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| [GMCnet] Last Couple of Weeks' Projects [message #259832] |
Sat, 23 August 2014 12:44  |
Ken Henderson
Messages: 8726
Registered: March 2004
Location: Americus, GA
Karma: 9
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I guess I let Y'All down -- I didn't record the projects I've been involved
in for the past couple of weeks. Nothing very visually exciting anyways,
though:
John Beaver, who some may remember as my engine builder friend for whom we
rescued the '76 Eleganza last year in Montgomery, AL finally got to a
"good" stage week before last. He's been gutting and rearranging the
interior and finally got to the stage of having foam insulation sprayed
into it. The shop for that is 40 miles from here, the first "trip" since
we took about 16 hours to bring it 160 miles. So, I loaded up a spare
tire, my on-the-road tool kit, and some other stuff to follow him to
Albany, GA. The trip was flawless, so when they called on Friday for him
to pick up the GMC, he didn't bother me. Until he called to ask for a P/N
for a replacement fan belt. That was easy. And it was almost as easy when
he called later for the P/N for the lower radiator hose, damaged when
another fan belt broke.
Not quite as easy was the call at 6:00 PM from 15 miles away, where he was
beside the road with another fan belt broken and the first one damaged.
Since his other friend, who'd taken him to the parts store, was no longer
along, I had to make a service call. Fortunately, I had a replacement for
the broken belt, and he had another for the damaged one. He also needed a
15 mm end wrench because one, only one, of the bolts on the alternator was
that size. It took us over an hour to get the two belts on to stay:
Because the second replacement belt he had appeared to be much too narrow,
we tried to use the slightly damaged new belt -- only to have it
immediately turn belly up as soon as the engine was cranked After two
tries we gave up and put the narrow one on -- it lasted 15 miles anyway.
We finally got home at 8:00 PM.
Him being a professional mechanic and me an experienced amateur, we were
both pretty shame-faced when we agreed that none of those replaced
components, and a lot of their still-installed cousins, had any business
being on the road in the first place. We should have replaced ALL of them
last year before we ever moved it from Montgomery. Never too old to
re-learn the lessons we've forgotten in our old age, I guess.
Oh yeah! They did a great job spraying his coach, and the deal included
THEM doing the trimming (they said they had equipment to make it easy). I
meant to ask his cost, but forgot.
With that ordeal behind us, I tackled a job I've been dreading. Before I
had the GMC painted in 2002, or so, I installed different roof-top clearance
lights, the small torpedo-shaped ones. With them well caulked in place, I
had Topeka Graphics paint their bases the roof color, figuring that would
help the caulk persevere. I sealed the lenses, I thought well. Over the
years, the bulbs have one-by-one failed. Since I don't drive much at night
and think those lights are a useless hold-over from the days when a guide
watched tall vehicles to be sure they'd go under the bridge, I didn't worry
about them being out. And I never got stopped for them. But when SHE
found out that we had only 3 in front and 2 in the rear, SHE began to
complain. Even I didn't much like the electrical tape covering the holes
the sun had eaten in some of them. Still, I didn't want to go back to the
OEM lights, which seem most available with LED's, because of the different
footprint in the paint.
Finally, after a LOT of internet searching, I found sources for replacement
lenses for cheeep. Since I could not find the complete lights with LED's,
I decided to install my own. I had 9 little 1"x1-1/4" PC boards with 9
bright LED's each that I'd bought a year ago for cheeep too. By using a
Dremel tool to cut away the old rusty sockets, I was able to preserve the
lens screw sockets and make room for the PC boards. Angled slightly and
hot-glued in place, those LED's look about as good as any I've seen, and my
cost was nearly nothing. While I was tempted to cast the lenses full of
clear epoxy, that would have complicated the job just too much, so I merely
bedded them well in caulk. If they last another 10+ years, I doubt that
I'll care what their state of being is. I'm awaiting another shipment of
the LED's to MAYBE replace the remaining, still working, lamp.
That done, I got interested in my instrument panel again. When I first
started fooling with EFI, I installed a cheeep Chinee fuel pressure gauge.
The sender didn't last long, but the VDO replacement worked well with the
gauge for a few months. Then it decided it might as well just read 30 psi
at any time 12 VDC was available. Since I only want about 18 psi, I got
tired of that indication. Finding a spare vacuum gauge in my Instruments
Box, I decided to use it to monitor my brake vacuum tank, which is kept
evacuated by the new Super Pump (I added a dash activity light for that
when I installed the pump). That has already proven to be more useful than
I expected -- with the pump and the engine producing about the same vacuum,
a slight vacuum loss will cause the pump to come on unexpectedly, even with
the engine running. I'll have to find that vacuum leak.
With the instrument panel's back side exposed, I decided I might as well
add another indicator I've needed: Since I control the dash A/C with a
thermostat for the compressor clutch, I need to know when the compressor's
running. Many years ago I added a green LED to the face of the HVAC
control panel, but that now resides in the console where the LED is nearly
invisible. So, I paralleled that LED with a new one on the dash. HVAC
control will be a lot more pleasant now that I don't have to convince HER
to stand on her head on the engine hatch to tell me if the compressor is
OFF or ON. :-)
Yandina sent me a replacement C160 combiner for the one that failed during
last summer's "out West" trip. While I very much like combiners, I've had
too many failures: 2 each C100's, and now the C160 to which I upgraded
after the 2nd C100 failure. Ann-Marie's never told me the results of the
tear-downs on them; she just sends me new ones.
.
'Nuff of my tinkering...
Ken H.
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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] Last Couple of Weeks' Projects [message #259849 is a reply to message #259832] |
Sat, 23 August 2014 18:27  |
roy1
Messages: 2126
Registered: July 2004
Location: Minden nevada
Karma: 6
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Good idea with the led for the a/c clutch it would let you know if or when it cycled off on the temperature control if it were spliced in close to the clutch. I recently added an led to each of my electric pumps different colors of course. This way I know which one is powered on. I also added a resistor to the common ground so they wouldn't be excessively bright.
Roy Keen
Minden,NV
76 X Glenbrook
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| Re: [GMCnet] Last Couple of Weeks' Projects [message #259870 is a reply to message #259849] |
Sat, 23 August 2014 22:16 |
Keith V
Messages: 2337
Registered: March 2008
Location: Mounds View,MN
Karma: 0
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roy1 wrote on Sat, 23 August 2014 18:27Good idea with the led for the a/c clutch it would let you know if or when it cycled off on the temperature control if it were spliced in close to the clutch. I recently added an led to each of my electric pumps different colors of course. This way I know which one is powered on. I also added a resistor to the common ground so they wouldn't be excessively bright.
I agree, I modified the telltale lamps to show when the ac comp and the air comp is on
Keith Vasilakes
Mounds View. MN
75 ex Royale GMC
ask me about MicroLevel
Cell, 763-732-3419
My427v8@hotmail.com
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| Re: [GMCnet] Last Couple of Weeks' Projects [message #259885 is a reply to message #259849] |
Sun, 24 August 2014 06:37 |
kerry pinkerton
Messages: 2565
Registered: July 2012
Location: Harvest, Al
Karma: 15
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roy1 wrote on Sat, 23 August 2014 18:27...I recently added an led to each of my electric pumps ... I also added a resistor to the common ground so they wouldn't be excessively bright.
Oh OH, you can do that????? Please elaborate. I'm electronically challenged. The PO put the compressor on a switch and the blue LED is so bright I put electrical tape on it at night.
Kerry Pinkerton - North Alabama
Had 5 over the years. Currently have a '06 Fleetwood Discovery 39L
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| Re: [GMCnet] Last Couple of Weeks' Projects [message #259938 is a reply to message #259885] |
Sun, 24 August 2014 16:02 |
roy1
Messages: 2126
Registered: July 2004
Location: Minden nevada
Karma: 6
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Senior Member |
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Kerry Pinkerton wrote on Sun, 24 August 2014 04:37roy1 wrote on Sat, 23 August 2014 18:27...I recently added an led to each of my electric pumps ... I also added a resistor to the common ground so they wouldn't be excessively bright.
Oh OH, you can do that????? Please elaborate. I'm electronically challenged. The PO put the compressor on a switch and the blue LED is so bright I put electrical tape on it at night.
Yeh my led's were too bright too suit me too so I tried several resistors from my parts box too see what I could do . Too many ohms and the light won' t light not enough and it won't make a difference. I found a 50 ohm resistor made the light at about 50 or 60% dimmer just right for my eyes. It can be wired in series between the hot side connection or the ground side connection I used the common ground side for both led's so I only needed 1 resistor rather then 2 resistors. Red for the aux pump and blue for the main pump I just came back from a week trip to Lake Tahoe and the subdued glow of the led's was not distracting.
Roy Keen
Minden,NV
76 X Glenbrook
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| Re: [GMCnet] Last Couple of Weeks' Projects [message #259954 is a reply to message #259885] |
Sun, 24 August 2014 19:42 |
midlf
Messages: 2212
Registered: July 2007
Location: SE Wisc. (Palmyra)
Karma: 1
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Kerry Pinkerton wrote on Sun, 24 August 2014 06:37
Oh OH, you can do that????? Please elaborate. I'm electronically challenged. The PO put the compressor on a switch and the blue LED is so bright I put electrical tape on it at night.
If you want to get fancy you can try one of these. They work very well and it appears they can make an LED dimmer than you can get with a resistor. Also if you use a single resistor for multiple LED's they will have a different brightness depending on how many LED's are energized.
http://www.bgmicro.com/12voltdimmerorspeedcontroller.aspx
Steve Southworth
1974 Glacier TZE064V100150 (for workin on)
1975 Transmode TZE365V100394 (parts & spares)
Palmyra WI
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| Re: [GMCnet] Last Couple of Weeks' Projects [message #259956 is a reply to message #259885] |
Sun, 24 August 2014 19:59 |
Ken Henderson
Messages: 8726
Registered: March 2004
Location: Americus, GA
Karma: 9
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Senior Member |
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Kerry,
All you have to do is install a resistor in series with one of the leads of
the LED. About 1000 Ohms will probably suffice, though you can use a 10K
Ohm potentiometer (about $1.50) which will allow you to vary the resistance
to set a comfortable level; you COULD then replace it with an equivalent
fixed resistor costing 10 cents or less. It's not good practice to use a
single resistor to limit the current through multiple LED's.
You haven't said -- do you want me to send the dropping resistors for the
table motor or are you happy enough now? I could include some LED current
limit resistors in the same package tomorrow.
Ken H.
On Sun, Aug 24, 2014 at 7:38 AM, Kerry Pinkerton
wrote:
> roy1 wrote on Sat, 23 August 2014 18:27
>> ...I recently added an led to each of my electric pumps ... I also
> added a resistor to the common ground so they wouldn't be excessively
> bright.
>
>
> Oh OH, you can do that????? Please elaborate. I'm electronically
> challenged. The PO put the compressor on a switch and the blue LED is so
> bright I
> put electrical tape on it at night.
>
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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] Last Couple of Weeks' Projects [message #259975 is a reply to message #259958] |
Sun, 24 August 2014 23:01 |
roy1
Messages: 2126
Registered: July 2004
Location: Minden nevada
Karma: 6
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Senior Member |
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Kerry Pinkerton wrote on Sun, 24 August 2014 18:15I think I'm good Ken. You might bring them with you next month and I'll play around with them based on how we like it after we've lived with it a while. I've got some resistors left over from my Army days in a box somewhere.... 
That would be your best bet a 1k resistor would have been too much in my case there would have been no light.
Roy Keen
Minden,NV
76 X Glenbrook
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