Operating Controls and Instruments
The gear change was mounted on the steering column. The direction indicator switch was mounted in the instrument panel. The headlamp dip switch was foot operated. The starter switch was push-operated and mounted on the floor panel below the handbrake.
Instruments were limited to a speedometer, a fuel gauge and a water temperature gauge.
The Bedford CA was designed in an era when semi-conductor devices were state-of-the-art, and not affordable for automotive applications. Water temperature was thus measured mechanically, via a capillary tube connected to capsule containing a volatile liquid. The capsule was screwed into the body of the water pump. Any change in temperature of the engine coolant evaporated or condensed the volatile liquid, altering the pressure on a mechanical linkage in the water temperature gauge, which moved the position of the needle. Later models used an electric gauge.
The fuel gauge was electrically controlled, as is the case in vehicles today. The sensor unit in the fuel tank could use the electrical resistance of a float-variable rheostat to measure the level of fuel, and was therefore not dependent upon the new semi-conductor technology.
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