"...or, it's not nice to fool Mother Nature"
Yesterday, after driving the Vitesse to work for the first
time after passing vehicle inspection and getting plates
on her, I noticed that the charge circuit was not working.
Ignition light staying on brightly all the time, and sluggish
turnover from the starter motor.
Turns out the problem was caused by a little preinspection
misdirection: I figured the MVD inspector guy would be a
little unimpressed with my temporary oil pressure gauge
installation, which consisted of it waving freely under
the dash at the end of its capillary pipe. So just before
I took it out there I tucked the gauge up behind the dashboard,
out of sight.
I needn't have worried. The Arizona safety inspection consists
of a guy walking around the car, saying "what _is_ this car
anyway", comparing the commission plate to the title and I suppose
making sure the wheels haven't fallen off, but I wouldn't bet on it.
Well, stuffing that gauge behind the dash caused the problem, as I
discovered by yanking it out again and seeing the ignition light
go dark. The body of the gauge was shorting the dashboard lighting
switch terminal to the dash support crossmember. That'll larn me.
Actually, this whole message was just my way of announcing that
Tessa's legal and on the road...
- Dan
djp@alpha.sunquest.com
|