It's almost new years and I was doing yard work today in shorts and a t shirt. February and March are going to be scary, I predict, but this is nice.
It's almost new years and I was doing yard work today in shorts and a t shirt. February and March are going to be scary, I predict, but this is nice.
Rode a tow truck to work today. S60R went from 300hp to zero HP in an instant.
Of course, it did not die last week when it was 60F out and I could drive the RX-7 with its lack of weatherstripping, lack of effective heat with the 150F thermostat, and ancient dry rotted tires. No, it had to quit the day before it's supposed to snow again. I only ever need a tow when it is 40F and raining.
I deadsticked it in gear (for the power steering and power brakes if necessary) long enough for the computer to set a low fuel pressure code. Felt weird to feel the trans downshift without being able to rev match, as it slowed down. The wiring for the fuel pump is ludicrously complex, there is no simple circuit, as power and ground go through the CEM and the FPCM. Whacking the pump and or the control module did nothing. Trying to start got an occasional cough.
As this point, I'm trying to think of the quickest way to diag if it's the pump or the module while shoveling food into my face at lunch, while I wait for the tow truck.
Since I arrived at work two hours late, I had no time to work on it until just now. This time gave me time to think. Fuel tank was at just under half. Unlike the time I ran it out of fuel because the gauge was off, this was probably accurate, since I'd driven only about 170 miles since topping off the tank. BUT. It's a saddle tank. If I read it right, Volvo doesn't use a jet pump like everyone else, they use a second electric pump to transfer fuel from the left to the right. What if that had died?
Go outside, verify car still doesn't start. Now away from traffic, I can hear the fuel pump under the floor groaning. Good, we just verified CEM, FPCM, and wiring. Liberated two gallons of gasoline from the lawnmower shed. Fires right up.
Okay, I still need to drop $400 on a fuel pump assembly, but at least I'll be mobile until it comes in. As long as I keep the tank way over half.
UPDATE.
The berking gauge was off again.
And... FOR THE RECORD...
That average and trip correlate to about where the needle was!
It wasn't a bad transfer pump, it was just out of fuel. Again.
I dunno why the car's pissed off at me, I just bought it a set of new wheels. New OE wheels, not tuner garbage.
It does use a jet pump, the pump is on the passengers side. You have one bad level sensor. Both are accessible when you remove the rear seat.
I forgot the kicker. This really should belong in the rant thread, but I'm on a roll here.
It used to be a standing joke at where I used to work that customers would always see the hot rods we had in the shop and ask "Is it yours?". To everyone but me. I never got that BS question, and while I didn't develop a complex over it, it was kind of interesting.
When my car was passed out on the side of I-71 this morning, and I was fussing around with a USB cable trying to get enough of a charge in my phone for me to call work and ask them to send for a flatbed, I hear a knock on the window. Friendly Ohio State trooper was there at the window, and he motioned for me to roll the window down. After some pleasantries, I tell him that the car quit and I was calling for a tow. "Customer's car on a road test?"
I don't get no respect, I tell ya...
Anyway, I guess it is a win because it made me laugh.
Streetwiseguy said:It does use a jet pump, the pump is on the passengers side. You have one bad level sensor. Both are accessible when you remove the rear seat.
I think it may be a software bug in the instrument cluster or something. Hear me out on this.
I don't usually top off like wait for the pump to shut off. I don't like to do that thanks to having had enough customers deep-fry their charcoal canisters and send gunk up the system to keep valves from sealing. I generally look at the fuel level, if it's at half then I put in eight gallons, if it's at 3/8 I put in ten gallons, etc. Sometimes I over-prepay and it does shut off. But the last I don't know how many times I refilled, it would go to "Full" yet not shut off. What I think is happening is, since the gauges don't do a position test on startup, it maybe gets lost in the gauge field and it doesn't track properly after a not-quite-topped-off fillup. Over time, the gauge gets more and more inaccurate.
It definitely was reading full after the last time I added fuel, and I went an appropriate distance relative to the average economy to account for the needle movement.
FWIW, this is where the car was at after I topped off (meaning, refilled to shutoff)
(it's a repackaged Autel, it works much better for Volvo than brand O or the red brick)
I would watch that scan tool as you burn gas. They should both drop equally for a little while, then the left should drop to zero. I still think you may have a dead sensor.
In reply to Streetwiseguy :
The problem is, the previous/first time this happened was over a year ago, with the fuel level reading 3/8 tank and I thought nothing of it until, almost as if scripted in a movie, I looked down, saw the gauge reading dead empty a couple minutes after is was just below half... and then a moment later, the engine quit. (24 hour roadside assistance was useless. EvanB's BIL lived in the area, and after some phone tag, came to the rescue with a can of fuel. Also, Evan's BIL drives a turbo Forester, which is pretty sweet)
The issue is delightfully Heisenbergian is that I don't know if the fuel gauge is reading off unless I fill the tank until it stops, at which point the fuel gauge becomes accurate. I'm glad it's not a customer car.
In reply to Knurled. :
Maybe it's clean living but I'm 48 years old and have never had a problem with a gunked valve or charcoal cannister from "filling till it clicks". I'd suggest you just go back to doing that and stop borrowing trouble where there isn't any to be had.
Minor win: finishing up the year and decade today. Things are going along well enough, it could always be better but it isn't bad either. I finally feel like I'm gaining a small bit of ground each month instead of sliding back. That's enough.
In reply to KyAllroad (Jeremy) :
Not everyone who has a Mr. T Starter Kit on their keychain has ignition lock cylinder problems, either, but there is a strong correlation with people who have lock cylinder problems and how much stuff they have hanging off of it...
Knurled. said:In reply to KyAllroad (Jeremy) :
Not everyone who has a Mr. T Starter Kit on their keychain has ignition lock cylinder problems, either, but there is a strong correlation with people who have lock cylinder problems and how much stuff they have hanging off of it...
I wouldn’t be surprised if your customers who have problems are the same ones who try to top off the tank after the nozzle clicks off.
Off work today, so piled everybody into the Yukon and drove up into the hills, where we had a truly amazing snowball fight, hiked around in knee deep snow, and then I did donuts in the parking lot until everybody was dizzy. Then we went to lunch, and now we're home, where I am making spaghetti sauce from scratch...
Figured out a great Bolognese recipe as well as home made noodles. Yum.
While I was out of the office the last couple weeks, I got an email from our benefits people. Apparently, I received earnings with the "TA" earn code on 5/22/2018, 8/13/2018, and 11/5/2018 that should have been recognized as savings plan eligible wages and 401k contributions and matches should have been taken but they were not. So in early December, the Company made a contribution to the plan on my behalf in the form of a qualified nonelective contribution equal to 50% of the missed elective deferral plus earnings. In addition, the Company made a matching contribution plus earnings based on the amount of the elective deferral that would have been matched if my deferral had been taken as scheduled. All in accordance with IRS approved correction procedures, of course.
I have absolutely no effing idea what any of that means, but net result is that I now have an extra $816.59 in my 401k.
Hoping this works out as a win - traded in my WRX for a 2012 Mazda5 yesterday. Its not perfect, but it runs good, and I really like the amount of space it has for the size. Will be great for hauling tires and tools to rallycrosses. Best part is I now no longer have a car payment. Lets see if this thing can keep my interest (and keep from falling apart - it is a Mazda in the rust belt) long enough for me to save up to pay cash next time I get new car fever.
I have a euro Mercedes 6.9 on the way. I wanted a euro all along due to the extra hp and better climate control setup, so am anxious to get my hands on this one.
In reply to Cotton :
Pictures!!
I will have some once it's picked up for transport. It's a project, but runs and drives and I have all the parts to finish it up, so the intent is for it to be a short term project.
Met another real life GRM MegaDork today and got him his Scirocco seats.
Sold my quick flip integra. 4 years and three headgaskets later. Oh well. Parking space back and funds freed up!
Swmbo asked me to check her tire pressures when she got home. "It felt like it was pulling left after I left work, maybe it was the wind"
It was not windy today. This was maybe 3 minutes after she got home 
had to air it up to get the jack under it.
Good thing is was one of the crappy tires
Minor win? Swmbo spent 30 minutes on the turnpike going 80 after work, followed by about 30 miles of two lane back roads and this thing didn't blow out and send her into oncoming traffic. I swapped on another tire and gave her an extra long hug. Time to mount up her new snows.
Just checked in to a beach side 1 bedroom with ocean views for the first of 3 nights. Tomorrow is my birthday, no kids, and no work. Ahhhhh silence.
Got offered an IT job with decent first-world pay and a short commute! Hell yeah!
Edit: Work starts next week!
We're using a service for paychecks now starting 2020. Today was the first one, and it included my record-breaking week. I noticed that the company, whose job it is to do payroll, doesn't understand the concept of overtime, and they'd wrote me in for 44ish hours at X/hour, instead of 40 hours at X and 4ish at 1.5X. It took a bit of back and forth for them to figure it out, but I got another check today for the overtime they forgot to pay me for. After taxes, it was almost $70.
I stared at that for a bit. The "ghetto food" thread reminds me that it wasn't that long ago that I was scraping nickels from the couch cushions so I could go buy some ramen noodles, and divide the flavor packets up between the noodles and some rice that was free to me thanks to the vegetarian co-op at an ex's college. (a 25 pound box of rice can be stretched out a loooong time if you try to only eat on Wednesdays and Sundays)
Another win: Given this was only a four day week, I was kinda surprised to hit bonus territory this week too. I did over half of my billed hours for the week today, but I got it done. I don't think the hourly bonus applies to holiday pay, but oh well, I know that I was able to produce for the week.
You'll need to log in to post.
