Cracks in a serpentine belt! Is this an indication to replace it?

The presence of small cracks in a serpentine belt are not an indication the belt is about to fail and needs to be replaced. Widely spaced small cracks are acceptable on ribbed serpentine belts. Some indications of potential serpentine belt failures include:

a. Three or more cracks within a 3-inch section of the belt.

b. Cracks extending from the tips of the ribs to the belt body.

c. Chunks of the ribs are missing.

d. There is a buildup of belt material between the ribs.

How To Wire Your Car For Trailer Lights

With summer around the corner there will be a lot of people pulling those campers and trailers. Make sure you get those lights wired and working correctly.

What you will need:

12 Volt Test Light
Heavy Duty 12V Flasher
Wire Crimper or Pliers
Trailer Light Connector
Electrical Tape
Before You Start:

Follow these instructions carefully. Read and be sure you understand them before you begin. Gather together all of your tools and supplies before you begin. Allow plenty of time to do the job so you don't have to hurry. Remember that these are general instructions. For more detailed instructions pertaining to your specific vehicle, consult an appropriate repair manual.

Safety is important whenever you're working around machinery. Beware of hot objects, sharp instruments and hazardous materials. Don't substitute tools unless you're sure you won't compromise either your safety or the performance of your vehicle. Never work on a vehicle that is only supported by a jack. Use jack stands to support the vehicle while you work. Work on a solid, level surface. Never jack a car up on dirt or grass.

Wiring your vehicle for trailer lights is easy and only takes a few minutes. Most factory and custom built trailers are wired with a flat 4-wire, quick connect receptacle. There are two basic types of this connector available - a shield type and the standard type, either of which is compatible with the other. The wires on either type of receptacle are color coded - white, yellow, green and brown. The most common or widely used wiring code is:

Brown wire to the tail or parking lights
Green wire to right turn signal/stoplight
Yellow wire to the left turn signal/stoplight
White wire to common or chassis ground

An exception to this wiring code is if your vehicle has a 5-wire system that incorporates an amber or separate turn signal light in the rear of your vehicle. In this case you will need to purchase a trailer light converter that adapts the trailer's 4-wire system to your vehicle's wire system. They are available at your nearest Auto Store and come with complete and detailed wiring instructions. Just ask an experienced sales person for assistance.

Several types of wiring kits are available, from the basic economical kit with plug-ins and wire, to the deluxe kit that comes complete with chrome mounting brackets. Choose the kit that best fits your need and your pocketbook. The first step for wiring your vehicle for trailer lights is to locate the taillight wiring harness.

Most taillight wiring is accessible from inside the trunk or near the rear bumper. Next, find a suitable spot to connect the quick connect harness to, and double check to make sure the harness is long enough to reach the connector on the trailer. If additional wire or connectors are needed, just ask, your nearest Auto Store should have what you need.

Next, connect the clip end of the test light to a good, clean metal chassis ground. Next, turn the headlight switch to the headlamp/parking lamp "ON" position. With the test light, probe the wires (Figure 3) until the test light comes on and stays on. Connect the brown wire to that wire with a quick connector (usually supplied with the kit). Remember to turn off the headlights once connected.

Turn the ignition switch to the "ON" or "RUN" position and activate the right turn signal. Once again, probe the wires with the test light until the light flashes. This wire will be the right turn signal and right brake light wire. Connect the yellow wire to this wire. Turn off the ignition.

With the ignition switch still in the "RUN" position, activate the left turn signal. Once again, probe the wires with the test light until the light flashes. This wire will be the left turn signal and left brake light wire. Connect the yellow wire to this wire. Turn off the ignition.

The last wire to connect is the white wire. Locate a good metal chassis ground and connect the white wire there using sheet metal screw, or attach it to an existing ground wire. Your installation is complete.

Now hook the harness to the trailer connector and check all the lights for proper operation. If not all lights work at first, double check the quick connectors for proper connector or check the trailer light bulbs. You may want to tape all connections with electrical tape to help ensure trouble-free connections in the future. Place the wired trailer connector back in the trunk or secure underneath the car, clear from any exhaust pipes or road obstructions.

Remember to double check trailer lights every time you hook up to your trailer and recheck them about every 100 miles when towing. I would also suggest you install a heavy-duty turn signal flasher to carry the additional electrical load of the trailer lights.

Tuneups, are they a waste of money today?

As the vintage picture on the left shows "Tune-Up" has been with the automotive industry for some time! However, some things never change, such as the need for periodic preventive maintenance. But a tune-up is one job that's changed a great deal over the course of automotive history. The outdated term is still widely used by many people to describe a service procedure that's supposed to make an engine run better.

There's no absolute definition of what exactly a tune-up should include, but most would agree that it involves replacing the spark plugs and performing other adjustments to maintain or restore like-new engine performance. The problem is there's not much that can adjusted under the hood on many late model vehicles. Ignition timing is fixed and controlled by the engine computer, as is idle speed and the fuel mixture. You can still check base timing (maybe), idle speed and various emission functions to make sure everything is functioning within factory specs and are functioning properly. But there really isn't much of anything left to "tune." Yet motorists still want tune-ups and believe tune-ups are an important and necessary service.

A simple maintenance type tune-up (a new set of plugs) may make an engine easier to start, improve fuel economy, lower emissions, restore lost pep and power, and so on provided engine performance deteriorated because of worn or fouled spark plugs. But if the problem lies elsewhere, a new set of plugs alone won't do the trick and A "tune-up" under these circumstances would be a waste of time and money.

The first thing you should do, therefore, when someone asks about a tune-up is to find out why he thinks he wants one. If he gives any reason other than scheduled maintenance, he has a performance problem that will require additional testing to identify the cause (or causes) of the problem. Only after the performance problem has been diagnosed should any parts be replaced.

The word 'Tune-Up' has a little different meaning today, but one thing is for sure, no vehicle that's yet been built can even come close to going 100,000 miles without needing some type of maintenance or repair.

Find Good Buys at Government Seized Car Auctions

If you have dreamed of owning a luxury vehicle but you always thought it would be too extravagant a purchase, you should think again. You can actually get a classy car at a price you can well afford, by winning a bid at a government seized car auction. These are cars repossessed by federal agencies like the DEA and FBI, or by local and state governments, as part of the seizure of assets of convicted criminals.

Many cars are auctioned off for only a few hundred dollars, and while luxury vehicles attract more bids that drive up the price, in general the winning price bid at a seized car auction ranges from 30 to 60 percent off the original market price, depending on how new the vehicle is.

There are many types of vehicles at these auctions as well, so that you can probably find the kind of car you want with little trouble. If you're in the market for a pickup truck or an SUV, those types of cars are often available at a seized car auction. The government also has auctions of seized boats, ATVs, RVs, motorcycles, and snowmobiles.

Auctions of seized property usually follow a set schedule, such as once a month or once a quarter. You should check with your local government to find out what the schedule is. You can probably find out with a call to your police department. To take part in an auction you will have to pay a token registration fee. After you have paid, you will be given a bidder number. Your bids will not be recognized at an auction if you do not have a bidder number.

Before you attend the seized car auction, you should prepare yourself by getting a used auto price guide like the Kelley Blue Book. The guide will give you an idea of the retail and trade-in prices of various vehicles so you can better come up with an appropriate bid. This is very important as you do not want to set your bid too high. You should also take into account that in addition to the amount of the winning bid, the winner must also pay a buyer's premium that can range between five and 15 percent of the top bid.

With seized car auctions growing in popularity, you may end up bidding against quite a number of people. Arrive at the auction venue as early as possible so you have time to get comfortable and get a feel for the situation. Be relaxed and don't let yourself feel pressured if there is a large crowd.

The voltmeter that Lied!

A component isn’t working, so you hook up your voltmeter and discover you have system voltage. You turn the component on and still see system voltage, but the component doesn’t run. You assume the component is faulty so you change it?

But it still doesn’t work – so now what? Why didn’t it work?

The answer is simple: your voltmeter can’t ‘see’ – and therefore can’t ‘tell’ you there is a high resistance in the circuit, or that changing the component will change nothing. You simply wasted the time it took to locate, collect and change a perfectly serviceable component – ‘thanks’ to your voltmeter!

So the voltmeter lied? Well – Yes! It ‘lied’ because it wasn’t designed to ‘see’ high resistance in the wiring - even though that is one of the most common occurrences in circuit faults.

So what’s the answer? An ohmmeter? NO! – that won’t tell you what you need to know, which is: can the circuit carry load; or can it carry current.

TESlite Voltmeter Leads will give you the answer you need at the push of a button, in just seconds.

Shocking – but true! So before you next need to rely on your voltmeter, treat your meter to a set of TESlite Voltmeter Leads and get right first time results.

See http://www.aeswave.com/Products/Product.asp?i=662

Then watch the video below where the inventer of the Teslite (a mechanic) talks about how Testlite works!

http://www.aeswave.com/images/Products/testLOADhowTo.mov

Lemon Laws - and 'Catches'

If your steak is undercooked (or just plain mangy) you can always send it back -- or at least get a refund. But if the new car or truck you just bought turns out to be a lemon, sending it back -- or just getting satisfaction -- can be more complicated. And unpleasant.

In the first place, it takes a lot, hassle-wise, for a car to be officially acknowledged as a "lemon." You may have to wrangle extensively with the dealer who sold it to you -- and the manufacturer who built it -- before you can get out from under. The process can take a year or longer -- and repeated service calls, breakdowns and pains in the rear in the meanwhile.

Once they've got your money, it's hard to get it back.

The first thing to know is how your state defines a "lemon." Laws vary, but most have a few general provisions in common.

One, the problem(s) must be objective -- and covered by the manufacturer's original new car warranty. For example, if your six month old car suffers a transmission failure (or has a sunroof that leaks) that would be an objective, warranty-covered repair. If the transmission fails a second time -- or the leaky sunroof still leaks -- you've got the makings of "lemonade."

Two, despite repeated attempts -- typically no more than three or four -- the dealer has been unable to fix the problem. Or the car has been "out of service" for a given period of time -- typically, more than 30 days -- during the first year of ownership.

In a nutshell: You've taken it back for the same thing several times, but the transmission (or whatever) just keeps on acting up. They can't seem to fix it. The car's in the shop more than it's in your driveway, etc.

But there are several catches to be aware of.

The first of these is that many state lemon laws have a so-called "presumptive period" -- for example, 18 months or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first, as in California -- during which there must be tangible evidence of an abnormal, recurrent problem(s) in order for the full force of a lemon law's protections to be available after the manufacturer's new car warranty has run out.

This is why it is critical to bring any problems that crop up to the attention of the dealer as soon as they are discovered, and to document them. Keep records of every service visit -- and to make sure the work order/receipt clearly lists the reason why the car was brought in, as well as the date and the odometer reading at the time of service.

The longer you wait -- and the shorter the paper trail -- the more the odds are stacked against you.

The second catch is that the dealer/manufacturer may acuse you of having "abused" the vehicle. Most state lemon laws do not apply if the problem is deemed to be the result of "abuse" -- and that includes such things as failure to maintain and service the vehicle according to the factory recommendations. This is why it is important to a) adhere to the factory-recommended service protocols and b) keep detailed records of all work done, the date the work was done -- and the mileage at which it was done.

It's still ok to change your own oil and filter -- or to do other service work -- but for lemon law purposes, you must be able to produce proof that you did, in fact, change the oil and filter as per the factory time/mileage interval -- and with the correct weight and American Petroleum Institute (API) service specification (e.g., API specification SE, CD; 5W-15) oil and an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) or equivalent "approved" brand of oil filter -- not a generic or unapproved "off-brand" part. That means keeping receipts for everything you buy (with dates stamped on them) and a log book of the dates/mileage readings when you performed the work. If you can't produce such records -- or use generic brand parts not specifically approved by the manufacturer -- you could be left holding the bag should a problem arise. The above is true as regards any home maintenance performed on the vehicle -- so be forewarned.

The moment you suspect you have a lemon on your hands -- unusual, recurrent problems, peeling/fading paint, leaks, "unfixable" electrical problems, premature failure of major components; constantly having to bring the car back to the shop, etc. -- it's a good idea to consult with an attorney who specializes in this type of consumer law. Most will not charge you for an initial consultation to determine whether you, in fact, have a valid cause of action.

Don't "learn to live with" a balky, unreliable car -- or accept blarney from the dealer that it's "normal" (as an example) for a car to need a new transmission at 12,000 miles. Remember: If there is in fact a defect with a component such as a transmission, it may recur -- even if a "new" unit is installed. The basic design could be flawed -- and the "new" transmission probably won't last any longer than the first one. And once the warranty period (or lemon law coverage "window") has expired, you could be out of luck -- even if you're on your third transmission in less than 40,000 miles.

If you do have a solid case, you and your lawyer should be able to get the dealer/manufacturer to either "buy back" the lemon (less an "adjustment" for the mileage on it), or replace it with another vehicle of equivalent value -- if that's acceptable to you. Sometimes, the dealer will offer "unlimited free service" for the life of the car -- or something along those lines -- instead of a buy-back or replacement offer But it's up to you whether the "free" service will compensate you for the hassle of owning a car you feel you can't trust or depend on.

For a state by state listing of lemon laws and their provisions, see www.123car.com/lemon/lemonbystate.html or www.lemonlawamerica.com.

1957 Plymouth Belvedere Sport Coupe-To be excavated!

The lucky person who in 1957 correctly guessed what Tulsa, Oklahoma's population would be in 2007 is destined to win the brand-new 1957 Belvedere Sport Coupe sealed in a time capsule beneath Tulsa's courthouse.


On June 15, 1957, a new gold and white 1957 Plymouth Belvedere Sport Coupe was buried in a time capsule in downtown Tulsa, OK. The time capsule was part of Golden Jubilee Week: Tulsa's celebration of Oklahoma's semi-centennial. The car is buried under the sidewalk in front of the Tulsa County Courthouse, approximately 100 feet north of the intersection of Sixth Street and Denver Avenue.

The car was seen as a method of acquainting twenty-first century citizens with a suitable representation of 1957 civilization. According to event chairman Lewis Roberts Jr., the Plymouth was chosen because it was "an advanced product of American industrial ingenuity with the kind of lasting appeal that will still be in style 50 years from now."

The contents of a women's purse, including bobby pins, a bottle of tranquilizers, cigarettes and an unpaid parking ticket, were added to the glove compartment of the car shortly before burial.
Other items included in the time capsule were: 10 gallons of gasoline and 5 quarts of oil.

As part of the "Tulsarama!" festivities, citizens of Tulsa were asked to guess what the population of Tulsa would be in the year 2007. The guesses were then recorded on microfilm and sealed in a steel container buried with the car. When the car and artifacts are excavated, the person whose guess is closest to Tulsa's 2007 population is to be awarded the Belvedere.

Here is a quicktime video that shows what went on back in 1957!

http://www.buriedcar.com/MOVIECLIPS/buried4-tmj.qt

Used Car Buying Pros and Cons

Buying even a slightly used car can save you a bundle vs. buying the same car brand-new. But there are different risks to be aware of -- and to prepare yourself for. They include:

* Financing -- A chief advantage of buying new is that while the cost of the car itself may be higher, the cost of money (the interest rate you pay on the loan) is usually lower. It's important to take into account the total cost involved -- not just the car and its purchase price, but the interest rate you'll be paying if you finance the purchase. A $15,000 new car with a zero percent financing deal could make more sense than a used $10,000 car with a high interest rate loan.

* It's worth less faster -- Another thing to consider is that a car that's already a couple of years old when you buy it will be worth less, sooner than a newer car. That may be something you'll want to consider if future re-sale/trade-in value is a factor. On the other hand, if you are the kind of person who "drives it until the wheels fall off" this won't matter -- and the money you saved up front on depreciation losses (the biggest hit on a new car purchase) is money in your pocket.

* Each used car is different -- Unlike a new car, which is exactly identical to others of the same make/model (other than superficialities like color, trim and so on) every used car is individual and will have its own unique service history, including the legacy of the treatment (good or bad) it received by its former owner(s). Of two otherwise identical, same-make, same-model, same-year vehicles, one may have had a very easy prior life -- while the other one was "rode hard and put up wet." The first car might have another 100,000 miles of faithful, reliable service left in it; the second one might be in need of expensive repairs or its systems closer to being "worn out" -- and likely to cost you a lot more in terms of upkeep and maintenance. (This is why it is so important to have any used car you are considering buying thoroughly inspected by a shop you trust before you commit to buying. If the seller balks, walk away. Odds are you'll have done yourself a big favor.)

* Fewer options -- With a new car, you can usually order exactly what you want in terms of trim levels, engine choices, colors and so on. With used cars, you may have to compromise, especially if you find an otherwise great deal on a car that is a different color than you might have chosen, or doesn't have a sunroof, etc. You'll have to weigh the importance of being able to get exactly what you want (and paying full new car price) vs. settling for a car that may not have exactly everything -- but which cost you a lot less.

* No "grace period" -- With a new car, one of the big perks is the car should not require anything beyond very basic upkeep (oil and filter changes, tire rotation, etc.) for at least the first couple of years of ownership. A used car, on the other hand, has used brakes (even if the pads are new, the other system components, including things like the ABS pump on models so equipped, aren't), there's mileage on the clutch, the automatic transmission fluid, timing belt (on cars with overhead cam engines) and so on. You'll be be paying to fix/replace things like this sooner than you otherwise would -- and it's important to keep that in mind when buying a used vs. a new car.

* Warranty coverage -- More precisely, the lack thereof. All new cars come with a full "comprehensive" warranty that covers just about anything that might go wrong; with a used car, that warranty may have expired. At the least, it will be closer to expiring. You can usually buy an extended warranty, of course -- but the "piece of mind factor" is something many buyers consider to be well worth the added cost of buying a new car vs. a used one.

* It's not new -- This last (and most subjective) variable is one you'll have to weigh for yourself. For many people, that "new car smell" matters a great deal -- and of course, just isn't there with a used vehicle (even if you spray the interior with some of that aerosol "new car smell" stuff you can buy).

Induction Thermal Expansion- Remove rusted bolts, nuts etc.

Wouldn't it be nice to be able heat nuts, bolts, and other mechanical hardware cherry red in seconds without flame! By using an electromagnetic field it is possible by creating small electrical currents in metal parts, that cause the metal part to produce its own internal heat. The magnetic field has no affect on non-metals allowing heat to be applied near plastic objects or other sensitive areas without damage. This rapid heating will cause nuts to heat before the stud gets hot, which creates thermal expansion that allows a frozen nut to be removed with little effort.

In the picture on the upper left notice how the nut is hot while the stud is relatively cool. The difference in temperature causes the nut to expand faster than the stud, making it easier to remove. 500F to 600F is usually enough for most applications.

For more information see the "Autotron" which Utilizes induction heating.
See http://www.autotronheater.com/