Teh Official "Dude Where's My Forum?" Thread, Brought to you by the minds of Box, and her fiancée, Lorelei Options

[Bitter]

I've replaced as many of those Nissan distributors as I have GM ones. Had a Caprice LT with Opti that was doing some weird ****, it was throwing a code for CKP but it was the Opti at fault since it was taking the Opti as truth and so CKP MUST be wrong, nope, the CKP was correct and the Opti had the incorrect timing due to moisture inside, 96 so a later model Opti too!

[Bitter]

http://www.superchevy.com/how-to/16758/ good article!

http://delteq.com/ That's pretty cool! Those GM coils are pretty stout things, they make higher power aftermarket ones too. If you ever get into camming that engine that would be a worthy upgrade to get better spark.

[Box]

Of course there's many that have/had Opti issues which made me as paranoid as I am and even feeling more comfortable with it I'm still going to be overly cautious, but seriously if you open the hood and give things a look over once a week like you should anyway you'll catch many things before they become a problem. Knowing leaking coolant can cause Opti problems that's part of my weekly inspection. Maybe I'm just too OCD, but I rather take a few minutes once a week to visually inspect my fluids etc... than to have something fail unexpectedly going down the road.

If I ever have more money than I know what to do with after doing suspension, brakes, and repainting the car this would be nice: http://www.torqhead.com/index.html

[Bitter]

That's sweet! And then you've got laptop tuning for the car too.

[Box]

Indeed, from what I've looked into they seem to have the easiest to install and use conversion as well as being the most thorough.

Good job on the install, looks nicely done. Wooo more light output! Also speaking of wiring harnesses I get to help/do most of the rewiring of my brother's LTD soon now that it's mechanically roadworthy and since for some reason people over the years like to hack up car wiring, and honestly it'd just be easier to rip the old crap out and run new wiring myself than to chase down and diagnose where people have screwed it up. At least I only have to remake the headlight circuit, sidemarker circuit, and the turn signal circuit... Brake lights and tail lights seem to function properly but I'll just redo them as well just to know it's all new and working properly, while I'm at it might as put in a main circuit breaker too. Isn't knowing electrical and everyone knowing you know the best thing ever?

Also your zinc battery connectors remind me, the other day I had the great idea of making battery terminals and connectors out of aluminum but apparently someone has already beat me to it.

[Box]

I forgot the reverse lights need a microswitch on the shifter since someone (poorly) converted it from column shift to floor shift for whatever reason. I need to look around for a fuse and relay panel with a main fuse or breaker, especially since he's wanting to put a sound system into it. That and see about using a '94+ 5.0 alternator since they're 130 amp and since his has a 302 and from what I can tell they're almost identical in appearance. I like how his project car is also my project car, that's ok though I like helping out and if I can make the car better and safer in the process then it's all good.

[Bitter]

I'll try to get you some Hella vs Autopal shots tonight.

[Box]

That was fast shipping, good ole Amazon. Look forward to seeing them.

So I like how the car that's supposed to be a pain in the ass to bleed the cooling system wasn't very hard to bleed at all. Then again I raised the passenger front so the radiator opening was the highest point, opened the bleed valves and removed the radiator cap, then took out the thermostat and filled it from the pump until it leveled out at the bottom of the opening and put the thermostat and housing back on, filled the radiator until it leveled out at the top, closed the bleed valves, topped off the reservoir, and then ran it to temp with the heat on full blast topping off as needed, got to operating temp so the thermostat opened and topped off a little more before putting the radiator cap on and dropping the car down and running it for a few more minutes.

All seems well as I can't even hear the new pump and no leaks outside of a few drips from the outlet hose where I replaced an old worn out spring clamp with a new worm gear clamp after system pressure built up, but retightening it took care of it and retightened the rest for good measure. It could be my imagination but it seems to rev noticeably faster now, then again as bad as the old pump ended up being I'd believe it. Totally worth it in the end. I guess I'll throw a few obscured victory photos into the project thread, had I been thinking I'd have done so right after putting the pump on but my mind was elsewhere at the moment.

[Bitter]

Buy the Hella.

[Box]

Waiting for pics. Actually I'm not sure what to do since the halogen upgrades were never intended to be permanent but just an easy more or less plug and play improvement over the sealed beams to hold me over until HIDs, that along with reading in multiple places the Hella high beam was too high in relation to the low beam is why I went with the Autopal lamps in the first place. I don't doubt they're a big improvement based on your feedback but is it a temporary improvement I want to more or less throw money away on I could put towards HIDs or the sound system I've yet to touch I'm not sure. On a similar note I've found a source of inexpensive polycarbonate sheets I can use to make some clear lenses, need to buy some to experiment with and if all goes well may go ahead and do HIDs.

[Bitter]

HUGE difference, it's gotten late now so probably pics tomorrow, patchy cold drizzle tonight so I'm in. Next evening when it's not so chilly I'll get it out and get some from about 25ft away in the driveway on the white door.



So I was sitting in the car after work for a bit idling, enjoying the heat, chatting with the GF on the phone, and I see some dust or something blow from under my car, then more, that's not dust, it's steam, why is there steam pouring from under my hood, I get out, that's not steam it's smoke, there's smoke under my hood rolling out, what's going on, I pop the hood and there's the acrid smell of burning wire insulation, I spot it bellowing from the now 15yr old fog light harness I poorly put in when I was about 16. I had been meaning to rewire that once I was done with the Capri...
It must have either shorted against itself or rubbed through onto something and shorted, good thing I was idling on the phone and not driving, it could have burned into the cabin since I didn't know what I was doing, the relay is in the cabin under the dash! I'll re-do with a water proof relay, better fuse holder, 12g wiring (got plenty), etc etc. Yikes though!

Had a 20A fuse on it, the fuse plastic melted but the element didn't blow, the terminals in the fuse holder must have been touching or something, scared the heck out of me. I was able to quickly spot everything thanks to that.....UNDERHOOD LIGHT I PUT IN THAT I WAS SURE WAS A DUMB WASTE OF TIME. Look who's laughing now!? Me at myself for thinking it was silly.

This post has been edited by Bitter: Oct 25, 2016 - 8:58 PM

[Box]

Thankfully it decided to do it while sitting still and you were able to take care of it before it got even worse. Also hooray underhood light.

Wait, you've owned the Celica for 15 years? That's crazy, don't you know you're supposed to change cars out once a year?

[Bitter]

No, my mom has had the Mazda since 99ish, and about 15 years ago when I was 16ish I installed the first set of fogs some old boyfriend gave her, total crap ones but whatever she asked and I did and they worked as in they lit up, so mission accomplished. Years later I've replaced the lamps a few times but left the wiring cause I'm lazy.

I've had the Celica since....7 years ago almost now.
Had the Mazda for about 5-6 years.
Had the Geo for about...4-5 years.

[Box]

Ahhhh ok makes sense now, I was thinking you got the Celica nearly new at 16 there for a second. The Celica was the longest I've owned a car at around two years, though I genuinely intend to keep the Firebird since I've wanted one since I was a kid and my mom had her '95 Trans Am. That and just the car in and of itself, well maintained hardtop 6-speeds are the unicorn of F-bodies. So it'd seem maybe this is THE car for me even though it's not perfect, but that's any car and I realize that better now. I think even if I got a C5 Vette I'm not sure if I could really part with it. Ehh let's see since I turned 16 and I'm 24 now I've owned in chronological order:
1988 Supra
1989 Supra
1967 Coupe DeVille
1994 3000GT
1995 Celica
1990 Miata
1979 Firebird
1996 Firebird

Though the '79 ended up being a bust after driving it a few times, then again same with the 3000GT. That's ok had I not sold the '79 or sold it earlier/traded it I wouldn't have the '96 so things happen for a reason I suppose.

This post has been edited by Box: Oct 25, 2016 - 11:02 PM

[Bitter]

I took a closer look at the wiring mess, it's not so bad, contained to just the area behind the bumper. Fuse holder wasn't shorted inside, the fuse just never burned and it really should have! 20A fuses are what protect cig sockets and those get popped all the time without smoking wires so I think I got one those recalled Chinese fuses from years ago that bit my ass just now. It looks like the furthest forward damage is very near or inside the passenger side foglight, so I'll have to take it off and take a good look to see if something went amiss inside, both were still lit as the harness was smoking though. I'm wondering if maybe the hot wire got pushed against the back of the hot metal reflector housing and melted against it, but that still won't explain the failure of the fuse to do it's job. When I rewire I'll step the fuse down to a 10A fuse as that's about 120W of light which is just a little more than 2x55W H3 bulbs. If the failure was inside the fog and the thing is damaged then it'll just be time to get the Hella MicroDE fogs I guess. Not the kind of money I want to spend on it but oh well, better than melting my car again I guess. I'll rewire with all 12ga stuff and do a much nicer job, honest!

[Box]

10A would be a much closer match, and hopefully a fuse that'll blow like it's supposed to. I've always had luck with the Buss brand, in fact I have a variety pack I keep in the glovebox so should one blow I'm covered. Speaking of fogs I got a good luck at the underside of the car and the only way I can foresee mounting fog lights would be to remove the nose cone entirely. Hmm Hella MicroDE fogs. *goes to Amazon*

[Bitter]

Not particularly cheap but they're the only mini fogs that make useful light. Even my larger reflector units are really just for show, they don't do a heck of a lot of good, except once in some really thick fog a month back late at night I drove by just them for a few hundred feet till I was out of a low spot where it was too thick to see with the headlights on glaring back at me. I had to creep along at about 10mph through there, no fun, had about 20 feet visibility!

[Box]

Hmm, apparently they like to corrode away according to a lot of the reviews on Amazon. I mean sure I guess if that's true Hella should use a better paint but seriously do people not look at their cars? I know I'm probably weird because I like to look at my car for no good reason, but if you wash your car even once a month that's something you should catch and remedy. Like one review said they only lasted two years, sounds like plenty of time to have caught and stopped it but what do I know. Also seems like best price here: https://www.amazon.com/HELLA-H12090041-Watt...=hella+micro+de but only get the housing but from the kit reviews the rest of it sucks anyway so might as well save the $25 or so.

[Bitter]

I read up about that and came to the conclusion that 90% of the corrosion issues are due to them being mounted in a way that exposes the backside directly to road spray either due to missing or damaged fender liners/splash shields or due to mounting in non OEM locations. The Toyota 4Runner (I think) mounted these as OEM fogs and had issues with them rotting because they were positioned in a direct line with tire spray, a simple bracket to keep spray from directly hitting the back of the light solves all the problems permanently. Honestly just something as simple as a bit of bent sheet metal or plastic behind them fixes it as does putting them out of harms way.

[Box]

That or maybe Plasti-Dipping or something else to similar effect on the housing to protect them and using electric grease on the connections if you live where they salt the roads.

That's ok it reminds me of a review I came across on Amazon for one of the Hella H4 conversions the other day. The idiot rated them 1 star because after installing the housings the lights flickered and cut out. Uhhhh how is that the ENTIRELY PASSIVE housing's fault? More like you're too stupid to convert wiring from the sealed beam pinout to the H4 pinout.