The Joys of Alternators
- Sun 30th November 2008, 1:19 pm
I decided since it was such a beautiful snowy morning to head out and get gas so I wouldn`t have to do it in the morning. On the way there, my stereo cut out. Odd, but that thing is like 6 years old now. So I didn`t think much of it.
At the intersection in front of the gas station the bus died. The starter wouldn`t turn over either. Sigh. I push the bus out of the intersection. The ground was so slick with snow and ice that I was pretty much just a passenger hanging from the window of the bus trying to steer it to a curb. My feet just slid. But it was downhill so I was able to steer it right into the curb. A quick check showed my battery was pretty dead. My alt must have croaked. :(
Called AAA. Must be a busy day, I was on hold 20 minutes BEFORE I got a person. Ugh. A cop came and sat with me so his big flashy lights would hopefully keep people from hitting me on the side of the road. Got it towed home finally and charged the battery. I was curious why my alt light never came on if the alt was bad. I started it up, no light. Check the voltage and find it`s 12.10v. No charging happening. Voltage regulator check first. Tests ok, but i found out why the light wasn`t coming on. The green wire was disconnected. Play around some more and find the alt is VERY hard to turn. Something inside must have seized.
I`ve never had an alt seize on me like that. Most bizarre.
Results of Smog Check 11/18/08
- Wed 19th November 2008, 11:33 am
After dialing in the AFM settings by ear, here are my results:
HC PPM
- 2500RPM - 50.1
- Idle - 86.5
- Limit - 400
CO%
- 2500RPM - 0.97
- Idle - 2.10
- Limit - 3.00
CO2%
- 2500RPM - 12.7497
- Idle - 5.7130
Hooray!
It lives!
- Sat 13th September 2008, 11:33 am
I got injectors and a resistor pack from Troy (Thanks man!). I got `em in over the past couple nights (did you know 1/4" FI hose will fit if it`s heated up a bit?)
No difference. :(
This morning I hit the junkyard and there was a bug. All that was useful off it, unless a beat to crap case and swiss cheese pan are useful, was the distributor. I grabbed and for giggles tossed it the Guac. Holy smokes it worked!!!
My tach doesn`t peg and bounce anymore, the bus runs great, etc etc.
Something in the two distributors I have must be shorting out, or the ground strap while passing eyeball inspection has a weak spot. I`ll spend some more time checking those out later. Right now... ROAD TRIP!
Injectors and Resistors
- Thu 11th September 2008, 11:12 am
I picked up some used injectors and resistor pack from another bus owner yesterday. On the way home I stopped by Target and picked up a box of snack size ziploc bags ($2) and a bottle of medical grade mineral oil ($1.52). I put each injector in a bag and filled it with the mineral oil, then put all the bags back in the Target bag.
They sat that way all day.
When I got home last evening, I installed the resistor pack and one injector, replacing one that I thought was suspect. I didn`t have time to do the rest, so I did a quick test drive. No joy. :( The replacement injector seems to be working nicely however.
I`ll update more tomorrow assuming I get to finish replacing the injectors tonight.
