ArdWrknTrk Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Add complexity, remove reliability..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat in tn Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Add complexity, remove reliability..... now that I understand the "extreme" situation that you are keeping a preparedness for, I get it. also, I get why the manufacturers don't. you are adding complexity to the vehicle and moving it more to a special purpose vehicle. I have done a similar task in diagnosing a vehicle. my daughter's car had what I Thought was an "internal bleed". a failing in the fuel system to keep residual pressure for the next start. after messing with it a few times and not wanting to throw money and parts at guesses, I ran a short bypass jumper to the fuel pump relay and mounted a momentary contact switch in a nearly hidden area she could see and reach. she never got stranded again, yet I had to ask her if it was needed. yes. this worked until the leak became findable and then fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 now that I understand the "extreme" situation that you are keeping a preparedness for, I get it. also, I get why the manufacturers don't. you are adding complexity to the vehicle and moving it more to a special purpose vehicle. I have done a similar task in diagnosing a vehicle. my daughter's car had what I Thought was an "internal bleed". a failing in the fuel system to keep residual pressure for the next start. after messing with it a few times and not wanting to throw money and parts at guesses, I ran a short bypass jumper to the fuel pump relay and mounted a momentary contact switch in a nearly hidden area she could see and reach. she never got stranded again, yet I had to ask her if it was needed. yes. this worked until the leak became findable and then fixed. Gary's that exceptional trombone repair man.... I can't imagine the brain cells that died in cramming all that stuff into Big Blue. But if it keeps you occupied and makes you happy, you're in a better place than I am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viven44 Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Gary's that exceptional trombone repair man.... I can't imagine the brain cells that died in cramming all that stuff into Big Blue. But if it keeps you occupied and makes you happy, you're in a better place than I am. Jim, I get what Gary is doing since most of it is stuff that can fixed relatively easily/cost effectively with off the shelf components and its personalized stuff. What I don't get is the manufacturers cramming so much complexity into newer vehicles that the consumer doesn't need. A lot of that complexity involves custom useless patented components that only has 1 source. They have taken a page from Apple's playbook (I have first-hand experience working at a place like that selling components to that OEM-- but Apple is better about picking features that the consumer needs). A large part of that is planned obsolescence, so when those unnecessary things start to break the consumer is reminded that may be its time for an "upgrade". If the consumer keeps the vehicle, it's good for the service industry to replace those broken components. You probably saw that video about the taillight repair costing over $5000! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted February 28 Author Share Posted February 28 Gary's that exceptional trombone repair man.... I can't imagine the brain cells that died in cramming all that stuff into Big Blue. But if it keeps you occupied and makes you happy, you're in a better place than I am. Yes, I am adding complexity. But it is not "mission critical" complexity - if it doesn't work at some point we won't get stranded, we just might lose the clutch safety if it fails closed. But it'll still start. And there will be a connector that can be unplugged to take the thing out of the circuit to put the safety back. And yes, it keeps me happy. And gives me serious bragging rights. Yesterday I got a note from a guy I used to work for giving me a link to his Factory Five '35 Ford Pickup build - on the Factory Five forum. (Whatever forum platform they are using is NOT what we are looking for!) I read his build thread and then sent him a link to mine and commented that Big Blue probably has as many mod's as his truck does. Then I listed a few, including factory EFI, winch, 3G, inverter, front/rear cameras which he also has, onboard air, etc. He came back this morning saying "Wow Gary..... that's one heck of a truck. I didn't see any pics. Send me a couple when you get a minute. Take care driving that beast!" So I sent him a few pics, inc one in Animas Forks near Ouray, and one in Valles Caldera in NM and told him about those trips as well as the upcoming ones. Bottom line, I'm having fun. And I'm not concerned about complexity, especially at this point after having installed a 1996 EFI system including fuel tanks and pumps as well as all the necessary wiring for the sensors and ECU. So a little more for a function I hope I won't need but will LOVE if I do won't hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 now that I understand the "extreme" situation that you are keeping a preparedness for, I get it.... One thing I perhaps need to clarify is that the first video I linked is not representative of the level of "extreme" that I will be leading Big Blue on! As I said, I wasn't willing to drive Pluto up that, and I have a lot more experience than Gary. I included that video because it's a good example of why starting in gear can be important. The second video is closer to what we'll be doing (although we'll be pushing comfort zones a little more than that). If the guy in this video hadn't started it in gear he'd have probably rolled his back tires back off the ledge and stopped there. It wouldn't have been at all dangerous, but it would have been a little spooky (especially for his wife if she was in the passenger seat!) and he'd have to climb the ledge again, which hadn't been a piece of cake the first time. That's what this mod will buy for Gary: insurance toward a little lower chance of freaking out his passenger and a little easier time climbing a ledge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 now that I understand the "extreme" situation that you are keeping a preparedness for, I get it.... One thing I perhaps need to clarify is that the first video I linked is not representative of the level of "extreme" that I will be leading Big Blue on! As I said, I wasn't willing to drive Pluto up that, and I have a lot more experience than Gary. I included that video because it's a good example of why starting in gear can be important. The second video is closer to what we'll be doing (although we'll be pushing comfort zones a little more than that). If the guy in this video hadn't started it in gear he'd have probably rolled his back tires back off the ledge and stopped there. It wouldn't have been at all dangerous, but it would have been a little spooky (especially for his wife if she was in the passenger seat!) and he'd have to climb the ledge again, which hadn't been a piece of cake the first time. That's what this mod will buy for Gary: insurance toward a little lower chance of freaking out his passenger and a little easier time climbing a ledge. You guys are going to have an EPIC trip! (at least, Gary will) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted February 28 Author Share Posted February 28 You guys are going to have an EPIC trip! (at least, Gary will) Right, at least Gary will have fun. But I have to remember that this is also Bob & Lesley's vacation, so they need to have fun as well. And it is Janey's vacation, so I have to ensure I don't freak her completely out as she will almost always be in the truck since she can't be in the sun. And, Bob, I know that you know that I know you aren't going to push me to try anything like that first video. So you are saying that for the other's sake, not mine. But it IS going to be an EPIC vacation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Right, at least Gary will have fun. But I have to remember that this is also Bob & Lesley's vacation, so they need to have fun as well. And it is Janey's vacation, so I have to ensure I don't freak her completely out as she will almost always be in the truck since she can't be in the sun. And, Bob, I know that you know that I know you aren't going to push me to try anything like that first video. So you are saying that for the other's sake, not mine. But it IS going to be an EPIC vacation! I know that you know that I know that you know that... oh, nevermind Yes, that was for the other's sake! And I'm not worried about it being a good vacation for Lesley and me. I'm hoping that it's still fun for you and Janey if we push your comfort zones with the trails we've planned. If you can have fun on those trails I'm sure we will! And if not, we'll figure some milder trails to do and it will still be fun (just maybe not quite as epic ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted February 28 Author Share Posted February 28 I know that you know that I know that you know that... oh, nevermind Yes, that was for the other's sake! And I'm not worried about it being a good vacation for Lesley and me. I'm hoping that it's still fun for you and Janey if we push your comfort zones with the trails we've planned. If you can have fun on those trails I'm sure we will! And if not, we'll figure some milder trails to do and it will still be fun (just maybe not quite as epic ). We will all have FUN! As for getting ready for the trip, I got the 10-second relay module & switch in as well as the project boxes. The module just barely fits in the project box, height-wise, but it does fit. We are taking Big Blue on an outing tomorrow to test the new seats, but perhaps Friday I can power the relay up, make sure it works, and determine the voltage to the on-board LED. Then I can order a panel-mount LED to replace or parallel it and move on to get the panel ready to install the switch & LED. I'm planning to powder coat the panel to match the one the aftermarket gauges are in. And I need to order the white-on-clear label tape for my Brother label maker. Also, the hand throttle came in today, but that'll be discussed in another thread: Hand Throttle For Big Blue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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