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Safety Dance posted:The quiescent current draw of a USB-C charger like that is pretty negligible unless you're going to leave your car parked for weeks at a time. The cigarette lighter on my Cayenne is unswitched, and the car has never had trouble starting up after sitting for a few days. I might unplug it before I go out of town later this month, but if I forget I'm not going to worry about it. If it didn't have a bright glowy LED, I'd probably care a lot less / not even notice. If I run the numbers, I'm sure it'll have to sit for a good long time to make a dent in the battery, but I also want to clean up the cable management so this seemed like a good excuse for a project. https://www.petreldata.com/product/hardwired-2-4-amp-usb-vehicle-power-adapter-with-in-line-fuse/ something like this, but not $40 + w/ 2x USB-C would be great.
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May 15, 2023 22:08
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wolrah posted:Just want to join in and say that's loving awesome, Atoms are cool, and every model that was officially sold in the US has an engine/transmission combo from a run-of-the-mill hot FWD so it should be pretty forgiving. Don't worry too much about it as long as you understand not to slip it to an extreme level. Clutches wear really slowly until they overheat, then they go to hell fast. They'll take a shocking amount of abuse as long as it's just for short periods of time and they're allowed to cool down after. A valet absolutely tortured my clutch one night to the point that the car stunk for days after, but here I am three years and 40,000 miles later closing in on 120,000 miles and it's still solid. Yeah I saw that and it worries me. I'm really hoping there is some way around it. There was a statement by TMI a while ago that said they can be registered normally here, but then that thing came out. I wonder if I can just call TMI and ask. I know there are Atoms in Virginia I just don't know the magic words. Hadlock posted:Good advice Thank you 
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May 15, 2023 22:51
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Travic posted:.. It took ten minutes for m buddy to get competent on a column manual shift. You can already operate the clutch, The rest is muscle memory and will come in practice. Travic posted:It's a little embarrassing, but it's an Ariel Atom. Feh. That thing looks hilariously fun. Good for you!
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May 16, 2023 01:34
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PainterofCrap posted:It took ten minutes for m buddy to get competent on a column manual shift. Thank you. It does look like a ton of fun. I've always loved them and it seems like just everyone does too. There's just some (good-natured?) ribbing around them when I read about them online. Plus I felt like a poser because I've never owned anything fast and I'm jumping right in.
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May 16, 2023 01:55
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Gotta start somewhere.
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May 16, 2023 02:01
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How come the S2000 was never offered in a "Honda Civic engine" trim? Looks like there's no shortage of 1.3-1.8L engines they could have dropped in there and offered it as a competitor to the Miata. They chose to just stop making them rather than offer a detuned version. I know 2008 had a big impact but I feel like they really walked away from a winner
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May 16, 2023 02:09
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Ariel USA is actually based in Virginia so if there's one place they had sorted out.
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May 16, 2023 03:01
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nitsuga posted:This is a great mindset. Saving money on a car payment is far more effective financially than wringing out the last few MPG you may or may not be missing. I'd add only that following the maintenance schedule is a good starting point to ensuring that you can keep your car running long-term. I found the manual is available from Chevrolet still here: https://www.chevrolet.com/support/vehicle/manuals-guides?compIndex=1&year=2010&make=Chevrolet&model=Malibu Thanks for the link. I’ll keep it in mind as I’m only at 60,000 miles but will be driving a lot more this next year than I did the previous three. I’m pretty boring these days, so I’d probably just get an Accord or Sonata or something. If the hybrid is just a little bit more money, I’d rather get that as my contribution to minimize my pillaging of the Earth’s resources.
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May 16, 2023 04:31
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I'm prepping myself to change the oil on a 2023 CX-5 at some point in the next 3 months. I am comfortable DIYing motor oil and want this car to last so I've been going down the rabbit hole of motor oils, and have concluded..that it doesn't really matter as long as I get the oil changed on time (7.5k miles) and use a filter from a popular brand that isn't known to be bad (I hear Fram orange sucks but I've personally used their Ultra line on other cars which I've heard good things about). Does that sound about right? Or do people actually have better long-term experiences paying a few bucks more for something like Mobil 1 vs Kirkland/Amazon/Wal-mart oil?
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May 16, 2023 06:27
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Bank posted:I'm prepping myself to change the oil on a 2023 CX-5 at some point in the next 3 months. I am comfortable DIYing motor oil and want this car to last so I've been going down the rabbit hole of motor oils, and have concluded..that it doesn't really matter as long as I get the oil changed on time (7.5k miles) and use a filter from a popular brand that isn't known to be bad (I hear Fram orange sucks but I've personally used their Ultra line on other cars which I've heard good things about). Does that sound about right? Much like automotive batteries there are a very few facilities that refine motor oil. More than anything else, keeping oil in your engine and changing is the most important thing. Walmart's SuperTech, Kirkland, Mobil 1, whatever. Use the proper weight, change it according to the manufacture suggestions (or sooner!) and just make sure you have oil in the engine. No suggestions on filters as I always just use OEM since I'm always ordering parts from Japan anyway.
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May 16, 2023 06:38
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So I think my alternator died today in my '03 E39. I had left the doors open for a long time yesterday while detailing the car (letting it air out) and when I went to drive it yesterday, the battery light was on so I stuck a Ctek battery charger on it. It had a hard time recognizing the battery, so I figured it must be very low (usually behaves like that then). When I came out to the car today the battery still wasn't fully charged. The car slowly died while driving more (50 minute trip) and of course it died for real in an intersection. Managed to find a place selling a battery ($170 oof) so I could get home. Still got the battery not charging light. Can't be much else than the alternator making GBS threads itself and perhaps the drained battery was the straw that broke the camels back or something? Or perhaps just a coincidence? OE alternators are expensive as gently caress so before I fire the parts cannon, does the diagnosis sound reasonable and is there a way to be sure without taking stuff apart (parked at apartment). I have a multimeter.
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May 16, 2023 12:37
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Check the battery voltage with the car off and then running. Should be between 12-13v off and 13-14.4v when running. Get it nice and loaded up by running your defrost and fan too. Sure sounds like a bad alternator though.
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May 16, 2023 12:46
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nitsuga posted:Check the battery voltage with the car off and then running. Should be between 12-13v off and 13-14.4v when running. Get it nice and loaded up by running your defrost and fan too. Sure sounds like a bad alternator though. Thanks! My infotainment showed like 11.3V toward the end when driving, and it just slowly crept down with no sign of charging. Apparently one can rebuild the alternators for a substantially cheaper price than buying a "new" one. Will have to look into this tomorrow.
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May 16, 2023 23:30
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I just want to say, trying to buy online, remotely, sucks rear end. Find something good? Yanked out from under you. And dealer prices are still pretty stupid.
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May 17, 2023 05:57
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Hi! uh.. i have two questions! doin work on my 68 barracuda, 318 motor. First.. i replaced the distributor and now id really like to time it. i made sure to keep the rotor in the same place as the old one, pointing to #1. so now for whatever reason, using a basic timing light i cant see the mark on the balancer. its there for sure, ive added some white paint to the line and everything. i even waited till it was dusk out tonight so i could see it better. it was very romantic but when its running, it just doesn't show. the car runs alright, so i cant think the timing could be so off i cant see the mark.. could it? the first time i marked it neatly. i got annoyed about not seeing it so i.. put more on.  Hey wanna see a video of it running? in the vid i thought i saw the mark, but it was just the camera playin tricks. pretty sure theres an exhaust leak there too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=872RX1-g4E0 also! so i replaced all my brakes. front disc, rear drum, new master and power booster. new lines to the back of the car from the proportioning valve, new rear T and lines to the rear wheels, re-used the existing front lines. bled the system several times with fresh fluid, pretty sure it doesn't have air in it. whyyyyyy are they still so soft and spongy? i hit the pedal and it just goes to the floor. it stops, but.. slowly. i dont know what im missing.. hedgegnome fucked around with this message at 06:42 on May 17, 2023 |
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May 17, 2023 06:38
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timing: maybe you're still pretty far off. wonky carb settings (or whatever) can mask wildly wrong timing. does your timing gun have a long enough cable to be able to go under the car with it to see where the mark actually is? maybe move the gun forwards or backwards on the firing order to see how far off it is. you're doing this with the vacuum advance disconnected, right? cause that'll throw you off by like 12 degrees, ask me how i know lol brakes: did you bench bleed the master before installation? also make sure there isn't some slightly loose fitting somewhere bleeding off all your pressure.
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May 17, 2023 07:51
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Raluek posted:timing: maybe you're still pretty far off. wonky carb settings (or whatever) can mask wildly wrong timing. does your timing gun have a long enough cable to be able to go under the car with it to see where the mark actually is? maybe move the gun forwards or backwards on the firing order to see how far off it is. you're doing this with the vacuum advance disconnected, right? cause that'll throw you off by like 12 degrees, ask me how i know lol oops. yeah the vacuum was connected. ill disconnect it and try again, maybe look underneath the car too  and nope, didnt bench bleed it. i.. dont know why. ill go back and do that.. and i did notice a few drips around a few connections, looks like i need to re-tighten everything. thanks!
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May 17, 2023 08:09
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Also did you adjust your rear drums? They're pulled back by springs and if not adjusted to almost touching most of your pedal travel gets eaten pushing them out. There should be a threaded rod with a gear you can reach with a screwdriver. Spin the drum and adjust till it drags then back it off a few clicks.
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May 17, 2023 12:18
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hedgegnome posted:oops. yeah the vacuum was connected. ill disconnect it and try again, maybe look underneath the car too Your idle seemed a little high, too. If your timing is much advanced at all, the mark is going to be counterclockwise around the balancer where you're not going to be able to see it. You might mark some additional lines on the balancer to see more advance. Set the balancer mark at 10 btdc, make a mark on the balancer at 0 and 10after. Rotate the engine around again and put that mark you just made at 10after on the 10before mark, make marks on the balancer at 0 and 10after again. Now you'll be able to see all the way up to 50 degrees of advance. It may just be the camera, but the timing light flashes also seemed to be erratic and slower than expected. joat mon fucked around with this message at 15:43 on May 17, 2023 |
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May 17, 2023 15:41
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How does timing get hosed up? Is it just bad install at the shade tree mechanic, or what. I guess the belt can slip from lack of maintenance? You'd need a pretty catastrophic event for a timing chain to gently caress up
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May 17, 2023 17:07
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If the timing chain is stretched it can be off by a bit. That would have to be an old rear end chain though. Or a new chain off by a tooth or two. Any more than that you'd probably have valve interference problems.
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May 17, 2023 17:30
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Hadlock posted:How does timing get hosed up? Is it just bad install at the shade tree mechanic, or what. I guess the belt can slip from lack of maintenance? You'd need a pretty catastrophic event for a timing chain to gently caress up Read the post again, slowly. He removed and replaced the distributor. To the OP, it's always possible that you missed it when you stabbed it in too, and you're off by a tooth.
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May 17, 2023 17:41
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hedgegnome posted:
Quoting to help you find my sage advice (lol) Timing more, don't be afraid to really crawl around until you can find that timing mark with the light. The strobe just helps you see a spinning object. Get under, go left and right until you find it because then you'll know how far advanced or retarded you are. And yes I now feel weird saying the technical term for that. Brakes! How much did you replace? You mentioned disc's so, being it's the stupid question thread, are the calipers on the correct sides of the car, are the bleeders located higher than the brake hoses? Someone here famously had this issue for a year, and I've seen it in person. If the bleeders are lower than the hoses you cannot get the air out unless you turn the car over. It's much easier to swap to the correct sides.
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May 17, 2023 17:48
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Hello! Before I go further, let me emphasize: I am a car moron. I barely know what I am typing in this post, so please feel free to correct me if I am wrong anywhere. I recently purchased a used 2010 Honda CR-V EXL and I am having some issues with the air conditioning. (A) When I purchased the vehicle, the air conditioning would blow cold air for about 20/30m before just blowing out warm air. (B) I took it to a mechanic just to have them take a look; the repair person said they were going to try swapping out some of the relays to see if that fixed the issue. (C) After leaving the mechanic, the air conditioning no longer blows air at all. I would like to try replacing the related relays in the vehicle to see if that fixes the issue, or at least gets me back to where I have *some* A/C instead of *no* A/C. I've found a lot of information about fuses, and how it's important to make sure that you replace a fuse with the same type/voltage/amperage/etc, but I've learned very little about relays. Are all of the relays used in the box basically the same? In my box there are a number of different shapes, sizes, and colors of relays but functionally they all look roughly the same - is this an issue where I can just buy "a generic relay" and use it to replace any relay in the box? Or are there different relays used differently in each slot?  <- this is not my picture but the fuse box is practically identical, down to the color/brand/shape/sizes of the fuses & relays being shown.Again, I apologize for being an idiot up front, and I might well be asking the wrong questions. Any help or information the collective goonmind can give would be appreciated.
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May 17, 2023 20:42
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My Second Re-Reg posted:Hello! Before I go further, let me emphasize: I am a car moron. I barely know what I am typing in this post, so please feel free to correct me if I am wrong anywhere. Your mechanic appears to have made your issue worse, no? Did they offer to fix the issue to get it to the condition it was in when you dropped it off at least?
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May 17, 2023 20:49
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Inner Light posted:Your mechanic appears to have made your issue worse, no? Did they offer to fix the issue to get it to the condition it was in when you dropped it off at least? Yes and no - I paid nothing, have never been to that auto shop before, and have zero desire to return whatsoever. This was the only place in town with same-day availability, and having been there, I now see why.
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May 17, 2023 22:07
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Do automakers not make the wiring harness for headlight bulbs 2 inches longer (which would make replacing them in some vehicles significantly easier for some people) for the same reason that dentists ask you questions when your mouth is full of cotton and a saliva-sucking vacuum?
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May 18, 2023 00:36
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That would cost money. No, I'm not kidding in the slightest. Assembly is the first consideration and ease of repair IS another consideration. It really is. I don't know what you mean by "some people" (lefties?) but those types of things are generally brought up by people actually working on the cars at the test track, etc. But wiring harnesses are VERY difficult to get changed so even if it got brought up later in development, there's virtually no shot it would get changed even if they wanted to.
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May 18, 2023 00:51
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totalnewbie posted:That would cost money. Yeah makes sense. The car that raised the question today is a friend's 2015 Prius, a Gen 3 model that had 5 years to make a change if a change was desired. By "some people" and "some vehicles" I mean that in some cases if your hands are small enough you can get away with replacing the bulb without removing other parts first, whereas in other cases you have to remove parts anyway in which case a longer wiring harness wouldn't make much difference as there's plenty of room to maneuver- i.e. maybe this is more of a laziness issue than anything else lol
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May 18, 2023 01:45
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My Second Re-Reg posted:Hello! Before I go further, let me emphasize: I am a car moron. I barely know what I am typing in this post, so please feel free to correct me if I am wrong anywhere. Ooh I can help. Hondas of your vintage have a known relay issue with the ac so it's a common cheap easy first step. Not all realys are the same. Brief relay primer. A relay is like a light switch that's turned on or off with more electricity. Why? It lets you control a high amperage switch with a low amperage connection. So your ac button on the dash has tiny wiring that flips the relay on or off. The relay controls the big wiring that runs the ac. So, swapping realys have to be like for like. They're rated for specific amp loads, and have different pin shapes. Every relay in that fuse block you posted has a part number on it. Also the cover has a guide that shows what goes where. The ac has a pic of a snowflake. Take that libs. Once you ID the relay that controls the AC you hunt for another really that has the same part number on it. Swap em and if the ac works (and the one you stole quits, say the radiator fans for example) boom it's the relay. BUT! You said it works for 20-30 and that doesn't sound like a relay issue. That sounds like your evaporator is icing up. Relay, electrical, wiring issues etc are usually just no AC at all. It works then doesn't sound like a bad charge or other weird gas issue. Step 1 make sure your ac relay is installed. Step 2, turn the car on and have someone turn on the ac while you watch the engine. You're looking for a pulley on the passenger side, iirc the lowest, and closest to the bumper. That's the ac compressor. It has 2 aluminum lines connected to it. The belt part will always spin. The inner section won't until the ac gets turned on. You should hear a solid CLICK and then the inner bit will spin too. Step 3 if there's no click and spin bit find the ac fuse and see if it's blown. Report back here.
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May 18, 2023 02:40
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hedgegnome posted:oops. yeah the vacuum was connected. ill disconnect it and try again, maybe look underneath the car too Really dumb question: is the timing light pick-up set on the #1 tower on the distributor? The engine sounds pretty good at idle; if the timing is off, you'll notice the first time you hit the throttle, it'll stumble badly and backfire if the timing is retarded. If it's too far advanced, you'll hear castanets (valves) when you hit the gas. Bleeding brakes. First, be sure that the brake shoes and drums are in good condition and that the shoes are adjusted against the drums. They should drag, but only slightly; unlike discs, the drums should rotate without much she contact. Once you are sure all of your line connections are good, and the master bled (if replaced), (and you are operating a LHD car), start bleeding at the right rear wheel, then the left rear, then the right front, then the left. If you are doing this yourself and not using a helper, or autobleeders, or a pressure system that pushes the fluid through from the master reservoir, you'll need to loop you bleed line as high as possible to catch the air. If the pedal's soft, there's still air in ther.,
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May 18, 2023 02:55
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honda whisperer posted:
To add to this - any chance it's still making cold air at the passenger side? Apparently it's A Thing for Hondas to be able to run the system without self-destructing, but pumping so little refrigerant that the evaporator core is getting starved and only the side where the refrigerant enters (passenger side) gets cold. Had this happen with my '13 CR-V when the TXV stuck shut. If it is the TXV, open your wallet and pay a shop, that job suuuuuuuuuuuucks.
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May 18, 2023 03:03
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StormDrain posted:Quoting to help you find my sage advice (lol) yeah, im getting under there this weekend to see just where the hell it is. i also need to do it with the vacuum advance disconnected. and uh, same on the technical term for that brakes! most of it! only thing left are the front brake lines, which were surprisingly ok. and yep, calipers are correct, bleeders are facing topside. ive found most of the difficulty with this project isnt the installation of things. its the tuning where it gets weird. as for the distribuitor.. i was super careful with stabbing it in there. mostly. rotor facing #1, made sure it was lined up with the #1 on the cap.. how hard would it be to be off a tooth?
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May 18, 2023 06:10
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PainterofCrap posted:Really dumb question: is the timing light pick-up set on the #1 tower on the distributor? yep, its for sure on the #1 line. i actually did drive it ever so briefly down the street and back. sorta stabbed at the throttle and it ran pretty okay. no stumbling or backfiring or weird noise as far as i could tell. thats why im pretty confused as to where the timing is.. it seems to run ok for being way to far in one direction or another. i actually put the distributor in the night before, when i tried to start it it would backfire out the carb and wouldnt start. the battery died though, so i called it quits while i charged it overnight. the next morning, i turned the distributor about a 1/4 turn counterclockwise and it fired up and mostly idled ok on the first try. i can also rev it as it is now pretty well. brakes! i have a few new things to try this weekend, thanks to responses here. thanks!! theyre all brand new, and when bleeding i can hear the rears moving. im hoping the issue is i have a few less than super tight lines that are leaking a bit, and i need to bleed the master. and im using the little cheap-o hose and magnetic bottle thing to bleed with, being sure to keep it above the bleeder valves. hopefully i can make some progress this weekend! thanks for the responses
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May 18, 2023 06:23
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hedgegnome posted:as for the distribuitor.. i was super careful with stabbing it in there. mostly. rotor facing #1, made sure it was lined up with the #1 on the cap.. how hard would it be to be off a tooth? the drive gear is helical, so the shaft/rotor will turn as you remove or install the distributor. so if you started with the rotor pointing at #1, it won't be once it's fully seated. so it could still be off a little bit. i like to mark where the rotor started when fully seated, and where it ended up pointing when removed. however, being off by a tooth or whatever won't matter as long as there's room to adjust the distributor position. all the distributor does is trigger the coil (points or hall pickup or whatever), and route the spark (cap/rotor). it doesn't know what direction it's actually facing. so if the gear is off by a tooth, the whole distributor will just end up rotated a bit once you get the timing set correctly. as long as there's room for the advance canister and whatever other protrusions, it can be in theoretically any orientation.
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May 18, 2023 08:01
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Car Seat Question after too much Googling - My Spark has an armrest built into the driver's seat. It doesn't have any visible way to remove the arm, or to access how the arm attaches to the seat. Unfortunately, the armrest sits about an inch lower than I'd prefer. I would like to figure out a way to make it sit just a little bit higher, and I feel like there must be some extremely easy way to do it that I'm overlooking. Is there something obvious I could do to make it sit just a bit higher? Some Chevy seats have a circular cover that pops over the bolt attaching the arm rest to the seat. That's not the case in my car.
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May 18, 2023 12:30
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If it's similar to the Trax, the cover should have a zipper you can zip off and there will be a bolt underneath. Once you get it off there will be a track that a pin on the seat slides in to define the movement. You might be able to stick a nut on the back of the track and run a short bolt in, that will limit it's downward movement. I would use a rivnut, but it's probably not worth it for you to buy the tool and such.  e: just thinking that plate might sit flush against another, meaning something like a rivnut could be the only real option. Powershift fucked around with this message at 14:08 on May 18, 2023 |
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May 18, 2023 13:42
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2008 Honda Civic. Just today it started to make this noise when I accelerated... a high pitched noise. Sort of like it wasn't quiteeee in gear. I tried putting it in park and then back in gear, but same noise. After driving around for 5 or 10 minutes it went away and all sounds normal. Something transmission related? I have a video here: https://imgur.com/EAkJACe Note about the video - on my phone and in real life, the high pitched sound is much higher... when I listened on my PC through my edifier speakers, the high pitched sound was way more muffled. Soo... just something to keep in mind.
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May 18, 2023 16:10
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Captain Log posted:Car Seat Question after too much Googling - Shoot man just tape a big ol’ tall piece of foam on top  cover it with similar cloth if you’re into them there “aesthetics”
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May 18, 2023 16:14
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Powershift posted:If it's similar to the Trax, the cover should have a zipper you can zip off and there will be a bolt underneath. gently caress me running, I didn't even think to look underneath the cover for a zipper. That's next. REMEMBER SPONGE MONKEYS posted:Shoot man just tape a big ol’ tall piece of foam on top This ten year old Chevy Spark is my first "nice" car, and I own it outright. I don't want to bubba it too badly. Although if I could sew, that's exactly what I'd be doing. It's just a tiiiiiny bit too short for where my lanky elbow wants to sit.
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May 18, 2023 16:16
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