Farrar's car blog

I'm taking Dave Swingle's suggestion when starting this thread. This shall be the new home for the odd adventures of Sparky the AutoCarb -- or, rather, its owner -- namely, me.

First: I've not been driving the car regularly because it has a refrigerant leak in the evaporator which causes the a/c system to lose all refrigerant two days after a full charge. I am short of cash right now and so I thought perhaps before buying a new evaporator I would remove the current one, pinpoint the leak, and see if it could be repaired with e.g. JB Weld.

Second: It might be time for a new alternator. My current one (Houston's) has started to drop its output after warm-up. When I first start the engine, the volt gauge (verified accurate) reads about 14v, but even with no accessories on, it drops to 13v after the engine warms up.

Farrar

For some reason, I saw this as "Farrar's cat blog". I was wondering why you were starting a blog about your cat….

--buddy

If I had a cat, I'd have even less time to work on my car! :P

Farrar

I have found that a 91 Saturn Alternator works nicely. You will need to use a few washers as a spacer when mounting it and you will need to swap pulleys. I figured out how to swap pulleys at home using a pipe wrench although rumor has it that Autozone might be able to swap pulleys for free.

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Originally Posted by Farrar

I'm taking Dave Swingle's suggestion when starting this thread. This shall be the new home for the odd adventures of Sparky the AutoCarb -- or, rather, its owner -- namely, me.

First: I've not been driving the car regularly because it has a refrigerant leak in the evaporator which causes the a/c system to lose all refrigerant two days after a full charge. I am short of cash right now and so I thought perhaps before buying a new evaporator I would remove the current one, pinpoint the leak, and see if it could be repaired with e.g. JB Weld.

Second: It might be time for a new alternator. My current one (Houston's) has started to drop its output after warm-up. When I first start the engine, the volt gauge (verified accurate) reads about 14v, but even with no accessories on, it drops to 13v after the engine warms up.

Farrar

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Hervey's now selling that main grounding cable on his site. Mine started doing the same thing that yours is doing, dropping voltage randomly... I figured I will give it a shot for 30 bucks. I will install it in the next 2 weeks and let you know if it does anything.

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Originally Posted by Mike

Mine started doing the same thing that yours is doing, dropping voltage randomly...

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Unfortunately, mine's not random. Within a few minutes, voltage is down to 13, and when I turn on the headlights, a/c, etc., it gets lower regardless of engine speed.

Still, a new grounding strap isn't a bad idea. I look forward to seeing how it goes for you.

Farrar

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Originally Posted by Farrar

Unfortunately, mine's not random. Within a few minutes, voltage is down to 13, and when I turn on the headlights, a/c, etc., it gets lower regardless of engine speed.

Still, a new grounding strap isn't a bad idea. I look forward to seeing how it goes for you.

Farrar

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I installed the new ground strap about 2 weeks ago and was pleased with the results. The new ground strap mounts to the original location (trailing bushing bolt) and there is an extension that goes from there to the transmission.

The only thing I didn't like was it was a little bit of a pain to remove/install the bolt attached to the trailing bushing but that isn't Hevey's fault.

I removed my old ground wire and was suprised that it seemed to be fine. I felt as if I had wasted my money on a new ground wire but upon installing it I was suprised to see that my volt meter reads about one volt higher than it did before. I guess a solid transmission ground really makes a difference.

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Originally Posted by stevedmc

I guess a solid transmission ground really makes a difference.

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Hmm. Perhaps it's time for me to use that 6-gauge cable I have lying in my tool closet and make a whole-car-ground-bus like Bill Robertson did...

Farrar

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Originally Posted by stevedmc

I have found that a 91 Saturn Alternator works nicely. You will need to use a few washers as a spacer when mounting it and you will need to swap pulleys. I figured out how to swap pulleys at home using a pipe wrench although rumor has it that Autozone might be able to swap pulleys for free.

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This post just made me think of an idea for an entirely new forum section: Available parts from other cars that will fit a delorean! It would be nice to have a thread where you could easily check available alternatives like this one that many people just aren't aware of.

Maybe you could have got away with cleaning the ends on your old ground cable.

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Originally Posted by uhhair

This post just made me think of an idea for an entirely new forum section: Available parts from other cars that will fit a delorean! It would be nice to have a thread where you could easily check available alternatives like this one that many people just aren't aware of.

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the old DMCTalk had that. It was an "emergency crossover list." Did you ever check that out? It's great for a number alternatives - non emergency stuff was included.

True but most of the information was part numbers. Part numbers can sometimes be usesless when walking into Autozone if they don't sell the same brands as other stores. It is much easier to walk into Autozone and say I need an alternator for a 91 Saturn SL1 or I need an oil pressure sender for a 70 Corvette (I think that is the right year).

I couldn't help but laugh when I looked at the title in my browser (FireFox) -- it says "General Farrar's Car Blog." Maybe I'll make a nametag for DCS that says "General Farrar." :lol:

Farrar

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Originally Posted by Farrar

I couldn't help but laugh when I looked at the title in my browser (FireFox) -- it says "General Farrar's Car Blog." Maybe I'll make a nametag for DCS that says "General Farrar." :lol:

Farrar

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I used to think you were a General until I met you a while back and realized you were a music man.

I forgot that I had already bought a spare alternator from AutoZone a while back -- crossed over from a Volvo of appropriate vintage. Looks from the ears that I'll need spacers for that one, too. It's 95 amps, but with LEDs everywhere, low-pressure fuel pump, stock headlights, no ridiculously powerful stereo system, and no engine electronics, it should be more than enough to drive everything in my car.

I'll take a picture of the Volvo alternator for reference if anyone is interested.

Farrar

I guess no one's interested in the alternator, so I'll skip to my next idea.

I installed my footwell lights prior to installing Dave M's new interior light delay module, which dims the dome and parcel shelf lights a few seconds after the door's closed. Now, I think it looks silly having the footwell lights turn off as soon as the door's closed while the rest of the interior lights dim. So I've decided to re-wire the footwell lights to be coincident with the dome and parcel shelf lights, and have the entire interior of the car dim together.

Question: can the dome light wiring be found behind the driver's side A-pillar, or should I look somewhere else to splice in?

Farrar

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Originally Posted by Farrar

Question: can the dome light wiring be found behind the driver's side A-pillar, or should I look somewhere else to splice in?

Farrar

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Your looking for a purple/white wire from the front dome light. I think the light diodes are in the drivers side foot well. The wire you want has two purple/white wires going to a diode and one purple/white on the other side of that diode. You want to splice into the double wire side. That splice would go to your - LEDs and use the purple wire for your + LEDs. The purple wire should be available on your glove box light.

Thanks, Dave!

OK, gang. I'm moving later this month and already in the process of sorting and packing, so obviously nothing will be done to the car (apart from drive it to the new place) until I get settled. When that's accomplished, I plan to buy a MAPP gas kit and attack the evaporator.

I have also been making some sketches of a new armrest. I'm simply tired of the stock switches -- as someone mentioned in an internal DMC memo years ago, they're prone to breaking and sticking. Also, to me they feel overlarge.

Now, at this point I have all of the materials required to make a custom console, but I'm not sure I want to go that far. However, when I take the console off for the Nth time to remove the heater box, I might just go ahead and re-do the entire console and armrest to my liking.

FYI, that green foam they sell at Hancock Fabrics (and presumably other hobby stores) for things like ottomans and seat cushions is perfect for an armrest. It cuts easily but is not too soft, and will spring back to form quite nicely.

Anyone got any pics of their custom consoles they'd like to send me? I'm still in the planning phase.

Thanks,
Farrar

I still have that sketch of what I plan to do to mine. Only problem is I haven't done it yet. It does require cutting the fiberglass support from the center console unfortunately, so its more than just building a new armrest. FYI the "narrow" switches I'll be using still look stock, arn't obnoxiously large, are better built (than original, I'm suspecting same internals as DMC's new window switches), and are backlit (including the defrost switch). I'll see if I can find the file...

Thanks, Jim -- I remember that sketch, but I lacked the forethought to save a copy of it to my machine.

My re-working won't involve cutting any fiberglass, fortunately... but it will require a lot of cutting of ABS plastic, since that's what I intend to use as a replacement for the current console when I change from the stock one-piece arrangement to a multiple-piece arrangement -- I found that ABS plastic, in addition to being something I could fabricate with tools I already own, provided enough flexibility to match the original console's "give," being only slightly thicker (minus the padding and vinyl).

Farrar

I know this is supposed to be about my car, but screw it -- I'm not doing anything to the car at the moment. And I love the BBC and Mitch Benn. And I have to share this with all five or six of my friends. And if you don't like it -- nyah nyah nyah.

And YES -- this is the kind of geeky shot I would do if I were a rock-n-roller. Unfortunately, I took trumpet lessons when I was a kid, not guitar lessons. (I think it was my parents' way of guarding my virginity. Not as good as accordion lessons, but much cheaper.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3q2iZuU5WM

Mitch Benn is hilarious and a great songwriter. Here's his website.

Okay, marginally related to my car: I'll be listening to Mitch Benn's CDs in my car when I get it fixed because they should have arrived from the UK by then. :)

Farrar

Enjoyed the video. And the shout out to Keeping Up Appearances, as old as it is now. Mind the curb, Richard.

Oh, yeah, might as well add this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nej4xJe4Tdg

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Originally Posted by Farrar

... cutting of ABS plastic, since that's what I intend to use as a replacement for the current console when I change from the stock one-piece arrangement to a multiple-piece arrangement -- I found that ABS plastic, ..Farrar

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Be sure to check its temperature stability.

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Originally Posted by DMCMW Dave

Be sure to check its temperature stability.

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"Highest temperature range: +100° to +200° F"
"Operating temperature range: Up to +140° F"

Close, but worth a try.

Edit: By that I mean it's close to as hot as it does get inside the cabin when the car is parked in the sun, but it's worth trying out as a material since it's as flexible as I need it to be.

Sorry I've been away -- medical problems.

Farrar

Nylon is expensive, but quite temperature resistant. It's also easy to work with. I make my air filter lids and charcoal canister blockoff plates from nylon.

Bill Robertson
#5939

Bill,

What do you cut nylon with? I like ABS because I can cut it with a hacksaw. (I'm limited to hand-powered tools, with the exception of my Dremel tool and battery-powered drill/driver.)

If ABS can't handle the cabin heat (note: I plan on installing the custom console after I repair the air conditioning), then I may go with nylon instead.

In other news, I made a Gulf Coast DeLoreans website. Hooray for free HTML authoring software that's as easy to use as Netscape Composer used to be.

Now I go back to work in the Land of Radio and then continue my recently-acquired evening routine of packing up my apartment into little boxes. I swear I'll get to that evaporator eventually, but right now I have two ER visit deductibles to pay off.

Farrar

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Farrar

In other news, I made a Gulf Coast DeLoreans website. Hooray for free HTML authoring software that's as easy to use as Netscape Composer used to be.

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Awesome. Can I be a member?

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Originally Posted by stevedmc

Awesome. Can I be a member?

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Yeah, but I wouldn't call it a "membership" since it's free. :)

I put an announcement about the website in the GCD "area" (not sure what else to call it!) here on DMCTalk. Eventually I'd like to have pictures and some basic info about all of the Gulf Coast DeLoreans owners and their cars in the "About Us" section -- picture, location, VIN. Just shoot me an e-mail with all that stuff and I'll add you.

Farrar

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Originally Posted by Farrar

What do you cut nylon with?

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Saber saw (jig saw).

Bill Robertson
#5939

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Originally Posted by content22207

Saber saw (jig saw).

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Looks like a saber saw is an unpowered tool, whereas a jigsaw is powered. Hm. I'll investigate this further.

Thanks!

Farrar

Actually a saber saw *IS* a jig saw: http://oxforddictionaries.com/defini...+saw?region=us

Bill Robertson
#5939

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Originally Posted by content22207

Actually a saber saw *IS* a jig saw: http://oxforddictionaries.com/defini...+saw?region=us

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DAMN YOU, WIKIPEDIA!!!

Mmmmmmmm, cranberry juice...

Farrar

Okay, so I don't know how this works exactly, but it looks like I may indeed have a leaky heater core.

When I got into my car last night to drive it to the new apartment, I noticed what looked like a giant greasy patch on the windshield. At the same time, when I checked my fluid levels, I noticed that I had lost some antifreeze. I recall filling up the expansion tank to the proper level the last time I drove the car a month or two ago.

Common wisdom dictates "Greasy Film On Windshield + Lost Coolant = Leaky Heater Core," but I thought that was only in the cool months when you're running the heater/defroster. Could the symptoms also arise when the car is simply parked for a long time and subjected to very high ambient heat?

At any rate, it looks like I will be ordering a new heater core at the same time as I order the new evaporator. Well, I'm told I have to replace both at the same time, anyway.

Farrar

Random thoughts:

While I have the system drained of coolant (required for heater core replacement), I might install the low-current radiator fans I installed last year.

Also on the subject of the cooling system, I have the urge to simply re-wire the entire damn thing while I'm in there, giving myself a relay for each fan.

Come to think of it, the fuse/relay compartment on my car is getting very messy; thanks to a melted relay socket, I have a couple of mismatched sockets in place of the missing blue one, for a start -- and there's more wire under there that has never been properly tamed. I could clean that area up significantly by removing the unnecessary K-Jet components (Lambda relay, etc.) for a start. I think that can wait for a cooler time of year, though -- for the moment I simply want to have air conditioning so I can drive the car some more.

Bill, I'd appreciate that photo of your cleaned-up fuse/relay compartment for reference, if you still have it and it didn't go down in flames with the old DMCTalk.

Farrar

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Originally Posted by Farrar

Bill, I'd appreciate that photo of your cleaned-up fuse/relay compartment for reference, if you still have it and it didn't go down in flames with the old DMCTalk.

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Wait until batteries in the World's Cheapest Digital Camera recharge (I need to snap a new pic because I recently installed a relay socket for my modified headlight circuit to make it easier to swap relays if one goes bad -- when I lost the relay at Justin's house it was a PITA to move short leashed individual quick connects to the replacement relay).

Bill Robertson
#5939

As requested:
Attachment 2009

I just noticed that the totally misnamed "main fuel relay" is still in place -- I'll pluck it out and throw it in the glovebox as a spare.

Bill Robertson
#5939

Thanks, Bill!

Just out of curiosity, what's that relay hooked up to the door lock circuit breaker as its unswitched source? Is that your new headlight relay?

Farrar

Yep. Relay socket is of course the former rear window defroster socket.

Bill Robertson
#5939

Bill, now you've got me thinking about replacing the relay sockets and fuse box in my car. It's a mess back there...

... but I guess I'd better tackle the air conditioning first. *sigh*

Farrar

Speaking of air conditioning, I'd better stock up on R-134a --- evidently, the local Big Lots has it for $8 a can, which is almost half what AutoZone charges for it at the moment!

Farrar

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Originally Posted by Farrar

Speaking of air conditioning, I'd better stock up on R-134a --- evidently, the local Big Lots has it for $8 a can, which is almost half what AutoZone charges for it at the moment!

Farrar

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I have seen it at few Dollar General stores for $8 and most Walmarts have been stocking it for $9.17 a can around here as well. You need to just park your car over at my house (in the shade) and leave it here until the AC work is done.