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taqueso posted:My Jetta had electric locks, you press the button and that electric signal starts a pneumatic pressure/vacuum pump, which pressurizes or applies vacuum to a tube that tees a few times and goes to all the doors. A pressure/vacuum switch in the door would then detect that and run an electric solenoid to unlock the door. Had to dig around under the carpet and find the disconnected tees a few times. My personal VAG favorite was my '86 Audi 4000S. In that era, they ran the full-current headlight wiring through the headlight switch. So it'd get hot and burn up. And then you had no headlights.
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Dec 17, 2019 00:50
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EVERYWHERE 
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I wonder if that was spec'd with a beefy switch and then got changed during interior design. Seems like a rookie mistake more than over-engineering. e: or maybe the switch gets dirty and then resistance goes up
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Dec 17, 2019 03:26
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meatpimp posted:My personal VAG favorite was my '86 Audi 4000S. In that era, they ran the full-current headlight wiring through the headlight switch. So it'd get hot and burn up. And then you had no headlights. Didn't Porsche do the same thing?
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Dec 17, 2019 03:35
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Lots of cars did back then. I know my 80 F-150 did that. fake edit: the switch had an internal self-resetting circuit breaker too real edit: vvvv I think the Ford's was also unfused, hence the built-in circuit breaker. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 06:23 on Dec 17, 2019 |
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Dec 17, 2019 05:25
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My Opel's headlight circuit is not only run through the switch, it's unfused. Yeah.
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Dec 17, 2019 06:05
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Seat Safety Switch posted:Didn't Porsche do the same thing? My 914 did yeah.
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Dec 17, 2019 16:27
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STR posted:Lots of cars did back then. I know my 80 F-150 did that. Yeah, the difference was that German engineers put in a lovely switch that liked to melt when it had headlight current going through it. 
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Dec 17, 2019 17:38
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STR posted:real edit: vvvv I think the Ford's was also unfused, hence the built-in circuit breaker. Not even that on the Opel, which is why over the years the community has increasingly pushed "headlight rewiring" as job number one if you don't want the car to burn to the ground. Nothing says "good decision" like "German GM"!
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Dec 17, 2019 17:43
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taqueso posted:My Jetta had electric locks, you press the button and that electric signal starts a pneumatic pressure/vacuum pump, which pressurizes or applies vacuum to a tube that tees a few times and goes to all the doors. A pressure/vacuum switch in the door would then detect that and run an electric solenoid to unlock the door. Had to dig around under the carpet and find the disconnected tees a few times. What in the actual gently caress. Leftover from when they were actually vacuum-operated? Side note: the 1936 Lincoln Zephyr that we had briefly (non running, but in fair shape, considering. Also: flathead V12!) had hydraulic power windows. Possibly locks, too. I don't recall. quote:It also had a special tool required rear brake setup. You have to rotate the piston while compressing it. That's normal for rear discs. But those locks... quote:It was a fun car but everything about working on it was dumb. I replaced window regulators 4 times and it was retired with the drivers window taped up. Lots of manufacturers seem to fail at window regulators for some reason. At least on Fords, it's a fairly easy fix. The motors don't fail, but the nylon pegs that they use as a safety clutch disintegrate. Easy to replace. STR posted:Lots of cars did back then. I know my 80 F-150 did that. GM did, too. They also loved to run full starter current through the ignition switch, which was at least a fairly beefy unit remotely operated by the key, AND run full current through the power window switches, eventually either burning them up, or at least making them flaky with carbon from arcing. Mazda did that, too, probably along with everyone else. I have no idea why the concept of using relays in an easier to replace location eluded them. A lot of manufacturers started using relays for the door locks, at least. My '95 Cherokee had relays for both locks, and I added them in unused locations in the relay block when I installed power window regulators.
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Dec 17, 2019 20:40
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meatpimp posted:My personal VAG favorite was my '86 Audi 4000S. In that era, they ran the full-current headlight wiring through the headlight switch. So it'd get hot and burn up. And then you had no headlights. They must have learned something about running too much current through a switch, because in my '93 & '94 Passats, you could only use one power window at a time. The switches on the doors/dash sent a signal to a central controller, which then dispatched power to the correct window motor. But it wouldn't do two windows at the same time, I guess that would send too much current to or through the controller. You could hit all 4 switches in sequence, and the controller would roll the windows up/down one by one in that exact sequence.
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Dec 17, 2019 20:43
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So, basically, they were either too cheap to build in 4 separate relays, or two cheap/incompetent to design a body controller that could handle more than one task at once.
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Dec 17, 2019 20:50
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meatpimp posted:Yeah, the difference was that German engineers put in a lovely switch that liked to melt when it had headlight current going through it. Ford and GM fought over the melting switch patent, trust me. 
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Dec 17, 2019 21:35
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Darchangel posted:What in the actual gently caress. Leftover from when they were actually vacuum-operated? I think I vaguely remember it being something to do with avoiding a certification until the next model year. 1995 if someone wants to go digging.
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Dec 17, 2019 21:57
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IOwnCalculus posted:Not even that on the Opel, which is why over the years the community has increasingly pushed "headlight rewiring" as job number one if you don't want the car to burn to the ground. Nothing says "good decision" like "German GM"! what if you took all of the worst aspects of germans engineering cars, and combined it with all the worst aspects of GM?
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Dec 17, 2019 22:58
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Is this a double negative thing where an angry worker puts the wrong switch in the car and it actually has more current handling capability?
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Dec 17, 2019 23:03
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taqueso posted:Is this a double negative thing where an angry worker puts the wrong switch in the car and it actually has more current handling capability? That's what separates Audis from VWs.
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Dec 17, 2019 23:54
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:what if you took all of the worst aspects of germans engineering cars, and combined it with all the worst aspects of GM? Then you have the body built by the French. It's a very pretty driveway paperweight.
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Dec 17, 2019 23:59
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Glamor shots to come some other time, but I cleaned on the Passat a lot yesterday. And filled it up. And it's got enough miles on the brakes that they are basically bedded in. And I've got a confession to make. I've driven a lot of high-powered RWD cars. (High-powered AWD cars too, but those are a different beast entirely). With that, I have to say that there is an undeniable charm of an overpowered FWD car. The Passat is rated somewhere around 280hp with a lot of torques. Contemporary reviews show it around 5.9-6 second 0-60. And it easily overpowers the front wheels up to about 50mph in a straight line. In a curve at lower speeds and heavy on the throttle, it's just  you're going wherever the car is pointed.It's fun because you can actually use the power to the limits of the tires on public roads without making a lot of undue ruckus. You can just rip on the thing and nobody really notices. Plus, the limits are low enough that you're not going to get into too much trouble. Just a thought from meatpimp that may be peak anti-AI. But it also may be pure AI.
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Dec 24, 2019 01:19
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If it's a car you don't care about maybe. You've owned a tuned C70. So as a counterpoint you can understand that I hate that the C70 is FWD. I have an LSD in mine and it simply lights up both tires instead of one if I push it. And because it's a convertible the chassis is a big noodle and the wheels hop like mad. I'd much rather have all that weight transfer on to the tires than off of them, the engine has so much potential and it's all wasted. In my dream world I make it AWD and 400 lb heavier, and make up for it with even more power.
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Dec 24, 2019 03:15
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LloydDobler posted:If it's a car you don't care about maybe. You've owned a tuned C70. So as a counterpoint you can understand that I hate that the C70 is FWD. I have an LSD in mine and it simply lights up both tires instead of one if I push it. And because it's a convertible the chassis is a big noodle and the wheels hop like mad. I'd much rather have all that weight transfer on to the tires than off of them, the engine has so much potential and it's all wasted. In my dream world I make it AWD and 400 lb heavier, and make up for it with even more power. I had a tuned C70, too. Hardtop took away the rigidity problem, and that car was fun, but never fun to really push, because it was a bit of a pig. Great on the road, but it wasn't focused on acceleration. I think you're pushing air with a bigger turbo, though, so that'll change the metrics.
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Dec 24, 2019 13:00
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Darchangel posted:You have just confirmed for me that I will never buy a loving used Volkswagen. This was after the transmission fluid machinations. So today I set out to change the transmission fluid in my wife's '15 Acura RDX. It's got 32k miles and saw nothing other than oil changes before we got it in the Summer. Factory recommends changing fluid between 30k and 40k, so it's due by time and by miles. What's the "procedure" for the transmission fluid in a modern Acura? Drain the transmission first. What size bolt? You don't even need a socket. It's an inset square that you just stick your 3/8" socket wrench into. Loosen and bang, it's draining. Then, to fill it up, you put a long funnel into the transmission dipstick tube and put 4 quarts back in. Done. It's so exceedingly simple that it makes me a bit angry. The total transmission fluid capacity is somewhere around 10-12 quarts, but only 4 quarts come out at a time. The factory specifies a fluid change as a drain-and-refill, but that only does a portion of the the total fluid. Conventional thought is to do a drain-and-refill 3 times in a row to get 90%+ of the fluid new. I did it twice and called it good. I'll incorporate a drain-and-fill into my oil change procedure and it should always be good with tranny fluid. Why can't de Germans make maintenance easy. 
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Dec 28, 2019 19:14
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My CR-V is the same way but only three quarts on it. I love it for both the simplicity of the job and the fact that they clearly went to some effort to make the drain and refill consistent. No loving guess and check.
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Dec 29, 2019 00:06
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sharkytm posted:You wanna borrow my VAG-Com? I bought it for my MK3 TDI, which is in winter hibernation. It's a 3-VIN license, but I'm unlikely to use them, and the MK3 doesn't count. I ended up getting one for Christmas because my family supports my pain addiction. Thanks again for your kind offer! IOwnCalculus posted:My CR-V is the same way but only three quarts on it. I love it for both the simplicity of the job and the fact that they clearly went to some effort to make the drain and refill consistent. No loving guess and check. The other thing I forgot to mention was the big rear end magnet on the drain plug, so you can clean the swarf out of the transmission case without dropping a pan. So much better designed than most. In other news, I did hook the VAG-Com up to the car and yes, there were a lot of errors. BUT the engine was clean, transmission, ABS, braking,climate, all clean. The errors were all stupid things, like a half-dozen individual drivers in the stereo that are showing open (which I knew). Speakers have always seemed to be pretty stout, I have a hard time believing these are all dead. My suspicion is crossover problems, but that's down the line. The park assist system shows an open in the notification buzzer in the rear. Looks like I have to pull the package tray to get to it. No big deal, right? Remember, it's VW. So... pull the side airbags out of the rear seat sides, the c-pillar trim, the rear seat, then the package tray.  That'll wait, too.The other errors were minor, too. I cleared everything and I'll check in a few days to see what's persisting. As I was doing that, we had some nice weather days, so I took some time to meatpimp clean some of it. I took everything out of the trunk area and got it vacuumed and wiped down. While I was there, I cleaned a drain behind the trim panel on the passenger side. I thought it would be for the rear sunroof drain, but nope... it was a drain for... the trunk hinge.  Then I got to thinking that every drain I looked at in this car was turbo-clogged. And I had not tracked down the rear sunroof drains, so I did. They're at the top of the rear wheelwell. And you have to pull the fender liner to get to them. So, I did that, the drains were plugged, and they're clear now. So I know the car's at least solid enough to sit outside without concern of flooding. As I've gone through all of this, I found that the previous owner was a bit of a moron. He was doing a lot of work trying to find the leaks... including cutting the poo poo out of the undertray in the center of the car to get to the drain plugs. Yes, that will get the water out of the car, but to FIX the problem, you have to fix how the water is getting INTO the car. I also found a nice quarter-sized rust bubble area in the rear quarter. Now every bit of work I've done on this car has shown a remarkably corrosion-free vehicle, so my first thought was a crash repair, though the paint seems to match everywhere except the rear bumper that has been painted. So I got out my paint thickness meter and checked, and everything was factory-spec and matching. So, I think it's just lovely VW corrosion resistance. I'd be more skeptical if my brother hadn't just had his fender replaced on his '09 GTI due to rust, and that car has always been cared for and garaged. So what am I saying with all of this? VW hates its customers.
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Dec 30, 2019 15:05
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Every time I think I want a VW I'm reminded why I don't want a VW
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Dec 30, 2019 15:54
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meatpimp posted:I'd be more skeptical if my brother hadn't just had his fender replaced on his '09 GTI due to rust, and that car has always been cared for and garaged. There's a soft material spacer between the fender and the fender liner at the peak of the wheel arch that just soaks up salt. This happens to every Mk5 Golf in areas with salted roads and was a terrible, terrible idea by VW.
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Dec 30, 2019 18:51
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meatpimp posted:This was after the transmission fluid machinations. My '70 Cutlass would be that simple IF GM had ever put a goddamned drain plug on any of their Turbo-Hydramatics. I need to either buy a pan with one, or weld in one myself. Ditto for the Crown Vic, though it's 9 quarts, even without the torque converter! Good for longevity, but rough on the wallet at $6-10/quart. Thankfully, it rarely has to be done. In retrospect, I should have grabbed a sample of the fluid for Blackstone when I fixed the thing a while back. Applebees Appetizer posted:Every time I think I want a VW I'm reminded why I don't want a VW QFT Darchangel fucked around with this message at 21:49 on Dec 31, 2019 |
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Dec 31, 2019 21:46
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Hey... something's kinda easy? On a VW? And it fixed the problem?  The VAG-Com said that the only problem with the parking sensors was an open in the rear parking buzzer. I couldn't find it at first, but eventually saw where it was under the rear package tray. You're supposed to remove most of the rear interior to remove the rear package tray, but I was able to leverage it up enough to shove my hands under there and get the buzzer out. Yep, it was shot. $13 from Amazon later and a new one showed up. Less than 5 minutes to plug in and... look at that, both front and rear sets of parking sensors are working. So, to recap: Whenever I'd shift into reverse, I'd get a loud warning chime and the parking sensor switch would flash. All because the rear buzzer was dead. The front system was fully functional, the car just shut it off out of spite because the rear wasn't working. Anyway, the saga continues.
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Jan 13, 2020 20:56
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How very German.
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Jan 15, 2020 15:34
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Popping into your thread to get some advice. Your levels of detailing have always been awesome. My new to me LX 470 is pearl white on ‘ivory’ (tan). The front seats are getting all new upholstery because the leather is beyond saving. I scrubbed the middle bench seats last night with a soft bristle brush with water/mild cleaner followed with a conditioner applied with a terry cloth applicator. After letting it sit for a few minutes I buffed with microfiber cloths. The leather no longer has grime but there are visible creases that really stand out. What’s the solution? Leather filler? Re-dye the seats in place? I’m also thinking about doing a ceramic coating on the paint myself like you did on your Escalade. My thoughts being it’s a 21 year old truck and my beater so if it’s not perfect that’s okay, but it seems like a good candidate for the treatment for how it’s going to get used. I have a professional friend that can help with paint prep. Any regrets on the coating? Would you do anything different? Should I just find a little bottle of the stuff on amazon or elsewhere?
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Jan 17, 2020 02:11
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meatpimp posted:The park assist system shows an open in the notification buzzer in the rear. Looks like I have to pull the package tray to get to it. No big deal, right? Remember, it's VW. So... pull the side airbags out of the rear seat sides, the c-pillar trim, the rear seat, then the package tray. What? meatpimp posted:The VAG-Com said that the only problem with the parking sensors was an open in the rear parking buzzer. I couldn't find it at first, but eventually saw where it was under the rear package tray. You're supposed to remove most of the rear interior to remove the rear package tray, but I was able to leverage it up enough to shove my hands under there and get the buzzer out. Yep, it was shot. I guess it all worked out, but wtf.
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Jan 17, 2020 06:53
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Somewhat Heroic posted:Popping into your thread to get some advice. Your levels of detailing have always been awesome. My new to me LX 470 is pearl white on ‘ivory’ (tan). The front seats are getting all new upholstery because the leather is beyond saving. I scrubbed the middle bench seats last night with a soft bristle brush with water/mild cleaner followed with a conditioner applied with a terry cloth applicator. After letting it sit for a few minutes I buffed with microfiber cloths. The leather no longer has grime but there are visible creases that really stand out. What’s the solution? Leather filler? Re-dye the seats in place? I've had good luck with a magic eraser and degreaser with the linen-colored seats in the Escalade. It's amazing how much dirt build up there is. I think some of it may be a yellowing of the product I use, because it gets lighter and cleaner everywhere, not just on the wear surfaces, but  For filling and patching, check out http://www.leatherique.com/ and http://www.leatherique.com/do_it_your_self_instruction/how_to_re-dye_leather.html Leather dye is easier than painting, the material soaks it right up. quote:I’m also thinking about doing a ceramic coating on the paint myself like you did on your Escalade. My thoughts being it’s a 21 year old truck and my beater so if it’s not perfect that’s okay, but it seems like a good candidate for the treatment for how it’s going to get used. I have a professional friend that can help with paint prep. Any regrets on the coating? Would you do anything different? Should I just find a little bottle of the stuff on amazon or elsewhere? No down side to ceramic coatings. The cheapo Chinese stuff gets you about a year and a half before it stops beading, but it's still super easy to clean after that. White is perfect, since you don't have to be as meticulous with the application (dark colors can show shadowing if you're not perfect in application/removal). A 2 pack for under $10 delivered: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/329...rchweb201603_53
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Jan 17, 2020 14:31
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Speaking of ceramic coatings, do you know of some good step by step paint correction videos? I might take a shot at it with my harbor freight buffer.
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Jan 17, 2020 22:56
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Cool info. I will see how much I want to get into the leather restoration on the center row. Probably best to do it during summer anyhow because it is extremely cold weather out. I heard of some using the magic eraser method but I got gunshy about it because so many people talking about how that removes the UV protective coating leading to bigger problems. I found that same coating on Amazon for $10, but it was just one bottle worth. I went ahead and ordered the two pack from Aliexpress. We will see if it actually ships and works!
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Jan 17, 2020 23:28
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Applebees Appetizer posted:Speaking of ceramic coatings, do you know of some good step by step paint correction videos? I might take a shot at it with my harbor freight buffer. There's some links to youtube videos in the OP of the detailing thread. I'm planning on doing that to my current car this summer once it's not so cold out and snowing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUHRnHsSXZU That seems like a good place to start. Skip to 7 min if you don't want to listen to him introduce their buffer over and over again.
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Jan 17, 2020 23:34
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meatpimp posted:So, to recap: Whenever I'd shift into reverse, I'd get a loud warning chime and the parking sensor switch would flash. All because the rear buzzer was dead. The front system was fully functional, the car just shut it off out of spite because the rear wasn't working. I was like, why the gently caress is a parking buzzer a discrete object in the back of a car? Why not build it into the stereo like I assume everyone else does? Maybe using the same system that is making the loud warning chime to tell you that the parking buzzer broke? And then I searched: https://www.audiworld.com/how-tos/a/audi-how-to-replace-rear-parking-buzzer-422192
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Jan 18, 2020 04:30
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So German Automotive Manufacturer it hurts.
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Jan 18, 2020 04:35
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Do they actually design these cars or just have a big pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey session where they cram poo poo into every orifice until the outline of the car on the whiteboard is full and then ship it? At this point you could tell me there are ECUs in the doors and I'd believe you.
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Jan 18, 2020 05:01
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Seat Safety Switch posted:Do they actually design these cars or just have a big pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey session where they cram poo poo into every orifice until the outline of the car on the whiteboard is full and then ship it? There are ECUs in the doors. More like DCUs though, they control the doors, not the engine. And I'm not kidding. I had the PDM (passenger door module) go out in my 01 Volvo and the window, power lock, power mirror, mirror defrost, and ambient temperature gauge on the dash (the sensor for which is in the mirror housing) all died. It looks like a basic window switch, but it's not. LloydDobler fucked around with this message at 08:24 on Jan 18, 2020 |
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Jan 18, 2020 08:20
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Seat Safety Switch posted:I was like, why the gently caress is a parking buzzer a discrete object in the back of a car? Why not build it into the stereo like I assume everyone else does? Maybe using the same system that is making the loud warning chime to tell you that the parking buzzer broke? Yup. It's similar to that, but this car has rear side airbags in the side bolsters, so you've got to go through airbag protocol too, adding another couple steps. It really is silly.
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Jan 18, 2020 13:21
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Automotive electronics design inspiration: christmas lights in series, so when one stops working they all do.
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Jan 18, 2020 14:38
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