The Psychology of Car Repair -- LONG, Very LONG

[John in Simi Valley]

Sometimes minor car trouble really plays with your mind.

My door locks were not functioning very well, so I decided to open up the doors and re-lubricate the mechanisms. That involves removing the door panels. Simple, but a little tedious. Well after doing three doors, I addressed the clutch petal hinge because it had a minor squeak. Remove the lower panel, find the hinges, lube it, reassemble, DONE.

I like tinkering with my E12.
A Reward for Myself -- Lets go for a drive!

I try starting the car. Key, turn, . . . nothing.
Try again, there's a second delay, then the motor turns but doesn't fire.
Third, forth, fifth attempts, click or nothing.
Uh-Oh . . . bad ignition switch?
Oh No, Maybe the starter?
Check the battery terminals, they look really clean, it can't be them.
Well it's late, getting dark. I'll tackle it tomorrow.

Half the night I'm thinking about all the different things that could go wrong. Is there a relay, no - I don't think so. Bad ignition switch? Check the grounds? Did I goof some wiring while I had the lower panel off? What if I can't fix it? (Sigh!)

This morning I look at the car. Okay John. Remember your diagnostic sequence. Don't jump to conclusions. Do the simple things first. Check air, electrical, spark, fuel. I get my repair manual, go out to the driveway armed and ready.

Try starting, nothing.

Battery measures 12.10 VDC. It's low. Get the charger, hook it up, 10 amp load for 30 minutes. Try starting. It turns the engine but doesn't fire. Whew! At least I don't need a new starter.

Little paranoia gremlins start creeping in my mind. Oh man, it could be the ignition control module or ECU. Maybe bad distributor coils or not enough fuel. Do I need a new fuel pump?

John, settle down! Make sure you have good electrical power source before you proceed. Don't assume anything.

So I disconnect the battery terminals and get my terminal cleaner. The posts are a little corroded, so I wire brush all the contacts. Used some Wurth's copper impregnated grease put everything together. Charge it some more.

Try starting -- WAY more power now, but although it turns over, it doesn't fire after 4-5 attempts.

Okay, lets check for spark. It's just me (no assistant) so I use my timing light, the inductive pick-up kind. Yep, It strobes, so there is a spark. Now, lets check fuel. Undo the line to the fuel rail, little plastic bottle, turn the key, it pumps fuel.

Okay, I've got a good battery, spark, fuel.
I know how to diagnose the ICM and ECU, but that's not necessary, I'd only diagnose them if no spark.

Check for air, or the prevention thereof. Ah!, The engine could be flooded from all the attempts. Pull a spark plug, check to see if it's wet or dry. Wow, it's really wet. Charge the battery some more, higher voltage is more gooder, lower voltage causes a high-amperage situation and can burn up the starter.

I could have pulled all the plugs and aired-out the cylinders with the starter, but I got lazy and just made sure the battery was at full power. Measured voltage: 13.8 VDC. Cranking the motor; it spun a lot faster, it coughed a little, a little more, then started to fire. Smoke, lots of it out the tail pipe and my baby was running!!

Geeze, what my problems was -- was while I was re-lubricating my door lock mechanisms the doors were open for a couple hours, meaning the dome light was on. That was enough to drain my battery, along with slightly corroded terminals to the point it wouldn't start. It needed clean terminals and a simple recharge. Seems like a simple fix, right? So why was I going through such mental anguish about all the things that it MIGHT be?

Maybe I just care too much for this car.
Maybe I'm just getting old and should be tested for dementia.
Not like I'd be stranded if this E12 is out of commission; we have 4 totally functional vehicles.

I've learned that no matter how much I think I've been caring for this car, I could have done a better job; I need a new battery, because the dome light should not discharge my battery as much as it did.

If you've gotton to this sentence, I hope you've done so with a bit of a smile. If you are nodding a little it means you've walked a few steps in my shoes and recognize this illness as comrads of the E12s.

Thanks for reading

[Wil]

Thanks for shareing John.
Great Story and a good story teller too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[GripGreg]

Good story, John, and well put. How old was the battery? What brand? I generally lean toward Interstate.
BTW, what is Warner's/Werner's phone #. No response through the website as of yet. Greg

[John in Simi Valley]

I appreciate the complements.

Greg, battery is an Interstate, but it's about 6 years old. The Great Eric Quon bought it when he first got the car.

Regarding Warner's car. I misunderstood. He is not parting it out, so doubtful he'll trade you doors. It was a thought though. I recommend looking around; Polaris Silver is a popular color and there has got to be a car somewhere where you can get another driver's side door.

[T.Hanson]

The ace is not having to rely on it to get to work next morning. At least for me, it allows quietly putting the tools down, wiping my hands, then throwing the swing set over the fence instead of pounding the hood with a ball peen.

I have no idea why I think it's so fun to find the engine in the grease and dirt, make it run perfect after thirty years. Play a kind of chess with an inanimate object: or Where's Waldo, the naughty part.

Most people just make payments and play golf.

[1st 5er]

Interesting read.

I could've written that, well, not written it, I'm not really that eloquent.
But, I have been down that road, actually going that road now, not a no start, but rather a low voltage output...

Thanks for the entertainment.

[Pete K]

Nice story John. 99% of people would have called Roadside assistance, but it's us 1% that cars are really made for!

[John in Simi Valley]

Since the door locks and panels were the start of my efforts, here's the follow-up result thereof.

For those who may be intimidated about removing the door panels.
It's difficult if you don't know how, EASY when you do.

Enjoy
http://www.firstfives.org/faq/door_pane ... moval.html

[Adam Gravois]

My God, these FAQs are worth their weight in gold. OK, being mostly electrons they don't weigh much, but I'm grateful for them all the same, as taking these things apart is uncharted territory for a newbie like me, even with the Haynes manual. I'm looking forward to getting my locks going again.

[1st 5er]

Are you telling me, my E12 has electric door locks?