The Gearhead Thread

[Hugo Drax]

My son's hammered 2017 Yaris is what I'm driving these days until the Passat gets it's horn situation fixed.
The windshield was broken so I had that replaced. The car is filthy inside and out, but I can't take it to the car wash because one of the back windows won't stay up (nor can I lock it!)
Today I silicon glued a block of wood to the interior window glass to keep it from sliding open.

There is a joy to a sh@tbox car. I bet your son knows the quirks to that old hunk better than most AMG drivers on the road.

My wife, God bless her, treats her cars like a French woman. Mechanically perfect, but every interior part falling off and not a straight piece of metal on the outside and I love that about her. She's never hit another car, but near as I can tell she's hit just about everything else.

[FredS]

My son's hammered 2017 Yaris is what I'm driving these days until the Passat gets it's horn situation fixed.
The windshield was broken so I had that replaced. The car is filthy inside and out, but I can't take it to the car wash because one of the back windows won't stay up (nor can I lock it!)
Today I silicon glued a block of wood to the interior window glass to keep it from sliding open.

There is a joy to a sh@tbox car. I bet your son knows the quirks to that old hunk better than most AMG drivers on the road.

As St Paul wrote "I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need."

I've never been poor but I've gone through a few seasons of having very little and I've owned some sh@tbox cars. I'd like to hear about yours.

For me, I owned an old Ford truck that, for a while had a broken door latch so I used a bungy cord to keep it closed. The defroster could keep up with one person if I also cracked the window open, but if Mrs FredS was riding along we had to scrape the inside of the windshield every few miles. Once, a guy gave me some red crushed velvet captains seat he took out of his van so I welded up some mounts and put them in my truck. The drivers side swiveling lock didn't lock so a week later, when I drove it into a ditch, I ended up facing backwards with my knees jammed up against the back of the cab. The truck was perfectly undamaged so I pulled it out of the ditch and put the bench seat back in it. Once, at a college bar that had "drink and drown" all-you-can-drink beer for $5 on Wednesdays, I drowned. The throttle linkage fell of the truck so we opened the hood, removed the air cleaner, and had a guy sit astride the engine to operate the throttle while I braked and steered from inside. It was only four or five blocks back to the dorm so we should have walked. On the other hand, it was only four or five blocks - what could possibly go wrong?

[sweetandsour]

My outboard motor, a 2012 Suzuki DF70A, 70hp, will not start. The battery is fully charged, and measures 12.7 volts with the meter. The voltage at the engine, (pos lead on the starter, neg lead on the chassis ground), measures 12.1 volts. When the ignition is in the run position, (ie, "on", not cranking), the voltage at the engine measures just 8 volts. There's various audible clicks, and the beeper, and I hear the fuel pump priming, etc, but turning the key to start results in no other sound. The tilt and trim, which does not require the ignition to be on, does not work either. The relay clicks, but the tilt/trim motor does not engage.

All connections look good and are tight. I tried using the battery neg post as the ground, with the pos test lead on the starter, but there is still the voltage drop. I'll take the battery to be load tested tomorrow, for starters. Otherwise, I'm sort of at a loss.

[Hovannes]

My son's hammered 2017 Yaris is what I'm driving these days until the Passat gets it's horn situation fixed.
The windshield was broken so I had that replaced. The car is filthy inside and out, but I can't take it to the car wash because one of the back windows won't stay up (nor can I lock it!)
Today I silicon glued a block of wood to the interior window glass to keep it from sliding open.

There is a joy to a sh@tbox car. I bet your son knows the quirks to that old hunk better than most AMG drivers on the road.

My wife, God bless her, treats her cars like a French woman. Mechanically perfect, but every interior part falling off and not a straight piece of metal on the outside and I love that about her. She's never hit another car, but near as I can tell she's hit just about everything else.

I took it through a car wash (CA doesn't appreciate DIY car washing) and she held together.
No leaks.
It's nice having a clean car.

[sweetandsour]

My outboard motor, a 2012 Suzuki DF70A, 70hp, will not start. The battery is fully charged, and measures 12.7 volts with the meter. The voltage at the engine, (pos lead on the starter, neg lead on the chassis ground), measures 12.1 volts. When the ignition is in the run position, (ie, "on", not cranking), the voltage at the engine measures just 8 volts. There's various audible clicks, and the beeper, and I hear the fuel pump priming, etc, but turning the key to start results in no other sound. The tilt and trim, which does not require the ignition to be on, does not work either. The relay clicks, but the tilt/trim motor does not engage.

All connections look good and are tight. I tried using the battery neg post as the ground, with the pos test lead on the starter, but there is still the voltage drop. I'll take the battery to be load tested tomorrow, for starters. Otherwise, I'm sort of at a loss.

Confirmed good battery. Attached brand new cables. Good connections. Volts measured at the battery = volts measured at the engine starter, with the key in the "on" position. When the key is turned to start, only clicks are heard, nothing else. Also the tilt/trim will not engage, audible clicks only.
Tomorrow I will play around with the switch, and wiring under the console. You guys are no help.

[FredS]

You guys are no help.

You must be new here. You should post a bio to introduce yourself.

[sweetandsour]

You guys are no help.

You must be new here. You should post a bio to introduce yourself.

Hello my name is Tim. I thought you were out hiking and fishing. Anyway I'm headed to the Suzuki dealership now to find an ignition and harness.

[Hovannes]

Power windows for all:

[Hovannes]

[sweetandsour]

My outboard motor, a 2012 Suzuki DF70A, 70hp, will not start. The battery is fully charged, and measures 12.7 volts with the meter. The voltage at the engine, (pos lead on the starter, neg lead on the chassis ground), measures 12.1 volts. When the ignition is in the run position, (ie, "on", not cranking), the voltage at the engine measures just 8 volts. There's various audible clicks, and the beeper, and I hear the fuel pump priming, etc, but turning the key to start results in no other sound. The tilt and trim, which does not require the ignition to be on, does not work either. The relay clicks, but the tilt/trim motor does not engage.

All connections look good and are tight. I tried using the battery neg post as the ground, with the pos test lead on the starter, but there is still the voltage drop. I'll take the battery to be load tested tomorrow, for starters. Otherwise, I'm sort of at a loss.

Confirmed good battery. Attached brand new cables. Good connections. Volts measured at the battery = volts measured at the engine starter, with the key in the "on" position. When the key is turned to start, only clicks are heard, nothing else. Also the tilt/trim will not engage, audible clicks only.
Tomorrow I will play around with the switch, and wiring under the console. You guys are no help.

Bad battery cable(s). Not all battery cables are created equal, apparently. Sometimes 4-ga copper wire does not equal 4-ga copper wire. Apparently my Suzuki only likes very expensive Suzuki battery cable; but anyway there is now power to the motor. Today I'll change plugs, fuel filter, flush with fresh gas, and try to get it running, just in time for the end of summer.