Wiring progress

Sorry I did not post last week. Laziness was unbeatable.

This week, my arm felt better than it has in 3 months. I was able to bowl on Monday and work about 5 hours on the car. I made some very good progress on wiring the Cobra. I planned the wire runs that go to the starter motor and did more on the alternator. I got all the wire into the convoluted tubing that works like a wire conduit and was able to mostly use some existing screws to fasten it down. I did have to drill a couple of holes in the frame for a couple of mounting hooks. This was very difficult work, lying on my back under the car with about a quarter inch clearance. Great test of the arms.

Next I had to cut the wires to the right length so they would be able to connect to the starter motor, but not too long to potentially drag or be exposed under the car. Measure twice, cut once.

After that I had to affix various terminators on the ends of the wires. Mostly they were ring or eyelet connectors, or spade connectors. This again required crimping in very cramped space under the car.

I also had to splice on a couple of fusible links to two of the wires. These are basically wires that have a built-in fuse like capability to blow if there are shorts that would threaten to do damage to the electrical parts. This was a little nerve-wracking in that I had to get it right the first time. No simply cutting it off and trying again if I made a mistake. Fortunately, everything went together beautifully.

For the week, I got all the wires terminated and in place, with one exception, so I have not tightened down everything onto the final posts. I will do that soon, after I resolve one wire question I still have about something called an "exciter" wire. Basically, it runs from the key switch to the alternator to tell it to start up right when you turn the key. The wire that came with my kit has a weird connector on it that I have to research a bit more.

So I do not have any final pictures this week. Laziness may have been defeated for the week, but not completely.

Car work resumes

I actually was able to work on the Cobra twice this week. I did not accomplish a whole lot, but I did 1) mount the voltage regulator, and 2) crimped the connectors on and ran a couple of wires from the alternator to the regulator on the PS footbox. Still have a couple of more wires to go so I did not get any pictures.

I also found a mistake on the giant wiring schematic I am using. It was just a reversal of wire colors, nothing too major. But it is very confidence enhancing that I figured that out and was able to confirm it with the author who already knew about the error and just had not gotten around to fixing it.

Great news on the RAV4...

but no Cobra work. I got my mom's Toyota to work! I was getting ready to use a can of Seafoam to treat the engine, thinking that the problem was a stuck lifter. The engine was making a terrible ticking noise, which matched the engine RPMs, soundling like it was coming from the front of the engine block. Seafoam is a detergent-like additive that is petroleum based that is supposed to do wonders for fixing carbon deposit problems.

I was bringing the engine up to operating temperature and decided to try to isolate the noise better while it was warming up. In doing so, I started poking around and noticed that the plug wire running to the first cylinder was vibrating just a bit. Low and behold, I pushed down on it slightly, and it clicked back into place, ending the tapping noise! Somehow, that wire had gotten loosened over time and must have come completely off a few weeks ago while I was driving my mom home from the doctor. It was bucking a bit and lost a lot of power at the time, which I guess was the effect of turning a 4 cylinder engine into a 3!

I have now driven the RAV about 3 or 4 times on short trips and it is running beautifully. What a relief to not have to spend a dime getting it fixed.

As for the Cobra, I did manage to get to a couple of auto parts stores to buy some needed primary wire. The next thing I am going to do is install the external voltage regulator. Basically, it manages the amount of battery recharging done by the alternator. This week the weather is supposed to be a little cooler, so I should find some time for it.

Heat and Arm Weakness

It is still damned hot and my arm strength is not back, so I still did not work on the car. I did do some more physical things this week and should hopefully get back to car work this week, although that may be on my mom's ailing Toyota RAV4.

Another week without carwork

Well, at least my Passat is fixed. A line from the radiator to the cooler went bad. Has anybody else noticed it is really hot?

Now I have 3 non-functioning cars.

My Cobra got no attention this week. My Passat started alarming with coolant system issues. I have an appointment for a test on Monday. So I borrowed my mom's Toyota RAV4 for the week and it broke down too with a very nasty tapping noise in the engine. Could be a lifter or timing belt problem maybe. That waits til the Passat gets fixed.

Add to that, my 1990 RCA TV died this week. I got a replacement Panasonic from 2001 via Craigslist for $25. Works great, but the one problem I had was getting it put into the cubbyhole of my entertainment center. My neck is still so bad that I can't lift a can of soda, much less a gargantuan old TV. A little ingenuity for a car guy and the problem was solved.



Oh, here is the picture I promised of my ignition system installed on the passenger side footbox.

I got my motor running...

on my lawn mower! That is the most mechanical thing I did last week and none of it involved the Cobra. The lawn mower had a leaky connection of its gas line to the tank and I tightened it up, so my garage won't reek now.