I have a new car! It's a '92 Nissan NX-1600. It's got 182,000 miles on it. Until last week it didn't run and until yesterday, it had a constant 5 Amp parasitic load on the battery. But it's a sexy red color and has a stick shift. Sure, 5th gear doesn't work and it's possible that there's a mouse living in the air filter box. But it's mine...and did I mention the stick shift?Turns out it was remarkably easy to fix. There is a super powered stereo amplifier in the trunk that appeared to be taxing the battery. Once I disconnected that and replaced the battery, the car started just fine. The parasitic current load was a little harder. I wondered if the amp had damaged the alternator as well so my friend Nick came over yesterday to help me take that out. After a run to Checkers to have it tested (it worked fine) we put it back in. In the process, we were admiring the wear on the power line from the alternator to the battery. Nick wondered aloud if that might be the source of the drain. I wrapped the wire up with electrical tape, re-attached it and voila, the drain was gone.
The previous weekend, after I'd gotten the new battery and started the car up the first time, I noticed that the idle speed was so low that the car would stall if I didn't keep revving it. I also noticed a black plastic reservoir with a charred hole in it coming off the air filter box. (This is probably a good point to mention during the tenure of the car's previous owner, there had been a fire in the engine compartment. It had something to do with forgetting to put the oil cap back on) Since I had no idea what the purpose of the black reservoir was, I didn't know if I should be concerned or not. Nick was fortunately experienced enough to know that the reservoir was important for air flow in the engine and that a big hole would cause a.) dirty air to enter the engine and b.) reduced air flow into the engine causing idling problems.
In true McGyver fashion, we fixed the hole with a combination of JB Weld, an old Tupperware container, and duct tape. Since the hole was on the corner of the reservoir, we cut out a matching piece from the Tupperware and glued it with the JB Weld. The duct tape was because we were too impatient to wait for the JB Weld to cure. Here is the finished product in all her jury rigged glory:
And now? Yep, the car runs fine. The battery charges with the engine running. The AC works better than on our Saturn. We took it for a test drive and nothing broke. I checked the battery voltage this morning and it's still ok. Now I just have to get the thing licensed and insured and we will officially be a two car family. I feel so American!
6 comments:
That looks like I'm awesome car. I'm sure you had fun fixing it all up and getting it drivable. The sad thing is that our car is a little older than yours, he's a '91.
I can't believe you didn't tell me you got a car! I'm revoking all your computer privileges.
I'm very impressed with your McGuyver skills and I think you should convince the duct tape people to let you be their spokesperson. You could wear a bikini and drape yourself across the car. Isn't that what duct tape models are supposed to do? You could be a model and a spokesperson.
I'm happy you have a car to drive and I'm happy it has an air-conditioner since that is a very great asset when you live in Arizona.
congratulations on a new blog entry. You definately get extra points for the creative use of tupperware, JB-Weld and duct tape all at the same time. I believe that this creative ingenuity to keep the car going could be considered "sustaining engineering".
Wow! I don't know what to say. A fire in the engine bay? You sure found a winner. I am impressed you found a way to resurrect the beast, though. I don't know if I would say you're a two car family, though, maybe 1 3/4.
That looks like quite the car. You're a brave soul for taking up the challenge to fix it. If I have any duct tape, JB weld, and tupperware repairs needed, I know who to call!
Minus 25 points to mrawmins for suggesting that I wear a bikini.
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