Wednesday, April 13, 2016

We interrupt your regular programming . . .

For a V W Jetta brake job . . .

The ABS idiot light on the Jetta came on a couple weeks ago and it is due for its state inspection so I better do something about it . I checked all the usual stuff . Brake fluid and brake lights all OK. Must be brake pads. Checked the front pads and those were almost new . They were done about a year ago , I just forgot about it .
So it had to be the back , hmm !!! no ABS sensor on the back so it can't be them .
But the pads are very worn so I put some new ones on both sides . The OBD code reader does not find a fault code on the ECU . So it going to take some more digging.
Some exploratory surgery on the front brakes proves the driver's side ABS sensor has failed and has no conductivity .
A quick trip to NAPA provided a new one. Hooked up to the multimeter it shows it has some resistance . Replaced the old one and the ABS light on the dash is gone . Good , one project off my to-do list .
Big deal said Pearl  !!!
OK Pearl, how about this one ?
The fan on my Franken-lap-top computer has been running fairly constantly lately and the upper left hand corner of the thing was getting a bit warm . If it keeps up like this it will shut down right when I am watching one of those long you tube videos my friend Marty sends me all the time .
I pull the back cover on the thing , and as I suspected traces of dust on the fan indicate a blocked radiator . Bet you didn't know a computer had a radiator did ya ? It does indeed .
See that big copper pipe on the left of the image ? It takes heat away from the CPU and sends it to that aluminum finned thing at the top of the image so the fan can cool it . Pull the fan away and look at the thick blanket of dust insulating the radiator from the air . It don't work so well when it is insulated .
 That's about 3 months of accumulation . I last cleaned it in January . I cleaned it again today and put it all back together and the fan barely needs to run at all .
Not the least bit impressed , said Pearl
OK Hows about this Pearl ?
I built a temporary quick and dirty kitchen island out of MDF last weekend .
Even polyurethaned the top on it .
And got a couple of new bar stools and new place-mats to go with it .
Now that's more like it . . . at least you didn't break anything this time .

8 comments:

  1. Parece que la primavera te ha insuflado brios y diversidad... mu interesante lo de la limpieza de la laptop, siempre aprendo algo... La isla quedó muy linda, creo que te conviene dejarla y descansar un poco, jejeje...

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    1. Nada de bríos inflados, solo demasiadas cosas que hacer. The island is made to come apart quickly. I still have to install the permanent posts under the new beam. I still have to pull two layers of dry wall of the sink side wall, rewire for new outlets there and put new drywall up. I also have to install the permanent 6x6 posts that hold up the new beam. Right now I just have it punched up with some 2x4s. And I have to remove three layers of flooring in the kitchen as they make up about two inches in height. Then there is the mater of building and installing new cabinets. So the island will be removed and reinstalled several times for each of those jobs. It goes with the territory when you are living on the job-site.

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  2. Would you do me a favour and send me an email - I've got a blog uncut post I think you might like but seem to haev lost your email!
    As for the warning light on your truck - you could've always taken the bulb out the dash - I've thought about that many times!

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    1. Hey Kev, Just sent you an email. As far as Annie's VW Jetta ABS warning light I fear getting in to the dash in that thing would be a more difficult job than replacing the wheel speed sensor as I did. All in all it was not so bad. And this afternoon it passed the state inspection (Like your MOT check). So we dodged the bullet for another year. Undoubtedly something else will pop up between now and then and I'll have to work on it again.

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  3. M Silvia's,would you write a column about the metal roofing and the home fire sprinklers for the survivalist blog? I saw your note to Harry flashman. If people could have a similar set up it would save a lot of lo
    Ives

    Lives. It is an iPad and I cannot handle it.
    Many thanks. Deb harvey

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    1. Deb: Not sure how much more I could add to it than I already said. I am not familiar with the survivalist blog. Contact me directly at isserfiq at gmail dot com.
      thx, Michael

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  4. I like your cat. I have one indoor cat right now, two others having been sent out to the shop and th apartment to do mouse patrol for awhile.

    Just got my truck out of the shop, had some minor maintenance to do and that's not among my skill set.

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    1. Hey Harry, Yes she is an incredibly friendly creature, except for her early morning screeching so typical of Siamese casts she is a darling. She must have been raised with dogs cause she behaves just like one. She follows you around the house like a dog. Guards her food bowl like a dog protecting it from other dogs. She even drinks out of the toilet bowl and refuses to use the liter-box with cat litter preferring to go in one with news paper.
      As for vehicle repairs I am getting so that if I cant build it or fix it myself I don't want it. We were looking at newer VWs to replace the one we have and I learned that you can not even replace the brake pads on it yourself as you need a computer to retract the calipers. That would not work for me.

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