Gary Lewis

Well, that's a bummer! One of the points is that there will be MAJOR changes in our lifetimes. One of the cool things was that they built robots that didn't know how to walk, much less run, and they told them the rules of soccer - and the robots quickly learned how to walk then run and to play soccer - all on their own.

A guy I worked with at Computer Sciences sent me a link to this video from 60 Minutes regarding AI. It is slightly out of date, but is still interesting nonetheless. I got a kick out of the reporter seeing what it had created with regard to her work experience, and it reminded me of the "Bob" that was a Ford engineer that Copilot created. Apparently they call it "hallucination" and they don't seem to be too worried about it. But to me it is a show stopper. On the other hand, the ability for robots to learn to play soccer on their own is amazing. So I can see how this is going to be a game changer. And the data center in Pryor is on the land that was the "powder plant" during WWII. I've hunted that land for quail, fished in the creeks, and picked up pieces of really hard aluminum from the scrap pile.

Bob/Nothing Special has suggested that I put a bypass switch for the clutch switch in the starter circuit so I can start with the clutch engaged should I need to do so while on the trail. So this thread is to work through my plans to do just that. All I have to do is to simulate the clutch switch with a closed switch of some kind, but since it is pulling in the fender-mounted starter relay I'm thinking a mechanical switch or relay would be better than something solid state. My first thought was to use a simple pushbutton, but Bob suggested that I use something that doesn't require you to hold the switch on as I might need to be using that hand to steer. So he suggested I just put an on/off toggle switch on it. But knowing that my kids and grandkids are going to drive the truck I don't want something that could easily cause a problem by being left on. So my plan right now is to use a relay with a 10 second engagement time, and trigger it with a momentary pushbutton switch. There are a lot of relays available that delay before coming on, but these two come on for a specified length of time: Module: This is the thing on the left, below, and it has a variable delay up to 10 seconds. It comes with the pushbutton switch as well as an "on" LED. However the LED is on the board so my plan is to determine the voltage supplied to the LED and get a panel mount one to put beside the switch. I have one of the relay units on order as well as a small project box in which to mount it. Cube Relay: I've ordered the cube relay on the right with a 10 second engagement period, and it would be the easiest to use given the 1/4" connections. However it is apparently literally coming from China as it might not be here until April Fools Day. Seriously. But I could epoxy a tab on it and tie it under the dash and wiring would be easy.

Terry - Welcome! Glad you joined. But we were hoping you'd post an introduction in our New Members Start Here folder before posting here. We ask that because we have our guidelines posted there and we will hold you to them so want you to have had a chance to read them. Don't worry, many people miss that step. But after doing that please come back here and give us a bit more info. For instance, is "E2TR.7A.040.AA" what you are seeing on the part? I'm sure that it is, and that means it is actually an ID# not a part number. Yes, hard to believe but in Fordom a number on a part is not a part number, and you can read about that on our page at Documentation/How To Decode Ford Part Numbers. If that is what you are seeing then it is probably E2TR 7A040-AA and I should be able to look that up in the cross reference and come up with the part number itself. And with that you may be able to find one.

Exactly. We are the wrong people for buying an all-electric vehicle. We are old enough that our existing vehicles will last out our driving days - hopefully. Here's the kind of driving we do: Around Town: Just took Janey to the church building for her sewing day, which is every Tuesday. Yesterday was to Tulsa for one of her doctor's appointments, and tomorrow is back for another appointment. Trips: We drive to SC and on to Florida about twice a year, and each day of driving will be at least 500 miles. Plus we like to take other, shorter trips, but even those are several hundred miles/day. Carrying/Towing: We sold the boat so won't be towing it to Lake Powell again, but that trip was over 500 miles/day. And the trip to FL to pick up Big Blue was 1000 miles in two days going and 1000 miles in less than 24 hours returning. I don't anticipate getting another deal like that but still have the trailer and if I found the right cab and/or bed I would be tempted to take it to Charleston for Lil Blue. So if we were to buy we'd probably replace the GLK not the F150, and the replacement might be a small hybrid. That would reserve Blue for towing or when we have more than 3 or 4 passengers. And we'd then have the hybrid in electric mode for running around town and in hybrid mode for longer trips. But, I'd have to run some numbers 'cause it might be most cost effective to use the F150 on longer trips and have an all-electric vehicle for running around town. And yes, I understand the benefits of electric vehicles. And some day it'll probably make sense for all of our vehicles to be electric. But it doesn't right now for some applications given the limits of the technology. Plus there are always the specific situations, like us old people.

Nope, I just don't use the truck except when we go on trips and even then only when towing something or carrying quite a bit. It went to Charleston and then to Florida and back with a load of parts for Lil Blue over Christmas. And each of the days we drove it we put in about 500 or more miles. Then it went to Dallas and back, about 550 miles in one day, to look at seats that Vivek had. Otherwise we take the GLK, which gets 35 MPG. Both vehicles are paid for and are, hopefully, the last vehicles we will ever buy given our ages. They are in excellent shape and we don't want to pay for a new vehicle, regardless of how low the maintenance costs are or how cheaply they run as they'll still cost more overall than what we have.

I can see the electric truck being good for tradesmen as they typically don't drive that far in a day. But my truck rarely goes less than 400 - 500 miles in a day when we drive it. Off-peak charging is a great idea, as is charging any time the demand is lower than the wind/solar supply. But last I looked the home charging stations don't have a trigger for charging based on supply vs demand, just time. So the charging stations need to get smarter. As for powering the critical parts of a home for days, that takes more surgery on the home electrical system. Plus, it takes a pretty smart charging system that will disconnect from the mains and then only connect to the critical systems. Our son has a new Volvo hybrid and he had planned to have a charging station installed in their home. But the cost of just a simple charging system put him off and he's decided that he can do without since he has charging available at work - if he gets there in time. But my point is that simple charging systems aren't cheap, and smart ones that charge at specific times or when the demand is less than supply will be more. And then there are the ones that do switching and disconnect from the mains and connect the vehicle's battery to the critical loads in a house. So yes, electric vehicles are a good idea for a particular part of the market. And as the batteries and systems improve that part of the market will expand. But there is an up-front cost and it isn't cheap.

The price jump is the issue for me. I can't imagine the price needing to go up by 50% in a short period of time. I understand the reduced maintenance, but watching the price go up while I'm thinking about buying would be a serious turnoff. As for home power, I thought the new Lightning was an electric-only truck. I can see the hybrid powering a home, or at least the critical parts thereof, for several days if you had enough gas. But the electric-only ones would surely run out of juice pretty quickly. I could see driving a hybrid, but not totally electric for what I do.

Interesting. Looks like Boeing isn't the only one with quality issues. But the pricing looks to also be a huge problem: "Demand initially looked strong, particularly as Ford began with a version of the Lightning for just under $40,000. But soon, the truck was hit with a series of price increases, and by mid-2023, an entry-level F-150 Lightning for non-fleet customers cost just under $60,000 before options."

Ok, so that doesn't work. I'll look further, Haven't really thought about Discord for back-page discussions as some of the forum software options that we may look at offer that function as well. Most allow one-to-one private messaging but some have group chats.

I think it is too late for using the KISS approach on Big Blue. But, as you pointed out, this isn't mission critical and won't stop me on the side of the road. So I'm not worried about adding another complex solution. If 10 seconds is enough, and I think it is as well, then I'll plan on going that way. But so far the relay-looking units appear to delay before closing the relay, so they are out. And while the 2nd one I listed should work nicely, I'd rather have ones that are easier to mount - like the relay-looking ones. So the hunt goes on. And pulling the mount for the O2 gauge to put the switch on gives me an opportunity to paint it black like the one on the other side of the dash.

You are probably ok. But if you don't have time during the week to do much more then why not pull the thermostat housing, RTV it, and let it sit for 24 hours? To RTV it I would tighten the housing down finger tight, let it sit, and then torque it down to spec. That will get you an RTV gasket and not squeeze it all out.

Ok, but how do the sizes of those molecules compare to water? Will some of the components in air leak more through the same orifice than water?

Honestly, I appreciate your comment. Thats how a comment should be made, respectfully. Anyway, the POINT of doing this is the torque. Running a diesel at optimum rpm is the most efficient way to run the engine. Yes there are losses, but regenerative braking is included, which helps some. The point isn't to get the best fuel mileage, especially in a pickup. This setup works INCREDIBLY well for large industrial applications, and yes, it is more cost effective. There is a lot fewer moving parts, and that means less maintenance, less down time, and thus everything gets more cost efficient for the operator. Not to mention the reduction in operator stress from a machine that barely makes any noise while operating. The drilling rigs are operating completely off batteries part of the time....imagine being able to hear your rigging creaking and popping, instead of a diesel motor constantly running. For a pickup truck, it might make less sense, but this is AMERICA, where if we want to put 8,800ftlb of torque @ 1rpm in a 3/4 ton truck, we can, and we do, and we will because it's awesome. MURICA! I drive this truck once or twice a week. I engineer from home. So I don't need to drive it daily. About 25% of the time I am towing a trailer. The 7.3 idi in the hilly part of KY I live in is lacking power. Its pathetic actually. The gear vendors helps a lot, and honestly only makes it just bearable on the two very steep hills on both sides of me. Yeah I can turbo charge, but thats lame compared to 4000-8800 lbft torque. I mean, what do you want, a .22LR or a Bradley Tank? Uh...duh. I don't care if it makes sense or not! I don't need it....but I want it. The founders of Edison Motors aren't idiots, they are actually very successful businessmen with a Canadian/American entrepreneurial spirit, lots of experience in the blue collar truck driving world, fabrication etc. In the least, they aren't armchair internet trolls that use forums for an ego validating echo chamber like a lot of so called experts I see online. They've looked at the Tesla truck, and said its ridiculous and over engineered, and made their own electric truck using existing parts, and brought it to market 10X faster than Old Elon has. And it works!! I'd say that's pretty SMART!! DEBOSS GARAGE has officially partnered with them, and all their official installation franchises are SOLD OUT. Anyway...maybe I'll update this thread as I go along, I don't know. I used to think I belonged here, but just about every time I get back on I get a certain someone nay-saying and poo-pooing my opinions so they can get a moment of self satisfaction through bullying. So, I'll probably just disappear again, because I have better things to do than to argue with a troll about anything. I'll say again that we have all agreed to support people, not be nay-sayers. I hope we can all abide by that. And I hope you will continue to update this thread, Ray. I am interested to see how this goes.

How much pressure are you using? At 15 psi like in a cooling system I don't think you'll have any damage save for a gasket that might leak.

Well, some dummy mounted an O2 gauge right there. Guess that won't work. But, what do y'all think of the poor-boy's solution of adding a momentary switch to that gauge's mount and then placing a label there with the desired wording? And, the relay I linked to earlier may not be the right one as it isn't clear if it doesn't come on for 10 seconds or turns off after 10 seconds. But if not this one will do it for sure as it has NC and NO contacts and an adjustable time. In addition it has an adjustable timer from 1 to 10 seconds, and you can increase by replacing a capacitor.

Air doesn't give more pressure than water. It is just that I THINK water molecules are bigger than air molecules, but I don't know that for sure. Jim will know.

If I understand the question correctly, yes I think any other problems would have shown up. But you can test by sealing that leak and going again - unless you are in a hurry.

And I think you did that.

And you'll be able to hear the air hissing out in the cylinders if, perish the thought, there's a leak there.

I like it! My only suggestion would be to pump it up w/o water in it the first round. Since air will leak easier than water it'll be a tougher test than with water. If you have any leaks you may be able to find them with your soapy water spray, but if not you might find them by using a tube in your ear and listening closely. But I really do like it.

Here's a 10 second time delay relay on Amazon for $15. Wouldn't that be long enough? You wouldn't want to be cranking the engine longer than that would you?

I was thinking of a momentary switch as I don't like the idea of forgetting to turn it off. But why would I want an on/off switch? I was thinking I'd use my left hand to push the button and my right to turn the ignition switch. I'm guessing that you are thinking I'll need one hand to steer as the engine cranks/starts? If that is the case then what about a timer that gives you a set time, like 30 seconds or a minute, after each push? As for the lettering, "clutch safety switch bypass" might be too much but I won't know until I lay it out on CAD. The last pass of having that bezel printed wasn't as crisp as I'd hoped, but I'm guessing that in 7 years 3D printing might be a whole lot better.

Bob - I remember you discussing that, and I can see how it would help. And it would be easily done if I can find the right push-button switch and a good place to put it. Now, maybe this is serious overkill, but why not revise the bezel I made for fog lights to be something like "Clutch Switch" and "Push to start"? The button could go just to the left of the steering column and wiring it in would be easy as the connector going to the clutch switch is right behind that spot. Any better ideas on the labeling? Y'all? http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/uploads/6/5/8/7/65879365/waving_orig.gif

Ordered the Terraflex kit, especially because it comes with lots of accessories to let you connect it up and the Amazon kit doesn't. However I think I'll still want to find some beaded chain to ensure there won't be any interference with normal throttle function.