Home » Public Forums » GMCnet » [GMCnet] Oh, did I mess up!
| [GMCnet] Oh, did I mess up! [message #167395] |
Tue, 24 April 2012 08:05  |
Richard Denney
Messages: 920
Registered: April 2010
Karma: 9
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Senior Member |
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So, I put new batteries in the coach.
It was cold and rainy, and I didn't get home until 15 minutes before dark.
Given the demands on the rest of the week and weekend, right up until time
to leave for Bean Station, I rushed out to make use of what daylight was
left. I installed the new battery in the Toyota (see elsewhere) so that I
could at least move that truck, and then I pulled the batteries from the
coach to replace them with fresh batteries I'd bought while at Costco on
the way home from work (a 100-minute commute from Baltimore--why I don't
usually have time in the evenings to work on things). So, I was in a hurry,
working with a flashlight, and getting lightly rained on. Too many stress
factors to maintain a proper attitude to work on the coach.
And I made the ultimate bonehead mistake. Yes, I installed the chassis
battery backwards. The only reason I didn't immediately know it was that I
have a master battery switch for that battery that I had turned off. After
installing the battery, I flipped the switch and stepped back into the
garage and plugged in the AC extension cord to the coach to power the
converter. I was about 10 feet away when I started hearing noises.
Awareness came simultaneously with the panic reaction, and I immediately
ran back and turned the switch back off and yanked that power plug.
Sizzle, sizzle.
I test for which wires were hot, and the wires leading to the combiner were
quite toasty, along with a 10-gauge lead from the boost solenoid to the
main power terminal on the firewall. That's the red wire coming out the
bottom of the main terminal in this picture:
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/electrical-wiring-concepts-for-73-230/p26980-chassic-wiring-center.html
None of the wires toasted long enough to really melt anything, or so it
seemed. They were hot, but not fried, though something certainly was
sizzling.
The combiner, having combined the house and engine batteries wire in
reverse, would have taken the brunt of the current flow, plus any circuit
that could find ground with the ignition switch turned off. It turns out
that the only circuit that is always on is the brake lamp/turn signal
circuit.
The combiner seems to be combined without there being charging voltage
present, though I did start the engine so it may have been surface charge
that was keeping it combined. Perhaps those long lead wires really did
limit current sufficiently to protect the combiner--more testing required.
I believe that's what' was sizzling, and in better light I'll know more. I
have a feeling it's melted. My combiner is an early Yandina from the West
Marine days (of the vintage that Ken Henderson cut apart and inspected on
its very unusual failure), and it is not the later model with better
protection.
And all switched circuits seem to be fine: the engine starts and runs, the
dash air runs, the house circuits work, the lights work, etc. I suspect the
alternator protection cable would have protected the alternator--the wire
to the alternator probably had no path to ground to draw current. My house
feed circuit from the up-front house battery to the house panel is
protected on both ends--in the front with a thermal breaker and in the back
with a magnetic breaker--but neither breaker was tripped (this surprises
me--I would have thought current would have tried to flow also through the
rear combiner to the genset start battery in the back as soon as the
converter came on and caused that combiner to combine). The only thing I've
found so far that does not work is the brake lamp/turn signal circuit. The
fuse on that circuit was blown, and a new fuse blew immediately on
installation. The load side of the fuse is a direct short to ground.
Perhaps the flasher unit (an electronic model) has blown up and shorted to
ground. The problem does not seem to be in the wires leading to the lights
themselves.
I am glad I have that master switch, even though I would have known my
mistake as soon as the clamp touched the terminal without it.
Moral to the story: Don't do simple things in a hurry--we take obvious
stuff for granted and then make bonehead mistakes.
Rick "I love the smell of melted insulation in the morning" Denney
--
'73 230 "Jaws"
Northern Virginia
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| Re: [GMCnet] Oh, did I mess up! [message #167403 is a reply to message #167395] |
Tue, 24 April 2012 09:25  |
Ray Erspamer
Messages: 1707
Registered: May 2007
Location: Milwaukee Wisconsin
Karma: -3
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Senior Member |
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We all do those kinds of things Rick, so don't beat yourself up too bad. Kind of like last year when I drained my final drive and didn't refill it....I was rushing...VERY expensive mistake!!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Denney <rwdenney@gmail.com>
Sender: gmclist-bounces@temp.gmcnet.org
Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:05:03
To: <gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org>
Reply-To: gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org
Subject: [GMCnet] Oh, did I mess up!
So, I put new batteries in the coach.
It was cold and rainy, and I didn't get home until 15 minutes before dark.
Given the demands on the rest of the week and weekend, right up until time
to leave for Bean Station, I rushed out to make use of what daylight was
left. I installed the new battery in the Toyota (see elsewhere) so that I
could at least move that truck, and then I pulled the batteries from the
coach to replace them with fresh batteries I'd bought while at Costco on
the way home from work (a 100-minute commute from Baltimore--why I don't
usually have time in the evenings to work on things). So, I was in a hurry,
working with a flashlight, and getting lightly rained on. Too many stress
factors to maintain a proper attitude to work on the coach.
And I made the ultimate bonehead mistake. Yes, I installed the chassis
battery backwards. The only reason I didn't immediately know it was that I
have a master battery switch for that battery that I had turned off. After
installing the battery, I flipped the switch and stepped back into the
garage and plugged in the AC extension cord to the coach to power the
converter. I was about 10 feet away when I started hearing noises.
Awareness came simultaneously with the panic reaction, and I immediately
ran back and turned the switch back off and yanked that power plug.
Sizzle, sizzle.
I test for which wires were hot, and the wires leading to the combiner were
quite toasty, along with a 10-gauge lead from the boost solenoid to the
main power terminal on the firewall. That's the red wire coming out the
bottom of the main terminal in this picture:
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/electrical-wiring-concepts-for-73-230/p26980-chassic-wiring-center.html
None of the wires toasted long enough to really melt anything, or so it
seemed. They were hot, but not fried, though something certainly was
sizzling.
The combiner, having combined the house and engine batteries wire in
reverse, would have taken the brunt of the current flow, plus any circuit
that could find ground with the ignition switch turned off. It turns out
that the only circuit that is always on is the brake lamp/turn signal
circuit.
The combiner seems to be combined without there being charging voltage
present, though I did start the engine so it may have been surface charge
that was keeping it combined. Perhaps those long lead wires really did
limit current sufficiently to protect the combiner--more testing required.
I believe that's what' was sizzling, and in better light I'll know more. I
have a feeling it's melted. My combiner is an early Yandina from the West
Marine days (of the vintage that Ken Henderson cut apart and inspected on
its very unusual failure), and it is not the later model with better
protection.
And all switched circuits seem to be fine: the engine starts and runs, the
dash air runs, the house circuits work, the lights work, etc. I suspect the
alternator protection cable would have protected the alternator--the wire
to the alternator probably had no path to ground to draw current. My house
feed circuit from the up-front house battery to the house panel is
protected on both ends--in the front with a thermal breaker and in the back
with a magnetic breaker--but neither breaker was tripped (this surprises
me--I would have thought current would have tried to flow also through the
rear combiner to the genset start battery in the back as soon as the
converter came on and caused that combiner to combine). The only thing I've
found so far that does not work is the brake lamp/turn signal circuit. The
fuse on that circuit was blown, and a new fuse blew immediately on
installation. The load side of the fuse is a direct short to ground.
Perhaps the flasher unit (an electronic model) has blown up and shorted to
ground. The problem does not seem to be in the wires leading to the lights
themselves.
I am glad I have that master switch, even though I would have known my
mistake as soon as the clamp touched the terminal without it.
Moral to the story: Don't do simple things in a hurry--we take obvious
stuff for granted and then make bonehead mistakes.
Rick "I love the smell of melted insulation in the morning" Denney
--
'73 230 "Jaws"
Northern Virginia
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Ray Erspamer
78 GMC Royale Center Kitchen
403, 3.70 Final Drive
Holley Sniper Quadrajet EFI System,
Holley Hyperspark Ignition System
414-484-9431
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| Re: [GMCnet] Oh, did I mess up! [message #167406 is a reply to message #167403] |
Tue, 24 April 2012 10:00 |
hertfordnc
Messages: 1164
Registered: September 2009
Location: East NC
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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I think this would be a great time to share bonehead things we've done with vehicles.
While doing brake shoes on my van I had the drum off so i could refer to it while i did the other side, then i needed to move the van a few feet to get another car out of the yard so i put a wheel on and put the lugs finger tight and pushed it. -- you know where this is going....
Then i completed the brakes on the other side, dropeed the jack and drove away.
I was lucky, as i back out of the drive i saw the brake drum on my tool box.
Dave & Ellen Silva
Hertford, NC
76 Birchaven, 1-ton and other stuff
Currently planning the Great american Road Trip Summer 2021
It's gonna take a lot of Adderall to get this thing right.
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| Re: [GMCnet] Oh, did I mess up! [message #167422 is a reply to message #167406] |
Tue, 24 April 2012 12:06 |
Ken Henderson
Messages: 8726
Registered: March 2004
Location: Americus, GA
Karma: 9
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Senior Member |
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Where should I start? There are so many ...
A few years ago I replaced the front brake pads. A 8-10 days later I got
in to go somewhere: Cranked up, dropped it into reverse and stepped on the
brake -- which went all the way to the floor. By the time I pumped a
couple of times to push the caliper pistons out enough to get pedal, the
rear bumper and the sweetgum tree behind me had the situation well in
hand. :-(
Fortunately, I put the transmission in reverse, instead of Drive, since the
4' drop to the front would have been rather annoying (if I'd missed the
ramps). Slow as the coach was moving, the shock absorber on the bumper
took all the impact, with only a tiny dent in the bumper. But the little
slot in the fiberglass where the forward "ear" of the bumper struck the
body is still un-repaired. But the sweetgum's gone -- I had it cut down
shortly after it got in the way.
I've got lots of 'em.
Ken H.
On Tue, Apr 24, 2012 at 11:00 AM, dave silva <admin@oldrv.net> wrote:
>
>
> I think this would be a great time to share bonehead things we've done
> with vehicles.
> ...
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Ken Henderson
Americus, GA
www.gmcwipersetc.com
Large Wiring Diagrams
76 X-Birchaven
76 X-Palm Beach
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| Re: [GMCnet] Oh, did I mess up! [message #167425 is a reply to message #167395] |
Tue, 24 April 2012 12:20 |
davidlive
Messages: 143
Registered: November 2011
Location: Simi valley, Southern Cal...
Karma: -1
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Senior Member |
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My biggest bone head mistake i ever made was umm...
when my parents had a 1959 ford stepvan (former weber bread) which my dad took the 223 engine out of and replaced it with a ford 300 engine and trans as he was unable to find parts for the 223, but anyways, my dad wanted me to remove the radiator, so my mom was to move the stepvan back so i could drain the water then move it forward and i would remove the radiator, well she started talking on the phone and i got tired of waiting for her to move it forward and decided to loosen the bolts holding the radiator, then waited for her again but she was still blabbing away on the phone, so i decided to move it forward (i was 16 at the time) started the engine and BAM the fan hit the radiator, oh boy was i in trouble for it... lesson learned... needless we had to have part of it sealed off.
i so miss that stepvan it was in my family for the longest time till they junked it  /cry
78 Royal #749
74 #136
Oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car, understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car. Hp is how fast you hit the wall, and torque is how far you take the wall with you when you hit it.
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| Re: [GMCnet] Oh, did I mess up! [message #167429 is a reply to message #167422] |
Tue, 24 April 2012 12:36 |
sgltrac
Messages: 2797
Registered: April 2011
Karma: 1
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Senior Member |
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One of my best,
In a hurry (that never happens does it?) at the shop to get a dealer car
out of the spray booth that had a dead battery and was hooked to my jump
box. Leaned in the door to start the motor. Would not start without the
clutch pedal in so I opened the door and stuffed my right leg onto the
clutch, reached over the wheel and cranked the ignition which fired the car
into cold high idle. Next I stepped out of the car to unhook the jump unit
which engaged the clutch and with both front wheels spinning the car
charged into the left front corner of the booth in a respectable effort to
enlarge the exit opening. Luckily the booth was bolted to the concrete
which stopped the car and the hood was open which limited my re work to the
front bumper cover and a little booth door frame surgery. I don't know what
is safer, a manual that lets you crank in gear without the clutch in (car
may lurch a little) or need clutch pressed every time (all new stuff)
Sully
77 Royale
On Tue, Apr 24, 2012 at 10:06 AM, Ken Henderson <hend4800@bellsouth.net>wrote:
> Where should I start? There are so many ...
>
> A few years ago I replaced the front brake pads. A 8-10 days later I got
> in to go somewhere: Cranked up, dropped it into reverse and stepped on the
> brake -- which went all the way to the floor. By the time I pumped a
> couple of times to push the caliper pistons out enough to get pedal, the
> rear bumper and the sweetgum tree behind me had the situation well in
> hand. :-(
>
> Fortunately, I put the transmission in reverse, instead of Drive, since the
> 4' drop to the front would have been rather annoying (if I'd missed the
> ramps). Slow as the coach was moving, the shock absorber on the bumper
> took all the impact, with only a tiny dent in the bumper. But the little
> slot in the fiberglass where the forward "ear" of the bumper struck the
> body is still un-repaired. But the sweetgum's gone -- I had it cut down
> shortly after it got in the way.
>
> I've got lots of 'em.
>
> Ken H.
>
>
>
> On Tue, Apr 24, 2012 at 11:00 AM, dave silva <admin@oldrv.net> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > I think this would be a great time to share bonehead things we've done
> > with vehicles.
> > ...
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
>
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Sully
77 Royale basket case.
Future motorhome land speed record holder(bucket list)
Seattle, Wa.
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| Re: [GMCnet] Oh, did I mess up! [message #167430 is a reply to message #167403] |
Tue, 24 April 2012 12:47 |
rssbob
Messages: 259
Registered: January 2004
Location: La Mesa, Ca. (San Diego a...
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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>
> When I bought my latest at the "pre-junk yard" lot in the Otay Mesa, The nice Hispanic gentleman told me if I would buy it he would help me with the delivery. I have this really steep driveway, so I figured , what have I got to lose? If he can get it up onto my parking area I don't have to worry about it. We close the deal. I take all the paperwork directly to the DMV, stand in line and get the transfer started which gives me a temp registration so we can drive it and return to the lot in Otay. We tape the temp reg on the back "particle board" windshield, He gets into the GMC, I get in my SUV and his son follows up in his pickup. I noticed that he topped off the master cylinder right before we took off. It's about 20 miles to my place, so off we go in our wagon train. We get to the bottom of my driveway and park. I take him up the driveway in my SUV and point to the parking area and say, "that's where I want it". Back down the driveway, he jumps into the GMC, asks
me to stop traffic so he can take a big swing U turn to head up the driveway. All the way up with no problems. I give him a 20 for gas and thank he and his son for the help.
Here is when the fun starts. The next morning I decide I want to move it over a couple feet so it will be out of the way for my other 2 vehicles. Start her up, put it in reverse, start backing up, hit the brakes and the pedal goes right to the floor. I grab the e brake and yank as hard as I can with both hands and get it stopped (right before I would have began careening down the driveway backwards with no brakes). Whew! I shift it from reverse to drive and the shifter handle just goes back and forth with no resistance and it remains in reverse. Lift up the engine cover and low & behold the rod has come off the shift lever. All I had to do was reposition the lever, put the rod back on and install a cotter pin. Daah!
Did I get lucky or what?
New master cylinder and wheel cylinders and I got to check out the e brake under adverse conditions. lol
Bob Sobrito
1978 Palm Beach
La Mesa, Ca
antique pocket watch repair
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Bob Sobrito
78 Palm Beach
La Mesa, Ca
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| Re: [GMCnet] Oh, did I mess up! [message #167431 is a reply to message #167430] |
Tue, 24 April 2012 13:20 |
 |
hnielsen2
Messages: 1434
Registered: February 2004
Location: Alpine CA
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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Oh! Bob.
Check your shorts?
Wow!
Howard
Alpine CA
----- Original Message -----
From: "robert sobrito" <rssbob@cox.net>
To: <gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2012 10:47
Subject: Re: [GMCnet] Oh, did I mess up!
>
>>
>> When I bought my latest at the "pre-junk yard" lot in the Otay Mesa, The
>> nice Hispanic gentleman told me if I would buy it he would help me with
>> the delivery. I have this really steep driveway, so I figured , what
>> have I got to lose? If he can get it up onto my parking area I don't
>> have to worry about it. We close the deal. I take all the paperwork
>> directly to the DMV, stand in line and get the transfer started which
>> gives me a temp registration so we can drive it and return to the lot in
>> Otay. We tape the temp reg on the back "particle board" windshield, He
>> gets into the GMC, I get in my SUV and his son follows up in his pickup.
>> I noticed that he topped off the master cylinder right before we took
>> off. It's about 20 miles to my place, so off we go in our wagon train.
>> We get to the bottom of my driveway and park. I take him up the driveway
>> in my SUV and point to the parking area and say, "that's where I want
>> it". Back down the driveway, he jumps into the GMC, asks
> me to stop traffic so he can take a big swing U turn to head up the
> driveway. All the way up with no problems. I give him a 20 for gas and
> thank he and his son for the help.
>
> Here is when the fun starts. The next morning I decide I want to move it
> over a couple feet so it will be out of the way for my other 2 vehicles.
> Start her up, put it in reverse, start backing up, hit the brakes and the
> pedal goes right to the floor. I grab the e brake and yank as hard as I
> can with both hands and get it stopped (right before I would have began
> careening down the driveway backwards with no brakes). Whew! I shift it
> from reverse to drive and the shifter handle just goes back and forth with
> no resistance and it remains in reverse. Lift up the engine cover and low
> & behold the rod has come off the shift lever. All I had to do was
> reposition the lever, put the rod back on and install a cotter pin. Daah!
>
> Did I get lucky or what?
>
> New master cylinder and wheel cylinders and I got to check out the e brake
> under adverse conditions. lol
>
> Bob Sobrito
> 1978 Palm Beach
> La Mesa, Ca
> antique pocket watch repair
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
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All is well with my Lord
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| Re: [GMCnet] Oh, did I mess up! [message #167434 is a reply to message #167431] |
Tue, 24 April 2012 13:38 |
rssbob
Messages: 259
Registered: January 2004
Location: La Mesa, Ca. (San Diego a...
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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Replaced them, my pants and the driver's seat.
On Apr 24, 2012, at 11:20 AM, Howard and Sue wrote:
> Oh! Bob.
> Check your shorts?
> Wow!
> Howard
> Alpine CA
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "robert sobrito" <rssbob@cox.net>
> To: <gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2012 10:47
> Subject: Re: [GMCnet] Oh, did I mess up!
>
>
>>
>>>
>>> When I bought my latest at the "pre-junk yard" lot in the Otay Mesa, The
>>> nice Hispanic gentleman told me if I would buy it he would help me with
>>> the delivery. I have this really steep driveway, so I figured , what
>>> have I got to lose? If he can get it up onto my parking area I don't
>>> have to worry about it. We close the deal. I take all the paperwork
>>> directly to the DMV, stand in line and get the transfer started which
>>> gives me a temp registration so we can drive it and return to the lot in
>>> Otay. We tape the temp reg on the back "particle board" windshield, He
>>> gets into the GMC, I get in my SUV and his son follows up in his pickup.
>>> I noticed that he topped off the master cylinder right before we took
>>> off. It's about 20 miles to my place, so off we go in our wagon train.
>>> We get to the bottom of my driveway and park. I take him up the driveway
>>> in my SUV and point to the parking area and say, "that's where I want
>>> it". Back down the driveway, he jumps into the GMC, asks
>> me to stop traffic so he can take a big swing U turn to head up the
>> driveway. All the way up with no problems. I give him a 20 for gas and
>> thank he and his son for the help.
>>
>> Here is when the fun starts. The next morning I decide I want to move it
>> over a couple feet so it will be out of the way for my other 2 vehicles.
>> Start her up, put it in reverse, start backing up, hit the brakes and the
>> pedal goes right to the floor. I grab the e brake and yank as hard as I
>> can with both hands and get it stopped (right before I would have began
>> careening down the driveway backwards with no brakes). Whew! I shift it
>> from reverse to drive and the shifter handle just goes back and forth with
>> no resistance and it remains in reverse. Lift up the engine cover and low
>> & behold the rod has come off the shift lever. All I had to do was
>> reposition the lever, put the rod back on and install a cotter pin. Daah!
>>
>> Did I get lucky or what?
>>
>> New master cylinder and wheel cylinders and I got to check out the e brake
>> under adverse conditions. lol
>>
>> Bob Sobrito
>> 1978 Palm Beach
>> La Mesa, Ca
>> antique pocket watch repair
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Bob Sobrito
78 Palm Beach
La Mesa, Ca
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| Re: [GMCnet] Oh, did I mess up! [message #167439 is a reply to message #167395] |
Tue, 24 April 2012 14:11 |
JohnL455
Messages: 4447
Registered: October 2006
Location: Woodstock, IL
Karma: 12
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Senior Member |
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Now you get to show your true brilliance by doing the post mortem inspection and then sorting it all out. Thread should be titled "when smart people do stupid things" and most of those fall into the 'tired and in a hurry category' and that's when accidents happen. Bright side.. no one really got hurt. Tell me this... is not the orientation on the new batt the same so the cables should have pretty much fallen into place??
I started my stupid stuff as about a 10 year old when the kid's dad down the block got them a retired vintage open wheel racer from the ammusemnt park. This had a simple one cyl engine and a super basic carb that was a straight tube. You choked it with your thumb. The starter was a cast handle on a return spring with a rack and the pinion being on the flywheel end of the shaft. Top speed was bout 15 MPH but it was vintage even back then. I was familiar with Brigs, Techumseh, Clinton and so on but this thing was ancient and facinating. I was going to help fix it up and the oil was the blackest oil I had ever seen from years of running at the park w/o being serviced. That was priority one to change the oil on this odd front engine go kart. I started exploring and found the square stove plug for the oil drain. We were leaving on vacation to out west the next day. I was in a hurry as I was supposed to be home to get ready to go but was playing with this thing down the block. I got in there and got the plug broken loose and then ran out of time and had to get home. I thought I had resnugged it. I would have to wait for the oil change, but topped off the oil so the kids that ran the new toy for 8 hours a day would not ruin the engine while I was gone. We left on vacation. After a week my parents called home to check on things and got word of a big oil streak on the neighbor's driveway. This news haunted me for the next week. When we got near to home my stomach was in a knot. You could see the black S shaped stripe down the full length of the driveway as we got near. Nice one. I guess they had put the plug back in topped it off and the engine was OK, but this was a day where pressure washers were not in the lexicon. Talk about eating crow. And I was the 'mechanic' in the bunch. So now, as we get older we can all start making those kinds of OOPS all over again. Measure twice, cut once.
John Lebetski
Woodstock, IL
77 Eleganza II
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| Re: [GMCnet] Oh, did I mess up! [message #167441 is a reply to message #167439] |
Tue, 24 April 2012 14:26 |
hertfordnc
Messages: 1164
Registered: September 2009
Location: East NC
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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I don't mean to hog but I actually have two more good ones-
- vintage volvo with a bad solenid. I used a combination wrench to close the contacts at the starter- I shorted the end to ground via my wedding ring and got a 3rd degree burn around my ring finger.
- I once had a 64 econoline with four on the column. The linkages was wonky and would jam, I would crawl under the van to unjam it. This happened one day while i was in the back of a scary backwoods junkyard. I got the linkage loose and the van started to roll. i barely got out of the way of the tire. It hit a car and nearly tore the open door off. Then in my badly shaken state i drove out of the yard but my mirror whacked the side of a car with a very mean junkyard worker underneath it. He got out and stood in front of the van. i thought he was gonna' bite through the windsheild and kill me with his teeth.
Dave & Ellen Silva
Hertford, NC
76 Birchaven, 1-ton and other stuff
Currently planning the Great american Road Trip Summer 2021
It's gonna take a lot of Adderall to get this thing right.
[Updated on: Tue, 24 April 2012 14:27] Report message to a moderator |
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| Re: [GMCnet] Oh, did I mess up! [message #167451 is a reply to message #167406] |
Tue, 24 April 2012 16:30 |
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USAussie
Messages: 15912
Registered: July 2007
Location: Sydney, Australia
Karma: 6
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Dave,
Great idea! During Project Apollo at the Hamilton Standard shop at the
Johnson Space Center we had a morning meeting where we would discuss what we
accomplished the day before, the foreman would give out assignments, and we
would share any problems we had including screw ups. There was never any
recriminations for mistakes shared. It was a great idea as not only did YOU
learned from YOUR mistake but others would too!
Here's mine from Project Apollo.
Hamilton Standard made the Portable Life Support System (PLSS) that the
Astronauts wore on the moon. I was working on one of them one day when I
misaligned the Canon plug that connected the alarm module to the PLSS I
realized I did it when the outer shell wouldn't lock. I pulled the plug off
the connector and found I had bent one of the pins. I could have
straightened the pin out and reinstalled the plug but I didn't know if I had
compromised the integrity of the pin which could fail at a later time and
cause problems so I called a QC inspector and had him write up what I had
done. That module cost about $25,000 and I made about $8,000 a year at the
time. Sure glad that I didn't have to pay for it!
Now for one from the GMC; I was at JimB's resort a couple of years ago when
he suggested I check the timing chain as the engine had about 70,000 miles
on it. To do so I:
1) removed the fuel pump
2) turned the engine to get all the slack on that side of the engine
3) took a pair of needle nose pliers and stuck it in the hole
4) grabbed the timing chain and pulled
5) hardly any in and out movement at all
The next year I was there again to install a dual drain oil pan and 3.21 to
one final drive. While the pan was off I said to Jason (Jim's mechanic) "I
know the timing chain's OK cause I checked it last year but for the hell of
it since I can stick my fingers up on both sides I'll check it again."
When I did so I found there was a HUGE amount of slack! Evidently dopey me
had turned the engine the wrong direction the year before!
Regards,
Rob M.
-----Original Message-----
From: dave silva
I think this would be a great time to share bonehead things we've done with
vehicles.
While doing brake shoes on my van I had the drum off so i could refer to it
while i did the other side, then i needed to move the van a few feet to get
another car out of the yard so i put a wheel on and put the lugs finger
tight and pushed it. -- you know where this is going....
Then i completed the brakes on the other side, dropeed the jack and drove
away.
I was lucky, as i back out of the drive i saw the brake drum on my tool
box.
--
Dave
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Regards,
Rob M. (USAussie)
The Pedantic Mechanic
Sydney, Australia
'75 Avion - AUS - The Blue Streak TZE365V100428
'75 Avion - USA - Double Trouble TZE365V100426
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| Re: [GMCnet] Oh, did I mess up! [message #167478 is a reply to message #167439] |
Tue, 24 April 2012 18:58 |
jhbridges
Messages: 8412
Registered: May 2011
Location: Braselton ga
Karma: -74
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Senior Member |
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From: John R. Lebetski <gransport@aol.com>
To: gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2012 3:11 PM
Subject: Re: [GMCnet] Oh, did I mess up!
Now you get to show your true brilliance by doing the post mortem inspection and then sorting it all out. Thread should be titled "when smart people do stupid things" and most of those fall into the 'tired and in a hurry category' and that's when accidents happen. Bright side.. no one really got hurt. Tell me this... is not the orientation on the new batt the same so the cables should have pretty much fallen into place??
Well, I never forget a mistake. This allows me to make the same one as much as a half - dozen times befroe it sinks in. A fave is the growing puddle after an oil change when I go around to start it and leak check it. This results in hastily replacing the left out drain plug and adding yet another 4 quarts.
Passing a 3/4 inch drill through the heater core in a brand new Chev van while installing a radio antenna was original.
Leaning over the carb on first crank of more than one rebuild with a lot of cam overlap. Who needs eyebrows anyway?.
Finding out if an LB engine grafter into a '59 SportFury with long rams would turn 6500. It would. Once.
I can go on for (expensive) hours.
--johnny
'76 23' trandmode Norris
'76 Palm Beach
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Foolish Carriage, 76 26' Eleganza(?) with beaucoup mods and add - ons.
Braselton, Ga.
I forgive them all, save those who hurt the dogs. They must answer to me in hell
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| Re: [GMCnet] Oh, did I mess up! [message #167511 is a reply to message #167395] |
Tue, 24 April 2012 22:29 |
RadioActiveGMC
Messages: 1020
Registered: November 2010
Location: Hot AZ desert
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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First day I had the engine rebuilt (my engine blew the day I bought it) I thought I'd better pull over to check the fluid levels. It looked like I needed coolant. So I poured in a gallon and went on my way happy that I did good. Then I found out I got the oil fill mixed up with the coolant and I dumped a gallon of coolant into my brand new rebuilt motor.
***"Gettin There"-1973 23' Sequoia-
Michael, Onans smell, "Go solar/wind power!"
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| Re: [GMCnet] Oh, did I mess up! [message #167527 is a reply to message #167395] |
Wed, 25 April 2012 06:55 |
g.winger
Messages: 792
Registered: February 2008
Location: Warrenton,Missouri
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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I was 16,,,,,,brother was changing the oil on his new shinny red Honda 350. He gave me the keys and money to buy some oil and fill his Dodge Coronet 500. I think it was a 67. Really nice car. He stated that some times the starter wouldn't work. All you had to do was stick a screwdriver between these two bolts on the fender or firewall. Off i go. After getting gas,,,,,,no go. Open door. open hood. No screwdriver. But I got a knife,,,,,vrooooooom. Worked,,,,to good. Wouldn't start cause it was,,,,,ya,,,IN GEAR!!!(auto). Off it goes,,,,almost ran me over with the open door. And,,,runs right into the next pump. Knocks it right off the mount, big fire ball. 5' dia and 15-20 foot in the air. You've never seen burning rubber like this out of a GAS station. People left with out paying and didn't come back. That place was MT fast. So I jumped in, throw it in reverse and ran the open door into a display rack of tires. Police officer said he coulnt give me a ticket because I wasn't driving. Won't mention what Dad or my Brother said. ,,,,,PL
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