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Hm, my local Wall-to-Wall has been selling it for more than that. I guess it depends on the area.Quote:
Originally Posted by stevedmc
I'm all for using your shade if you're serious about the offer. With everything else on the car sorted out, it's killing me to not drive it just because I don't have cold air!
As soon as I'm done paying off the moving expenses, I'm ordering a new heater core and evaporator from Hervey. Maybe we can take care of it next month if you're going to be around.
Farrar
In lieu of re-wiring the entire circuit as I have the temptation to do (but not the time or energy at the moment), I have decided to make the following alterations to the circuit and see how it behaves. (Note that modifications are reversible.)
1. Remove circuit breaker from circuit.
2. Replace 20-amp blade fuses in "fan fail module socket" with 20-amp auto-reset circuit breakers.
Bench testing of the system (with low-amperage replacement cooling fans) will commence once I have unpacked the necessary equipment.
If this works, I may recommend to Dave M that he could use the above-referenced circuit breakers in his fan fail module replacement, thus negating the need for the factory circuit breaker -- they make "mini-blade" versions which will fit. (In my opinion, one breaker for each fan is better than one breaker for both fans.)
Farrar
Bueller, Bueller?
Haha wonderful, you just made my day. That is my (bar none) favorite movie. Oh yes I know this is off-topic-beyond-words.
Yes, it certainly looks like not a lot of people are reading this thread.Quote:
Originally Posted by robvanderveer
Therefore, I will link to my next task, thus!
Clicky clicky! Thankee thankee!
Farrar
I think a fuse is more reliable and produces less heat than a circuit breaker. As long as you don't have fan problems your fuse should never blow. I do recommend you remove the 40 amp breaker when you have each fan fused. Even if you just have the fan fail fused jumpers, get rid of that breaker.Quote:
Originally Posted by Farrar
As long as I don't have fan problems ... or drive through lots of standing water! (I still don't know how that happened -- I drove down a flooded street (no choice thanks to traffic) and both my fan fuses blew. After the car dried out, I replaced the fuses and all has been well since.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bitsyncmaster
So what's wrong with the breaker -- apart from the fact that it's in the wrong place in the circuit? Is it just redundant with the fuses in place, so getting rid of it saves clutter, or is there another reason? I'm curious as I am still running with the breaker in place.
Farrar
It is not only redundant but if one fan has an open circuit then the other fan is now "fused" with 40 amps. It saves clutter....YES YES YES. It also adds about 6 foot of wire in the harness. The replacement jumper is 4 inches long.Quote:
Originally Posted by Farrar
OK, that's it -- when the weather cools down I'm cleaning up the entire relay/fuse compartment. I have mismatched, detached, and missing relay sockets... a mess of wires underneath the fuse box... and -- evidently -- a redundant circuit breaker.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bitsyncmaster
Thanks for the info, Dave!
Farrar
The reason DMC used a circuit breaker is because it has the ability to reset itself -- for example, after you drove through that big puddle. If you hadn't had those additional fuses in the circuit, you wouldn't have risked overheating.
Thomas went to circuit breakers exclusively on its buses in the 1980's (everything on the bus is breaker protected -- there's a big bank of them inside the driver's box, where the fuse block used to be).
Bill Robertson
#5939
The web-like wiring of the circuit is another reason why I'm tempted to just buy an aftermarket fan kit like those folks use to retrofit electric cooling fans to their classic vehicles -- no worries about replacing 30-year-old diodes with more 30-year-old diodes, no worries about fuses versus circuit breakers, or two fans on a single relay. You can even use the stock thermal trip (I mean "otterstat") with some of these aftermarket kits. (And they will answer to an a/c fan request as well.)
Perhaps some day, when I have the money...
Farrar
I had an idea about mounting flashers on the mirrors for added safety/visibility. You can find the discussion here.
Farrar
In other news, I am working on slimming down the wiring in the engine compartment to make it easier to get around in there and look slightly less disorganized -- not to mention removing any potentially hazardous still-live-but-no-longer-needed power leads. If my calculations are correct, I can go from 54 wires down to 26. :)
My plan is in my head thus: Rather than unwrap, partially dismantle, and rewrap the original harnesses unnecessarily, I plan to simply remove the ones for which I don't need all their terminals and run new wires, so I'll be buying lots of wire of different colors, heat-shrink, and such. When I've run the wires and confirmed their function, I plan to finish by using high-temp wire loom and zip ties rather than electrical tape. Fortunately, all of this stuff is available online from the same seller, so I can save on shipping by not being in a hurry.
I'm not sure what gauge wire was originally used on the wiring harnesses, but it looks like 14 gauge. Can anyone confirm this?
Also, I will need some pins/sockets for the connections at the bulkhead. Are they the standard Molex size -- .093"/2.63mm diameter? If so, this is great news since I can buy those pins by the bag at my local Radio Shack.
Farrar
On second thought, it's impossible to buy the necessary wiring in the proper jacket colours without buying it in 100-foot spools. So it looks like I may end up unwrapping wiring harnesses after all. What a mess. :(
Anyway, it occurs to me that since I don't have an engine compartment light or switch, I can re-purpose the always-on 12v from that circuit to do Welmoed Jonker's constant-otterstat trick. The circuit is protected by a 10-amp fuse, and I'm sure the otterstat doesn't draw that much power -- besides which, my courtesy lamps are all LEDs now so that fuse could be reduced to 5 amps with still no danger of blowing.
I am aware that if my otterstat ever fails in the "closed" position the fans will drain the battery as the car sits, but my car is also equipped with a battery disconnect switch, so it's not as much of a problem for me as it would be for some owners.
I've been making lists of materials to keep with my car, including which relays are needed in use compared to stock configuration, and which fuses protect which devices compared to stock configuration. It's a lot of fun, and I look forward to getting into the real nitty gritty of it later when time allows. Unfortunately, I'm busy the next few weekends, so my projects may have to wait until August, which is when I plan on repairing the air conditioning, also.
Farrar
Notes to self in case of lost sketches from today:
- Replace stock taillight circuit boards with black nylon board of same thickness, cut to fit into stock housing.
- Cut holes and mount appropriate sockets (1156x4, 1157x1) onto nylon board.
- Gang grounds from sockets.
- Connect one side of a 6-terminal weatherpak connector to the sockets, connect other side to stock harness inside fascia.
- Engine compartment light source wire, unused, is purple -- bulkhead connector #37. Fuse is #12, 10A. Utilize for cooling fan thermal trip.
Some more notes for sketches from today:
Six mounting holes in radiator -- use for aluminum bar stock (U-channel?) to mount radiator fans. Measure gap between stock fans and radiator -- replicate as closely as possible with thickness of aluminum and rubber/foam tape between aluminum and radiator.
A co-worker of mine reminded me of these lovely things called "legal pads" which I can use for sketches. It's not ideal, but it's better than little pieces of paper which then get folded up and tossed in the laundry.
I have transferred some of my recent sketches to the legal pad. If anyone is interested in my ideas for ground bus, cooling fan circuit modification, taillight circuit board replacement, or mounting aftermarket radiator fans with off-the-shelf-available parts, here they are... I don't have my scanner unpacked, so I just took pictures of the sketches. Comments and suggestions are welcome. Also, if you can't read my writing or need clarification, ask away and I'll try to explain as best I can.
Farrar