ME's Van

[DanStokes]

Spending OTHERS money!

Dan

[DanStokes]

Latest project done:

ME was nervous to back up the automotive equivalent of an ocean liner (at least to her) and wanted a back-up camera along the lines of the one I put in the HHR, which I rarely use. So we ordered one up on the Internet and it came with the WORST directions I've ever seen. After some on-line searching I found a better set of directions, mostly a wire-by-wire diagram/pics of where the wires go - BIG help. Anyhow, here's the pics:

Monitor in any gear but "R" -



And in "R"



Just like you would want. The hard part of this one was running a wire from the back-up lamp to the controller for the BU camera. It turned out to be easier to run the wire there rather than from the trans or somewhere else.

I didn't take shots of the camera end as I figure we've all seen a license plate with a camera rig screwed on it.

ME's happy so I'm happy. Tomorrow I'll start painting the hood which should be pretty straightforward. Much of the stuff I've shown has been little piddly stuff needing finesse and the hood just needs sandpaper and the spray gun.

Dan

[Deaf Bob]

No forrested mural???

[DanStokes]

I suggested a reclining nude but was voted down. Actually, there are windows in the way so probably not much fancy paint.

Dan

[SuperBuickGuy]

You know that painting the van shows what's going on on the inside of the owner. For reference, here are somethings to avoid

http://jalopnik.com/5816598/the-ten-creepiest-vans/

[DanStokes]

So I'd need a mural of me going down the track in Mutt. But it's ME's van so it would probably need her playing the violin on one side and the piano on the other. Does it count if it's a wrap?

Dan

[SuperBuickGuy]

Beagle distraction

[SuperBuickGuy]

that said, I have suggestions for wraps

[SuperBuickGuy]

and this one is too good not to share

especially the 2nd to last

[DanStokes]

A couple of accomplishments:

Got the AC working properly. It turns out that these vans as well as other Fords of that era have an endemic issue with the AC switching off when you accelerate. Or so it seems - actually, the cool air switches from the dash vents to the defroster ducts. As nearly as I can tell, when in defroster mode the blend door also adds some heat as part of the defrost function so you don't get very cool air in the van when it switches. This issue is common enough that several guys have posted an on-line fix for it, sidestepping the dealership $1.5K (or more) factory fix.

So here's the online posting I more or less followed but with a few modifications. I'll post a pic of my solution and you'll note a different vacuum canister though I'm sure ANY canister would work as long as it doesn't leak. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCQeCEXLQ_s

A pic of mine:



I'm also in the middle of painting the hood (the sealer is drying as I type) so that ugly will get erased. I'll also need to do the top but that can wait until we get back from our next drive-about. The hood is some sort of composite and was badly baked when the fender tops right nest to it were fine. I'm guessing the underhood heat and the sun doing its work wipe the hood paint before the rest of the paint fails. Pics to follow on this.

Dan

[Deaf Bob]

Wouldn't that sudden cold air crack a hot windshield?

[DanStokes]

Wouldn't that sudden cold air crack a hot windshield?

Evidently not, as it didn't. But like I said, it seems that when it switched to defrost it also added heat and that might be part of why they did it that way. BTW - "defrost" is the default setting so if everything failed you would get defrost. So far the windshield looks OK but we have no clue if it's OEM or not. Given our heat and humidity here in the summer (this year has been a scorcher) it's really great to have this working like it should.

Dan

[Deaf Bob]

Yeah, never was hot enough long enough here for me to bother....but in my old age, last 5 years, it becomes required.
Suburban and Buick both need recharging.

[Huskinhano]

The back up camera freaks me out on my F150. It's just weird to see where you're actually going. I hardly ever look at it. I still defer to the side mirrors.

[DanStokes]

Like I said, I almost never use the one in the HHR but she likes it so..... I've driven the van with the new camera a couple of times and don't find it very useful. I'd like one in Truck but with a "on/off" switch instead of triggering off the BU lights so I could turn it on when hooking up the trailer and off the rest of the time. But this is ME's van so she gets what she wants and I'm happy to make it work for her. I really DO enjoy making her world the way she wants it, at least as closely as I can.

Dan