The “Cascade Effect”.
by Pieter ~ January 12th, 2010. Filed under: general.“When I was your age” they didn’t have alternators, they had generators.
Now that’s out of the way…..
Here’s how my brake down played out, and who is to blame.
Lets say you own a truck, a P.O.S. truck too be exact.
It’s getting harder and harder to crank it up.
Sometimes it catches and sometimes the battery almost goes dead trying.
Then one day it fails to crank at all.
At this point most of us would get a jump and take it in to be fixed.
But you’re broke and apparently know a little about cars.
Now that it’s jumped, it runs but it wount come off the half catch (Medium Idle).
FYI that should have been a pretty big sign, but you (And by YOU, I mean ME) go on about your day as usual.
The truck stops and starts a few times, not well, but no epic failure.
Then comes the trip back to the ranch. All goes well until.
Cough, cough, splutter……..Die……
Information side note:
Generally a carburated car/truck can run without a battery, assuming you don’t draw any power for stupid things like a radio, headlights, turn signals. And assuming you don’t have an ELECTRIC FUEL PUMP!.
So what happened? Yes the alternator was bad (As so many people guessed), but that wouldn’t have gotten you off the side of the road (Smart asses).
The external regulator failed taking out the alternator, the constant cranking took out the starter relay and the unregulated voltage took out the battery. So, several hours in a ditch with a set of wrenches, a hammer and a constant flow of high speed traffic later the truck runs as well as it ever did.
Total cost….$125.00
Not bad.
I hurting, tired and smell a little, but like a wise man said “You got to tough to be a rancher”.
January 12th, 2010 at 3:12 PM
Good times, mock my Kia, but I was never a car guy and any time at the side of the road is too much for me.
I have little difficulty picturing you nipple deep in truck cursing like its a contest however.
January 12th, 2010 at 3:35 PM
To be honest there wasn’t that much swearing.
If you ask people who have worked with me,
there tends to be more mumbling and obscure song
singing than anything.
I find Christmas songs and a steady self dialogue will get you through
just about any situation.
Oh, and I smoke…..A lot.
January 13th, 2010 at 4:24 PM
‘When I was your age’ … fuel pumps were mechanical (and contained only two moving parts) … LOL! And generators were great, too … no rectifier diode bridges to burn (although you’d have to rev the heck out of the engine to get any kind of charge out of those generators).
Seriously, though, when I look under the hood of my present car it’s like from another planet
Some day, when my lottery number comes up, I’ll invest in a 1968 VW bug … generator not alternator, mechanical fuel pump, carburetor not fuel injection, points not electronic ignition, pushrod valves not timing belt, and on and on.
Some indication of how simple … there were only 10 fuses … I think my present car has that many fuse PANELS!!
http://www.vintagebus.com/wiring/bug-68+69.jpg
Actually, 1968 was a very good year for VW bugs … they changed to 12 from 6 volts
But, then, all that was years before you were even born
Congratulations on getting that truck back on the road for $125 … hope that keeps it running for a good while.
January 13th, 2010 at 5:47 PM
Dad: I’d rather have a mech fuel pump, but with two tanks, well you know.
Yeah, there is some gratifying about having a tool kit that contains a dozen tools and can fix the whole car.
I have to tell ya, I’ll take a 80’s domestic over a 60’s import any day. The bug was cute, but there was a lot of little things that drive me crazy.
Like:
Independent adjustment for both brake shoes, not to mention the four wheel drum. Oh Gawd how about clocking torsion bars BARF (Jr I’m looking at you!)..
Points! Really? I’ve had to set points about ten times in my life, and changed points to HEI about one hundred times.
Magnesium engine block? I heard if you try and weld a VW air-cooled block you can burn through concrete.
I could go on, but you get my point.
Niki’s first car was a bug, a Baja’d P.O.S., but I still love her.
January 15th, 2010 at 9:28 AM
Yeah – those torsion bars really can be a pain if you’re not organized for the job.
Hey! A VW air-cooled engine has no ‘block’ … LOL!
And, although the engine case is magnesium, why on earth would you want to weld it?! You gotta think of those engine cases like you would aircraft engines
If the engine damage is serious enough to consider welding, you might as well pop for a new case. In fact, why not simply drop in a new long block … those run not much more than a grand and half.
HEI? Sure, that’s better ignition, but it’s not ‘traditional’
But, as far as the brakes … yeah, you’re right. Those old drums fade really fast under stress. But one can convert the front brakes to disks for a couple of hundred bucks.
In the end, it’s a matter of personal ‘taste’ I suppose
January 16th, 2010 at 4:58 PM
Ahhh come on man – Torsion Bars aren’t all that bad
Besides, VW always made a good car – even if you don’t always agree with where they stick the damn bolts.
I miss my Ghia – one day….