are! Anyone prepared to experiment?
Compass. A bit of dismantling confirmed that there is a sensor "elsewhere" and that the signal processing for the repeater/indicator is a bunch of electronics. Ironically, from past experience with accessory compasses, I'd've thought the best place for the sensor, least affected by the steelwork, would've been right on top of where the display is, but it's not there.
However the principle is probably much the same as a traditional marine installation where the magnetic field of the vessel is balanced out by physically moving two steel lumps around. Logically two appropriate "degrees of freedom" will compensate for any strength and direction of magnetic field found in the car - if only you can adjust them.
Once I centred the two adjusters (notches on the knobs at the top) I began to notice the compass was actually doing quite well. After all if you are crossing the Sahara you'll take GPS, you're going to use this compass on an overcast day to decide whether to turn left or right to excape from the suburbs of Basingstoke. With centred adjusters, though, it is totally reluctant to indicate "S" and I am in the middle of experimenting further.
Sorry not to be posting the answer (yet). At this stage I wanted to underline the interest in an answer, if anyone has one, and to say my experience is similar to Patrick's (e.g. keep knobs very near mid-position, sticky indicator when cold) but that, whilst his method may have worked for the way his car is magnetised I don't think it would work in mine. I think a more general method may require parking the car pointing in at least 4 different directions and noting the effect of moving each adjuster individually slightly off centre each way, particularly to discover which of these 8 adjustments is the most critical - ideal job for the far corner of the Tesco car park while someone else does the shopping. - (#836) Dave Mason, 20 Aug 01

Thanks both for the hints, I'll be trying them out at the weekend - (#874) Bob Amabile, 22 Aug 01

I would like to point out that the adjusting knobs are extremely sensitive and the dial swings wildly with very little movement of either knob. But if you point the vehicle either North or South, with the east knob centred, the key in the ignition and with it at least the accessory power position, you should be able to get it to read the correct heading. And then do the same with the car pointing in either the East or West direction.
I am lucky in that my drive points nearly due south so it’s easier for me I suppose. I just compensate for this error when adjusting the North knob. When I pull out into the main road, which is 90 degrees to my drive, I adjust the east knob accordingly.
I always thought a compass in a car was a bit of a gimmick but I got disorientated in London the other day and it’s not always possible to keep looking at a map, but I did know in which direction I needed to go to get back to the A4 and the compass was a great help. - (#972) Patrick Adams, 2 Sep 01

The flux sensor appears to be in the middle of the roof over the middle row of seats. There's a square plastic thing there that looks as though it ought to be a light but isn't. If you wave a magnet near it then the compass indicator goes crazy.
There's a story to how I found it. Washing on top of the roof, I found a small magnet stuck on top, about 15x5x2mm, and guessed it came out of the base of an antenna or taxi sign. The magnet was just what I needed to search for the compass flux sensor. When I found the sensor ahah! Was it the magnet stuck on the roof that originally made my compass seem useless? (can't remember exactly where it was unfortunately). Did it permanently magnetise part of the roof which still affects the compass a bit? (it loves to display "South", but I have got it tamed with very careful adjustment.) Maybe I'll go over the roof with one of those degaussing gadgets for demagnetising steel tools. - (#1103) Dave Mason, 19 Sep 01