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By the way on the dome lights. The rear mounting material is a little to thick for the end latches to pull the dome light tight. You can thin the material a little with an exacto and it helps. I ended up using a few drops off hot glue anyway. You pull the rear panel off and you can get at the inside enough to see whats going on. Now the front dome light holds tight with no modification.
Thanks for that tip, Dave! I don't have a rear dome light fixture (the holes in the trim piece have LED strips in them) so I was unable to test this.
Farrar
I now have manually-controlled courtesy lights. I just got tired of fooling with the circuit and figured: I've got an on/off switch so I might as well use it.
Farrar
Oh, and by the way: I found out that the reason I had "daytime running lights" was because in the waning daylight one late afternoon I couldn't distinguish between red/orange and red/brown wires, so I connected them both to a green/white wire. Red/brown was correct for the HVAC panel lights, which is what I intended to go on with the key (the "HVAC panel light mod" without the need for a relay socket; simply connect and tuck the wires underneath), but red/orange went to the dash and parking lights, rendering the first stop on the headlight switch redundant. However, this was a happy accident since my headlight switch is beginning to be a problem -- I have to wiggle it to get it to turn off all the way and I figure it's only a matter of time before I have to replace it. I'd rather replace it with a hazard light switch than a new Houston switch because of cost. At that time, I will likely wire up the parking lights to come on with the key as I had previously done by accident.
No more car work until my new door struts arrive. I don't feel like dodging doors...
Farrar
My new door struts arrived today! Huzzah!
Also arrived: my new LED units for my turn signals and side markers. Now all of my exterior lights (except headlights, obviously) will be LEDs. I just have to go to AutoZone and buy the proper flasher unit. :cool1:
Farrar
Speaking of LEDs, I think now that all of my courtesy lights are LEDs I will reduce the amperage of the fuse. I have an oddball 3-amp fuse lying around; I will put that in and see what happens.
Also, stay tuned for comparison pictures of original door switches and a replacement I found online.
Farrar
As it happens, when I pulled the flasher unit that I bought at AutoZone a few years ago, I saw that it already had "LED" stamped on it. So I put in my LEDs and here's the result:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhwLUmKlNj4
The 1156 and 1157 amber bulbs have been replaced with forward-facing two-watt units from SuperBrightLEDs.com. The side marker lights were replaced with small BA9s which have six side-facing LEDs. I put the short (1 LED) sides facing up and down and the long (2 LED) side facing front and back. The part number for the amber unit is BA9s-AHP6, and the part number for the red unit is BA9s-RHP6. Since the blinker mod for the front side lights switches ground and these bulbs are not polarity-sensitive, they will still blink with the hazard switch or turn signal switch engaged just like they did when they were incandescent.
Also: Just for fun, I have dubbed my courtesy light modification the "Stealth Mode Mod" -- here's a look.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYBy67lZiSs
If I am lucky it will make me invisible to moths...
Farrar
I put the new "Soft Lift" struts on the car today when it was about 60°F outside and noticed that the very slight resistance toward the top of the lift piston's travel causes the doors to stop moving upward completely, requiring me to push the doors the rest of the way open with my hand. Considering that these are brand-new pistons and it's only mildly cool outside, I'd say it's time to up the torsion bars' tension on both doors up one notch. That should allow my doors to open all the way when it is actually cold outside, and in the summer the "Soft Lift" struts should prevent the doors from bouncing at the top of their travel.
Farrar
P.S.: I can NOT, for the life of me, figure out how I am supposed to get the little clip on the bottom of the passenger-side strut. There simply isn't enough room to get the clip in there without bending it, at least not using my fingers. Why hasn't anyone come up with a strut mounting ball [I dunno what the official term is] in a mirror image of that which the driver's side uses? That is friggin' annoying. Oh, well...
I slipped mine in a tiny bit before putting the strut on. Then I fiddled a bit and was able to get it in. (giggity)
Mike, thanks for that tip. (Giggity. Er, on second thought, no giggity.) I will try that tomorrow after work.
Farrar
Drove me nuts for quite a while before I realized I could do that; you're certainly not alone.
Put the strut on the bottom stud, pull the top of the strut toward you and put the clip on. Then rotate the strut into position and attach it to the top stud, then put the clip on that one.Quote:
Originally Posted by opethmike
I will need to check mine but I had no problem installing the clip. Not sure if the soft lift struts will only work one way to keep the "slow down" at the top.Quote:
Originally Posted by DMCMW Dave
Best method I've heard of yet! So easy it should have been obvious... I feel silly now. Thanks, Dave!Quote:
Originally Posted by DMCMW Dave
Farrar