Fixing Grace

Installing a Vanity Top.

2012-02-04T19:40:00.004-05:00

Bathroom sinks are one of my least favorite plumbing issues to tackle because the replacement never seems to fit without cutting out the Formica top. Unless you have a jigsaw or RotoZip, this job is nearly impossible to do correctly and timely. Then you have to seal around the sink, clamp it to the top fighting it all the way. Changing out a plastic one in a mobile home for a steel (never recommended because they rust) or porcelain one involves a lot of cutting and hoping everything fits. Sure, this is cheaper, but your time means something too and trying to fit a new bowl or basin to a Formica top is a sure way to waste it.

The best way to change out a bathroom sink is to bite the bullet and get a vanity top. They don't cost that much more than a drop in or clamp down sick and are a lot easier to install. They also look a lot better too. Here's how to do it and remember that you do any repairs at your own risk. Work carefully and refrain from the hack and slash method of remodeling. You might need the very parts you're destroying. Measure the old top and make sure the new is the same size before you take anything apart.

You're probably going to want to take a long, hard look at the drain and supply lines and if they're chrome, change them out too. Chances are they'll crumble the moment you try and take them apart. The stop valves are also a source of trouble when taking the old vanity top out. If you can't shut off the water with them, get new ones or postpone the work. Working with stop valves that won't hold will only hold up your work and make it much more frustrating. The best time to replace them is when the old vanity top is off and before you install the new one because it gives you more room to work.

It goes without mention that you need to shut off the water before you start working. Remove the plumbing attached to the sink. If it's in good condition, you can reuse it. Just undo the supply lines from the stop valves and the p trap from the tailpiece on the sink. You don't need to use a basin wrench to undo the lines from the faucet; just wait and remove them after the old top it out and only if you intend to reuse the said faucet. Most of the time, anything attached to the old basin is going to be sad shape, but if you can rebuild and clean it up more power to you.

Remove the screws holding the top to the vanity and you should be able to lift it off. I've yet to see a Formica top that's glued on, but there's always a first time. You might have to pry or saw to get the old one off without destroying the vanity. If this is the case, you may have to buy a basin or replace the vanity, which will cost more and take more time to do.

Provided you got the old one off, be sure to dry fit the new one to make sure it fits. Once you're sure it fits, install the tailpiece and faucet to the vanity top and the water supply lines to the faucet tightly (don't wreath on those lines) and tape them out of the way to the top. Dab or add a bead of construction adhesive on the vanity where it will mate to the top. Lay the top to the vanity, letting the adhesive set. The alternative to this is to just connect the plumbing without shifting the top. You can then caulk where the top meets the wall and install the side splash (es) if desired. Run the water and check for leaks. If the tailpiece leaks, take it apart and seal with silicone. Check the water supply lines for leaks and use a basin wrench if you didn't tighten the lines at the faucet enough. You're done. Maranatha!

Working with PEX Plumbing.

2012-02-04T19:05:00.003-05:00

Over the years, I've struggled with galvanized and copper plumbing for water supply and an assortment of materials for drain pipes. Just another tricky day for the fix it guy around here, and let me tell you there is no worse item then trying to fix plumbing in a house. To add to the frustration as well as the four and five letter words, PEX, or cross linked polyethylene is also becoming more common in residential and commercial developments. It's been a fixture in mobile and modular homes for at least 30 years because of its light weight, lower cost and greater flexibility.

As with any novel product, there are new methods in using it. You can't just solder it together or thread it, but you can cut, clamp and use some special fittings to work with this stuff. If you have to have to work with it a lot, you might want to invest in a tool to clamp the bands to hold the various fittings. Hose clamps will not not always work very well on on PEX pipe because it doesn't yield like vinyl or rubber hoses do. The aforementioned tool is expensive; upwards of 80 dollars or more, but worth it if you're going to remodel your house or have a lot of fittings to upgrade in your mobile home.

If you're just trying to spot fix plumbing issues, there are push on connectors that eliminate the need for bands and tools. Just use a PVC or tubing cutter to cut the tubing off square, then push the fitting on, turn on the water and you're done. The only brand I've personally found to work is called Shark Bite and it'll hook copper to PEX and any other material without leaking. It's expensive if you use these for remodeling, but they will save you hours of headache in a pinch. I used two of their right angle fittings to bypass a water softener and another to replace leaking connectors on my bathroom sink. They took less than 30 seconds to install. You can't do that with copper or galvanized pipe. Maranatha!

Heat Pump Problems.

2012-01-17T13:02:00.004-05:00

About a year ago, maybe less, I had a customer call in with a no heat on her Goodman air to air heat pump. The warranty had just run out and the problem had been occurring for some time. As Goodman has had issues with leaking service valves and the refrigerant level was low, I assumed those were to blame as there were leaks. The problem was that I was back in a week with the same issue. I found a loose nut on the metering device (the expansion valve), tightened it up and filled the system yet again. I also noticed that this was an R-410A system mated to an old Williamson low boy furnace with a belt driven blower, but did not put two and two together.
The unit failed AGAIN and my boss at the time did something else about it outside of my knowledge.
Funny thing was that I was called to a higher end system, still a Goodman heat pump, but it kept going off on high pressure. Because of the issue of putting gauges on same, releasing R-410A, and messing up the charge, I went down to the furnace (as this was a hybrid system, but with a new Goodman furnace with a direct drive blower). The filter was plugged solid and I put a new one in. The heat pump went on without a hiccup and I charged the customer 89 dollars and advised her to change the filter monthly.
So what's the point? R-22 is still being sold in green jugs to service older equipment and fill those units that are still made, but shipped dry for legal reasons. You see, R-22 is no longer available in a precharged system as this is being phased out due to eating up the ozone layer. This is because it's a Hydrochloroflorocarbon. The chlorine binds with the O3 or Ozone molecule changing into oxygen (O2) and Chlorine Monoxide (Cl O). R-22 is a lot more forgiving in certain situations as the pressures used are lower than those of R-410A, which is a Hydroflourocarbon or HFC. With these higher pressures mean some differences in engineering, but the installer world hasn't quite caught up. Special fittings, flares, tools and techniques are called for to prevent problems and one issue with a heat pump is that the indoor coil is going to be the condenser in the winter. Plugged filters, slow blower speeds and dirty coils will cause the pressures inside the coil to skyrocket; sometimes in excess of 500 pounds a square inch. Anything not brazed and only threaded will work loose in short order and this is what happened to the first customer. Her old Williamson furnace wasn't up to the task of moving the air needed and the coil sprung leaks as a result.
If you're considering a hybrid heating and cooling system, mainly an air to air heat pump, don't cheap out and keep your 20 plus year old furnace. You need to replace BOTH pieces of equipment, unless the furnace is less than 10 years old and has a direct drive motor. Otherwise you risk hours of frustration and unnecessary repair bills. If the installer says you can use a belt driven blower with an R-410A heat pump, get another installer. Belt driven furnaces in a residential system cannot move the volume of air needed to keep this system operating correctly. Maranatha!

High Efficiency Washer Woes and How to Prevent Them.

2012-01-07T10:59:00.002-05:00

Shopping for a washer and dryer used to be pretty simple. There was only one type of washer and two of the dryers. Sure, there were lots of bells and whistles to be had, but for the most part the plain vanilla set served the purpose for couple of decades before being replaced with a newer set. Before my time, wringer washers were common and saved water by not having a timer. By the 1970's though, the main choice was a washer with an agitator that moved the clothes and a timer that automatically cycled wash, rinse and spin modes. The one doing the laundry could save time by doing something else or just enjoy a soap opera. The problem was that those washers used 45 gallons of water and lots of electricity per wash. Sure, there was a water level setting. However, most consumers chose to leave it on high for all but the smallest of loads. Another issue is that the dryer would need to work longer to remove the water the spin cycle didn't. This is why laundromats sometimes have a couple extractors; to remove the water and shorten the time running the dryer.

The agitating arm is also hard on clothes; that lint in the dryer screen is from the agitating arm wearing against them. One the other hand, there's very little of any lint from a high efficiency washer. Any that does show up is from the clothes rubbing against the drum and others in the machine and that wear is minimal.

These washers also sense the water level needed and use less water and electricity. Because they remove more water on the spin cycle, are a lot easier on the dryer. The downside is their cycles tend to be longer, but this made up with shorter drying times. Another huge plus is that shorter people can reach into the washer and it's no more inconvenient to anyone else than putting or removing clothes in a standard dryer. Sure, there are pedestals, but these are expensive and for the most part, unnecessary. A decent front loading, high efficiency washer and dryer will cost no more than a decent top loading washer and standard dryer and will save money almost immediately. Depending on the purchase price and how much you use them (as well as repairs) will determine when the pay back time is. Don't just buy one to save energy.

Last night, one of our friends showed up and told us about the horrible experience she had with her GE washer. I'll spare you the rest of the story, but there was nothing positive to say.

In the case of this technology, there are trade offs. Whether you buy a toaster over or washing machine, you need to do maintenance on it or it'll quit on you. You also need to use the right detergent AND fabric softener. The high sudsing stuff will confuse the sensors and cause the control board (this is NOT a mother board) to fail. This is what happened to our friend's washer. Needless to say, it wasn't the fault of the equipment, as these things are tested for hundreds of hours. These are also designed to work with a door on the side instead of the top AND hold the water in; not a mean feat.

So use the right detergent and fabric softener; look for the h.e. or high efficiency label. Every month, you'll also need to use a washer cleaner and run on the cleaning cycle. To stop the mold and mildew smell that everyone bellyaches about, remember to leave the washer door open between uses AND wipe out the seal behind the door and drum with a clean rag. If it starts acting up, call a technician and don't wait. If there's something wrong, the problems can only get worse and more expensive with time. As with any piece of high precision equipment, follow the direction to the letter and don't try to fudge in your own interpretation. This means giving the regular laundry soap to a friend or neighbor, and not trying to use it "this once" to save money. As far as saving money goes, the "h.e" stuff isn't any more expensive than the regular soap. You can get Purex for $2 or $3 bucks that won't wreck your machine, for example. This is one set of defects that are more attributed to operator error. Maranatha!

Nordyne and Carrier 90% Furnace Fix

2012-01-02T21:27:00.005-05:00

Arguably Carrier, Bryant and Payne are one of the most well known brands outside of Lennox. Properly maintained, they're reliable and do the job of heating and cooling the home well. Not maintained, these furnaces can be a small nightmare. Trying to reach items like the flame sensor and ignitor require removal of the intake pipe and are still a huge pain. It literally takes me fifteen minutes to a half hour to remove and reinstall either. This isn't to say that other brands can't be a pain too, nor to besmirch Carrier or Nordyne (I have both brands on my house). However, there needs to a component of serviceability to equipment that customer and service technicians expect simplicity in. Goodman has excelled in this and Trane has gotten better over the years. Nordyne is also pretty easy to work on.
Another "problem" with Carrier, Bryant, Payne and Nordyne furnaces is one that's avoidable with proper maintenance, but few realize the importance or a good method of getting it done. Either way, the maintenance is neglected and the furnace suffers from nuisance shutdowns.
Now any furnace with a closed drain trap can suffer from this some problem. Nordyne is another one that comes to mind as does Trane. Amana and Goodman furnaces have open drain traps and unless the hoses are plugged are happy to run; soaking the surfaces underneath with water and possibly ruining them. Give Carrier and Nordyne credit on this one.
The drain trap is one of the most overlooked items on a furnace maintenance or service call, but just as important as an ignitor or flame sensor. If the furnace in question runs for a few minutes and then shuts down with a pressure switch error, pull the pressure switch line. If there's water in the line, then check the drain trap.
For Nordyne (Tappan, Frigidaire, Gibson or Miller), the trap is a "j" shaped piece of clear plastic in the blower compartment. If it's all loaded with crud, take it out and clean it. Cut the strips holding it and undo the clamps on the flexible lines. Take the trap to a sink and dump out the crud, but you may have to blow it out carefully to loosen it up. Put the trap back into furnace and make sure the hose isn't making a double trap that could be making the problem worse.
On Carrier furnaces, this will take a more creative approach. The hoses on older furnaces are likely rotten and easy to break. You need to advise the homeowner of the added cost or you're the one doing the work, make sure you have a replacement kit or you'll be without heat.
Remove the hoses from the top of the little barrel-shaped trap in the blower compartment. The pipe off to the side is likely glued on, so you can't remove it. The openings at the top are also different sizes. What you'll need is a bottle of water you can pour into the trap to help flush it out, a hose that will fit snugly on one of the openings about two feet long.
Pour some water into the trap and attach the hose to one of the spuds and put your thumb over the other. Blow into the tube, (don't suck or you'll get a mouthful of yummy water) until the blockage is out. Then you'll need to either drink some clean water and hold it into your mouth, or carefully pour it into the trap to flush it out. A gallon should be fine, depending on how long the drain is. If the drain is over two or three feet, you'll probably want to get a condensate pump. However, this is a much more expensive story.
Either way, make sure the drains and lines are clear and intact before you put everything back together. Run the furnace with the blower door open for a few minutes to check for leaks and you're done. Maranatha!

Truisms: They're Back.

2011-12-16T19:57:00.003-05:00

To climb requires that you let go of part of the ladder.
Offense and Understanding can't share the same address.
The people we least understand are the one we learn the most from.
It's impossible to climb when you're looking down.
The most obvious details are the most easily missed.
The road to success uses failures as the cobblestones.
Better to underrate yourself and move up than overrate and fall down.
Embracing your comfort zone is the easiest way to fail.
The person you're fighting with is still a person.
Gaining the upper hand is far less important than taking the higher road.
Skinned knees and bruised egos both hurt, but neither one should cause permanent injury.

Technicians Only, Setting Manifold on a Two Stage Amana Furnace

2011-12-14T21:28:00.005-05:00

This is for technicians who have the proper tools. Homeowners should not be setting manifold on their furnace, ever. The problem comes when you turn the thermostat up five degrees over the set temperature to get the high fire to come on. Since this is two stage with a W1 and W2 controlled from the thermostat, it means you need to go upstairs, turn the heat down and hope that low fire comes on. Then you have to traipse all the way back upstairs to turn it up again so you can get the heat differential checked properly. Problem is I hate going up and down stairs all the time and getting up can hurt. Here's an easier way to do it.

First, set the high fire in the usual way. To set the low fire, remove the wire from the W2 terminal on the board. There is no way the thermostat can call for second stage and low fire will be the result. Check and set the manifold, which is on the placard inside the furnace. Remember to hook up the wire to the W2 terminal, replace the bottom door, check your amp draws, button up the furnace and check your heat differential and you're done. Maranatha!

Stop Beating Me Up On Price!

2011-12-14T16:50:00.003-05:00

Just now I quoted a customer for a water heater because his old one went kaput. He tried to blame the consulting company's contractor for screwing it up, as they did a blower door test on the house and blew out the pilot. When I got there, the pilot light was on and the thermostat set to "warm", but the burner wasn't on and all the customer could manage was tepid water through the taps. The thermostat was bad and the water heater is more than old enough to take to the bar. The solution would be to replace it this point and I informed the customer, an elderly man.

I gave him a price of $1150 to replace it with something comparable, which in this case is a 40 gallon Bradford White water heater that runs on natural gas. The customer immediately complained on the price and blasted me for it being too high. I could go on about this guy being the same joker who whines to the pump jockey when gas prices spike, but out of common decency, I won't. Ahem. To be honest, I can't blame the guy. Prices have gone up. Gas used to be 25 cents a gallon when I was a little shaver and now it's $3.30 or so. Cars used to sell for $3000 now sell for ten times that. Raw materials have gone up, and copper has gotten crazy expensive in particular. Liability insurance used to cost me $167 every six months in 1987 when I got my first car and now it's over $800, with no tickets.

See what I'm getting at? A short 40 gallon natural gas, natural vent water heater at Menard's with a six year tank warranty cash and carry is $584.56 and it is not a Bradford White. This is retail and not wholesale. Now there's the price of $130 to $150 to get the truck to the door, possibly even getting another man to help move the water heaters. Then you have the technician's time of 4 hours, plus his or her workman's comp insurance. You also have to consider there's a shop that needs lights, wear and tear on the vehicle, gas for the torch, solder, fittings and pulling the permits with the municipal government. Pulling a permit alone is going to run into some money. I remember when a water heater could be had for about $150 and this was as recently as 1997. Back then gas was comfortably under $1.00 a gallon and raw materials were cheap. It was also about $180 to have a Builder's Square's installer to put it in and that included permits too. What a value, what a deal. Sorry, but those days are long gone and everyone has to pay more. No business can afford to sell and install items at wholesale and stay in business for very long. Businesses that can't stay in business will lay off employees. You know the drill. Please stop using price as a way to beat up your technician as he or she isn't responsible for the state of affairs in the world. I assure they have no control over the price of materials and probably haven't had a raise in a decade. They also have to buy all their own tools to work and these are a lot more than the price of a water heater. Even business owners are struggling to make ends meet too. Maranatha!

What Are You Thinking?

2011-12-12T22:57:00.004-05:00

This morning, my first call was to a two story house in Lansing. My coworker was told me the customer said the circuit board needed replacement. Too often, the customer gets involved in the diagnosis and makes the job even harder. However, in this case it at least gave them an idea of what we were going to have to charge them.

This wasn't the only surprise in store. A young woman greeted me at the door and explained that she had hired another contractor to fix the furnace last night. Instead of fixing the problem, he condemned the thermostat wire. According to this gentleman, the customer would have to hire an electrician to run 5 or 8 wire from the furnace to the thermostat. This was on top of the repairs that she needed just to get it working. Electricians don't work pro bono very often; who can blame them .

The most expensive repair is an unnecessary one and I questioned this gem straightaway. The wire was regular 2 wire. Since there was no air conditioner, one could argue that 5 or 8 wire wasn't needed. I went downstairs and confirmed the thermostat was calling for heat and the control board was getting high and low voltage in. Since the inducer fan kept cutting in and out without the ignitor coming on, I checked the pressure switch and it was closing (so no worries with the heat exchanger, venting or tubing as well as the switch). The thermostat never lost its call for heat when the inducer cut out, but the relay to the inducer did. The problem was with the board. After making a trip to the supply house and replacing the board, they had heat. The furnace was fine. The thermostat wire can wait until she gets air-conditioning.

The moral of the story is to fix the problem. The customer is always right and we need to help them. The customer didn't pay this guy, she should have run him out on a rail.
Maranatha!

13 Things Your Home Comfort Specialist Won't Tell You

2011-12-12T18:15:00.006-05:00

First, some background. I've read all over Reader's Digest.com and found everything from Burglars to Baristas and what they won't tell you. The themes of all of these is to make life easier for everyone, but alas, not so much as a jot or tittle about what the guy or gal sent over to fix that hunk of junk in your basement, etc that heats or cools your home. Without further adieu...

1. I'm here to perform a service; this isn't to make friends with Fido or Princess. Please keep your dogs in another room or in the yard.

2. I need to make sure the thermostat is on before you take me to the furnace or air-conditioner. I could spend a lot of time and your money tracing a problem I could have found upstairs first.

3. Children are nice, but not while I'm working around high voltage or moving parts. Keep your kids upstairs for their safety and my sanity.

4. Yes, the repairs are going to be expensive. It costs $130 just to get the truck to the door. Fuel and labor costs, as well as insurance, taxes and overhead have a lot to answer for. It's rude and inconsiderate to expect me to perform a service call for less than the asking price. My family needs to eat too.

5. If your furnace is old enough to be president and you have me fix a broken wire, don't expect me to warranty the whole thing. Other parts can fail without warning and tune ups are extra. If you want a warranty, replace the furnace. No mechanic would ever warranty a 20 or 30 year old car this way. Do you own a 20 year old car? Didn't think so.

6. While we're at it, all furnaces need maintenance or they'll leave you out in the cold. In the case of an air conditioner, you'll be sweating it out. Don't use the excuse that no one told you. The car salesman didn't tell you to change the oil either. I know better and so do you.

7. Do you do my work for a living? Just because you're an engineer doesn't qualify you for my job. I have a different skill set than you do. Besides, if you didn't need me, you wouldn't have called my office. Enough said.

8. Pay me by the job, not the hour. Hourly pay results in poorer service.

9. Work trucks in my business don't have four wheel drive, and most are rear wheel drive and handle poorly on snow. If you live in the country, please be considerate and plough the driveway. Your experience will be much better if you do. Shoveling the sidewalk is also a welcome gesture in the winter months.

10. Furnaces and air-conditioners work better when the area around them is clear. I work on them a lot better when the area around them is clear too. Boxes in front of the furnace are a fire hazard.

11. If you don't do what I recommend, don't call my boss telling him or her I didn't do my job if your equipment calls it quits. I did mine; you failed to do yours.

12. There isn't a furnace made that will run right after being in a flood. You need a sump pump, not a part warranty.

13. A five year old furnace or air conditioner is not "new" and unless you bought a service contract, it is likely out of warranty.

Exhaust Vent Fix

2011-12-11T23:45:00.004-05:00

Last winter, I got a call that water was leaking from the ceiling of a house that was less than 10 years old. Previously, the owner has my predecessor over to insulate the bath fan vents because the cold attic had caused condensation in same. Now the problem was worse than ever before and the customer was livid. I went through everything, and was at the end of my rope. This was until I asked the customer a question or two. There were two bathrooms, but only one vent was having this issue.
"How long of showers do you and your son take?" "He's in there quite a while, but we're only in for a few minutes," he replied a bit indignantly. I checked both fans and both were in working order. "How long do you guys run these after you're done?" I pried. "We've never run 'em," said the customer. I thought about this for a minute as I put the last cover back on. Even if the fans aren't running and the dampers to them are closed, there is still going to be warm, moist air travelling the ducts to the outside. Problem was that without the benefit of the fan, the damper outside was just going to hold that air and moisture inside, where it would condense on the inside and outside of the metal duct. The result was soggy drywall in the homeowner's bedroom.
Exhaust fans are in there for a reason, and I told the customer on those grounds we could no longer warranty the repairs I did. I told him he had to run the fans or risk damage to the ceiling, end of list. I assume he heeded my advice, because he never called back. Maranatha!

Master Cylinder Fix.

2011-12-08T20:58:00.012-05:00

The title is misleading. You're not fixing anything except the vehicle you're working on. The master cylinder is what we're changing. The job is pretty easy unless this is in a van or other vehicle with a cowl hanging over or if there are parts in the way. You need to deal with them first. Snce I have no way of knowing of what you're working on, you have to figure this out. I have no control over your work, the quality of parts you use or any other circumstance of your situation. You need to be satisfied and comfortable with your skill level before you proceed or drive your newly repaired vehicle in traffic. If there's any doubt, call a mechanic. Death, injury, or property damage can result from anything fixed improperly and brakes are no exception. Do any repairs at your own risk.

The master cylinder on any car, truck or motorcycle with hydraulic brakes (or clutch) is just a cylinder with a couple of pistons inside that press fluid into into steel lines. This in turn displaces pistons that squeeze pads or shoes onto a spinning drum or disk inside the road wheel. The wheels slow and stop transferring the moving energy of your ride into heat. That's all there is to it. Even if you have anti lock brakes, traction or stability control, the brakes work the same way. The reason it works is because the fluid isn't compressible and transfers its volume somewhere else. As long as the parts holding the fluid inside are intact and nothing can leak out or in, you have brakes. As with any system like this there are weak links. In the case of the braking system, it's the seals that fail first. If you live where there's salt on the roads, the lines themselves can rust too. In the case of the master cylinder, it's because the seals holding the fluid in or those pushing the fluid into the lines have failed.

When the brake pedal is spongy, you'll need to look around the car for leaks. Check inside the wheels and around the left side of the body, all along the lines and hoses. If there's any leakage, fix these first before condemning the master cylinder. It could still be bad, but look for the obvious first. So there are no other leaks, the pedal is still spongy, or the hydraulic system "lets go" at a stop and/or you see signs of fluid leaks at the master cylinder or brake booster. The master cylinder and brake booster both live toward the rear of the engine compartment on the left side of the vehicle for the most part. Most vehicles have power brakes and hence a brake booster. If you have an older car or truck with manual brakes, the master cylinder will be right on the firewall. This is very rare nowadays. I've owned or co-owned about 20 cars and trucks and only one, a 1975 Chevy Nova, had manual brakes.

There are several schools of thought to do this job. I'm giving you mine and you can take it leave it. I prefer to bench bleed because there's never an assistant around when you need one. With this method there's a lot less walking back and forth and bending down. I'm getting older and having to bend into tight spaces a lot; my knees protest every time I do it. If you have a suction gun or turkey baster, use it to suck the fluid out of the reservoir. If not, just undo the lines with the appropriate sized line wrench and leave the cap or cover on, placing a rag underneath it. Use a 15mm or 5/8 inch (these are the most common sizes) to remove the nuts holding the master cylinder from the brake booster. There are two studs, but sometimes there are two nuts on one of them. Makes sure all the nuts are off before you try freeing the cylinder from its home, otherwise you could break the stud or one of the ears off your core. That would be bad. Use a rag to hold the master cylinder as you take it out from under the hood. Be careful; brake fluid eats paint and plastic. Take the part and dump out as much fluid as you can, making sure it's clean. Trust me, it'll make life easier taking it to the auto parts store.

Speaking of the auto parts store, make sure the unit you buy has a reservoir. If it doesn't, you'll have to reuse the one off the old part. Remove the roll pins, screws or other device used to hold it on. If they're roll pins, use a punch and a hammer being careful not to damage the plastic reservoir or aluminum cylinder. Clean the newly removed part with brake cleaner or denatured alcohol. You can also use soap and water, but it must be dry before you install it and you need compressed air to get the moisture out. Don't be too picky getting it clean, but get as much of the old fluid out as you can.

Parts are parts and from my experience, it really doesn't matter if the part you buy is new or re manufactured. New is obviously better, but if the part is made in China walk away. If you're a Monty Python fan, run away! Don't buy the dad blamed part and put in you car, because you will be taking it out within a week. Autozone sold me one of these beauties and it failed the moment I pressed on the brake pedal. The few dollars you save are not worth it. It literally cost me four more dollars to get a better part at Advance that I didn't have to pull out again. Again, do not buy a brake part made or rebuilt in Chinaland. You've been warned.

Use the correct brake fluid. Most cars and trucks use D.O.T. 3 or 4 and in fact the fluid will probably be compatible with both (these are glycol based). This fluid is also hygroscopic meaning it absorbs and disperses water, which helps keep wear on seals and lines in check. D.O.T. 5 is a silicone based fluid that doesn't absorb water, but still allows it to settle in low areas of the system. This could allow the lines to rust from the inside out and as a result, needs to be changed much more frequently. It's usually used in racing and some custom builds. Mixing glycol and silicone fluids will kill the seals and ruin your brakes. My advice is not to use it unless your braking system calls for it.

Put the reservoir on the new master cylinder using clean brake fluid (do not use ANY oil to do this or you'll wreck them) to lubricate the o rings, and if the new part has a reservoir skip this step. Carefully put the new part in a vise and follow the instructions on the included bleeding kit. Usually, these are two plugs that thread into the bungs where the lines go and are attached to lines that are directed back into the reservoir. Fill the reservoir with fluid, but not over the "full" or "max" line and using a Phillips screwdriver, gently push into the plunger until the air is purged out of the part.

Take your hoses, fluid and all as one unit and bolt it to the brake booster. Remove the plugs from the master cylinder, one at a time and thread the lines in. Step on the brake pedal and make sure it's firm. and if it isn't you'll have to bleed each wheel individually, starting with the one farthest away from the part you replaced. I just cap off the lines I took off and let the fluid leak out a bit before I tighten them up and I've never had an issue with air getting into the lines. Air always rises, so bleeding the brake system after replacing the master cylinder isn't necessary. If the fluid is more than two years old, then you should bleed it as soon as possible anyway. Maranatha!

Don't Assume...

2011-12-03T14:19:00.005-05:00

Today at the crack of dawn, I got a call from a customer in Laingsburg with a no heat. The house was chilly and the diagnosis from the customer was that the blower motor was tripping the circuit breaker. I got showered, dressed and headed out the door and in the meantime, got yet another call. This was for another customer diagnosis; a broken gas control. This is the setting for my morning and to remind that some of us do more in a morning than some do all day.

The first call was the "blower" and the customer indicated that the screws holding the blower door were stuck and he was going to have to break them out. He told me all of this over the phone and was very personable about it. "I'll have to screw it back in with a couple of sheet metal screws," I told him. The furnace was an Amana and if the screws holding the door are exposed to any moisture, they will seize up. The captive nuts inside the frame are also prone to breaking off and leaving the screws spinning. The only cure for this is to break, drill or cut them off and use a sheet metal screw to hold the door on. Ideally, this furnace would be maintained every year and some oil added to the works to prevent this hassle, but I digress.

I went in to a mechanical nightmare. The vent pipe and inducer motor leaked condensate (water) into the cabinet and all over the wiring, control board and who knows what else. This furnace was twelve years old and according to the customer, had never been maintained since it was installed 12 years ago. Instead of a $400 repair, we were looking at a $1500 repair to a cabinet that was nearly rotted out. This is extremely dangerous to the people living in the home, because the metal barrier between the burner compartment and the blower is compromised. This will allow combustion products to be sucked into the living space and even cause a fire. The wiring was shot and I would have had to charge him over $222 just to find all the components that were destroyed, not to mention the wire itself. When wire gets exposed to water over a length of time, changes occur to the structure that you can't see. The outside may look fine, but the conductor inside becomes a brittle, green mess that might work a few times before it fails and could cause a fire. This furnace was history on so many levels and it was only 12 years old.

The "gas valve" one was a little tougher, but customer had it half right. The furnace in question was a 25 year old Bard with an intermittent pilot light. "Intermittent" in this case means that pilot light is only on when the thermostat calls for heat; as opposed to a standing pilot that is on all the time. The problem was the pilot light on this one was on all the time, but this wasn't causing the no heat. I had to charge the customer $222 to find the problem. Before you groan, remember that car mechanics also change to find electrical faults. This also uses time and we need to get paid for it. The alternative is to swap parts to attempt to fix the problem. This isn't good for the customer or the company, much less the technician who has to deal with an irate customer. Let the tech do his job.

So the valve was bad, but a check of the ignition module showed that it only sending 14 volts to the gas control, even when I disconnected the wires in question from said control. The voltage coming from the transformer was 24 volts, which is what the control system needs to operate. Lower voltages may not allow components to work or may even damage them. So both the module and the gas control needed to be replaced at a cost in excess of $800; a real good down payment on a new furnace. The customer decided to get an estimate on a new furnace and opted to use an Eden Pure heater in the meantime.

In either case, if the parts in question had been swapped out the results would have been less than satisfactory for the customer and a headache for me. In the case of the blower motor, there still would have been water leaks and there's a distinct possibility that the breaker tripped would have persisted. In the case of the gas control, the valve would not have fixed the problem and the only issue solved would have been with the pilot staying on. The customer would still be without heat and over $500 of her hard earned money. Don't assume that the customer knows the cause or problem. Take the time to figure it out for yourself and save everyone a lot of money and grief. Maranatha!

Fireplace Basics.

2011-12-01T19:49:00.002-05:00

Since we moved into our trailer this spring, I've wanted to be able to use the fireplace that came with it. It's set up for burning wood, though my grandfather and I contemplated converting it over to run on natural gas in 2000. He passed away in early 2001 and the idea died as well. My grandmother was adamant about not using it because it always stunk up of the house and it never worked right.
Today, I finally figured it out and not only does it not smell up the house, it actually burns the wood and heats the front of the house to some extent.
First thing is the wood. You need wood that has been seasoned at least one year to remove the moisture. It will burn, but it won't heat up nearly as much if it's fresh cut. Don't burn soft or evergreen wood either, as it will smell up the place and deposit more creosote on the chimney. Use hardwood from a local seller and skip the stuff from the gas station or grocery store. These will burn quickly and not heat at all. Next you need a barbecue lighter and some heavy paperboard or cardboard to get the fire started. Don't use charcoal or lighter fluid to start the wood up, use some kind of tinder instead. Those drink carriers from Wendy's or McDonald's work very well.
Stack up the wood and put the paper between the logs, but don't light it yet. Open the main damper to the fireplace vent or if you can, open it partway. If there's another damper for combustion air, open this all the way. If there isn't an outside air damper, you might want to rethink using the fireplace. Go ahead and light the tinder, close the screens and make sure the doors are closed tightly. Once the fire gets going, (as long as the lever for the damper is outside the fireplace or you need to leave it open all the way to start with) open the damper all the way. You'll want to use the fireplace poker to move the logs as the burn down to keep the flames going while they're on the rack. Once they burn down to coals, let them burn themselves out before you remove them from the fireplace. If you want to add more wood, this is the time. but don't let the coals build up too much. Once they cool down, take them out of the fireplace with a shovel and dump them in a metal container. Not as easy as using a gas fireplace, but more authentic. Maranatha!

Removing Red Stains From Carpet.

2011-11-30T21:58:00.003-05:00

In the late 1990's, my wife and I had the sure fire way to avoid red stains in the dining room. This was to install wine colored carpet in said room. As with any color other than neutral, it made the room look very dated. Fast forward about ten years and we participated in Big Brothers, Big Sisters. We had a very nice young man stay over (he was 10 at the time) and he spilled grape soda on our nearly white carpeting in the living room. We were renting at the time (sold our house in 2000, long story) and these stains are impossible to get out with carpet cleaners. Even people who do this for a living will use a two part treatment to make the stain invisible and it is expensive. More often than the not, the carpet will have to replaced or the stained part cut out and a new section installed. Either the carpet will never look right, or you spend beau coups bucks on replacing it; not to mention moving all your stuff around to get it done.

I can do a lot of things, but carpeting is not one of them. When my wife spilled a glass full of fruit punch in our dining room, I was livid. We don't even buy colored juice drinks for this very reason, but Subway so lovingly supplies this stuff to unwitting parents daily. If it gets on anything lighter than it is, you're going to have a potentially expensive headache. Domestic issues aside, there is a solution short of replacing your carpeting or furniture, much less screaming at your spouse or children. Scold them if you must, but I would try this first.

As with anything I suggest, there is the potential for personal injury or property damage. You could follow the directions to the letter and still mess something up. I have no control over your work or any other issues involved. Do this at your own risk.

You'll need an iron, some white towels or cloth diapers, a faucet, and some Dawn dish washing soap. Not the foam, but the original, blue Dawn. Accept no store brands or substitutes. Get your cloth diaper or towel wet and then add the Dawn to it. Work it in the cloth without wringing it too much. Then fold it in half and lay it over the stain. Set your iron to the highest setting and lay it on the cloth until the cloth starts to steam. After a minute, lift up the iron and check the cloth. The stain should be transferring from the carpet to the cloth. This is where intuition comes in. Once the cloth can't accept more of the stain, turn it over and see how much more of the stain you can bring up. Use the cloths and iron, moving them around until the stain is no longer visible on the surface you're cleaning up. Take your time and don't let the cloth get dry or place a hot iron on the carpet or you will be replacing it. If you do it right, you've saved a lot of money and maybe even your relationship. Maranatha!

Goodbye to an Old Friend.

2011-11-18T22:41:00.006-05:00

Since my wife and I married seventeen years ago, we've lived in no less nine addresses including our first apartment in 1994. In 1997 we got two kittens, Misty and Snowflake. Misty had to be put down in 2009 due to health issues, so for the past two years we've had one cat; a white domestic shorthair we aptly named Snowflake. He had amber eyes, and was the most personable, outgoing and laid back feline I've had the pleasure of meeting. Even at nearly fifteen years old, 105 in cat years, he was in remarkable health. He played, got on the bed and bugged us in the morning. He always nipped and never licked, and never meowed until his health started to wane a bit.

Snowflake, spent more time hiding, sleeping and kicking back and a lot less time eating as shown by his food dish. We didn't put two and two together until last evening, when he really started acting lethargic. Even when I picked him up and put him on my lap, he never struggled or tried to get up. Even when I tried moving him off, he was a dead weight (no pun intended). As the evening wore on, he closed his eyes more and he started to drool. Trying to rouse him showed that his coordination was completely off and touching his side brought a pitiful protest.

To make matters worse, trying to find a vet at this hour, either to euthanize or save the life of our cat was equally daunting. One vet wanted $70 to put him down and another $65 to "dispose" of the body. This is twice the price of a local one in Grand Ledge, but they weren't open.

Snowflake's condition was going south fast, making this point moot. I put him in a tote, lid off with a blanket inside and he barely moved. His breathing at this point shallow and it was 11 last night. I went to bed at 12:30 this morning and by 1:00 my wife woke me up. Snowflake was gone.

Not only was he gone, but all those days of climbing on the refrigerator to greet us as we came home. No more walking along the bathtub and falling in, with a very soaked cat darting out and his owner scrabbling to dry him. We've had to close the bedroom door for nearly as long because my wife complained that he would share her pillow. He was a constant companion while I wrote this and and nearly 200 other blog posts, and countless term papers. He greeted everyone with an attitude of friendliness and the air of a perfect host. He loved and was loved by every young child who graced our home. So much so he would hide by me when they got too overbearing. Even a gracious host has his limits. When Kingston and Jose came to stay with us, Snowflake, still the gracious one showed kindness to them too. He adopted them as surely as my wife and I did.

Snowflake was an animal and this writer could never equate an animal with another human being. But this one was a part of the family and will forever be. Our boys want a dog or another cat. My wife isn't really in the mood for another animal at this point. I think with time she'll change her mind. All in good time.

Understanding 78% Efficient Furnaces.

2011-11-05T13:47:00.006-04:00

As of this writing and to the best of this writer's knowledge, the minimum A.F.U.E. (annual fuel utilization efficiency) on a gas furnace is 78%. This means that 78% of your energy dollar heats your home and the other 22% keeps the chimney warm. When natural gas was cheap, this wasn't a big deal and the savings on the first cost might be justified to someone who didn't want to take the plunge for a base 80%. The only real difference that this writer can see between the two is the 78 has a standing pilot while the 80 has a spark ignitor on early models and a hot surface ignitor on later models. As the price of natural gas seems to go up every year, even the 80% furnace seems to be going the way of the standing pilot light.

There are more than a few of these 78% furnaces out there and for the most part they do their job reliably. Just change the filter and service them once a year and they'll give you years of trouble free heating. To the service tech however, these can be counter intuitive. The idea of having a standing pilot and an inducer motor seems a contradiction, but these do work. The inducer does cause the pilot flame to flicker and can blow it out after a time. This is usually after the inducer has been running for an extended amount of time after the main burner has failed to light and not a problem with the pilot flame itself. Make sure the burner is clean and the flame surrounds the thermocouple though. As with any standing pilot, the thermocouple or gas valve may need replacement if there are problems with flame staying on as well. If the flame does stay on when you light it and release the plunger on the gas valve, it should stay on long enough for the main burners to light. Just adjusting the pilot flame will not correct an underlying problem. A call back will be the result.

First and foremost, check to make sure the main burners come on within a few seconds of the inducer coming on. You should be able to hear the pressure switch at the inducer click and the main valve at the gas valve open, followed by main burners. If not, you need to check the pressure switch hose for cracks, damage, etc. The spud on the inducer motor gets really hot on these and the hose will tend to crack after 10 or 20 years on hot metal. If the hose is alright, put a tee somewhere on it and check it with a manometer against the rating on the pressure switch. Do not condemn the pressure switch without checking with a manometer and an ohmmeter. You'll have a call back at best and a prison sentence, or wrongful death lawsuit if you change the value of the switch. These seldom fail anyway. If the reading you're getting is wrong the vent could be plugged, the inducer motor could be breached, or the heat exchanger could be cracked or blown out. You, the technician need to determine the actual cause and not just "cut and run" which is running the risk of the furnace not operating. Take your time and do the whole job. Your customers will love you. Maranatha!

Amana 90+ Furnace Fix.

2011-10-30T21:30:00.005-04:00

Disclaimer: Always follow your installation manual to the letter when installing a furnace or other appliance. Only trained professionals who are licensed in HVAC should attempt or perform repairs on HVAC equipment as personal injury, death, or property damage could result. Improper service methods can render your equipment inoperable.

Amana/Goodman has made an excellent product over the past decade and there are few problems related to their design, workmanship or parts. Almost none in fact save for the inducer motors and control boards on precious few units. One thing that has carried over from the Amana 90% furnaces made in the 1990's is their drain system. They use a hose from an elbow off the inducer motor and one off the collector box on the heat exchanger. When the furnace is installed, there are typically three hoses and some spring clamps to secure them. The instructions in the manual are pretty straightforward as to how these hoses go, but installers can and do misinterpret them out of ignorance or because beer thirty is just a few minutes away. It could also be that it's perceived to be easier and just as good to do it their way.

I've gotten a few callbacks on Goodman/Amana/Everrest 90 percent furnaces because they will run for a few minutes, stop and after a half hour or so they'll run again. The reason is that the installer will install drain hoses improperly. On a typical install with the furnace straight up, there should be one hose off the bottom of the elbow from the inducer motor and the other off the heat exchanger. The one coming from the heat exhanger must drain on the same side as the drain trap, no exceptions. The long hose is for draining from that elbow if the trap needs to be on the opposite side. No matter what, never use the long hose to drain the heat exhanger, or it will sag in the middle and form a trap of its own. The result is that the heat exhanger will fill up with water and the pressure switch will fail to close. The furnace will fail to operate or operate erratically. Another error is to have the pressure switch tubing routed below the inducer fan, as water will pool here too. Maranatha!

Power Steering Pump Service for Buick Rendezvous.

2011-10-29T22:47:00.001-04:00

Disclaimer: I have no control over your work, and any work on vehicles is potentially dangerous for you, your passengers or the public. Improper service techniques can result in injury, death or property damage. The methods given may or may not be typical or accepted service procedure. You must use your own judgement before attempting any repairs on your vehicle or those of others. Do these and any other repairs at your own risk...

Another thing while I'm at it. Power steering noise is usually caused by a worn pump, not a defective rack. Extra effort to steer could or could not be the pump or rack getting ready to check out. A failing power steering pump will likely have leaks as well. A little noise first thing on a cold morning isn't a huge deal. However, once you warm up your ride, the noise should go away and not be heard over the engine. If you heard a whine, growl or groan from the front of the engine even when you aren't turning the wheel, suspect the pump is on its way out.

For nearly three weeks, I've put up with noise from the front of my Rendezvous and since the odometer is ready to hit 150,000 miles in the next month, it was time to replace the power steering pump. On the 3.4 liters, which GM put in most of their cars and minivans in the early 2000's this pump lives at the front of the engine (right side) on the very top. There only three bolts, two hoses and a belt to deal with. The only thing that should give you issues is the low pressure hose that connects to the reservoir. You will need to suck the fluid out of same with a poultry baster or suction gun and use a long handled 3/8 inch socket wrench or breaker bar to release the tensioner to remove the belt. You could use a belt tensioner tool, but the ones from Auto Zone don't work very well on this one unless you add an adapter from your tool box. Take the belt all the way off and set it aside. You'll need a 10mm, 13mm, and a 15mm socket as well as a pair of needle nose pliers, socket wrench handle, power steering pump removal tool (rent this) and 15mm open end wrench.

Before you do anything else, go ahead and check out the two idler pulleys. Grab them, spin them or just take them off and check the bearings for noise or roughness. If they make any noise, go ahead and replace them now. The reason being is that they'll cause the bearings on your new pump, your alternator, water pump, to fail because of play in the belt and heat transfer. These pulley's are about $17.00, while an alternator is about $200 and an A/C compressor is nearly $800. A power steering pump is about $40.00 at Auto Zone and a little more everywhere else, but I digress.

Remove the belt and cover from the front of the engine. Take your wrench and unscrew the pressure line from the back of the pump and your pliers to back off the clamp from the line on the reservoir. There are three 13mm screws holding the pump to the engine and you'll have to get to them through the pulley. Just unscrew them and be careful not to drop them. Take a flat head screwdriver and carefully pry the hose off the spud on the back of the reservoir as you remove the pump. That reservoir is plastic and if you break it, you'll be replacing it. You can make a 1/4 slit in the hose with a razor blade to make this easier, but no more or you'll be replacing the line. Just take your time, because there isn't a whole lot of room to work. Once you get the pump out, make sure all the fluid is out.

There are two clips holding the plastic reservoir to the metal pump. Pry on the tabs with screwdriver and use a small hammer to tap them off. Now you can pull off the reservoir and set it aside. The pulley will also need to come off, so get your tool you rented and follow the directions on the box. You can use this same tool to install the pulley on your new pump flush with the shaft. As always, don't break it as this is also plastic. Use a new O ring on the reservoir and use the clips to fasten it to the new pump. These clips are specific to each side, so don't mix them up. Tap them back on with a hammer until the tabs click in.

Put the pump back in, working the low pressure hose on the reservoir with a straight blade screwdriver. The slit will help the hose fit back over the spud. Be careful of the sensor and wire harness below the pump as you could break them as you manhandle the pump back in. Once you have the hose on, go ahead and slide the clamp back down and start the high pressure line (install a new O ring on the line first) but don't tighten it yet. Start the three screws that hold the pump in by hand and a deep well socket and once you're satisfied they're threaded in right, tighten them up with a 1/4 inch socket wrench. Then go ahead and tighten the pressure line snugly. Reinstall the belt (check to make sure the belt is in good condition) and fill the reservoir with clean power steering fluid. Start the car and move the steering wheel back and forth about 10 or 15 times. Check the reservoir to make sure the level is still full and keep moving the wheel back and forth until the noise from the system goes away. This is called "bleeding" the system; getting rid of the air in same. Be patient, because there will be more effort to turn the wheel and it could take a half hour or more. You could speed this up by putting the front end on jack stands, but this also requires some effort. Just keep turning the wheels back and forth and once it smooths out take the car for a drive and makes some turns with it. The noise should be much diminished if not gone altogether once all the air is out of the system. Maranatha!

Look for the Obvious.

2011-10-22T21:56:00.015-04:00

When I worked for the now defunct Auto Glass Specialists, there was a rather impatient trainer who always started every other sentence with "look for the obvious." This concerned auto glass, but now I apply this truism to everything. If the truism that people that irritate you the most inspire you the most this guy was it. Hopefully, he's doing well and I mean that. However, we're getting off the subject.

I've been a home service professional for 15 years and some months and it never amazes me to see the things people will pass off as repairs. If they work, no harm done, but if they don't they can make the problem even worse. We have some family friends who are looking for a house in the Grand Ledge area. Their children are friends with my son as well. They still live in the same apartment complex we did, but they weren't given a house like I was. They have buy theirs.

Grand Ledge is an expensive place to find a house relative to a good part of the Greater Lansing area. If our friend had chosen to settle in Lansing, she'd probably find a decent place for under $50,000. She did find a really nice Cape Cod in Grand Ledge, move in condition for $100,000. It looks really nice inside and out. Even the basement is clean and the mechanicals are in decent shape. There was new carpeting and hardwood flooring throughout with two full baths and neutral decor. I almost gave this place a clean bill of health, especially after a relative said the structure was okay.

She called me to inspect the furnace, water heater, air conditioner, and plumbing. However, I ended up going over the whole house and found this next to the chimney. The wall board was still wet.

I went home to get my ladder, came back, peeked into the attic and was facing the chimney. The structure around it were still wet and those two spots were in fact daylight next to said chimney. There was even more daylight showing on the other side and to the forward part next to the water stained wood at the top.

I'll spare you and Blogger the rest of the pictures of the attic as they're redundant anyway. The view outside, considering the one in the attic didn't suprise me. The company these owners (from New York mind you) hired put a new roof on complete with new O.S.B. decking. This was soaked around the said chimney too.

My camera phone probably has a zoom, but I've yet to figure it out. Trust me, the flashing was simply a narrow strip of aluminum folded over the top and sides of the chimey and worked around the roof decking under the shingles. A shorter strip was attached to the front and a bead of black caulk squirted over the top edge where it met the brick. It was one of the most half-assed attempts at flashing I'd ever seen. They would have done better using flashing cement instead of this hack job.

Flashing needs to be done in multiple parts. First, the flashing needs to be set around the chimney so that water can't get in around shingles This involves upwards of twenty pieces of metal including a saddle where it faces the gable and an overlapping flashing to keep surface water from leaking around it. Instead, it flows harmlessly off the roof and into the gutters. A counterflashing is also needed to prevent water from getting in between the flashing and the chimney and the only acceptable way to do this is cut a groove, or reglet into the mortar to attach the counterflashing. The result will be leakproof for a couple decades. However, along with the poor flashing job, no counterflashing was even attempted, hence the slipshod caulk instead.

This is what happens when someone tries to hire the low bidder. Though the materials to do this properly should have only cost about $20, the time to do it right might have taken four hours or more. This could have been the profit margin on this job. Besides, this chimney is as of this writing in desparate need of tuck pointing. This means replacing the mortar that has fallen out before installing the roof should have even begun. Good grief!

To add to this, this is not a deal breaker. I would have still bought the house and fixed the work myself or hired a competent roofer to do the job. Not a real big deal. Stripping off that tacky wall board and using drywall in that closet would have been a no brainer. However, the family buying the home has nary a handyman and one of the boys has asthma. Any mold caused by this water coming in will only make his situation worse. Hopefully, this isn't a problem the absentee owners cannot take care of get my friends moved in. It isn't so the materials as the labor to get up there an do it. There are more than enough competent home service professionals who will fix this at the right price. That someone will not be me. I'm not crazy about getting up on this roof. Maranatha!

ECM Inducer Fix.

2011-10-20T17:18:00.004-04:00

Any one of you who's ever had the misfortune of working on a Carrier, Bryant or Trane furnace with one of these inducer motors knows what a sweet old Bill these can be. The price installed is north of a grand (over $1000) and before they fail they can sound like the power steering pump on your old Dodge. This is enough to drive any homeowner crazy, but the price will be more than that for them to drive you out of their home.

If you've had to suffer through reading my fine posts, you know full well my opinion of these little darlings. I recommend replacing the furnace if it's a Carrier or Bryant, or at least upgrading the works if it's a Trane. ECM motors for an inducer assembly are great in theory, but from a durability standpoint they miss the mark. Okay, so you want an alternative to kicking yourself and spending hundreds of dollars. I have a crazy 21st century fix that just might work. Really, this qualifies as a redneck repair. However, it might quiet this motor down and could even prolong its life. As long as you're careful, the repair will cost you nothing.

The picture may or may not look exactly like the one you're dealing with, but the rectangular housing on them is all the same. This is what you need to concern yourself. As always, I have no control over your work and the risk is breaking an expensive part and having a no heat. The little circle in the center of the unit is the fan for the whole works. There are fins that draw away heat from the circuit board that lives underneath. G.E., in all their reasoning forgot to include some kind of spacer behind this fan and it can walk on the shaft into one of the I.C. (integrated circuit) chips behind it. This plastic rubbing against the silicon (not silicone) could be what's making the noise as long as the bearings are still intact.

To fix this you're going to need to pack your patience, a small Phillip's head screwdriver, a pry tool, and possibly a plastic fork with one of the inside tines removed. That pry tool can be a small flat head screwdriver or butter knife and the plastic fork can be your hand, but no metal fork should be used. Use the Phillip's screwdriver to remove the two screws and the pry tool to unclip that plastic cover. Take your time in getting this off so you don't break it. Once this is off, you'll see a circuit board and the little plastic fan. Gently rotate the fan with your fingers and if there's any resistance, check what it's rubbing against. If it's rubbing against any part of the board behind it, you can proceed. If not, you need to replace the assembly. You can pull the fan forward with your fingers to free it up, or use your fork to do the same. Do not pry against the board and if the fan gets bent in any way, you'll have to remove it and straighten it out so it's flat. Either way, make sure it clears the board and when you reinstall the cover, well the cover. Turn the fan with your finger to confirm this. As long as your satisfied with your work, turn on the furnace and it should be as quiet a church mouse. If not, either the motor is screwed or you didn't get the fan on right. The fins need to face the front and not the board. Maranatha!

New Job.

2011-10-16T00:52:00.002-04:00

I hate to say goodbye to an employer, but the fact is that being the only technician with a growing family has meant that I've given up a lot of things. Being of the X generation, I admittedly value work and life balance. Being tied to the phone 24/7/365 has had me burned out a long time, et cetera. As of last Wednesday I'm working for another firm closer to home with a take home vehicle and only on call every third week. Huge load taken off. I pray for and wish my former employer love in Christ, blessings and prosperity. Hopefully they'll get lots of work and be able to expand, hiring one or two techs in addition to the one there. I also hope and pray for their continued success and being able to take care of their customers. I love all of them.

How To Clean Seats, Or Not...

2011-10-15T10:22:00.004-04:00

A disclaimer: If your seats have airbags, heaters or other electrical accouterments, better move along on this one. Water and electricity don't mix. This is on the rear seats that I could take out without much difficulty. Think long and hard about doing this on an older vehicle in the salt belt as you could break off a bolt. Your seats and car could be sidelined a few days while they dry. Remove the seats from the car before you try this fix. As you're the one who has to decide whether or not to do this, you assume ALL responsibility for the outcome, come what may. Do this at your own risk. Do not use this method on leather or vinyl or I'll laugh at you personally. These are on cloth seats and only as a last resort.

My Buick Rendezvous is now rapidly approaching its 8th birthday, despite the 2004 model year horse feathers. It's also near the 150,000 mile mark and still going, poor wheel alignment notwithstanding (I can't redneck this one), but the interior looks like I've been carrying garbage in it for 16 months. The front seats I've covered (for now) but the back seats aren't much of an option. The light tan interior shows every stain, scuff etc for all posterity despite any method to clean them. I could attempt to recover them, but this is a spendy decision.

What you're going to need to do this are a few rags (NOT the red shop rags) a scrubbing brush, some pretreater (Resolve works great, but you can Shout it out) a spray bottle and some laundry detergent (Tide works best, but nothing with red dyes). You'll also need a hose and a nozzle. The spray bottle works best if you fill it nearly all the way with water first and then add about a teaspoon of laundry soap. If you add the soap first and then the water you'll end up with a yucky, bubbly mess in the bottle that won't clean anything and will be impossible to fill. Move the bottle around to mix, but don't shake it. Remove the seat or seats and spray the mixture over them. Just wet the whole seat down, but don't saturate the fabric. Too little is better than too much. You can add a little more to the stains, but easy does it as too much will be impossible to rinse off and make it easier to stain in the future.

Take your pretreater if you must, but do so lightly. Use a scrubbing brush to loosen the stain and rag to blot it up, or just use a rag on lighter fabrics. Again, don't work it too hard or you'll be recovering the seats. Once you're satisfied that every thing's done, get your hose and spray them down. If you see any dirt or in my case dyes from something the previous owners left, spray until the water runs clear. Do enough to make sure the soap is out and no suds remain. This can be done on a deck, but a cement driveway or patio works better because of the amount of water being used. Try your best not to spray water into the mechanisms or you'll have to oil or grease them later. If you have a few sunny days with low humidity, great. If not, better put them under an awning or in a garage to dry naturally under low humidity. If you have to put them in a confined space, a dehumidifier or room air conditioner is mandatory to prevent mold. I just set mine on my porch and will have to vacuum the leaves off of them.

Never put them back in the vehicle wet as you'll likely damage the electrical connections inside with the sudden burst of humidity. Once they're dry to the touch, use a rag with some WD-40 and wipe off the metal parts underneath. Put some Scotchgard on 'em and put back in the vehicle. You're done. Maranatha!

An Expensive Call, Part 3

2011-10-08T21:05:00.015-04:00

To recap what went on, this furnace had not been maintained in several years. The drain trap to the air conditioner coil plugged and allowed water to pour all over the furnace, into the burner box, the pressure switch tubing and into the pressure switches themselves. To add to the misery, it also got into the electronics and onto the inducer motor. This only corroded the board a bit, but could have put said motor out too. However I couldn't prove this, but I could prove the motor had failed.

This is the furnace with the ECM inducer; the black rectangular beast in the lower right hand corner. They were very failure prone, especially if the cooling fins weren't cleaned regularly. If you still have one of these and it still works, get it serviced regularly. These motors are usually quiet when they run, but when they start whining, you need to plan for a replacement or be left with a no heat.

Does this mean I'm a bad technician? Well, Trane in all its wisdom, subbed out what's called an ECM motor for their blower and inducer motor assemblies. They run on direct current or DC, which is supposed to use less electricity and be more reliable than comparable A/C units would be. This wasn't exclusive of Trane, but Carrier, Bryant and possibly others used this same system for the inducer on all their high end 90% furnaces. The only difference is that Trane abandoned this system and went with three-phase for their inducer motors on their variable speed furnaces. To my knowledge, Carrier and Bryant are still using the ECM which is supplied by G.E. and failures are still happening. The three phase inducer setup Trane now uses is practically bulletproof; I've changed only one in 5 years because the bearings locked up.

With this upgrade in technology, Trane also made the ECM style obsolete. So now instead of replacing the inducer, which was a ten minute job and still cost the customer close to $600, the entire wiring harness, control board and inducer has to be upgraded to the new style. All this is to the tune of over $800 and at least an hour's worth of work if all goes well. This one didn't because the person who installed it didn't properly adjust the manifold for high and low fire. The lack of maintenance sure didn't help either.

The new drain trap is now installed on the A/C coil, note the clean out tee. I also left a couple joints unglued to facilitate cleaning of the trap.

Here's the new wiring and three phase inducer motor installed; note the wiring is not completely hooked up or tied back.

After nearly three hours of finagling with this beast, including the gas pressure and wiring, it ran nearly as good as new. I replaced the ignitor, because the old one was over limits. I also cleaned the flame sensor, checked the burners and cleaned all the drains. In addition I also checked the gas fireplace out because the customer indicated the remote control wasn't working right. I confirmed it wasn't after another half hour of messing with it. The total bill for this call, including trip, diagnostic, installation of a KIT 15017, two pressure switches, hot surface ignitor and a drain trap came to $1153 and some change. This was about $350 more than my Miller for my mobile home cash and carry cost and would have nearly paid for it installed. It took me five hours to install the Miller and three to fix the Trane. However, it would have run over three grand to replace this with a Goodman (well over that, I might add). Lesson learned: Condensing furnaces (90%+) need annual maintenance and so do air-conditioners of any efficiency.

Even though the bill was expensive, this could have been much, much worse. If this had been on a first floor, or in an attic the consequences could have been disastrous. Damage to walls, ceilings, floors and furnishings could have run into the tens of thousands; not to mention the health hazards of mold and mildew. Any way you look at it, maintenance on your HVAC equipment needs to happen. This customer took to putting a reminder on her smart phone so hopefully this won't happen again. Maranatha!

An Expensive Call, Part Two

2011-10-07T21:36:00.016-04:00

If you mix electronics and water, water wins every time. The damage to this furnace was far beyond asthetics and nullified the functionality of same to that of a $3000 paperweight. The A/C was also 20 plus years old, the drain pan was metal and full of rust (sorry no pictures). This bears mention that the air-conditioning system or at least the A coil should have been replaced inside to prevent damage to the furnace. The coil wasn't even accessible to clean and the trap didn't have a clean out tee, which should be code on any install involving a new furnace or A/C. This is also a health hazard with the mildew, although regular cleaning of the air cleaner or filter changes can help prevent this problem. Still, every install I do has a clean out tee.

However, this board still worked and showed a code three, which is an inducer error.

Note the patina of rust at the bottom of the cabinet, this shouldn't cause any more problems though.

The electronic air cleaner was also heavily involved and hopefully it still works as the customer was still in the process of cleaning it when I left the job. Considering you can slide a media filter in this housing, it's a low priority.

Here's another shot of the trap I cut in two. Although there's some space at the top where I cut it, the rest of this is packed with dirt. No wonder it wouldn't drain... Stay Tuned!

An Expensive Call, Part One

2011-10-06T22:26:00.005-04:00

As a disclaimer, this was only one result of of some very unfortunate circumstances that happened to the customer. The purpose of this and every other post of this nature is for informational purposes only and to hopefully save someone from expensive repairs on their equipment. I am not picking on anyone and for privacy, all circumstances will not be mentioned in this post. This article is not to attack any brand in any way. Trane makes a good, reliable product that's very service friendly. Brand names are far less important than the installer putting it in or the service tech working on it. Enough said,

Recently, I was called to a no heat on a Trane XL 90 the customer said was leaking slime from the bottom. In the brief time I've been doing this work I have never heard of a furnace "leaking slime" out the bottom. This is what I found when I arrived...

The "slime" was dirt from the air-conditioner coil pan which can be seen in the background and the black stuff is mildew from same. The entire drain trap was plugged solid with debris and the water and dirt overflowed from air-conditioner drain pan into the furnace. The electronic air cleaner had not been cleaned in three years, which made this much dirt getting into the trap inevitable. The trap is in the foreground, cut in half. If this was all that happened, it would have been bad enough, but the worst is yet to come. Stay tuned!

Rolling Out.

2011-10-03T20:41:00.005-04:00

Today, another eight o'clock one at that. All that I can say is that every day has an evening. A customer called a few days ago with a boiler problem, with the office girl asking if we fixed boilers. "We do fix boilers" was my reply. She's still new here, capable as she is and with that I was on a boiler call to get them heat and hot water. This was in Laingsburg, the office is in Lansing and I live in Grand Ledge; so this was going to involve a lot of driving.

Five fifteen and I parked the truck in the customers' driveway, greeted them at the door and got to work. The complaint was that the burners inside the boiler would work great for a few seconds and then the flames would develop a mind of their own. Instead of dutifully going upward into the heat exchanger, they would creep out of the burner box to the front of the boiler; scaring the customer and sure surprising the heck out of me. The customer alluded that the gas pressure was too high and that was the reason for the flames leaving the boiler, or "rolling out" as they were.
The propane supplier had already replaced the regulator. The customer had already called someone else to do this, but from what this writer saw, the repair was anything but successful.

I pulled the burners and vent off the boiler and with a flashlight and mirror, looked up inside. The entire heat exchanger was caked with soot to the point you couldn't see through it with said light. After an hour and a half of brushing, using compressed air and a vacuum cleaner to clean up the soot, I finally got the boiler back together and back to rights. $259; $170 to clean the heat exchanger and $89 for the service call (my employer doesn't take off the diagnostic charge for a repair) seemed like a lot, but paled in comparison to what the other contractor wanted to charge.

Admittedly, I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer. However, this guy was a couple pancakes short of a stack. He not only intimated to the customer that propane burned dirtier than diesel fuel, he also said the burners would need to be cleaned to fix the problem. The sum for this work and advice, more of a whopper than any real work, was over $450! I got the thing working again for less than half of that, the trip and diagnostic not withstanding. Understandably, the customer, a scientist and his wife, rushed this huckster out the door.

First of all, I only touched the burners to get them out of my way as they were perfectly clean. The reason the boiler sooted at all is because the manifold pressure was too high. Over 20 inches of water column to be exact. Propane, or LP needs about half that number to burn clean, or excess carbon will condense on the heat exchanger as soot, plugging it up. No wonder this one wasn't working right. The natural tendency for hot air to rise was defeated by the soot, and since there was no other way to go, the hot air and the flames chose the next easiest route. This was right out the front of the boiler.

If you're having this problem, the tech needs to take the time to take the burners out and the vent off if this is a natural draft appliance such as an older model furnace or boiler (most boilers are natural draft, but use a vent damper to help save energy). He or she needs to look at the heat exchanger top and bottom and if there's soot, or rust, they need to clean it out and not condemn the equipment unless the heat exchanger's cracked or the furnace is in really poor condition (see previous posts). Home ownership is expensive, why make it more so? Maranatha!

Top Causes of Furnace Failure

2011-10-02T22:18:00.003-04:00

Caution, this is a rant. However, it's an educational one. Hopefully, someone can learn something when it comes to making sure their heating system actually heats when you turn the thermostat on. These are in no order, and are by no means the only reasons furnaces give up the ghost. All are 100% preventable with a little common sense and a few dollars spent now instead of a bucket load later.

1. Failure to maintain equipment: This should be an all-encompassing cause, but I'm writing this article; so it isn't. Not getting a tune-up, clean and check, etc will mean that your furnace will suffer cataclysmic, catastrophic failure of the worst kind. Then you can complain bitterly about the cost of a service call, parts, etc to the hapless tech who came to pick up the pieces. For the details, read on. A qualified service tech should do the work. Not all handy people are up to the task, but most of it is pretty straightforward.

2. Failure to change filters: It bears mention that any equipment that moves air will need a filter changed regularly. If I had a dollar for every time someone bought a "high performance" filter that was advertised "up to three months" my lot rent would be paid for the month. I don't care what the manufacturer says; if you have a one inch filter, change it monthly. If you have central air conditioning, change it monthly during the cooling season too. Already heard the excuse "I only use my air on really hot days." Change the filter already. You're tearing up your equipment if you don't.

3. Failure to maintain condensate drains and pumps. These need to be cleaned out twice a year to stop the traps from overflowing and ruining the sheet metal and electrical parts in your furnace. Water can also get into safety switches can create a real mess. Cleanout tees for the condensate drains to the air-conditioner are a must, but few contractors install them voluntarily. Get them to install one or find another contractor to install the equipment. Water and bleach needs to be run through the drains twice a year (easy on the bleach). Condensate pumps NEED to be taken apart and cleaned as they accumulate yeast on the inside. These will KILL the pump and will ruin a lot more than a furnace if they call it quits. 90% efficient furnace will have condensate drains that MUST be cleaned out annually.

4. Failure to have a qualified contractor and installer do the work. 90% of the reason a furnace will prompt a service call is because the installer either installed too big a furnace (failed to do a load calculation) wired the humidifier or thermostat wrong, or my favorite, didn't plumb the condensate drain lines properly. Another close relative of these are the pressure switch lines on Amana and Goodman furnaces, where they hang low enough to stop your equipment cold. Water pools in these low spots and they'll run for a week or two before setting an error code. The cure would be to shorten and reroute the line. The point is to get a trained, qualified installer to do the work. This is your home, and no place to cut corners.

Maranatha!

From Customer to Con Game.

2011-09-18T23:12:00.009-04:00

Friday came and went and the car was fixed for less than half expected price. As it was, the front wheel bearing and drive axle were doing the clicking because the axle nut couldn't tighten all the way. The bushings on BOTH sides of the back were also shot, but the Rendezvous is back in business. Due to working another 8 to 8 day, this didn't get picked up until nine-thirty. This was one con game that could have cost me over a grand or so. This will be the beginning of a long relationship between me and Foreign Car Service out of Mulliken and the end of it with Quality Auto Service who was so inclined to make a buck.

When I work on something and it messes up, it's going to be made right. We never have time to do something right the first time, but we always have time to do it over. Six months ago, I was sent to a house in Lansing because the furnace had been under water and ruined the blower motor. Despite my best efforts to free it up, the motor was toast. The furnace was also not far behind. Because this guy had little money, I put in the motor and got the thing working again for $400. This was about a fifth the price of a base 80% model, but either way the basement needed to be fixed to keep the water out or the same problem was going to happen again.

Fast forward to September 16th about 7 p.m.; the customer came into the office and set up an appointment to get his furnace looked at because the blower motor I installed had failed. Working my way down to the basement, I noticed that it was still wet and muddy. The blower would indeed not start, but neither would the burners. I checked for power, with the customers alcohol enriched breathe over my shoulder and in fact, there was power. The customer complained the motor had failed, so I tried spinning it and in fact it was stuck. To make a long story short, I removed the blower and freed it up.

The photo on the left is out of the Montgomery Wards furnace in the house in question. There is still a lot of mud in the cabinet and as you can see on the left, this is what happens to a motor that has spent time in a moist, if not wet environment. The cabinet was so rotten that it could crumble under the weight of the heat exchanger. If this were me, the furnace would never gotten a new motor six months ago.
I opened up the fan limit control and the plastic casing fell apart. This is made of Bakelite, a high impact plastic which is also heat resistant. However, it isn't heat proof. The customer blamed me for this part breaking, but the metal around it has what's called a hot spot. This is the result of metal being under extreme heat without the benefit of a working blower. You can also see that the pointer is on the 100 degree mark which is also the off point. This is also a result of overheating the limit control. It should be all the way to the right.

Needless to say, I don't argue with idiots or drunks. At the advice of my boss, I took these pictures and more on 4X6 prints to take to him tomorrow. I can understand having no money, but when someone tries to con or accuse me, the charity ends. This furnace should have never been worked on, but replaced and the basement waterproofed. Better to have a horrible end than horror without end. Maranatha!

Repair or Replace.

2011-09-11T22:10:00.005-04:00

"If it has wheels or heels, it's gonna break your heart" one mechanic told me as I pondered the fate of my Buick Rendezvous. So far, the bushing to the rear wheel spindle is worn out, but that's nothing to sweat about. The other issue is the transmission is broken inside somewhere and either way; it's going to hurt. It has nearly 150,000 miles on the clock and the body is decent and the engine runs okay. Soon and very soon, this car will strand me because the part that connects the gears to the drive shaft will fail and leave me with no forward or reverse. I've done nickel and dime stuff here and there. A bulb here, a brake pad there, a few everywhere but it beats a payment. After all, the worst car is the one you make payments on.
I've called several places to get estimates and one guy quoted me $400 to do the work; if I find and bring a transmission. When I went to get a firmer quote, I found the part for $700, but the guy upped his quote to $900 and then $600. I ran from that place. Well, I found a mechanic to do the work for a reasonable price. And he stressed the need to inspect the vehicle and switch over the fluid from Dextron 3 to Dextron 6 to help with the longevity. I'm also going to splurge and have this guy change the spark plugs, the oil and even that pesky bushing in the rear.

So why not just buy another car? For one, when you buy a used car, you always inherit someone else's problems. Even if you buy a service contract, eventually you're going to have to fix it yourself or pay to have it done. If you're making payments, that service contract will run out long before the payment book does and you'll be upside down on a paperweight if a major repair is needed. Regardless of what you own, it's going to wear out and need work. If the ride you have is halfway decent and you're sure of the condition, why not fix it? If you've put on new tires, a battery, done the maintenance and kept it in working order, who's to say you won't have to do the same things to next car you buy? I've never bought a vehicle that didn't need tires or a battery eventually.

The other choice is a new car. The average price for a new one is $25,000 and in my case, we would need an SUV. This means, at 6% interest per year on a five or six year loan, we'd have doubled the price. Not to mention the value would drop 20% the moment we drive it off the lot. It's a horrible investment to boot. Besides, I'd rather pay a mechanic than a banker any day.

So, we drove it to the mechanic today and dropped off the key. Maranatha!

Walmart Apologized

2011-09-03T12:32:00.000-04:00

and I accepted, nuff said.

Quality Tire.

2011-08-31T21:53:00.006-04:00

Funny things happen sometimes, in a good way. Yesterday, I took my Buick Rendezvous (yes it is a truck) to have Walmart look at and possibly replace the left front tire because of some damage to the sidewall. I purchased a road hazard warranty and confirming this from my receipt, they proceeded to replace the tire. Then they presented me with a $40 bill without clearing it with me first. Problem was, I had $15 to my name. I drove my vehicle home on a doughnut and the now disassembled tire in my cargo area. Because there is not enough room to place a full sized spare and the winch out of commission anyhow, that's where it had to set.
Today, done with work and still thoroughly miffed over the whole ordeal (the service department not telling mebefore doing the work and nearly disabling my ride), I went to get a second opinion. I've used Quality Tire on Grand River in Lansing, Michigan for putting used rims on said ride and they did a bang up job on that. The service tech looked the tire over and said the damage was cosmetic and did not need replacement. They not only remounted the tire back on my rim (steel wheel) they gave me a suggestion or two on getting the spare tire safely put away. A new winch for this car is in excess of $150 to $200. Used ones are not an option as these seldom last for more than a year or two in Michigan's salt and snow. I don't have $200 to replace something I can rig up for $5 or $10 that'll probably outlast the vehicle. When I get it figured out, I'll give the details in a future post. After all: what creativity fails to buy, the wallet must. Leaving an unsecured spare in a trunk, much less a passenger area is not an option either. Maranatha!

Road Hazard Warranties.

2011-08-30T17:02:00.004-04:00

Just a little heads up on this one. When you buy tires for your car or truck, they're going to try and sell you what's called a road hazard warranty. These can cost $10.00 or more per tire. My advice is to read the fine print, because what tire companies are doing is pro-rating the wear on tires, plus adding if the price goes up. So instead of getting a free tire, you could be paying out of pocket up to the price of the tire. I bought a set of four Goodyear Viva 2 tires for my Buick last year and one of the sidewalls was damaged today.

I took my truck to Walmart and they proceeded to remove the tire and mount on a new one. The problem was that they charged me $40.00; money I didn't have. I paid $70 for the tire in June of '10. They wouldn't put the old tire back on the rim, and had a hell of a time getting my spare out. So now I'm driving on a road spare that's balder than Yul Brenner and my old tire and rim are in the back. Not blaming anyone, but a reminder would have been nice. On top of that, now I've got to figure out a safe way to remount my spare tire, or get rid of it altogether. The spare tire holder is broken and there's no safe way to fix this. A replacement unit will likely cost a small fortune. Maranatha! This time I really mean it.

Why didn't I think of this? Blogger I.E. 9 Fix.

2011-08-21T23:10:00.003-04:00

I've had major issues with Internet Explorer 9 since downloading it on my computer. 8 had at least some lip service to speed, but 9 has been a bit of a pain. Add to this the inability to publish your blog on Blogger. The fix is to click the compatibility button in the address bar and the interface should change a bit. Once this happens, go ahead and publish your document. I may even change my mind about I.E. 9. Maranatha!

Revelation Commentary, From a Handyman? Part Ten

2011-08-21T22:34:00.003-04:00

Revelation 7 (KJV)
1.And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor the sea, nor on any tree. 2. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whim it was given to hurt the earth and sea.
3. Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. 4. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

Let me point out that even in these times, most knew the earth was a sphere and not flat. I learned this all through public school saying that Christopher Columbus went a sailing the ocean blue in 1492 to prove the earth was "round" and not flat. This is such a heaping helping of malarkey that has propagated ignorance since then. It has given athiests reason to try and disprove the bible when common sense should dictate this is a figure of speech, Ahem.

Rather than go through the who chapter this time, I will point out that there are 12 tribes of Israel, but two are missing in this list. Dan and Ephriam are the ones being left out of this sealing. They're being replaced by the tribe of Joseph and I believe Judah. This by no means says that individuals of these tribes won't receive salvation, because Dan and Ephraim WILL receive land in the Millenial Kingdom.

For anyone who says "but we don't know who's in what tribe" I would reply, "but God does." Depite the many persecutions and attempts to wipe the Jews out forever, God has kept them as a distinct race of people. They still have work to do and 144,000 Jews will carry on with His work during the tribulation period. They will suffer for sure, but until God is done, these tireless soldiers for Christ will fight on.

Power Window Diagnosis and Repair.

2011-08-21T16:12:00.005-04:00

To be blunt, power windows are one of the most hazardous systems to work on. Not only do you have to contend with electrical issues, but you're dealing with unhemmed sheet metal that cut you and moving parts that can remove digits from your hands. Breaking a door glass can also injure you and at least scare you half to death. Please use common sense and wear gloves and eye protection, and pack your patience. I have no control over the quality of your work, so do these at your own risk.

Power windows are common on nearly every vehicle save for the most stripped down work trucks or economy cars. It's nearly impossible to buy a car without this feature. Unlike roll up windows, which are pretty straightforward to diagnose and repair, power windows can seem to be a mystery wrapped in a riddle wrapped in an enigma. Add to that the prices of the parts and the service for a mechanic to fix. This will make anyone want to just resort to duct tape and a shower curtain. This is neither safe nor practical and can block your vision. I can relate about the price of parts, but the alternative can be much worse. Besides, you need to know what the problem is before you make the auto parts store rich anyway. This article will hopefully get you started, if not pointed in the right direction. This is also going to be pretty generic, but the cars in question are a 2003 Ford Taurus and a 2004 Pontiac Grand Am.

The power windows on a late model car do two, three, or four things. They raise the door glass up, lower it down and in the case of express windows (which are very hazardous when working on them) lower and or raise the door glass with a short touch to the switch. If the window fails to do any of these things, or doesn't stay up where you put it, this classifies as a problem. This can either be mechanical or electrical. Mechanical issues are when the motor runs, but the window doesn't move or doesn't stay up. Electrical issues are when the switch is operated, but the motor will not operate at all. Mechanical issues will always require taking the door apart, while electrical ones may or may not need it at all. Also, if you can lift the glass manually (be careful), then the problem is mechanical. I'll cover the electrical issues first if you don't mind.

My friend brought in a 2003 Ford Taurus. She couldn't roll the driver's side window up, none of the other windows would operate at all. However, the driver's side window would roll down and with a lot of finagling, would finally roll up. She was the one who used the proverbial shower curtain and duct tape to block out the weather, and it's been since April. Between moving, here schedule and mine, it's been hectic, but I digress. She didn't have much money and I had only a few troubleshooting tools on me. In fact, all I had was a test light to figure this out. The Taurus has two power window circuits, one with a relay for the driver's side express down and the other controls the up and down operation of the four windows. The one controlling the express down is a dedicated circuit, with fuse and relay. The one for the windows going up and down is shared with several other functions, including the adjustable pedals. Since all of these worked and the fuse was good, we knew there was power at the circuit, but there was no power to the switch.

Since there was no wiring diagram on the Internet, nor did my friend have a service manual on the car. I pried up the boot covering the wiring to the door and sure enough, I found a wire to the switch that we broken and corroded. Even with the very robust design of the wiring harness on the Taurus, there is the possibility of the wiring bending back and forth at the joint between the frame and the door; cracking the insulation and eventually breaking the conductor inside. The most obvious thing to do is to strip back the ends and splice the wire. However, there wasn't much slack left after removing the corroded parts of the wire. Use a wire of the same conductor thickness or slightly bigger, and you can solder or crimp these ends together, leaving some slack. Thread the ends through the boot and hook up the wire. All there is to it. Shrink wrap will work better than tape, but money was tight. The repair was less than $2.00 in parts, so much for expensive.

Mechanical repairs are a different animal and will always require taking the door apart to find and fix the issue. On the Grand Am, there are three screws to remove. One at the door handle, another under the door handle trim and the third under the reflector. Remove the panel, the water shield and roll the window down. There's a plastic insert on the slider that attaches to a fitting on the cable. Frequently, this plastic will crack and the weight of the glass will cause this to break; not allowing the window to stay up (this is for the rear ones, the front ones use a cable and pulley set up). This will need to be replaced unless you want to chance using an adhesive to repair the plastic. The price of a broken door glass will exceed that of a regulator. Remove the screws holding it to the door glass and carefully move the glass to the bottom. Take out the screws holding the regulator to the door save for three of the Phillip's head ones. Loosen them up and swing out the parts. Now take those screws out and install them in the same spots in the new part. These will help you get them in position while you put the rest of the screws in. If you need to dummy this one up, a pair of vise grips on the track under the window will hold it up until you can afford the part. This is about $35 at a wrecking yard to about $100 at the auto parts store. Maranatha!

Forgiveness, or tearing up your hit list.

2011-08-19T09:58:00.004-04:00

We've all had people that have wronged, or we have perceived have wronged us is some way. No one is immune and neither is this writer. Far too much of my 41 years on this earth has been spent brooding about those who have "done me wrong." It could be the young lady who spurned my invitation to the dance or the young man with the bad attitude who still got the job I thought I deserved. These are just two examples I can remember offhand. Both hurt, especially when the young lady got asked out and accepted another young man of higher social standing. It really hurt when I got laid off from the precarious position in the union after the other guy got his position. After all, didn't I deserve to get this chance?
Maybe you're secretly waiting for a silver lining in all of this. I got fired as maintenance supervisor from a property management firm in 2006. Without going into much detail, it was having superiors, customers, coworkers and even vendors turn against me after much heartache. My hope was to get another job quickly and for this firm to suffer in some way. Not good. Even though being a blood-bought, God-fearing, Spirit-filled Christian (which I still am) I was not immune to these feelings of resentment and anger. They had consumed me as much as if not more than most.
I did get a new job within a week, but this did not satisfy my anger toward the property management firm. I was still in that trap of resentment that cast a dark cloud over every positive happening in my life. My anger was negating any vestige of victory over adversity.
This is in no way to sound like a motivational speaker. I still have failures in this life and believe it or not are still people who wrong me. The difference is not dwelling on this, in the perceived positive or negative aspects for all parties involved. The fact is that person or persons who wronged you are getting on with (or should be getting on) with their lives. We're all great at not carrying grudges when the other party admits their mistake, but what about when they don't? Human nature makes admitting mistakes anathema; especially with those in positions of authority. It's just the way it is. Even those who aren't are still not going to 'fess up and may not even realize they hurt you. In fact hurting you might not have even been their aim. It may have been in pursuit of another goal and whether or not they considered your feelings as a byproduct doesn't matter. They did it and you're eating your heart out feeling angry.
Let's turn this around. We're all looking out for number one; it's the most natural thing to do. We consider our needs and wants more important that those of the next guy. Let me clue you in, they aren't. Going back to the the blood-bought thing, if you are a Christian (and it's my sincere hope you are, dear reader) it is Christ and not you who are the center of your life. The only list anyone should ever concern themselves with is the Lamb's Book of Life and whether or not your name is in it. End of list. If you're thinking eternally, the rest should pale in comparison. I could go on and on;can post scripture 'til my hands bleed, but you all should know it. Time is so short. Maranatha!

Replacing a Blower Resistor on a Buick Rendezvous / Pontiac Aztec

2011-08-01T20:54:00.005-04:00

It's 95 degrees outside (37 Celsius) and the air conditioning fan in your 'Vous or 'Tec is going full tilt. Refreshingly cool air travels from the dashboard to your overheated frame. Halfway into your commute, the flow of cool air slows to a crawl. You feel the dashboard and yes, it's still cold, but the sound of air rushing is no longer there. You try turning off the recirculating air and are rewarded with a little better airflow, but it isn't quite enough. Worried about freezing the dashboard, you finally relent and shut of the air conditioning and open the windows. The blast of hot, humid air is anything but refreshing.
It looks like the resistor and possibly the blower have just quit on your ride. While you could take this in and spend $350 to get this done professionally (and I couldn't blame you), the idea of tackling this yourself and saving some money is tempting.
As always, you are responsible for your own work. This is a deceptively simple job that could take you a couple hours easily. There shouldn't be too many safety issues, but you're working on the dash next to a bomb that could literally explode in your face (read airbag). The blower is also very powerful and you could get scrapes and cuts from a moving fan. You'll also be playing with electricity, which even at 12 volts is enough to weld tools to the metal parts of the car and cause burns. You could damage other, more expensive parts of your ride or cause a fire. Use common sense (that thing so rare it should be a superpower) and do this at your own risk.
You'll need a 1/4 drive ratchet, universal joint and/or swivel sockets. A 5/16" or 8mm as well as a Phillip's or cross point screwdriver are mandatory as is a door pad tool. A jump box will help with testing the blower when you get it out and possibly save your electrical system. Unhook the battery if you want and it would be a good idea. I'm a bit on the crazy side, so I just made sure the key was off.
Remove the hush panel under the right side of the dash. This pries off with a door pad tool at the top and you can usually pull out the fasteners next to the carpet with your fingers or pliers. Remove the wire connection from the blower and three screws holding it to the heater assembly. Two are visible and one is toward the firewall. No sweat.
The resistor is where it gets interesting. This lives between the blower and the firewall and is held on with three screws. One is visible and the other two are right next to the dad-blamed firewall. Better pack your patience getting these loose as there is NO ROOM between the resistor and the firewall. You can remove the one screw and try wiggling the part out, but you risk breaking the heater box. Go ahead and get a swivel socket and loosen 'em up.
Honestly, I couldn't tell you the first thing about diagnosing the resistor itself. If the car has more than 100,000 miles and or the connector to the blower is melted, replace it.
The resistor is about $30 new, don't buy this part used as it's a wear item and will probably fail in short order. Who wants to do this again any time soon? Not me. The blower is $95 new, so a little more care needs to be taken before condemning it. Inspect the female end of the connector on the blower, if it's melted a bit you might be still be able to reuse it, but this is a gamble that it could fail real soon. If there isn't any obvious damage, you can use jumpers or cut the end off the old resistor and strip the wires. Put the blower in a vise and hook a wire to the jump box. If the blower spins, you you can save it. If not, replace the blower. If the connector is damaged at all, I'd bite the bullet and replace it. No sense in doing this job again. You can buy a used blower and expect to get a fair amount of use out of it. These are MUCH less expensive than at the auto parts store; I got mine for twenty and some change. Install everything in reverse order and tighten the screws snugly. Hook up the Molex connectors to the resistor and blower and before you button up the hush panel, hook up the battery and check your work. If the blower has all five speeds, you can finish up and relax. You have my permission. Maranatha!

The $700 Air Conditioner Mistake Homeowners Make.

2011-06-24T14:29:00.006-04:00

Let's face it, one thing that we can all be sure of this prices will rise; and rise they have. Materials such as copper, aluminum, steel and refrigerant have gone up. Ten short years ago, an air-conditioning system for an average sized house could be had, installed, for $1300 and some change. Now, because of the price of materials and government regulation that system is $3500 installed. I've seen homeowners do anything to have their cake and eat it too; mainly keeping their cool and their wallet. However, there is a fundamental law of business: It's impossible to pay less for more. If a contractor offers you a cut rate on a fully installed air-conditioning system, there's a reason, or reasons he "can" do that. I'm going to bypass variables such as shoddy workmanship and cut right to the chase. As of now, there are two and even possibly three ways that contractors can cut corners on an install and you wouldn't even know it. That is you wouldn't know it until the system needed service or your anticipated cost savings of buying a new system weren't realized.
As of 2006 in the United States, the federal government has mandated that ALL new residential central air-conditioning systems must be a 13 S.E.E.R. or higher. S.E.E.R. stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating and these are 13 to 21 at present. The higher the S.E.E.R. the more efficient the equipment. For each point in S.E.E.R. you go up, you stand to save up to 7 percent off the cost of running the equipment, provided you have the maintenance done and use a furnace or air handler with an energy efficient motor. Until 2006, it was legal to manufacture equipment with a 10 S.E.E.R., so the cost to operate a 10 would be higher than a 13. One note: The words "high efficiency" on a piece of equipment mean next to nothing. Also, the S.E.E.R. drops as the equipment ages or from lack of maintenance. So that 10 S.E.E.R might be a 7 for all you know. Before this rule went into effect, some contractors rushed to beat the clock and bought up a bunch of these older systems. Most were destined for property management clients, but if the contractor goes out of business and these change hands, you could end up with one of these beauties. There isn't anything wrong with a 10 system, but if the contractor charges you the "13" price and you run your A/C a lot it will cost you more all the way around.
Refrigerants have also changed in the past 10 to 20 years. R-22, or Freon 22 was a mainstay in residential and commercial air-conditioning equipment. As of January of 2010, equipment with R-22 is no longer being sold. However, firms are getting around this law by selling 'dry' systems and adding R-22 to save money. R-410A, or Puron is a blend of two refrigerants that's costlier to make but is used in all new systems due to environmental regulation. As of 2020, no new R-22 can be made, which will make this stuff much more expensive. I bought several 30 pound jugs of R-22 in the 1990's when it was less than $2 a pound. Now it's nearly $7 to $8 a pound wholesale. My point is that if you keep this system long enough, you probably will have to recharge it and hopefully fix the leak. If the old stuff runs out, you're out of luck. Make sure you have a 410A system. It'll be a lot better than trying to find a 'drop in' substitute or resorting to finding it on the black market.
The final bell tolled on this article is one that contractors make, but seldom admit to and never suffer from. The customer will pay dearly for this deliberate act of cutting corners and could even wreck a very expensive air-conditioning system if the unit runs out of refrigerant. This is using plumbing solder on air-conditioning connections. Because plumbing solder is a lot less expensive than silver solder and the equipment to apply it is too, the temptation is there. However, plumbing solder is not code for air-conditioning in many places and because it's softer is not able to handle the higher pressures associated with refrigerants, it WILL leak. While most residential water systems use 40 to 60 pounds per square inch, air-conditioning systems will use anywhere from 60 to 100 p.s.i. on the low end and 300 on the high end. Soft solder will fatigue and crack at these pressures, resulting in a very expensive service call to weld the joints and replace the refrigerant. My last bill to do this was $664 on an R-22 system with 2 pounds of refrigerant. I probably negated any savings the homeowner realized on their installation. Maranatha!

How to Change an Ignition Switch on a Buick Rendezvous.

2011-05-27T23:03:00.005-04:00

This is actually pretty easy and should take about a half hour to 45 minutes to get right. Do this exactly, without adding or omitting any steps. Regardless, you still need to use some common sense. I have no control over your work or the design of your vehicle. This should work for any late 1990's early 2000's GM car or truck save the Olds Alero, Pontiac Grand Am or Chevy Malibu. This is because the switch is in the steering column and not on the dash. Cars or trucks with the rubber panel under the ignition lock are good candidates for this fix.
Again, let me remind you to be careful and never work around the steering column without unhooking the negative cable on the battery and waiting at least ten minutes. You're working around a bomb with a hair trigger called an airbag. Do this at your own risk.
You start your car in the morning and notice that the lights come on the dash, but the starter relay doesn't click and the engine doesn't turn over. As you've done before, you let off on the key and turn it back to start. The action rewards you with a crank and the engine catches; no problem.
Eventually you're going to twist and shout, but to no avail. Usually, this is in a dark alley or rainy parking lot with kids in the car. The best bet, especially if your ride has over 100,000 miles is to replace the ignition switch before it fails completely. The ignition switch and the ignition lock are two different parts. The former is a plastic box with a wire harness that lives under the steering column, while the latter is where you put your key in. This switch wears out over time and usually gives you plenty of notice before it finally quits.
You'll need a new ignition switch. (I got mine at Auto Zone for about $40), a Torx T20 screwdriver (bits won't fit) and a couple of small screwdrivers. A socket set with small metric sockets will also help; make sure one is an 8mm to disconnect the battery with. Do this on the negative cable if possible, but the Rendezvous is such a pain that you might have to disconnect the positive cable. Just wrap some electrical tape where the tool might strike a metal surface unscrewing the cable or just be careful, or you'll end up welding the tool to the car (ouch). Wait about 10 minutes for the backup battery on the airbag to discharge. Have a coke, diet coke or a cup of coffee, etc.
You'll have better luck if you take the knee bolster cover from under the dash before you take the steering column apart. The screws are where this cover meets at a right angle to the hush panel under the dash. Remove those screws (there are three of four of them) and this cover should just pry off or be removed by hand. Don't break off the tabs.
If you have tilt steering (and who doesn't), look above the lever and there should be a panel you'll need to pry out so you can get the lower cover off the steering column. Do that and set the panel aside (it's only about a square inch, don't lose it). There are two screws holding the bottom cover to the top and the column. Use your T20 to take them out and gently remove the cover without breaking the tabs. There are plastic hooks on the cover toward the dash. Don’t break these off or you’ll be replacing the cover.
In any service manual, the rest of the steps are going to be removing the ignition lock, the upper cover, and the anti-theft module (if you have it). I looked at mine and saw the only reason you would need to take all this stuff off is to clear the wires on the anti-theft module. If you're careful and DON'T tug on the wires, but move them aside and you can get the ignition switch out. You will need to unhook the harness from the ignition switch, which is a pain in the rumpus to remove, but be patient. Pull on the harness and not the wires while using a flat head screwdriver to release the harness from the switch. The switch has a wheel at the top with teeth and a notch to line up the keep the lock synchronized with same. The new switch will have the notch at the top where it meets the lock, do not move this. Pry out the switch with the screwdriver and make sure the wheel on the new one is in the same position as the old one. As long as they're in the same position, you're in business. If not, reinstall the old switch and move the key to another position, remove the switch and once the notch is on top on the old one. The notch should be on the top in the lock position, so as long as you have the lock locked, you should be okay. Once you're satisfied with the position, put the new switch in hook in the cover and reinstall the screws (snap that little square back in over the tilt lever), snap and screw the knee bolster back on and hook up the battery. Start the car to check your work and don’t forget to set the clock. Maranatha!

Osama Bin Laden is Dead!

2011-05-02T00:03:00.004-04:00

Okay, he's been dead for a week as it took that long to confirm his DNA. The nation that barely remembers those attacks on September 11. 2001 now rejoice on the streets of Washington. President Obama made his speech and affirmed that we were not at war with Islam, despite the fact that Jews and Christians do not hijack planes and run them into buildings for Yahweh. It took about an hour for the President to finally make the speech that in my opinion, was void of feeling or passion. This was almost if Obama lost his best friend.
The problem is that the war isn't over with Al Qaeda, or Islam; not by a long shot. Soon, the U.S. and Israel will probably feel the wrath of the bereaved of their benefactor and Imam. It almost reminds me of Star Wars and the death of Count Dooku, when Darth Sidious tells General Grievous this was a necessary loss. This writer believes this is also the case and will probably buoy Obama's popularity, maybe substantially for a time. Watch Obama's political fortunes to improve over the next few weeks. This could be the start of something big. I could be wrong, but it's looking that way.

My Project Thesis for Ford Motor Company Chapter Seven.

2011-04-04T23:49:00.001-04:00

Conclusions
The present economic climate has not improved significantly since this project started last year. In fact there are significant changes in the former domestic auto industry. Chrysler LLC has emerged from bankruptcy as a subsidiary of Fiat SPA. The plan is import Fiat vehicles under the Dodge and Chrysler brands. These cars will consume less fuel than the one they will replace. What is unclear is whether or not the North American public, particularly the United States and Canada, will accept re-badged Fiat products. The last vehicle imported by Fiat to North American shores, the Ritmo or Strada, was lackluster in durability, reliability and desirability until Fiat finally stopped importing vehicles into the United States in the mid 1980’s.
General Motors, one of Ford Motor Company’s chief competitors, is still in bankruptcy proceedings as of this writing. However, the United States government is now a 60 percent owner, the United Auto Workers health fund a 17.5 percent owner and the Canadian government owning the remainder. Basically, the beleaguered firm is going to be nationalized. There is deepening resentment toward government involvement in the private sector, at least at the grassroots level concerning General Motors. Add to this the negative publicity concerning Chrysler and their absolution from liability from past claims and the situation can only become more favorable for Ford.
These circumstances are not of Ford’s making and to date; little has been done to increase the availability of smaller cars and trucks to their present sales lineup. There are still only two compact car models in Ford’s offerings and both are Focuses. There are no subcompacts available at this time and their compact pickup truck, the Ranger, is nearly two decades old in design. Ford has five SUV models, four trucks and three crossover models.
As far as Ford’s website is concerned, they have backpedaled on introducing the European version of the Focus to the United States and Canada, instead opting to introduce the much-touted and well-received Fiesta in 2010 as a 2011 model. This is an eternity as far as vehicle models are concerned. While Toyota can restyle, for better or worse, a new model every three to four years, Ford and its “domestic” counterparts struggle to update their wares every five to ten years. What is more is while that even a recently-bankrupted General Motors can pay lips service to introducing credible compacts and subcompacts; Ford cannot even update the two models they presently have. Their solution is to add features that add cost, rather than value to a new vehicle.
Force Field Analysis
In times of tight credit, customers are opting to hold on to their present vehicle over trading it in. Any product offered needs to have visual impact if it going to sell. Positive visual impact is preferred in this day and age, but even negative impact is better than none at all. Producing bland, unassuming products did nothing for their competitors. This kind of strategic err ended Oldsmobile; Saturn and Pontiac are in the process of sharing a similar fate. While it has worked thus far for Toyota and Honda, it will not work for Ford. The former two have a reputation for reliability and quality, Ford is still trying squelch bad press, or worse, none at all.
The people that have money to spend on a new car want something inspiring. They want something to show their friends, family and acquaintances. Even if it is a practical purchase, it need not be a bland one. While this is arguably subjective in nature, it is a matter of subjectivity that got the “Big Three” where they are today; bankrupted and losing market share in a growing pool of competent and no so competent competitors. Ford has done the predictable that has “helped” it in the past.
These have involved addressing the hurdles of financing, restyling the higher-profit, lower-cost vehicles and ignoring the lower-profit ones, or not building them altogether. Time will tell if this strategy works for Ford yet again. The economic picture painted during a recession has always been fatalistic, even in ones past. If this was the only argument to increase sales of smaller, lower-cost vehicles, it would be a financial dead end. However, the current political situation in the United States is such that not addressing this issue will be a fatal flaw. The domestics of yesteryear were completely unprepared for the 1973 oil embargo, (OPEC’s punishment for the United States’ support for Israel during the Yom Kippur War), as well as the four-fold increases in oil prices, the chaos and the resultant government regulation that followed.
What followed was that the domestics, Ford included, had to implement short-term solutions to long-term problems. Engineers had the daunting task of making a vehicle safer in a crash, more durable, more fuel-efficient and with less harmful emissions. All of these will conflict with each other to some degree. To use less fuel, for example, a vehicle must be light and will be more harmful to air quality. Ford found it much easier to shift consumer focus to light trucks, which has less regulations involved, were less expensive to build and they were able to realize higher profits.
Since 1973, Ford has known that oil supplies were a scarce resource controlled by despots and tyrants. They have also known about air quality and since 2000, carbon emissions. In addition, Toyota and Honda have outstripped Ford in quality and reliability in vehicle class once deemed as safe territory for the beleaguered automaker. It has been 36 years as of this writing for them to resolve issues such as unions, vehicle quality and fuel economy. To date, they have not addressed this adequately. Customers and the government will not idly stand by while fuel prices climb and air quality deteriorates.
The only proven, tried and true method to increase fuel economy is to build and sell smaller vehicles. The technology is simply not available to the masses that can allow everyone to drive a three ton truck and expect it to get thirty miles to the gallon. A three-hundred horsepower engine will consume more fuel than one at one-hundred horsepower. No amount of hybridization is going to accomplish real savings to the consumer. It will only shift it from operating costs to the purchase price.
Recommended Alternative Solution
Ford needs to offer more and competent choices to its small vehicle offerings if it is to stay credible as an automaker. Although there is still a market for larger vehicles, Ford at present is putting too much emphasis on these. In addition, the market is not the only determinant anymore. Government regulation, after a nearly 30 year of a laze faire policy, has redoubled their efforts to curtail emissions and increase fuel mileage. The present lineup heavy of fuel-hungry cars and light trucks will make Ford a soft target for regulators. Having more economical alternatives to SUV s and crossovers will at least secure sales that Ford would lose to competitors and help boost corporate average fuel economy. The Fiesta should be introduced as soon as possible and the international version of the Focus brought to market in the United States and Canada. Several years ago, Ford offered the wagon variant of the Focus, but discontinued it as a way to save money. It would be the economical alternative made mention of earlier in this paper.
Ford should also consider cutting the Taurus X from their lineup, as it was never a strong seller to begin with, even as the Freestyle. Eliminating this slow selling vehicle with poor gas mileage would have the effect of boosting average fuel economy without the expense of introducing a new model.
Recommendations for Further Research
There are numerous problems in which Ford, as with any firm of this size, must address. Ford should conduct more research in what customers desire in a vehicle, as well as what they would in a small car. Admittedly, if most buyers, especially in the United States and Canada, had a choice, a larger vehicle would be the preferred means of conveyance. However, there is still a valid argument to make smaller vehicles more credible for Ford. They should be safer, be cost-effective to own and operate, as well as something desirable to the average consumer. Economics, as well as government action, mandates this. Overseas manufacturers will capitalize on these mandates because they already build vehicles which are not only desirable, but are reliable and therefore credible to the consumer. Research is not needed as much as action. There has been more than enough, through focus groups, blog posts and the lack of sales to show the need to effect change.
Ford’s financial situation does not allow it to make significant changes to its small car lineup. Nevertheless, it has the means at its disposal to increase car sales with minimal effort and expense through the items specified in this writing.

My Project Thesis for Ford Motor Company Chapter Six.

2011-04-04T23:45:00.001-04:00

Remember, I tried to contact Ford, but was unable, keep this in mind when reading.

Chapter Six
Summary of Results
Ford Motor Company has elected to implement their own version of their solution to increase sales with timetables and technical aspects which differ from this project. These will have to be evaluated their merits. The steps that Ford took in the past few months have been to increase sales, customer satisfaction and attract new customers from other automakers. The methodology has been predictable, and some actions have not happened yet, and some others they have done outside of recommendations. Time will tell if the latter were the right decisions. However, they did follow an important aspect and this was to eliminate redundant and slow-selling lines. Even though Ford is still not on firm financial ground, its quality and sales figures put the company in an enviable position among domestic and even some foreign automakers.
With all of their efforts, Ford has refused government loans and assistance. This has given credibility to the automaker in a time when their domestic competitors have or are going to file for bankruptcy. Chrysler has shut down all of their North American operations while in bankruptcy protection and shares of General Motors have hit a near seventy-five year low. Ford could have outperformed by public opinion alone, considering the present attitude toward “government bailouts.” However, making a conscious effort to improve their product is an added benefit to the automaker and gives them credibility. Ford has improved their product to par with Japanese automakers and their service is going above and beyond what the intervention would call for. The real question is whether or not these levels are sustainable without further eroding their financial standing.
The effort to overcome biases is to be taken into consideration and is not “over the top” considering what competitors are doing at the present time. Problems with the auto industry in the United States are deep seated and the economy was merely a test of what was already primed for failure. Since the 1970’s, the quality, credibility and market share of domestic automakers has steadily eroded. Though Ford has taken great strides to improve their quality through marketing and honest effort, the biases against the industry as a whole are staggering. Only the issues germane to Ford will be made mention of here and only those which are noteworthy.
The Ford Pinto was the most notorious example that one can give (Ford Pinto.com, n.d.), but the Pinto’s replacement, the Escort, was also not without problems. The engines were notorious for being ruined when the timing belts broke. The Tempo, Ford’s midsized offering in the 1980’s and 1990’s was poor in quality and reliability to the point that few lasted beyond the payment book. The Focus was also plagued with problems and was for a time, the most recalled vehicle in automotive history, a title it still holds for the 2000 model year. Ford’s answers to the minivan, the Aerostar and Windstar, were subpar in quality and reliability . The 3.8 liter engines frequently failed and the second generation Windstar was cause for Ford to get out of the minivan business. Body integrity was poor and resulted in fires while nothing was done for customers. The incidents of cruise control fires still linger to this day and have cost Ford millions in repairs and customers tens of thousands of dollars in destroyed vehicles and in some instances, homes and lives . Rumors are circulating that Ford has improved their service to the point of even repairing products out of warranty to counter bad publicity. However, these are rumors that cannot be substantiated.
What can be substantiated is that Ford has turned to aggressive marketing, promotions, and styling to sell their products. They have restyled the Fusion for 2010, changing the front fascia, taillights and the interior trim along with adding a hybrid option. At this writing, there are at least twenty 2009 Fusions on Grand Ledge Ford’s lot. The result would seem to be self defeating to try and sell the 2009’s as it was to introduce the 2009 F Series a year ago. They have also introduced the MKS as a replacement to the aging Town Car, even while there are many of the latter still sitting unsold on dealers’ lots. The Taurus is also new for 2010 and there are still more than a few 2009s unsold. Restyling costs money and with only one exception, all of the vehicles changed have not had any problems with desirability or reliability. The Fusion is one of the best-rated passenger cars that Ford has introduced since 1986 and has had rave reviews from the press and owners alike. The Focus will not get a replacement until the 2010 calendar year and Ford will not introduce the Fiesta in the United States until early 2010 as a 2011 model. All the while, even GM has at least a credible subcompact. While the styling is controversial, the fact is that consumers seem to like it (Car Connection Website, 2009).
Aggressive marketing, as mentioned earlier, is Ford’s chosen method to increase sales. They have relied heavily on the Ford Advantage Plan in recent weeks as a response to similar plans from competitors, namely Hyundai and General Motors. There is the premise that Ford Credit has plenty of money to loan and for customers who are worried about losing their income, a payment protection plan that covers vehicle payments for up to a year if these unfortunate events befall the buyer (Blue Oval News, 2009). The real question is if this marketing campaign has worked. As of March, 3rd of 2009, Ford’s sales were down 48.4% (Jalopnik, 2009). Sales in April are still down 31% from where they were in 2008. Nevertheless, they have made substantial gains in sales with their marketing .
They have improved durability over competitors’ cars by making bumpers stronger and vehicles more reparable after a crash. In addition, Ford has reduced the price on many of its collision parts, reducing insurance premiums . This lends further credibility to the company’s renewed commitment to quality and owner satisfaction, something that would have been out of the question only a year ago. On the other hand, these efforts have cost the company money to increase their market share. While it may be money well-spent and even ethical to address issues of vehicle durability. Payment protection, interest free-financing, rebates and all other present efforts should only be for the short-term.
Once the promotions end in June, is Ford going to have to extend them to keep their sales up? Or are they going to have to turn to more marketing to keep a dwindling customer base interested. This involves a substantial amount of money spent on a service that will not provide lasting value to either the company or its customers. Advertizing is expensive and unfortunately, will not hold customer impact more than the thirty seconds it takes to air a television commercial. They will have to invest more into it have the same effect and while it is tax deductable, it will only get customers into the lot, not increase sales. Another issue with this is if the value for the customer is not there, or Ford does not have the product that people want, they will not buy anyway.
Recaps of the Objectives from Chapter Five are included for review in this chapter.
Objective One. This is to increase car sales by ten percent and overall vehicle sales by fifteen percent or more. This is important in several ways. The added revenue is one aspect that will undoubtedly help Ford’s financial standing. However, it will also show that the company is a better investment than competitors.
Hypothesis 1. Motor Company can sell more cars and trucks by scaling back on equipment that adds cost to the vehicle as opposed to value. This means not including options that customers do not want from dealer stock models, yet still allowing of dealer-installed equipment on all new cars. This gives the customer choices on which options he or she really wants .
Hypothesis 2. Ford can sell at least ten percent more units of the Focus model by introducing the international version of the car to the United States and Canada. The U.S. and Canadian model is outdated and pedestrian when compared to the international version. In addition, the company can save money on tooling costs with a world car.
Hypothesis 3. Car sales can also be increased if Ford reintroduces the Fiesta, one of the most successful models to date, to the United States and Canada. At the present time, Ford does not have a subcompact model for sale in the United States and Canadian market. Even Ford’s competitor, General Motors, has the Daewoo-based Aveo. The Fiesta is far less offensive looking and will have a much broader market appeal than the Aveo, if Ford can introduce it in time.
Objective Two. The second is to improve customer satisfaction and retention.
Hypothesis 1. Customer retention would improve if Ford responded objectively to warranty claims; hiring an outside firm to evaluate such claims. This would help render Ford harmless, legally and morally when a claim is rejected. Hiring an outside firm will insulate the automaker from frivolous claims and bad publicity.
Hypothesis 2. Ford’s customers would be more willing to buy their products again if they would evaluate designs of vehicle parts that fail at a higher rate than what is industry standard, even if the part is not under warranty, or the customers’ fault.
Objective Three. It is not enough to retain customers for Ford; they need to add new ones. Although there are new drivers, few can afford a brand-new car. This means that the present market in the United States and Canada is saturated. They will have to woo former GM, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda and even customers who buy European imports to buy Fords.
Hypothesis 1. Ford can attract more new customers by improving warranty service to present customers. Word of mouth including via the internet travels fast. When someone has a good experience, they will tell people about. However, if they have a bad experience, they will tell at least eleven others the experience.
Hypothesis 2. Providing more choices, by selling lower end vehicles on dealers’ lots, and making more options dealer installed and making the higher end vehicles special order, time and space on the lot permitting, will attract new customers because they have more vehicles to choose from, rather than just what is on the lot.
Hypothesis 3. Providing more choices in car lines and less in the line of trucks will attract more value-conscious and environment-conscious consumers back to Ford.

The larger, more expensive vehicles that Ford sells are getting restyled first, while the Focus, the only small car they have for sale in the United States and Canada, with its spotty reliability record; still has a platform that is nearly a decade old. They have a hybrid, which may or may not be a good investment for the practical consumer. What is worse is that Ford does not have a high-mileage conventional power train vehicle for sale in the United States or Canada, yet sells it all over Europe. This is something that will be covered in Chapter Seven.

2011-04-04T23:44:00.000-04:00

Chapter Five
Data Collection Plan
Objective One. This is to increase car sales by ten percent and overall vehicle sales by fifteen percent or more.
Hypothesis 1. Motor Company can sell more cars and trucks by scaling back on equipment that adds cost to the vehicle as opposed to value.
Hypothesis 2. Ford can sell at ten percent more units of the Focus model by introducing the international version of the car to the United States and Canada.
Hypothesis 3. Car sales can also be increased if Ford reintroduces the Fiesta, one of the most successful models to date, to the United States and Canada.
Objective Two. The second is to improve customer satisfaction and retention.
Hypothesis 1. Customer retention would improve if Ford responded objectively to warranty claims; hiring an outside firm to evaluate such claims.
Hypothesis 2. Ford’s customers would be more willing to buy their products again if they would evaluate designs of vehicle parts that fail at a higher rate than what is industry standard, even if the part is not under warranty, or the customers’ fault.
Objective Three. It is not enough to retain customers for Ford; they need to add new ones.
Hypothesis 1. Ford can attract more new customers by improving warranty service to present customers.
Hypothesis 2. By adding options which add value and not just cost to the vehicle, Ford can attract new customers to their products.
Hypothesis 3. Providing more choices, by selling lower end vehicles on dealers’ lots, and making more options dealer installed and making the higher end vehicles special order, time and space on the lot permitting, will attract new customers because they have more vehicles to choose from, rather than just what is on the lot.
Hypothesis 4. Providing more choices in car lines and less in the line of trucks will attract more value-conscious and environment-conscious consumers back to Ford.
Data Collection Plan
Much of what is going to be done is not going to be easy, or possible to translate into objective data that Ford can utilize. The only objective data which Ford is going to be able to rely on is whether or not sales have increased the ten or fifteen percent and customer perception, retention and attraction have improved for the firm. Many websites have many negative attributes to be said about any automaker, a trait not unique to Ford. Even such touted firms as Toyota and Honda have had their share of reliability and service problems. It is the nature of any electromechanical device to fail and the only difference can be how the manufacturer or dealer chooses to rectify, or ignore the problems customers perceive.
Ford Motor Company uses much time and resources to predict what customers want and will spend money on. For reasons known to them, much of their product line consists of trucks, even to this day. They are planning on adding one car model in 2011, but this does not solve the problems they face now.
Rather than concentrating on a data collection plan during and after the interventions, it would be better to evaluate customer attitudes toward what they are willing to buy at present and work toward implementing the interventions then. There are methods to do this already in place. One is through Ford’s website when customers choose the options they want. However, they still need to negotiate their way through the packages and either pay for the options they do not want, or settle for less than they want. Ford can collect data on desired options through their website, as this would be the most cost-effective way. To prevent tampering by automated sources, the usual codes that only human beings can read can be utilized. Due to poverty of time, there should be a small incentive that will not affect or sway the customer to buy from Ford by the survey alone, albeit this will be difficult to perform.
Such a process is not possible to describe in great detail in such a medium as this paper, but the focus of such a plan must involve seeing what the customer wants. After all, regardless of the economy, or credit availability, customers will not spend large sums of money on what they believe to an inferior product, or poor customer service on any product.
The following questionnaire can be used in some form either through mailers, Ford’s website and even in showrooms. It is not going to be inclusive of every reason, or solution to ford reduced sales, but it will give an idea of customer attitudes so Ford can best use their resources.

Ford Vehicle Response Survey

Please circle the answers that apply, this survey will help to better address the needs of our customers.

1 Are you considering replacing your current vehicle?
Now 3 months 6 months 1 year > 1 year
2 Are you considering a new vehicle purchase? If no, please skip to question 14
Yes No
3 What make of vehicle are you considering?
Ford Toyota GM Honda Chrysler
Smart Hyundai Subaru Volkswagen Other
4 What factors will influence your decision?
Reliability Service Style Value Other
5 Have you owned a Ford, Lincoln or Mercury product in the last ?
1-3 Years 4-6 Years >6 years
6 What is the make of vehicle you currently own?
Ford Toyota GM Honda Chrysler
Hyundai Kia Volkswagen Subaru Other
7 Why are you considering replacing your vehicle?
Age Reliability Life changes Want more options
Condition Unhappy with dealer and/or manufacturer
8 If considering a Ford, Lincoln or Mercury, which model?
Focus Fusion MKS F-Series Navigator
Explorer Flex Mustang Mariner Other
9 What options are most important to you? Please check all that apply.
SYNC Navigation THX Sound Ambient lighting
Automatic transmission Leather seating areas
cruise control DVD MP3 Sirius Satellite Radio
Other,
10 If you are considering a car, what are the reasons? Please check all that apply.
Safety Value Ease of parking, driving, etc
Do not want a truck Want a truck, cannot afford
Styling Other, please explain,

11 If considering a truck, including a crossover or SUV, what are the reasons, please check all that apply.
Safety Value View of road
Utility Styling Rugged appearance
Other, please explain,

12 What barriers do you believe would prevent you buying a new vehicle?
Higher sticker price Insurance Financing
Depreciation Other,
13 What would you consider good reasons to buy new over used?
Longer life than used vehicle Lower interest rates
Warranty Value Current styling
Up to date features Other
14 If you are not in the market for a new car, what are the reasons? Please check all that apply.
Current finances Credit standing Other expenses
Satisfied with current vehicle Other, please explain.

This list is merely a tool and can and should be modified as the situation warrants.
Data Analysis Plan
The main source of data that will be meaningful is in the sales figures and even that will be make less clear by fluctuations in the economy, the political situation, and other external factors which Ford cannot control. The surveys that were sent out and returned will also have to be evaluated before and after the interventions to measure the results. The best method to measure sales data, and if the intervention has had a positive effect on sales is through percentages. This is because it is the most recognized method through which sales are recognized, whether on the balance sheet or income statement, or even the news media.
Customer retention and attraction is going be more difficult to measure. Even if sales increase, this is still not the most reliable fashion in which to measure whether customers bought the car because they were affordable, or because they genuinely felt Ford products were a viable alternative to other brands. This is going to mean sending the same surveys to the same people after the intervention and measuring the results, making allowances for those who have moved are otherwise not available. The chi-square test is the best way to measure consumer attitudes because of the subjectivity involved. If we expect a certain number of people to favor Ford products after the intervention, we can find out whether the change was significant or not. Other makes can be compared with this test and the significance of these. This will see if Ford has not only maintained, but gained market share.
Limitations of the Data Collection Plan
Any statistical method, as with any intervention method will have limitations. This is because no amount of planning can cover every possible event that can happen. A natural disaster can destroy thousands of cars and cause a surge in vehicle sales for all manufacturers, or a significant rise in interest rates can cause them to plummet. Internal problems that can arise are major recalls, or a strike decimates production. All of these factors can and will affect sales and the data collected. If the course of the data is used on its own merits, the results will be inaccurate without taking other factors into consideration. Other issues can arise from people moving and being unreachable to someone being frustrated with the dealer that day over an errant work order. Ford can choose to not follow through on any of the alternatives and this may or may not affect the results as well, but these will be more or less apparent in said results.
Admittedly, the questionnaire has some flaws in the interest of simplicity. There is not a space of every vehicle that Ford, Lincoln or Mercury manufactures, but only represents the most recognized. The customer can write in the “other” box to counter this, but all that really needed to be done is to ascertain whether customers want to buy a car or truck of varying sizes. This should be more than adequate. The field test showed that the form was not the easiest to use and interpret, with the layout being limited by the creativity of the author.
It also does not elaborate on those wanting to buy a used car, but the intent was not to influence the participants’ views on whether or not to buy one. Similarly, the idea of including “insurance” (costs), “depreciation” and “high sticker price” in the survey may be perceived to detract potential buyers from buying a new car. However, the argument for leaving this intact is that Ford needs the information in regards to keeping, or revising its current price structure.
Like it or not, these are the very reasons that customer opt for a used vehicle in the first place. Ford needs to know the amount so they can counter the threats. As touched on in Chapter 4, the sales of consumer vehicles may increase, but the sales of fleet vehicles, especially police vehicles, may actually decrease because of more agencies switching to the Carbon Motors product.

My Project Thesis for Ford Motor Company Chapter Four.

2011-04-04T23:43:00.000-04:00

Chapter Four
Description of the Alternatives
Statement of the Objectives
Ford Motor Company has lost over 14 billion dollars in 2008 (New York Times website, 2009). Though there are many reasons for this, the result is that fewer customers are buying their products. While this is not a problem unique to Ford and the responses have been to cut jobs and spend more money on developing new models, including a hybrid version of the Fusion, a midsize car, Ford should also keep other options open. These should be options that do not include cutting more jobs and spending millions of dollars in developing new products and redesigning new ones. A firm cannot merely downsize, nor can it spend itself into prosperity. Though not included in the objectives, these cannot be accomplished be Ford by cutting jobs or merely spending money hoping for the economy to turn.
Objective One. The first objective is to increase car sales by ten percent and overall vehicle sales by fifteen percent or more.
Objective Two. The second objective is to improve customer satisfaction and retention. This is vital as there are allegations of denied warranty claims and the perception of poor products and workmanship.
Objective Three. It is not enough to retain customers for Ford; they need to add new ones. This is because their current customer base is not enough to keep the firm solvent. Ford has lost a significant amount of customers to Toyota, Honda and other firms. More significantly, they are also losing customers due to financing and the used car market. Ford needs to better market their argument that new cars are better and more reliable. It is common knowledge that depreciation is a significant and hidden expense on a new vehicle. This is something Ford must counter with vehicles with options that add value, not just cost, to their product.
Description of the Alternatives
Alternative One. This is to continue with the present business model, concentrating on selling the competent, yet dated design of the current Focus compact. It also means pursuing the current plans with the Fusion, which is still a relatively innovative design until 2010 and introduce the 2010 Taurus, a very innovative and compelling, though probably expensive vehicle that fewer customers will be able to purchase. The current Crown Victoria, or Police Interceptor, at present a fleet sales only vehicle is also competent for its current purposes. However, the design dates back to the late 1970’s and is not purpose-built. The longevity of the vehicle for police work is about sixty to seventy thousand miles and fuel economy is poor. A firm called Carbon Motors, under the direction of the Department of Homeland Security, is building such a purpose-built car codenamed the E7 which is superior in range, handling, operating costs and officer use and protection and durability (Carbon Motors website, 2008). It will most likely erode Ford’s near monopoly on the police car market without extensive and costly modifications. One aspect the firm has in its favor is the reputation of its trucks. They are dependable and tough and with the exception of the E-Series, current models. The E-Series, or the van, has a design that dates back to the 1970’s, has poor fuel economy and handling, (Car Gurus website, 2009). The aforementioned challenges that Ford has, along with the current financial situation make this a choice that Ford will make at its own peril.
Alternative Two. Introduce the International version of the Focus compact in place of the current model that dates back from 1999. The coupe, while more recent, is still reminiscent of 1970’s and 80’s subcompacts made by domestic manufacturers. This was not a period of nostalgia for anyone that knows about vehicles and surely not the manufacturers themselves. The International model is arguably more modern even though the differences between the coupes are more subtle than the sedans, where the differences are profound.
Alternative Three. Introduce the Fiesta, an international subcompact, to the United States and Canada. It is one of the most successful cars Ford has ever sold (Wikepedia, 2009) and was sold briefly in the United States in the 1970’s. It would be Ford’s alternative to General Motor’s Aveo, which suffers from clumsy styling, including, but not limited to, the corporate “big mouth” grille (Autoblog website, 2007) that is gracing Chevrolets and to some extent, other GM vehicles. The reintroduction of the Fiesta should be a money maker for Ford.
Alternative Four. Hire an independent firm to determine warranty claims. This firm, contracted by Ford, would be paid to evaluate problems with Ford’s products without pressure from the manufacturer, dealer, or consumer. More importantly, it would encourage efforts to improve quality and workmanship, along with modifying the design of failure-prone parts. An added benefit would be to insulate Ford from bad publicity caused by frivolous warranty claims and reduce the pressure to deny claims that are in fact valid. This will increase customer retention even if a claim is denied.
Alternative Five. Ford can and should evaluate parts that suffer frequent breakage, even those determined not to be the fault of the manufacturer. A common problem with many of the earlier Triton overhead cam V-8 engines is the propensity to “blow out” a spark plug.
This is a repair that can cost a consumer thousands of dollars to replace a cylinder head to spend hundreds of same to repair at an independent mechanic. Ford frequently denies this claim and many consumers faced with this problem may never buy a product from them again. This is only one example of problems with a product that consumers spend increasing amounts of money to purchase, maintain and insure. Nearly all want a product to be reliable and a firm to honor the warranty when a part is defective. An increasing number of consumers are turning to public forums when things do not go their way and a surprising number of them are even angry at the manufacturer of perceived defects when the causation is merely that the car or truck has reached the end of its service life.
The alternatives are not the only ones that Ford has before them. There are many options that they can pursue and this is not a complete list. These are meant to be the most basic. Because the object of this work is to get the best benefit for the cost involved, the options can be taken inclusively, or exclusive of one another. In the interest maximizing the benefit of increasing small car sales, while the profits are not as large, will be better than having high-end vehicles sitting on dealer’s lots not being driven, or making money for anyone. In addition, the alternatives are ones that Ford, as well as other automakers have already tried to some extent in the past to increase sales. While these worked in the very short term, they have had longer-term consequences the consumer and industry are still reeling from today. For decades, the United States has had a very easy time selling larger vehicles for a larger profit. This is an option not afforded in many other nations, save for nations such as Australia, China, or the Middle East. The majority of nations consider what the United States uses for compacts as full-size. With few exceptions, the United States has also enjoyed far lower fuel prices than the majority of nations, save those that produce a large surplus of oil.
These are factors that no automaker that wants to remain in business should ever count on. It has already sent General Motors and Chrysler to the government for bridge loans, yet Ford has managed to weather this better than the others. This does not mean that Ford can, or should retain the status quo. There is plenty that Ford is doing right with their present situation. Yet there is some room for improvement, considering the need to do more than just maintain in a very competitive marketplace with external threats increasing daily. The firm is in need of a credible small car program in the United States, something it has seen as unnecessary and unprofitable when fuel was inexpensive, credit was available and employment plentiful. At the present time, with these factors reversed, or highly diminished, more consumers will be turning away from “want” vehicles in favor of “need” vehicles. It will be up to Ford Motor Company to use this to their advantage.

My Project Thesis for Ford Motor Company Chapter Three.

2011-04-04T23:41:00.001-04:00

Chapter Three
Option Selection
As suggested by the title of this chapter, the options that Ford has are many. However, most of them carry consequences and many of these will have a negative impact on the automaker and those of the stakeholders. While the focus has been to implement plant closings and restyle their higher profit trucks, this writer will argue that there are other options that Ford should implement that will cost it nearly nothing.
At present, most new vehicles are sold in trim levels. The Focus, for example, is sold in four package levels from the S starting at $14,000, the SE at $15,000, the SES at $16,000 and the SEL at $16,200 . These are the starting prices for each package and they are approximate. Package pricing allows the manufacturer and the dealer to simplify their inventory, but the options included with these packages are confusing and add additional cost to the vehicle the customer might not want.
An example is ordering the Focus S online with automatic transmission. This adds $1,300 to the cost of the car. This is 9% to the cost of the vehicle price alone, a substantial figure. However, Ford has limited options available for this model and to get more available (and more choices); the customer has to spend even more. On the dealer’s lots, there is a tendency to stock higher end models. While this adds profits, it also adds additional cost to a new car and may actually drive customers to the used car market; essentially defeating the object of increasing new car sales. The point this writer is trying to make is that Ford had a good plan 60 years ago for selling new vehicles, even in times of tight credit. In basic terms, this was offering the base price and a complete options list for every car.
While this would add to the cost of making the car or truck initially, it would also allow the customer the flexibility to choose the options he or she wants and can afford. Lastly, if someone wants ambient lighting in their new Focus for example, they will not have to spend thousands more on options they do not want. Another would be to eliminate this altogether as most customers opt for aftermarket ambient lighting anyway.
Another option would be to limit the amount of equipment available, especially on the smaller cars to save overhead costs. The aforementioned ambient lighting and even leather trim in a Focus might seem superfluous to customers trying to buy a new, entry level vehicle. This is especially true in an economy where disposable incomes have not kept up with inflation, credit is tight and the perception of “hard” times is a part of those where the former two conditions may not apply.
The third option and this is the most costly, would involve introducing the European version of the Focus to the United States as well as a subcompact such as the Fiesta as made mention of in previous chapters. There will be issues that need to be addressed with meeting the standards here (safety and otherwise), but Ford does not at present have a subcompact available in the United States (and the only firms offering them are Smart (For Two), GM (Aveo), Toyota (Yaris) and Honda (Fit). This is a market that Ford is missing out on, much the way they did for many years in the SUV boom before introducing the Expedition and Excursion. As for the European version of the Focus, this is a subjective viewpoint, but the design is more modern in a market that demands vehicles that are current. The Focus sedan’s design is already eight years old with a few modifications while the coupe (which is more expensive) is also dated in style compared to competing manufacturers from GM, Europe and Japan.
There really is not a reason that Ford cannot implement at least one of these changes. They have spent much money and time restyling their F-150 for 2009 and sales of light trucks are down, maybe permanently, because of anticipated higher operating costs. Yet the cars that need to be selling are languishing with older designs and loaded with features which customers may not want and add cost, rather than value, to their potential purchase. What are hurting car sales are also hurting truck sales as well. While adding another $2,000 to the purchase price of a truck to add a bigger engine and few options may seem to make it more desirable, it is putting it out of reach for many buyers. Lower end options have to come special order, while higher end ones are available now. The buyer may opt for a used truck, if he or she needs one quickly, rather than wait for the factory to bring one. The dealer can and should be able to add some “must haves” to a vehicle if the customer so desires, or order a new vehicle to his or her tastes.
This was how automakers made sales in the 1950’s and 1960’s (and this was no small reason why many bought “American”). At present, many buy from dealer stock to get the discounts. However, Ford should make vehicles that customers want without discounting them. They should not compromise style, cost-effectiveness or features. There is no ideal car or truck that any automaker is capable of building without input from the customer. Any firm that forgets the importance of the customer in their business will not be in business long. In addition, a firm should not continue to offer their customers “yesterday’s specials” when there are better alternatives available at little or no initial cost to the manufacturer. Ford listened to customers nearly 20 years ago concerning the direction that their Mustang was taking. In 2007 sales of the Mustang were declining, while sales of the Focus are 28% higher than they were a year ago. Ford should also cater to customer of “need” cars as well as those of “want” cars such as the Mustang. The need for this direction should be obvious.

My Project Thesis for Ford Motor Company Chapter Two.

2011-04-04T23:30:00.002-04:00

I am posting this in a more blog friendly format. I couldn't get the pictures on this blog, but we all know what a Chevette, Cruze and the Focus models look like.

This chapter will explain the options that Ford Motor Company may have in improving overall sales and to select effective leadership. Both of these are absolutely necessary to get this firm out of the dire situation that incidentally is not unique to Ford. General Motors and Chrysler LLC are in similar circumstances and are considering a merger or buyout of the latter to the former. If this happens, it is very possible that Chrysler, along with Dodge and Jeep will go the way of Willys, Nash, Studebaker and American Motors. It may also further erode consumer confidence in “homegrown” auto industries, including, but limited to, availability of parts and service for “orphaned” models already stigmatized for poor reliability and resale value. Ford will need to make some critical choices if has not already. First and foremost, they will need to strengthen their position globally if part of their domestic competition no longer exists. They may no longer have Chrysler to insulate them from buyers forced to seek the likes of Hyundai, Kia, and Honda for products that Ford no longer offers or offers poorly.
Marketing
Throughout most of its 105 year history, they have been known for building the right product at the right time. The Model T, Model A, the Falcon and even the panned Mustang Two are examples of the right car at the right time . More often than not, they have also made the wrong product at the wrong time. The ill-fated Edsel, which contrary to popular belief, was never branded as “Ford” but was a brand in itself and consisted of no less than 18 models (Willson, 1997). The 1958 Lincoln Capri, 1959 Fairlane 500 Skyliner, Lincoln Aviator, and the Ford Excursion were all products that were either too technically audacious or not economical for the time. The present products that Ford offers, while of good quality, are not keeping up with the times stylistically or in economy, fuel and otherwise. The Ford Taurus, Mercury Sable (soon to be discontinued as of this writing) and Ford Focus have these traits to some degree.
The Focus is a product that has a checkered history in the United States. When it was first introduced in 1999 as a 2000 model, problems manifested quickly. Ignition locks broke repeatedly and there were issues with brakes, fit and finish, not to mention the appearance of the car was controversial for its time. The current model is loaded with new options, including SYNC from Microsoft that includes a built in mobile phone and music player that costs about $400. However, the styling is pedestrian. While the four door model has not changed much from the 2000 model year, the 2009 three door model (figure 1) is reminiscent of the 1976 to 1987 Chevrolet Chevette (figure 2). In other words, it looks cheap. However, the price of the coupe starts at $17,000 and can swell to over $20,000 fully equipped.
While Chevrolet is planning the Cruze, a modernistic-looking competitor for the Focus, Ford is still mulling over trying to bring the European model (figure 4) to the United States. Chevrolet will have had three models in the same time that Ford has had one in this very important segment. The Cavalier, Cobalt and soon the aforementioned Cruze (figure 3), that will leapfrog even the European version of the Focus in looks and relevancy. The fact that Ford does not share all of its tooling on an otherwise world auto is probably expensive to say the least. The European version has been more reliable and was one of the best selling cars there while the North American version has suffered from a myriad of defects and recalls. For a time the Focus was the most recalled model in automotive history . Ford should introduce the European version and drop the “Focus” nameplate as there are still many owners that may associate it with the lackluster performer of the 2000 model year. The current model still shares many visual traits with earlier versions to make a name change on this one ineffective.
In addition, Ford tried this with the Freestyle, changing it to the Taurus X, and adding a few minor cosmetic changes. The result was that sales were off by over twenty-five percent and the model was considered redundant by the introduction of the Flex this year.

The mid-sized Taurus is due for a restyling in the next two years, but the current offerings suffer pedestrian styling, which is hurting sales. Ford has also spent much money on restyling its F Series truck that they had to delay several months while they sell off the 2008 models. What is worse is that this new product will not get the exposure it needs from the road on dealers’ lots. This is because dealers like Grand Ledge Ford of Grand Ledge, Michigan, Courtesy Ford of Okemos, Michigan and other dealers selling competing products have moved their small cars to the front of the lots.
This means that Ford has their Focus, their worst looking car line, to attract new customers. Only used car dealers with their glut of trucks and SUVs in proportion to passenger cars are still keeping the former to the front of the lot (figure 5).

Figure 5
Restyling their current offerings is a couple of years away. Yet there are many of the current ones still on dealer’s lots that need to be sold. Ford probably cannot reasonably be expected to sell these cars at a loss, but the styling is something that needs to be overcome in creative fashion. The current Focus, Taurus and Fusion are competent models. In fact the Fusion has been rated high by several independent rating firms.
These car lines are more relevant than trucks, SUVs and even the CUVs such as the Edge, Taurus X (which is soon to be discontinued in favor of the Flex) and the Flex because of their perceived economy. It is understood that smaller cars mean smaller profits for the automaker, even when they add options reserved for larger, more luxurious cars. As credit tightens further, trying to justify a “loaded” Focus is going to be a harder sell because of the higher price. Most buyers purchase a small car for its economy and lower price tag. Having too many “loaded” small cars on the lot will defeat the purpose in short order. Most savvy new car buyers also know that larger vehicles are not much more expensive than smaller ones. However, separating them into classes, especially the “economy” models will discourage, rather than encourage up selling. This is something that Ford really needs as they make more money on the options and the larger cars than the stripped down smaller ones. What is more is that even customers with their minds set on buying the “cheapest” and will not want to hear the sales pitch for the more expensive models will be more likely to buy the higher-profit ones if they can see these ones as well. Ford should aggressively market their cars as practical and economical. They should also eliminate options that add cost instead of value to their products. Dealers typically “load” up their inventory with costlier models to increase their profits and they should not be expected by Ford to stop this practice.
Nevertheless, items such as power windows, leather interior, ambient lighting and even SYNC may make the Focus more palatable to younger buyers with more disposable income; this demographic is small and shrinking. These are also taking sales away from Ford’s higher-profit models and negating any real savings to the customer, driving many to the used car market. In short, this practice is performing a terrible disservice to Ford.

Finding and Retaining Effective Leadership.
Another weakness that Ford shares with many other United States firms is the propensity to hire ineffective leadership and pay exorbitant salaries to same. Ford paid Jacques Nasser close to $16 million in 2000, in that same time period the vice chairman received $3.3 million, the group vice president for Global Product Development and Quality $2.3 million (This was the same period Ford introduced the problem-ridden Focus in North America). Other compensation including the vice president for the now-defunct Premier Automotive Group was at $2.8 million and the former vice president for the Global Consumer Services and North America at $2.9 million reflects a disparity between compensation and reality in the same time period. While the purpose of this illustration is not to criticize compensation or defame executives, it points out that underperforming in decision making is more tolerated than it is with other aspects of corporate function.
A common argument for keeping compensation the way it is for such personnel is because such talent is scarce relative to the pool of individuals that can effectively perform such duties. If the firm does not pay the rates, then another one will for same person and the first one will lose out. This argument is dissolved when observing the poor performance of a firm such as Ford under such leadership. While this is not to discuss fairness and executive compensation, it is a point this writer must address if he is going to get the firm to do the same on acquiring effective leadership. There are many problems that Ford has to work around to get effective leadership, but there is not enough room in this writing to address them all. Rather, Ford needs to look for the traits of a good leader, or preferably, good leaders. These should be people that have a genuine interest in saving the firm and not just collecting a paycheck. They will need dedication that is greater than the individual to overcome all of Ford’s challenges.
Above all, this person, or group of persons, will need a strong survival initiative. While this writer is adapting this from the Army Survival Manual, a good leader needs to have these qualities in face of overwhelming challenges.
Being able to make up his or her mind.
Being able to improvise.
Being able to live with your decisions.
Being able to adapt to the situation-to make a good thing out of a bad thing.
Remaining cool, calm and collected.
Hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.
Having patience.
Being prepared to meet the worst that can happen.
Being able to understand and predict what other people will do.
Understanding where one’s special fears and worries come from and knowing what to do to control them.
However, just being able to survive is not going to be of much use to Ford either. They are going to need an individual with vision to realize success that can bring the various groups together. “Is there anything worse than being blind? Yes! The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight but has no vision,” is how Helen Keller brilliantly summed this up. Rather than hire “small people” with no vision, drive, or ambition and who only know how to conform, Ford needs to invest the monies into recruiting and retaining a person who knows how to struggle and succeed in business. They also need to have genuine leadership qualities and more than a little charisma would help as well.
There are many websites, books and ideas concerning what a good leader should be and many subdivide them into different classes of leaders. As far as this writer is concerned, these are important, but not so as having a person that can lead Ford into prosperity. This, in retrospect, is going to take a charismatic leader that can bring unions, suppliers, the government, investors and even customers in his or her vision. Ford has been losing ground in customer satisfaction for nearly thirty years. One saying this writer lives by is when one finds oneself in a hole; the first thing to do is stop digging. A good leader can stop this destructive cycle and reverse. The traits this writer found most relevant are from the Women Today website.
Have a Dream (that will make this world a better place). This person should already have a plan to save Ford and keep it going in his or her plan. This person must be able to “hit the ground running” and be dedicated to it. The site refers to this as something one would die for. While this seems extreme, it illustrates the loyalty and commitment that this leader must have. There is no time for a sunshine patriot or summer soldier in this war.
Know their strengths. Leaders need to know their strengths and surround themselves with people that compliment them appropriately. Leaders get things done through other people. Leaders also lead based on their strengths.
Strive for Excellence. Settling for mediocrity is not going to bring Ford to profitability; it will only prolong its decline as Asian competitors improve their products and pricing structure. In order to be the best, Six Sigma, zero percent financing, or all the options and buyer incentives are not going to be enough. The product needs to be solid and something the public will crowd showrooms to buy. They will also be a product that others will tell their friends and relatives about, in evangelistic fashion. This is excellence; something that Ford needs to be synonymous with right now. The leader Ford chooses needs to exude excellence in his or her behavior, manners and be someone that the rest will want to emulate.
Be Persistent. The site uses Mother Theresa as someone that is determined. More importantly, leaders don’t have exceptional abilities but they learn from their mistakes and go on. They also do not grow in a comfort zone, but are willing to take risks. This writer would also add that taking risks does not mean choosing styling that will offend or otherwise harm the potential buyer. The aforementioned Focus was offensive in styling to many people in the pursuit of being different. Those who bought one lived to regret it. Taking risks is being calculating and minimizing damage to the company. Throwing in the towel is not an option.
Being Willing to Stand Alone. Lee Iacocca was such a leader and Ford fired him. While a CEO has to answer to shareholders for his or her decisions, they need to understand that a true leader is going to do things that might not make sense at the time. They may clash with the board of directors and make some angry. A leader is not striving to be popular, but to do his or her job.
Be Ready for Resistance. There is real push at Ford and other carmakers, and that is to maintain the status quo. It’s the surest thing to do, predictable and the easiest way to be in Chapter 11. Not implementing a warranty plan that retains customers and not honoring the one they already have is driving customers away. This is one thing that has not changed since this writer bought his last Ford product in 2002, a 2000 Windstar with numerous problems that resulted in the destruction of said vehicle. Another is not offering products that consumers can finance on less than perfect credit. A leader needs to be addressing these concerns and there will be resistance from dealers, union members and management alike.
Set an Example for Your Staff. “Work hard and be a leader; be lazy and never succeed.” This is the quote from the site. This reiterates the fact that many people want the position and the paycheck, but will not put forth the effort. We all want to escape responsibility, but being a leader takes work, and a lot of it. There is not enough pay or prestige in the world to properly compensate a true leader, but he or she performs this out of dedication. The true leader is a servant as the site points out, and is always “on duty.”
Be Ethical. This goes along with the last principle, and something that the auto industry needs to be perceived as by the public. There are many instances concerning Ford and other automakers where profits were put before people’s lives. Chrysler has one concerning their GEN 3 seatbelts that unlatch in a crash in the interest of saving twenty-four cents a buckle . Fords worst was with the Pinto that still haunts them to this day, nearly forty years later. There are some principles that Ford’s leadership needs to follow even when the government and the law are on their side. Considering the current political situation in this country, the government is solidly on the side of business. However, the buying public can and will call them on these ethical errors. Even if they never win a court case, they can still choose not to buy products they feel are unsafe. This is deadly to an automaker, no matter what friends they have on Wall Street, or in Washington.
Serve a Higher Purpose: This writer paraphrased this to serve the premise that there are people who do not believe in God, but can still serve a purpose higher than oneself. When a leader does his or her job with spirituality in mind, the result is that they serve the good of all involved, and not just the firm or themselves. This may be a tenet lacking in many so-called leaders today, but there are more than enough out there that do their jobs without complaint in their present capacity .
Conclusion
Without effective marketing, the best products in the world will not save Ford. The pivotal models that can save, or sink the firm also have the lowest profit per vehicle. The only way they can turn a profit is to sell more of them than they already do. Other “world” products, such as the Fiesta and the Transit Connect should be considered to add value to Ford’s “top heavy” lineup as these are already being sold successfully in other countries and the cost to bring them here would be small. The Fiesta would be a good alternative to the Chevrolet Aveo while the Transit Connect would be for the effective, but dated and uneconomical E-series van. Another is to drop the “Focus” nomenclature in North America while bringing (and renaming) the European version to the United States.
Without a good leader, or a group of same, Ford will never realize long term profitably and will probably go the way of many other automotive firms in the last century. Firms such as Hudson, Kaiser, Studebaker, American Motors and Packard made outstanding vehicles, yet made costly blunders in considering what customers wanted. These aforementioned firms did not have the issues of higher fuel costs, tight credit and global competition on the scale that Ford has today. Considering the quality control issues that the firm has and the apparent lack of concern they have in correcting them, an effective leader will have surround themselves with brilliant, capable and visionary individuals to turn Ford around for the better.

My Project Thesis for Ford Motor Company Chapter One.

2011-04-04T23:19:00.002-04:00

Management consulting is one service that I've hoped to offer since my conclusion of classes in 2008. Incredibly, I have one class left for a bachelor's degree and no money to complete this as of yet. This was in Management and Organizational Development at Spring Arbor University. Right now, I'd like to not see this wasted. I care about my work and offer straightforward advice and solutions that are sustainable for any organization. In this interest, I am going to post my project thesis I did in 2008 when the "big three" were serious trouble. Remember the bailouts? I do.

History and Background of the Problem:

The present situation at Ford Motor Company is a lack of sales. Although the present economic condition may be responsible for this problem, the fact that fuel prices are at record highs and the present lineup that Ford offers consists mainly of light trucks that traditionally have higher rates of fuel consumption than cars have. There is also another issue contributing to poor sales that Ford can control. This is the customer perception that American-made vehicles are poorly built and have lower reliability than vehicles made in Asia or Europe. Ford has had some serious problems with reliability as of late, including, but not limited to cruise controls that can catch fire and cause property damage and/or personal injury. Other issues concerning their trucks are they are reported to spit spark plugs with low mileage engines. The former is under recall and Ford has had a shortage of parts, while the latter management has chosen to let the customer pay for repairs. These repairs can be in excess of several thousand dollars.

During the SUV boom of the 1990’s, Ford and other domestic automakers had little incentive to address quality concerns or fuel economy. Fuel was inexpensive and disposable income among the buying public was high. Starting in 2000, fuel prices increased and in 2001, incomes fell flat. This is a trend that continues to this day. Ford has eliminated jobs and cut back on products in an effort to stem the financial ramifications of past corporate decisions. The issue of tightening credit is not unique to the housing industry. Tightening credit is also a factor that automakers have to deal with as the Dow Jones Industrial Average continues to lose value.

Scope of the Project:

One problem with deciding the scope of this project is that Ford Motor Company is a large, multi-national organization facing many problems in the United States and abroad.

Considering all the factors, implementing a project attempting to address all of the reasons for Ford Motor Company’s poor sales will be beyond the capabilities of this project.

It would be fiscally unfeasible to expect a firm beleaguered by heavy financial losses to implement a project such as General Motors has with the Volt, which is expected to carry a $40,000.00 price tag to the consumer. Although there is the possibility of a loan from the United States government as of late for $25 billion, this is still not a guarantee as of this writing. The said government has had to take over some very prominent financial firms, including AIG for $85 billion.

The money might not be there and Ford will have to find other ways to improve their financial standing. The main cause of their troubles that is within its control concerns the perceived reliability of their lineup and one of circumstances that are hurting sales. Customers buy trucks because they have capabilities that cars do not. If they are not reliable, they will purchase elsewhere. Ford’s trucks have the style and capabilities, but the perceived reliability is not there anymore. General Motors has, with limited success implemented a five year, 100,000 mile warranty on their new cars and trucks. Hyundai and Kia (Hyundai owns Kia) has a similar warranty on their vehicles.

Chrysler Group, as of this writing, owned by Cerberus offers a lifetime power train warranty on their vehicles to address real and perceived issues with their engines and transmissions on certain cars and trucks (the 2.7 liter V-6 in their Intrepid and Stratus models is still the bane of many consumers, including this writer who experienced an engine failure at 47,000 miles on his 2003 Intrepid).

A warranty will help in getting buyers into the showrooms skeptical about a vehicle’s reliability, especially when the vehicle is more capable than its more perceived reliable counterparts. The Toyota Tundra, Nissan Titan, Dodge Ram and Chevrolet Silverado, though good trucks, for example, may not have the positive visual impact that a 2008 or 2009 Ford F-150 has. This is a subjective matter, of course, but most would rather have a good looking car or truck over something visually controversial. The present F-150 was cited by J.D. Power to be a reliable truck.

Importance (Significance) of the Project:

Customers are the lifeblood of any business and this is an area in which Ford has been lacking as of late. Even the much touted Ford Flex, a crossover vehicle, has seen slow sales this year and has some people calling it a “hearse.” Ford has also had to delay the introduction of the newly styled 2009 F-150 to allow dealers to sell off the remaining 2008s. The auto industry in the United States in what is known by the public as the “big three” has besieged the Federal Government for loans of $50 billion dollars and scaled back to $25 billion as of late. This is still not a guarantee to date and the implications to Ford are enormous.

If they do not get this loan, they may be on the verge of bankruptcy and a major firm in the United States will have to close their doors. It will also mean lost jobs in areas that can ill afford to lose them. Michigan is a state besotted by high unemployment and lackluster economy even before the stock market lost nearly 700 points this week. The workers that depend on Ford for a paycheck will be hard-pressed to find new jobs should the worst case scenario arise. Investors stand to lose money if Ford goes bankrupt. If the government infuses money into the ailing automaker and it fails anyway, the taxpayers will have to pay for the loans.

Ford will have to increase their sales if they hope to stay a corporate entity, much less return to profitability. Time is of the essence and redesigning their lineup is going to be expensive. To complicate matters, this may not accomplish the objective. Similarly, the automaker is introducing the Eco Boost to help improve fuel economy in its fleet. However, it will only allow them to reduce the size of its engines without improving fuel economy across the board.

It may not improve sales for the amount of money spent either. Regardless, the firm owes it to its shareholders to turn a profit. Because the economy in Michigan is highly dependent on the auto industry, as is the United States, this is also a matter of national security. The federal government is debating whether or not to extend federal unemployment benefits beyond the standard length of time. Michigan has seen the highest unemployment rates in the nation for the past seven years. All of this has been a strain on state and federal budgets. The lack of tax revenue from job cuts and plant closings is something that governments on all levels are well aware of.

Ford needs to increase their sales in the interest of all of the stakeholders in their venture. The public has a stake in having the unemployment rate as low as it can. This means less unemployed to compete with in the job market. They also want a good, reliable and cost effective product for the money. The employees want to have a stable means of income and benefits to insure a fair standard of living, while shareholders want to maximize the value of their stock. Stockbrokers need something that is going to at hold and hopefully increase in value to sell. Outside suppliers, such as Lear Corporation want Ford to sell more vehicles because that means they will sell more interiors.

The governments need Ford to increase sales to see more tax revenue. This includes, but is not limited to, sales tax, income tax and even fuel taxes to improve roads. Even businesses such as grocery stores, bars, department stores, recreational vehicle dealerships, campgrounds, hotels and even home centers depend indirectly on firms such as Ford to provide income that allows them to hire more of their employees, provide benefits, and even in some cases, to stay in business.

Definitions

CUV stands for Crossover Utility Vehicle; another common term is simply “Crossover.” Typically a Crossover or CUV is a car-based vehicle that stands higher than a typical car, but is usually used as an updated term for station wagon or estate car. The main difference is that the CUV is a unitized body frame and the engines are usually smaller as a result. The fuel economy is about the same as an SUV.

Light truck is typically what most of think of when referring to a pickup truck of any size, a minivan, van or SUV.

Fuel consumption, rates of: typically called gas mileage.

SUV stands for Sport Utility Vehicle, a large, truck-based station wagon with a large engine that typically has lower fuel economy than a car. They usually have power sent to all four wheels, rather than to the front as in most cars, or the rear as in full-sized cars and light trucks.

SYNC, a voice activated mobile phone and digital music system offered on Ford Vehicles and developed as a joint venture with Ford and Microsoft.

Pressure Switch Troubles.

2011-03-27T12:13:00.005-04:00

The majority of no heat calls can attributed to one or more of five things. Poor installation, customer neglect (poor maintenance), environmental causes, equipment age, or manufacturers defects. For the most part, poor installation and maintenance are the biggest causes of problems with a furnace, but equipment age will be a close third. Plugged filters cause the most problems, but by and large, one of the most common trouble codes on a modern, computer equipped furnace will be a "pressure switch error" or other problem associated with this switch or switches (some furnaces have up to four of these).

Again, I am not responsible for the quality of your work nor can I know what else is wrong with your equipment. This is a safety device that must not be tampered with in any way nor replaced with in such a way as to defeat the purpose, or people could die or property damage could result. When in doubt, call a professional. Use this at your own risk.

All a pressure switch is a diaphragm that acts to allow something else to work, usually the ignitor or gas valve after the vent motor comes on. There's a hose that leads to a spud on the vent motor or heat exchanger and two or more terminals with wires attached. If there's any issue with the venting or drain this switch will not close and the ignitor will not come or the gas valve will not open. A clogged drain trap or drain will cause this on a condensing furnace (90% efficient or higher gas furnace) as will a blocked spud, plugged or leaking heat exchanger, blocked or leaking vent, or even a computer or thermostat will cause this error.

You will need a few tools to do this correctly and some are expensive. A manometer (to test for pressure in inches of water column), a multimeter (to test for continuity and voltage), a carbon monoxide detector (Not the kind you hang on your wall), a battery drill with 5/16 and 1/4 inch nut runners, jumpers and possibly Allen wrenches. Here's a rough procedure for testing this switch, but the most import part is NOT to condemn the switch unless you are sure it is bad or there will be a callback. Time and again, I've seen homeowners change these out and this wasn't the problem. Then they call me.

Check the vent and intake for blockage, the drain and trap, and the vent motor for operation BEFORE you even investigate the pressure switch. If the collector plate and vent motor are full of water, the pressure switch won't operate. These obvious problems be be the solution after all.

If this doesn't solve the problem, then hook up a tee with your manometer, in line with the pressure switch. If the pressure exceeds the specs on a positive switch or below on a negative switch, then you need to check to make sure you aren't losing your call for heat across the switch and that the electrical contacts are intact. If you're losing your call for heat, the thermostat may be bad or the board may be going out (this is very common on some Goodman down flow furnaces). The switch could also be calling it a day (not very common at all).

If these are all good and the problem is intermittent, then you need to break out the big guns. Turn the furnace on and break out the carbon monoxide detector. Air out the house if the homeowner is a smoker and then turn the detector on outside. Bring it in and stick the probe into the warm air registers. If the ppm is over 0 (zero) the heat exchanger is suspect and could be failing. Even if it looks good after pulling it (depending on the age of the furnace) doesn't mean it's still good. Filling the heat exchanger with water will prove this out. I did this on a job and sure enough, water gushed from the seams. The heat exchanger was the culprit.

I don't want to say this is a comprehensive or even authoritative way to test or prove out a pressure switch. Professionals will probably laugh this article off the net. What I do want to show is that troubleshooting is a means to an end and must be followed to the end to solve the problem. Throwing parts at a seemingly obvious problem will just cost more in the long run if the part doesn't fix it. In the case of replacing a pressure switch you have less than a 20% chance of fixing it. If you use the wrong part, it may cost you your life. Please, remember that troubleshooting is something that takes lots of training and practice. It isn't something that anyone should do willy nilly, but with a fair amount of knowledge and understanding on how things work. I hope this article gives the layperson some insight into the effort and knowledge that it takes to fix something and hopefully gripe a little less when the invoice is due. Maranatha!

Revelation Commentary, From a Handyman? Part Nine

2011-02-20T19:50:00.004-05:00

Revelation 6
1And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
3And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
4And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
5And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
7And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
9And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
12And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Folks, we all should know who the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are. Even those not well studied in the Bible or even Christian should understand the gist of this. I'm not going to be redundant or bore you with the details, but I will recap how they apply to today's world to the best of my understanding. There are seven seal judgements in all, with the last being a prelude to the trumpet judgements and finally, the bowl or vial ones. The first four seals deal with the Four Horsemen and while one may argue that one person may be the first, I'm going more for the effect and not the person per se. I will say that the first horseman has not arrived as of yet, so the others can't be here yet either. This stuff happens in order and not in some haphazard fashion. No, I do not believe that George Soros, Justin Bieber, Prince William or even Gary Coleman is the guy on the first horse. Obviously this is a person of some political stature because of the crown. This person has a bow, but no arrows are made mention of. I imagine there will be some coercion and deception involved, but little if any military action involved in this conquering. It's also common knowledge that when a leader arrived on a white horse, it was because he conquered a city or nation.
But in verse four, we see that all isn't well in the Global Village, because peace (or the aura of peace anyway) is taken from the earth. You can call this World War Three, Gog Magog, or whatever, but it will be because someone feels this world leader has cut them a raw deal and decides to rebel. Obviously, the world leader "saves" the day and puts this down with force. This is why the second rider has a sword.
Verse five and six deal with another horseman. This guy has a set of weights and balances in one hand. In my eighth grade science class, we used balances a lot to measure the mass of something that needed precision. Not too long ago, even illegal drugs were measured on these devices before electronic scales accurate enough for such precise measurements became the norm. The fact that balances are being used to measure food and not gold is telling here. It means that food is going to be scarce.
Now this is where I have to question the King James Version a bit. A penny doesn't mean a whole lot to most of us now, because we can't even get a piece of candy for that now. So on the surface, this would seem a heck of a deal. Back in the day though, this was a big deal because a penny was a day's wages for most of the townsfolk. Of course the penny wasn't the small unit of measurement in 17th century England either. There were ha'pennies and farthings as well, but our current monetary system has made this archaic. All you need to know is that this is a days wages. Another beef is the word "measure", but this should probably translate into a quart or liter in modern times. My wife made bread today and used about 3 cups of flour to make one loaf of bread in the machine, but I imagine a loaf at the grocery store will use about a dry quart, or four cups. Wheat is more desired and therefore going to be more scarce than barley, which will be three quarts for a days wages.
This is going to get ugly trying to eat, much less pay the house payment and utilities when this crisis hits. One quart of wheat will feed you, three quarts will feed a family. You do the math.
Famine and wars will lead to the fourth horseman and that guy is death. There will be starvation, sickness and the unrest that will cause people to die. Even though prices are high for food and everything else right now. I don't believe these horsemen have arrived yet. This will not happen until after Christ removes His church, but it doesn't mean the church won't experience a little taste of it. Love in Christ.

Revelation Commentary, From a Handyman? Part Eight

2011-02-20T19:28:00.003-05:00

Revelation 5
1And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
2And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?
3And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.
4And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
5And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
6And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
7And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
8And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
9And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
10And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
11And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
12Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
13And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
14And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

When I went to Sunday school, we were always told about this book with seven seals in it. For the longest time, I thought this was the Bible itself, but this isn't the case. Long before bookbinding, there were scrolls that were sealed to protect their contents from prying eyes. In fact removing a seal off of a scroll not meant for you could result in a death sentence. So if you weren't worthy to open the seals, you weren't able to open the scroll and look inside.
This scroll is the title deed to the earth itself and as we all know, or should know that Satan is the rightful owner of this planet because Adam and Eve chose sin over the Lord. We were supposed to be gods of this earth, but because we sinned, we made Satan of that title (this upsets my mom to no end when I say this, but it does me too).
Because no one was worthy to open these seals, John was upset and given the state of the planet who could blame him. However, in verse 5, one of the elders told John that the Lion of Judah and the Root of David was worthy to open these seven seals. So what's with the lamb with seven horns and seven eyes that looked as if it had been slain. That lamb is Christ Himself and the seven horns are His perfect and final authority (horns are used as a symbol for power or authority throughout the book and the Bible). The fact that this Lamb as seven eyes also shows His perfect vision and knowledge (seven is the number of perfection).
Now I'm not really planning on seeing a literal lamb with seven horns and seven eyes opening a scroll, but I do intend on seeing Jesus opening each and every seal to reclaim the earth. I also intend to be falling on my face every chance I can to love and worship Him. Love in Christ.

Revelation Commentary, From a Handyman? Part Seven

2011-02-18T23:39:00.004-05:00

Now that we're in Revelation chapter four, thing begin to get a little more exciting. For the first three chapters, Christ Jesus talks about the church. The focus of this chapter is going to be about the goings on in Heaven. The scene involves 24 elders, who this writer believes are representative of the church. The living creatures are representative of the gospels, but are most likely real live beings in Heaven right this minute. They could also represent the power, strength, vision and wisdom of the Lord. This is my interpretation and should not be taken as gospel truth, pun intended.

What I do see as gospel truth is 4:1 where the angel tells John to "come up here." This is one and only one of many indicators of the rapture that's going to happen to Christians before the seven year period called the Tribulation starts. If there wasn't going to be a rapture, there would be no need to talk about the judgement from this perspective and no need to call John up there to see. I know there are a lot of those who would disagree with me, vehemently, but I'm not backing down on it. Neither will I cow to remarks of heresy or other questioning of my faith. The devil has been working overtime to divide the church, and I'm stating my stand. I will be more than happy to explain this on the way up, but I respect your viewpoint. Please respect mine and don't flame this or any other post or I will block you.

Revelation 4
1After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

2And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.

3And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

4And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

5And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

6And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

7And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.

8And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

9And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,

10The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

11Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Revelation Commentary, From a Handyman? Part Six

2011-02-18T23:03:00.002-05:00

Today, I realize we're probably late in the hour as far as prophesy is concerned. Anything I write past this point is doing to be taking place soon enough from the looks of it. Understanding this, any commentary I write will be wrong. Bet on it. But if it's right, remember that this is interpretation and not prophesy in and of itself. Today, I'm going to wrap up the churches with particular attention to the last church, the church of Laodicea.

Revelation 3
1And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

2Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.

3Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

4Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.

5He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

6He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

7And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

8I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

9Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

10Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

11Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

12Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

13He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

14And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

15I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

16So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

17Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

18I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

19As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

20Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

21To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

22He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

The church of Sardis is the dead church. This where the people are following through the motions, but are dead because they don't glorify the Lord. More importantly, they aren't watching for Him. Does this remind you of a lot of those in the body of Christ? It does with me.

Philadelphia means the city of brotherly love and this church is one of the two that Christ doesn't find fault with. Despite dealing with all the phonies, this church has held true to to Christ, and are watching for Him (waiting for His Kingdom). They will be spared from the "hour" of temptation that will come upon the earth (the tribulation).

Laodicea is hard to pronounce and even more difficult to understand. This was a city in Asia Minor (now Turkey) that was renowned for their eye salve. This is why Christ made mention of their spiritual blindness. He also admonished them for being lukewarm and wanting to spew them out of his mouth. Think about this for a moment. I like a nice hot cup of coffee, and even a glass of iced beverage of the same is yummy and refreshing, but lukewarm? It's not good. We refuse to drink lukewarm anything unless we're really thirsty. This is the point that Christ is making about Christians in general. We claim to be His, but shy away from reading the Bible or preaching the gospel. Most of us live as closet Christians. Most will openly disagree with the Bible as the Word of God, or try to convolute it to suit their own morality. This is disgusting and frustrating to someone trying to reach the lost when many refuse to be the part. Soon I believe there will be no room to be lukewarm as the cost will be too great.
Love in Christ

Fixing a Low Heat on an American Standard (unusual).

2011-02-12T10:25:00.003-05:00

Few things can frustrate a technician, and an anxious homeowner more than a furnace that should be running fine, but instead is putting out 90 degree air when it's below freezing outside. Last evening I had to go to a house out in Dansville because this owner's furnace wasn't keeping up. He did have a 1600 square foot house with vaulted ceilings and a ten foot high basement, which was uninsulated. The house itself was well insulated and the homeowner had said this problem was very recent, within the last few days. The furnace in question is an AUX060, so it's 60,000 B.T.U.s. Not blistering, but plenty adequate to heat a house of this size. The duct work and runs were in good order and well-balanced (the dampers were adjusted right). The filter was clean and so was the blower wheel, but if these were dirty, the heat output would be too high not too low. The furnace was started and the burners came alive with a "pop". I checked the heat rise and it about 25 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 14 Celsius. This was by checking the return air temperature against the discharge temperature from the supply side. The difference is the heat rise. I needed 30 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit, the former being the minimum and the latter being the maximum.
So, I checked the venting, inducer, and finally the manifold pressure. This was set to 10 inches of water column on low fire. I gasped in disbelief; apparently, the last tech who put the gas valve on didn't set the manifold for low fire correctly and could have damaged the heat exchanger. Since this is an LP furnace, I set the manifold to 6 inches for low fire. The high fire was set to ten, which was correct. Cycling the furnace revealed that although the gas came on, it didn't start the burners. The ignitor was at 15 ohm and I cleaned the flame sensor. Still no luck and the homeowner was getting anxious.
Without a word, I removed the manifold from the burner box, removed the ignitor and the burners. These were dirty and the runners too close together and corroded. I cleaned these out and spread the runners apart to the thickness of a dime. After that put them back in and started it up. The burners started smoothly and another unexpected result ensued, the furnace was warm again. Apparently, the dirt in the burners and runners was enough to cause the last tech to turn up the gas pressure on the valve to get these to light. Because this particular model has what I affectionately call a "three handed" burner design, the burners are a bit of a pain to get back together. Most techs avoid doing this as a result. I pull the whole burner box out on these ones to make it easier. All I do is turn this box upside down and put the burner in; no problem.
Maranatha!

Wiring Slow Operating Valves on a Geothermal Heat Pump.

2011-02-06T21:33:00.003-05:00

With the costs of fuel (any fuel) still heading skyward, the idea of "free" energy from the ground is a reality more and more households are cutting their teeth on. Geothermal systems cost upwards of $7000 to $20000 depending on the features and if this is an open (pump and dump) or a closed loop system. Because closed loop systems require a lot of plumbing run in the ground, these are very expensive, especially for someone changing from another fuel type (In the city, with a municipal water supply you will HAVE to use a closed loop per codes if they even permit a geothermal heat pump at all. This system will dump water in the sewer system if installed open loop). For those in the country or a private well, an open loop or pump and dump makes sense. The cost is relatively low and there's a lot less plumbing to get it going. Pump and dumps use water from the well to either extract or absorb heat from the ground. This is because most groundwater is about 55 degrees and even though it seems cold in the winter, has quite a bit of heat (even frozen water has heat, but would never make it through the system).
This is a pretty simple setup. The heat pump is plumbed into the water supply via pipes with a manual valve on the ingoing side an one or two valves on the outgoing side, depending on whether or not it's single or two stage unit. Two stages will have a straight pipe with a loop attached with a valve on the loop and one on the straightaway. The first stage will always be on the straightaway and the second stage will be on the loop. In theory, the first stage valve will open when the thermostat calls for heat and stay open, even when the thermostat calls for second stage. Simple huh? Otherwise the furnace will shut off on low water flow and the emergency heat will probably come on. Customers hate that.
Now for the disclaimer. I am not responsible for any damage done to your furnace as I am not your boss. You MUST READ the instructions on the valve packaging AND the furnace. Improper wiring or testing methods can cause personal injury and property damage. You MUST determine whether or not this is going to work for your application. Follow any advice at your own risk.
Believe me, I burnt out a control board and a thermostat trying to fix one of these systems and the customer wasn't a happy camper. Shut off the power to the unit before disconnecting or connecting anything and if you must use a voltmeter, please tape the ends so only the very tip is showing. This is so you don't introduce high voltage to a low voltage part or pop a breaker. The geothermal heat pumps I've worked on don't have a fuse for the board (mainly Water Furnace). You've been warned.
Water hammer is the sound made when a valve closes suddenly under high pressure. Copper plumbing seems to be prone to this because there's no give. Because any action will cause a reaction, shutting off a valve quickly will stop the water flow, but not bleed off the energy behind it. This is like a car running into a bridge abutment (hard and sudden) as opposed to having the brakes bleed off the energy in motion (kinetic energy). Slow operating valves limit or eliminate water hammer by opening and closing slowly, bleeding off the energy of the water flow.
But these can be a nightmare to install if you haven't had any instruction on them. Several calls to Water Furnace tech support had me wiring these to the board and contactors, but no dice. The valves didn't open and the furnace wouldn't operate. The written instructions are also unclear on this step and will confound the tech at every turn. Personally, I've no problem with doing the job, but I'm not abreast of the technical jargon either. I've also learned the more complicated you make something, the more likely you are to royally screw it up. Such is the case with this furnace; there was no clear way to wire this beast up.
Or is there? The valves, made by Taco (pronounced Tayco) have orange power heads and three terminals, each marked 1, 2 and 3. There's also a schematic on each valve. Use this schematic to wire them up. Here's how to do it.
What you'll need is enough three or five wire (18 gauge thermostat wire) to reach the valves and the terminals on the board. Three is for single stage and five is for two stage systems. You'll also need three wire nuts for the two stage and none for the single stage.
Take your wire and run it into the furnace and loosely place it where you want it where it's going to away from anything that will damage same. Slit the outer insulation about 8 inches at each end and peel the wires apart as using a stripper on the outer casing will nick the wires. Strip off enough of the inner insulation so you can hook everything up without the bare wires touching each other. Hook the number 1 terminal (s) on the valve (s) to the common or "C" on the board. One wire should suffice for both; use two short pieces and a wire nut to hook up the common wire. Now this is where it gets tricky. Find out which valve is for first stage, hook one end to the number 2 terminal. Hook the other end of this wire to the "Y1" ("Y" if it's a single stage) taken from the board. Then hook another free wire to the 3 terminal on the valve and hook that to the "Y" terminal on the board. Do the same with the stage two valve, using the remaining wires to hook up the 2 terminal to the "Y2" wire from the thermostat and terminal 3 to the "Y2" terminal on the board.
What happens is the thermostat calls for heat, or cooling and sends power to the valve, which opens and sends power to the contactor, which turns the compressor on. Numbers 1 and 2 on the valve actually supply the path to operate the valve, while numbers two and three are connected to a micro switch and no power goes between them. These are known as "dry" contacts for that reason. This wire completes the circuit to the board from the thermostat when valve is finished opening. Viola! it should be pumping heat in no time. Maranatha!

Goodbye 2010...

2010-12-31T21:31:00.002-05:00

This was a year of miracles, new beginnings and even revival in my life. I spent most of the year looking for work and not outpacing my unemployment benefits. More importantly, it was giving my son a chance to adapt to his new family, giving my wife and boys a hot meal and a clean house at the end of the day. I was an opportunity to give back to my family and concentrate on the Lord; thanking Him for the many blessings He provided for me and mine in a trying time.
I had to junk my car with 80,000 miles on it, and got another vehicle just in time to get back to work. It was a huge concern of mine to get reliable transportation, but the Lord had this covered.
So most importantly, it to be dependent on the Lord and just to stop the pride of worry and angst. These were things I was guilty of to the hilt before this soon to be former year. I thought I could handle my own troubles rather than the Lord, but thankfully I was wrong.
I'm still one class away from getting my bachelor's degree, but even this pales in comparison to the Object of my focus.
Now that I'm working, my hope is to keep trusting in Him and not me. Success is given by the Lord, not because of anything special we've done to earn it. I'm not counting on my job and haven't yet, but remain dependent on the Lord.
I'm sorry for the rambling capstone on this year and will continue to write my commentary and all the other stuff, Lord willing.

The Bridge.

2010-12-24T10:44:00.002-05:00

River was deep
chasm too wide.
Got a big, big problem
cause we can’t cross the other side,
River too deep,
chasm too wide.

Man tried to build a mighty, mighty tower.
But it couldn’t cross the river,
chasm too wide.
Couldn’t even start to reach the other side,
River was deep
Chasm too wide.

Man was determined and he built a bridge so wide.
Only problem was it couldn’t reach the other side,
river was deep,
chasm too wide.

All man's effort fell in vain,
cause there was a big, big problem
that he couldn't contain.
Cause the river of sin and the chasm of separation,
made the problem of man, too much for him alone,
to ever solve by him alone.

Jesus was watching from on the other side,
said there was and man couldn’t even try,
To bridge the river and reach the other side.
So He had a plan to bring us to His side.

Took three three nails and an unwanted tree.
Laid down down His life for you and me.
Someday soon if we trust in Him, then one day we’ll
Reach the other side.

River was too deep,
Chasm too wide,
But the love of Christ made it,
Made it all work out.

Take that step and reach the other side,
Jesus got His hand to take you to His side.

Revelation Commentary, From a Handyman? Part Five

2010-12-20T21:49:00.004-05:00

First of all, I realize that Jesus could have came back and got His church, had the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and got the elders in place by the time I got to part Five. Forgive me, brothers and sisters. I have been busy and have have had the usual stuff to tend to on this blog. As always, onward Christian soldiers.

12And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;

13I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.

14But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

15So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.

16Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

17He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

Pergamos, or Pergamum was an important political and religious center in what is now Turkey. The large and grotesque altar is also known as the throne of Zeus (the egomaniacial god with the thunderbolts). If you read the descriptions of Zeus, he is a dead ringer for Satan. This altar is also known as Satan's throne. No wonder this is where many Christians met their demise, including Antipas whom Jesus named.

However, the issue Christ had with this church was because they were tolerant of
the Nicolaitanes, whose name suggests a leadership over the laity. This group also believed it was fine to sin as long as you confessed your 'sins' to a member of the clergy. The problem Christ had with these clowns is because they strove to glorify man and not Him. This same group also practiced Baylonian religion that was a huge stumbling block for Israel.

The message of "Hidden Manna" is also the title of one of my dear friends, Tracie Justice and this is for good reason. Christ promised this church a fresh start and being well taken care of if they would only repent. Manna is what the Israelites ate in the wilderness for 40 years and sustained them through some tough times. Christ is compassionate and the only One who can forgive sin. He will sustain you if trust in Him. Blessings.

Blower Motor Troubles and What Gives.

2010-12-20T19:49:00.005-05:00

Furnace or air handler blowers are, for the electrically uneducated, a riddle, wrapped in a mystery in an enigma. I'm a hands on kind of guy and not into the theory much, but hopefully this article will help those on the fence with this matter. True, even someone not mechanically inclined can diagnose one correctly if it releases the measured amount of magic smoke the engineers installed. However, a blower motor failing will seldom manifest something this obvious. For the sake of argument, I will refer to Ohm's law during this article for the purpose of clarity. I'll also give other methods to attempt to come to the same conclusion without the need for such calculations.

Again, this is more for information and less for educational or instructive purposes. If you can't use a multimeter, unsure of yourself around electricity; it's best to call a professional. I've no control over your work and you're responsible for any screw ups, or success you come up with.

I'll also add that one horsepower is 746 watts. So the 1/3 horsepower motor in this article would seem to be about 250 watts or 1/4 Kilowatt. Keep this in mind, with a grain of salt or perhaps a beer chaser.

I was working on a furnace in a massage parlour this afternoon where it was overheating and dropping out on limit, but the air coming out of the registers was about 85 degrees. Strangely, the temperature of the rearmost one closest to the furnace was 110 degrees.

Puzzled, I went to the furnace, pulled both doors and used my cheater magnet to close the door switch. I measured 2.8 amps at the neutral wire when the motor was under load and the door was partially closed. I got 115 volts at the board terminals, which meant the board was okay. What was wrong?

I needed to find the power this motor was out-putting and since I had the volts and amps, this should be a walk in the park. A look on the Ohm's wheel shows that Power equals Volts times Amps. Mathematically, this is P=V*I. Let's get to it.

2.8 amps times 115 Volts equals 322 watts. Yes this seems right, but wait. That motor is actually rated at at 6 amps, which makes this about 690 watts. If the motor's using 322 watts, and it can use 690, it's only using 47 percent of its potential. This means it's only moving about 50 percent of the air it should be, even if the airflow seems fine. This will cause the limit to trip. This is why you NEED to read the amp ratings on the motor and not rely on horsepower ratings on same. You WILL fail to see a problem 100% of the time, guaranteed. This is because ALL blower motors operate under load. Again, do not assume.

I replaced the motor and capacitor with a new one, and the temperature climbed to a balmy 80 degrees in the parlour within a few minutes. After explaining to the proprietor that I do not haggle on price, I was out of there. Maranatha!

A Song About Christmas, The Greatest Gift.

2010-12-06T20:54:00.005-05:00

I know it's Christmastime,
anyone can see,
Even someone just like me.

See I had a problem, in reality.
Couldn't pay the layaway.
You have to understand,
when the pink slips lands,
not a lot to give away.

So I got my gift card,
bought some groceries.
Wiped a tear drop from my eye.

As I walked right down
those aisles misty eyed,
got to thinking bought Him.
All of the gifts I'd given and gotten
through through the years,
doesn't mean too much to me.

'Cause I don't need the presents underneath
the tree, just to know that You love me.
I'm gonna take some time, count my blessings down.
Then I'm sing some praise.

I called and told my wife,
she just choked back tears.
"Honey please just dry your eyes."
We need to make some time, in reality,
the holidays are here to share.

Lord I don't need the presents,
underneath the tree,
Just to know that You love me.

Your greatest gift to us in reality,
was your life shed on that unwanted tree.

I can't pay You back,
nor earn immunity,
You just came to die for me.
Saved me from a life of depravity and sin.
Jesus I can't thank You near enough.

Coleman Mobile Home Furnace Fix

2010-12-03T18:44:00.003-05:00

Sorry, I didn't upload pictures yet again, but this my answer to a problem that in reality started two years ago. Anyone who has a Coleman mobile home furnace, or anyone who had the seeming misfortune of trying to diagnose an apparent problem with the combustion air (pressure) switch. This nearly always happens after replacing the hot surface ignitor or flame sensor. Putting the burner back in, along with the gas valve will inevitably bring this code up when starting the furnace.
You can put a manometer on the combustion air switch and test the pressure (not on the plastic part) and you'll get anywhere from -0.30 to -0.16 inches of water column, but the switch is set for -0.15. This isn't the problem; now what.

The board may look a little discolored around a couple resistors, but this isn't necessarily an issue by itself either. Replacing it won't solve it and the combustion air code will come back. This is very frustrating and expensive. Taking the vent and intake apart won't reveal much either, unless these are clogged, but again, probably not.

If you're a heating technician, this is frustrating, but completely fixable without charging the customer more money. Try this tip before calling tech support (which will tell you the thermostat or control board is bad because the furnace is losing its call for heat. This is if you can even get through. Remember that black grommet you removed when you replaced the ignitor or flame rod. Well do you? No doubt this is burned or not sealing properly. That combustion air switch is more than a bit finicky and from my experience, a manometer, properly zeroed in will still throw it off. Remove the manometer and put the hoses back where they belong on the switch and intake. Use a high temperature (red) silicone caulk or sealant around that grommet and seal up where the wires go in. This could be the cure to the problem. Let it dry a few minutes and turn the furnace on, cycling it naturally a few times. This means waiting about 15 to 20 minutes, but the furnace should run normally now. Maranatha!

Revelation Commentary, from a Handyman? Part 4

2010-11-13T22:01:00.003-05:00

From Part Three, I ended it with a description of the Church of Ephesus, the legalistic church. This post is going to cover the church of Smyrna, the suffering church.

And to the angel of the church of Smyrna write: These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive: I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synogogue of Satan. Fear not those things which shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt by the second death. Revelation 2:8-11 KJV.

The church of Smyrna, as with many churches in the first century and today suffered and still suffer heavy persecution from unbelievers. Churches in every nation, including the United States face persecution as individuals and as a group. This can range from rude remarks, all the way to beheadings, or worse.

When the seven year period known as the Tribulation comes, this will intensify. Tribulation saints (but not the church) will be here to face the brunt and the wrath of the one known as the Antichrist. In Smyrna, the time from arrest to execution was ten days, but the Lord promised them as He does us, to endure to the end and receive a crown of life. For me personally, this sounds like a win/win if I ever heard one. Our lives can and should be there to glorify the Lord, and what better way than give your life is this is required.

A Cheap Fix for Collapsed Radiator Hoses.

2010-11-13T21:16:00.003-05:00

I've been working on cars since for nearly three decades and have learned there are things better left to a pro. However, there are times that we really can save money if we do the work ourselves if we know what we're doing. Saying this, I'm not in control of your work or situation and you should approach any repair with a degree of respect. Working on the cooling system can be dangerous and unless the engine you're working on is completely cool, you could get hurt. I had to replace a valve cover gasket on a 1975 Nova 20 years ago with a hot engine and broke a heater hose. The result was a first degree burn on my forearm that could have been much worse. Do not work on any engine or any part of the cooling system unless you're sure it's completely cool (overnight is best).

The car was and still is a 2004 Pontiac Grand Am with the 2.2 liter four and the original issue was a leaking cam (or valve) cover. This was a simple straightforward job that still took me a couple hours because of trying to figure out the hose issue and cleaning the cover in Simple Green. The hose problem was that they were collapsed, and I assumed that the hoses were bad. Any time, I would say that after five years the hoses and belts need replacement. With the way car parts are now, we need to try and maximize their use. I replace them when they start to weather check or swell and as long as they're resilient, I leave 'em on unless I have to take on off to replace another part.

These hoses looked fine, but they had been on the car since 2004 and it is 2010. So my friend and I went to Autozone and the clerk priced out the upper and lower rad hoses for this beast. The top hose was $10.99, but the lower one was $65.00.

Talk about sticker shock, but this was a pretty convoluted part. Still, money's tight this week and I never have the money to swap out parts on a whim. Off to NAPA and I purchased what I needed for about $7.50 at the advice of the counterperson there.

I removed the surge tank cap and at once, the hoses returned to their rounded shape. The problem was the cap wasn't equalizing the pressure and once the engine cooled, the pressure in the cooling system became lower than that of the surrounding air. I replaced said cap with a new aftermarket and saved a lot of money and frustration. Admittedly, the hoses and belts in this car are going to need to be done soon. However, it makes no sense to replace something before it's time. This is much like getting a new humidifier pad every six months instead of annually. It definately makes no sense to replace the wrong part and still have a problem. Maranatha!

Avoiding a Catastrophe!

2010-11-11T20:37:00.003-05:00

Today, after several 12 hour days behind the wheel and in front of furnaces, business slowed to a trickle. I had one clean and check on a Carrier 80% unit in Dewitt today. That was my one and only call besides helping my boss with a unit heater in the garage. While the furnace itself had the usual signs of neglect (A very dirty flame rod and a hot surface ignitor ready to fail) the humidifier was a sight to behold. Because of privacy concerns, I didn't take a picture of said humidifier, but it was the worst case of mildew I've seen in several years. This was a General Filters model 1099. the big one with the clips holding the top and bottom to the chassis. This whole chassis was black with mildew, the steel frame on the pad was rusted and the aluminum substrate also had a mask of black fungi. Take my word for it, this was gross.

Because there was a fair amount of luggage nearby and this was a finished basement with carpeting throughout, I elected not to use bleach to clean the chassis out. Instead, I opted to use evaporator coil cleaner with a spray bottle and some elbow grease to get this muck out; not easy with a General. This humidifier fills through the top plate and drains excess water through the bottom. Since this is a bypass humidifier, using a pipe from the opposite duct, there is no fan to move the air through. It uses the furnace fan to move the air through the wet pad and substrate. The excess water drains through a hole and a tube in the bottom plate.

The problem was the pad had not been changed in five years and material and dirt had clogged the drain. This water stagnated and caused the interior of the chassis to remain wet. Because the coating designed to keep biological activity to a minimum on the pad was long gone, the mildew situation intensified; it had all the makings of the perfect storm. Months of no maintenance dumped more dirt into the drain and created more mildew. This in turn created more material to plug things up. The result could have been a nightmare for the homeowner because the drain could have failed completely and the water would have had nowhere to go but over the edge of the plate and onto the floor and into the furnace. This water would have ruined drywall, carpeting, furniture and that expensive luggage inched from the furnace. It could have also caused issues with rusting the duct work.

But the worst of the worst is air quality. Mildew or mold isn't fun to breathe, nor does it help the quality of furnishings in a home. The toxins released by this stuff can sicken people, especially if they have allergies (the homeowner does). The pad was about $50 installed and included expert installation, which is another caveat that homeowners need to understand. Just because they can buy something in the store doesn't make them qualified to install it. I've seen more than a few bungled humidifier pad installs to know that these are not idiot proof, including one rather talented homeowner who elected to put a #10 Aprilaire pad into a Model 550 humidifier. This one resulted in a three inch gap that's going to let gallons of water ruin his drop elbow and furnace when the pad (an aftermarket knock off) finally collapses in a heap.

My advice is to call a professional to get this work done the right way. Make sure he or she is bonded and has some training, but the most important thing is to make sure this person gives a damn about the job they are doing. You would think that as a homeowner, you'd know and care more than the guy who does does this for a living every day.However, this isn't the case. I've had thousands of dollars in training and have hundreds of dollars of tools and equipment to help make sure the job is done right. I've also worked on more humidifiers in one week than most laypeople will do in 50 years.

Other technicians will probably have similar stories too, but the message is clear. Some things are better left to a professional, and need to be done. Maranatha!

Revelation Commentary, From a Handyman? Part 3

2010-11-10T22:16:00.005-05:00

Earlier, I made the comment about the seven stars in Jesus' right hand.

1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the seven angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

Let's take this verse in. There are several references to "stars" being equated to angels in the Book of Revelation in addition to elsewhere in the Bible. David Jeremiah has an excellent commentary on angels if you're interested. Here's the link
http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/radio.aspx

We should also know from the Book of Matthew, chapter 25, or Acts 17:11 and other references (salt and light for one in Matthew 5:13:16). So the church is to be the light of the world, this we should know, but in practice this isn't always the case for Christ's unworthy bride. This is a sad reality elaborated in Revelation Chapter 2.

Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience and how canst not bear them which are evil; and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hadst found them liars; And hadst borne, and hadst patience, and for my name's hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou has left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate. He that have an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith onto the churches; to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Jesus is addressing Ephesus, which is a church that follows through the motions and has adopted a very legalistic style. The problem is that they've forgotten about Jesus while going through the motions. One word here about the Nicolaitanes. These are people who wanted to centralize the authority in the church, replacing the Bible and Jesus with the hierarchy of men. This is why Christ despises them to this day.

Revelation Commentary, From a Handyman? Part Two

2010-10-23T17:08:00.006-04:00

The Book of Revelation is a book about solving problems, but it's far more about Jesus, period.

1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave onto him, to shew his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto unto his servant, John.

1:2 Who bare record of the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ, and keep those things that he saw.

1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophesy, and keep those things which are written therin: for the time is at hand.

1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be onto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne.

1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth, Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.

1:6 And hath made us kings and priests onto God and his Father; and to him be glory glory and dominion for ever and ever, Amen.

These first five verses explain the purposes of this book. First, Jesus chose His apostle John, who had been boiled in oil at least and sentenced to rot on the isle of Patmos by the Roman government, to be the writer of the Revelation. It also explains the role of Jesus in all of this and reveals His message to seven churches in Asia at that time (about AD 90), which is really a part of modern-day Turkey. These churches have significance in that each represents a time, and spiritual condition, up to and including the present day. But did you read the third verse? This verse shows a blessing for those who read and heed (follow) what's contained in this book, because it's about time. This isn't for the curious, or some person thumbing through the bible, but for someone really taking heed of warnings in this book before the events happen. I'm going to pitch to you, what I believe to be the blessing made mention here. This is going to be to escape the Great Tribulation. More on this later.

1:7 Behold, he that cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they have also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him, even so, Amen.

1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and is to come, the Almighty.

1:9 I John, also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the Isle of Patmos for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

1:10 I was inthe spirit of the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet (italics mine).

1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, and What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia: unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me, and being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks.

1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
1:14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
1:15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
1:16 And he had in his right hand seven stars; and out of his mouth went a sharp two edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he lay his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last.

What I really want to concentrate on is how Jesus looked and what the symbolism is here. I believe that much of this is literal and true to the times. I can say that from this book that He is the King and dressed in a Kingly way. Being dressed down to the foot and wearing a gold vest would sum that up. The thing that really surprised me was the color of His hair. Now I know what you're thinking. Jesus was a Middle Eastern man who had dark hair and probably wore a beard, but this is clearly not the case in His true form. There's no beard here, but John describes His face as "was the sun" or like the sun, with eyes "as a flame of fire." I'm going to hazard a guess that Jesus has blue eyes and a face that exudes the ultimate in strength. His white hair and head are likely a symbol of His purity and always being, but probably very literal. Having feet like fine brass also alludes to His purity, strength and refinement in the eyes of the Apostle John. Because Jesus IS God the Son in all His glory, it was such a shock to John that merely looking at Him would result in death. Obviously, this was not Christ's intention.

Let me off the beaten path a bit. Heaven and Christ are much like a clean room. Christ is perfectly just, innocent, and devoid of sin. Because of this, He cannot allow sin to contaminate Heaven. Otherwise it would be just like the earth is now. This is why sinful man cannot enter Heaven. Honestly, I don't think a literal two edged sword is really coming out of His mouth, but I do believe that His words will be that sword and this is what John is likely conveying. In the next installment, I will elaborate more on His words. and attempt to come to grips on the stars Christ has in His right hand. Maranatha!

Revelation Commentary, From a Handyman? Part One

2010-10-23T13:51:00.002-04:00

Like many brothers and sisters in Christ, I am eagerly awaiting His return to earth and to eventually rule with Him over a New heaven and earth. While this seems an eternity away, I assure you that no one has waited so long as Jesus has. To finally be able to rule what is rightfully His, created, bought and paid for, tempered by the justice meted out to the rebellious, will be the product of thousands of years in the making. It will be the homecoming of homecomings, with our Lord, Creator and Master, Jesus Christ as the centerpiece of our love and worship. Like many of you, who have heard from David Jeramiah or read the works of Hal Lindsey or Tim LaHaye will probably write this off as the works of a layperson (and they'd be right). Others may call these this the ravings of a madman. Either designation is fine with me, but I believe the the Lord has moved me to write this commentary which will hopefully provide some insight, from a handyman's point of view.

Revelation is what could be called the capstone of the Bible and Biblical times, for which I believe we are living in at this minute. While many would just assume dismiss this book and live their lives, it is a part of the Bible that involves Jesus taking back this planet from Satan. The earth was supposed to be ours (human beings) but when Adam and Eve rebelled in the Garden of Eden, Satan took over. Our continued rebellion against the Lord and following Satan, by default regardless of the "ism" we choose, is the reason for wars, disease, poverty, inflation, drug use, divorce, homelessness, hunger, and every other malady you can think of. This is pretty simple; even in society, there are consequences. If one person acts in a lawless manner, that person degrades and causes problems for society. If society itself degrades, then it becomes a problem for everyone as a whole and as individuals. I can hardly drive down a street without seeing another "medinical marijuana clinic" springing up, for example. Marijuana is a proven gateway drug to "harder" items such as methamphetamine, or cocaine. The former has ravaged minds and bodies to the point of beyond repair and the latter was the instrument of death for my aunt in 1989. More on all of this in later installments.

Likewise, Revelation is really, in it's simplest terms, a sort of why, how and the result kind of book. This isn't a lot different than an instruction manual, or even a cookbook in that its aim is to solve a problem. When I walk into a house or place of business in my line of work, there's always an issue to be fixed. Whatever it is, I have to assess the issue and create a plan of attack to get it solved. No doubt this goes on at your job too. Even when you're unemployed, you have the problem of not having a job and working on solving it.

The world is no different in that regard; it is contaminated with sin. Not unlike the problem of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, sin has corrupted everything on this planet. Even the water, soil, plants and animals suffer because of this fallen state. The air we breathe and even the sun has the effects of sin. What used to be able to live forever now struggles to live three quarters of a century. This writer is 40 years old and praise the Lord, in great health, but this is something that's not taken for granted. Many of his peers have had major health problems, including, not limited to osteoporosis, a kidney transplant, even a pancreas transplant. However, the most sickening effect of sin isn't its effect on the body, but on the mind. It has created in the average human being, a state of egomaniacal depravity, a sense of entitlement that goes afoul of any real sense to the point of being god in his or her own mind. I'm not talking Pol Pot, Hitler or even Ted Bundy, but the average human being. Satan, of course is also infected by sin and has the overwhelming desired to be worshipped "like the Most High." He also wants to be g-d.

Jesus isn't going to let this go on forever and Satan knows it. Arguably far more than most of us humans, who the overwhelming majority are in denial of either their fallen state and need for a Saviour. Jesus also knows this and has written out the problem, the process of how He's going to "clean house" and what the result is going to be. He's also intent on getting the word out to us humans before we become casualties of this "housecleaning," perhaps for eternity.

Fixing the Heat on a 2004 Buick Rendezvous

2010-10-10T17:54:00.004-04:00

This is only one possible way to fix the problem at hand, as the problem must determine the solution. Mine was a code P0128, with the heater very weak and the car very slow to warm up. Pulling the code with my Actron showed that the thermostat was kaput. In this case, it was opening too early and not letting the engine warm up. This is going to make for some piggish engine performance (poor fuel economy) and make it extremely dangerous driving in cold weather. In my case, it took nearly 45 minutes to warm up and it was very difficult to defrost the windows. It'll also make for some cold driving with my wife and kids in the car, so this is going to have to be fixed. The best way is to take it in to a competent mechanic because this is going to be a bit of a beast to fix. It took me four hours because the young lady at the auto parts store insisted there was no molded hose for the intake, but more on this later. Do this at your own risk, I have no control over your work.

BE SURE THE ENGINE IS COOL FIRST. The thermostat lives on the upper part of the engine inside the water outlet on the drivers side of the car. This is bolted on the intake manifold with two 1/4 inch bolts with 13mm heads. The brake master cylinder, air cleaner and intake hose are also in the way, as is the pipe that runs from the passengers side of the engine. Drain the coolant first. You'll want to use a 10mm wrench to remove the bolt first and pry the pipe out with a screwdriver. Be careful not to nick the "o" ring or you'll be replacing it. Take off the air cleaner and use a 15mm socket to remove the master cylinder. DON'T undo the brake lines, just set it aside. Use a pair of needle nose pliers to remove the clamps from the 3/8 hoses on that pipe under the throttle body; there are two of them. Don't cut the hoses unless you want to fight with the guy at the auto parts counter for a molded hose; ditto with the other hose on the passengers side of the engine. Save the clamps for reuse.

Now the fun part begins. Every other writing I've seen on this says you have to remove the exhaust crossover to get to the bolts holding the thermostat. This is fine if you don't mind buying new gaskets and fasteners to replace the ones you'll tear up. Besides, this is a lot of work to replace a $7 part as it is. Better pack your patience, but you can do this and save $400 and get your heater working again. Use a 13mm socket to remove the front bolt and a 13mm combination wrench to loosen the back bolt from the backside, but don't remove it. You just need to able to wiggle the thermostat housing off the thermostat. Remove the old one and install the new one plunger side in. Wiggle the housing over the thermostat, making sure the notch goes over the bolt. Hand tighten it a bit and thread the other bolt in. Tighten that one first and the back one last.

All you'll need to do is make sure everything else is installed before you start the engine. Do the master cylinder first as this is most critical, followed by the pipe and air cleaner and all the clamps. Refill the cooling system and install a new cap if more than a few years old. There are two bleeder valves on either side of the engine and these will need to be opened to purge any air as you fill this up. Once you see coolant, close the bleeders start the engine, making sure the heater is on full blast. Fill the overflow tank to the high level and crack open the bleeder valves once more to purge any air left in the system. Make sure the heater works and the temperature gauge makes it to halfway. Check for leaks and you should have a heater that works as good as new, provided there wasn't anything else wrong with the cooling system to begin with. Mine works fine, so we'll leave it at that for now. Maranatha!

What You Pay For...

2010-10-06T21:48:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, I received a call from a job I had been on the night prior. Apparently, a firm out of Lansing specializing in renewable energy sources and energy conservation is in the business of installing thermostats. This is with the idea of saving energy as these are programmable. The theory is that you can set back the temperature in the building a few degrees and save some money. Personally, my view is that if your furnace and air conditioner are relatively efficient and your house is well insulated, you can save the most money setting your temperature back three to five degrees, but I digress. I could write a whole article and perhaps a small pamphlet on this, but this isn't my purpose today.

The caller had installed, by his reckoning, over 6000 thermostats and never had a problem, but that day he blew up at least two, including the one the tavern owner already had. The result was the dining area in said tavern was pretty chilly. I've been installing thermostats for 25 years now, and the only time I've ever had a problem was by not turning off the equipment first. I pointed this out to the caller too, but he said that 24 volts shouldn't cause the thermostat to fail. I reminded him that if live wires touch the wrong parts, anything will fail. Although he was still adamant about his methods, the burned out thermostat was telling. My conclusion on this was the guy either wasn't qualified or didn't care.

But there was the thermostat and it did need to be replaced. I picked one up, a nice programmable one with 2 stage heat and cool settings and this was going to run $319.00 installed by an expert. It would also be properly set up and I'd show the tavern owner how to use the thing. I thought it a heck of a deal, but the owner of the energy company lambasted me on the price. "I can get one for $70!" was his remark. "But who's going to install it?" I retorted, "your employee?" "You want too much," he replied. "Well sir, we don't run a charity here." I insisted, "we need to make money and this is the price installed. I cannot install one of yours because then I cannot guarantee it." Try getting a mechanic to install parts on your car you get from AutoZone to save a few bucks. They'll laugh you out of the shop.

I had a building manager today chew me out about the prices of thermostats (must be a red letter day for sure). My response was tasteful, tactful and to the point. "We are not making boat payments from these two thermostats. Please do not threaten me about going to another vendor. If you have a problem with me or my product, please tell my boss." Honestly, this is like yelling at the person at the Gas and Go about the price of gasoline. However, you still have to fill up your car and unless you're into the whole biodiesel thing, you're going to have to pay up or walk. I pay up and be nice, that's my policy.

I really hate to rant, but part of the problem with the economy can be traced right back to the average Joe or Jane. We want a lot, but don't want to pay for it. We want that Escalade, but complain bitterly about the payments and operating costs. We want something fixed, but there's a price to pay for it if you want it done right. All the crap floating in from Chinaland is proof of that, We get what we pay for and we will reap what we sow. Rather than pay the nice man to fix your furnace in a warm cheerful manner, you (you know who you are) gripe, threaten and complain in an effort to make him feel small. The only thing you're really doing is making management consulting look really good as a career right now. Then who's going to fix your thermostat then? That guy from the energy company? You're crazier than me.

Attitudes have to change. We are being ugly to each other over things that we really have no business being ugly about. For example, my S.U.V. needs a thermostat and I'm not about to pull the top half of the engine apart to get it. I'll pay the $150 or so and get it done, and be glad I don't have to do it. Such is life. Off my soapbox now.

This Isn't Easy

2010-09-28T21:52:00.003-04:00

A quarter century ago, one fifteen year old was trying to find something that made a fair amount of money and didn't take a college education to get into. It also helped that the majority of work was on deceptively simple pieces of equipment. It sure didn't hurt that this young man didn't mind fixing stuff, or getting his hands dirty. Same time later, that young man is now 40 and the work has become a bit more complicated. I still love it and praise the Lord I have a job. However, like everything else, something as simple and mundane as a furnace has become a bit more complicated. This is the same for air-conditioners. There are also many more choices than there were just a decade or two ago to heat and cool your home. This is great for the consumer (until they need to get it fixed) and provides a steep learning curve for the person trying to work on this stuff.

Today was a reminder on just how complicated furnaces really are. I'm no fan of Carrier or Bryant, and the ones made in the 1980's can drive a tech to distraction. The 80% efficient furnaces are a bit of a bear to work on, as BDP had the idea to add a relay to the vent motor as well as a control board to this component separate from the main board. I sat in front of one these for about 30 minutes today with a homeowner over my shoulder. The furnace was in pieces, literally. The doors were off (never a good sign) and half the wiring was disconnected. The customer's hopes of this being a simple clean and check evaporated as I fished through the wiring, getting things to a semblance of working order.

In frustration, the customer had tried to work on his own piece of equipment. Worse, he had someone work on it who used parts off an old unit instead of buying new (which he should have done). It was a D.I.Y. install on top of that and since nothing was put back, it created an electrical hazard for me. My pliers are a testament to that fact as well as a tripped breaker. I took a deep breath and went to figure this out.

A word of caution here, this is for entertainment purposes only. Do not attempt this if you are drunk, or don't know exactly what you're doing as you can mess up expensive furnace parts or even more expensive people parts. Call a qualified heating contractor and offer him a soda or cup of coffee. I'm partial to Vitamin water or jerky myself. The money you spend will be well worth it.

All furnaces made since 1986 (by my reckoning) have at least one control module or board. These may or may not have relays which are replaceable. There are also ignition modules which control the spark or hot surface ignition (the latter on early 1990's equipment). Today, most have one control board, but some also have a personality module to simplify the need for different models of furnaces. One board will fit most, but these need a personality module to make everything fit. This is where the HVAC industry is headed. However, this Bryant didn't have this feature, nor any modern way to diagnose the problem. It was me and my meter.

Nearly every board is going to have two sets of input, 120 and 24 volts. This is with the former running the fan, vent motor and sometimes the igniter, while the latter controls the relays and thermostat. The high voltage wires are usually white and black, while the low voltage wires from the transformer to the board are red and blue. I traced power going in the board, high and low volts, and checked the thermostat terminals. However, there was no low voltage to the relay for the vent motor, or to get the spark box clicking. One rarity with these boards was a blade type fuse usually found on later model equipment. A look at this determined a possible cause of trouble. Someone put a 20 amp fuse in a spot meant for 3 or 5 amps MAX! This furnace was going to need a new board. Further investigation showed that the only low voltage coming from the board was to the limit control and back to the board itself. Apparently, the customer tried to fix his own furnace and created more of a problem than if he just called me in the first place. Instead, he messed it up and then tried to get me or a competitor to pick up the pieces (literally).

First of all, whether on a car, boat, airplane, or even a relay satellite, a part doesn't "just fail." If a fuse blows, there's a reason. If an igniter, blower or vent motor quits, there's an underlying cause. Either the furnace was over sized and short cycled all the time, the venting was wrong, a bird got caught in the intake, the flame sensor was never cleaned, the manifold pressure was never checked, you used one of those infernal allergy filter in a 1 inch filter slot (one of my pet peeves) and the furnace took a time out. So replacing the part, even if you are successful isn't going to fix the underlying problem and you'll be replacing it again; sometimes as soon as the same day. I've replaced several blower motors on one Carrier (there's that name again) until I realized the customer was using a high density filter that was killing the blower motors. I told her the next replacement was on her and to use a standard density filter, changed monthly from then on. I've had customers complain bitterly about "a lack of quality," all the while killing their equipment as surely as pouring battery acid into the blower compartment.

So please, leave this kind of thing to the pros. Change the filters if you like, but use the low density stuff and if you need more filtering, get a four inch media filter installed for $400. Otherwise buy the low efficiency 1 inch pleated paper filters and change them monthly. By all means, don't try working on something you don't understand unless you at least take a community college course on what you want to work on. I don't fix my cars myself nearly as much as I used to with good reason. The stuff is too complicated for a casual mechanic. Sure, I'll tackle the starter or alternator and maybe a water pump or thermostat, but I'm aware of the risks. If you're in the same boat, be aware there are risks to doing your own furnace or air-conditioning repairs. You can be electrocuted (happened to me several times) burned (this too) suffer cuts (a whole lot) and damage expensive parts (I've fried one board.

The guy trying to be the technician is going to be out of at least $500 to replace a part on a 20 plus year old furnace, whether a vent motor, control board, or igniter. This doesn't make trying to be cheap really worth it. Maranatha!

The Best Way...

2010-09-28T21:38:00.003-04:00

The best way to look smart is to keep it simple.

The best way to earn money is to save it.

The best way to get a job you love is to love the job you're already doing.

The best way to teach is to do.

The best way to look good in a suit is to wear one that fits.

The best way to drive is to pretend there's a huge spike on the steering wheel and your bumper is made of fine china.

The best way to have fun is not to make a job of it.

The best way to work is to have fun at it.

The best way to run the race is to run faster.

The best way to drive around a police officer is slower.

The best way to worship is by kneeling. Blessings in Christ Jesus .

Mistakes Homeowners Make, Part Deux

2010-09-03T22:35:00.002-04:00

Your house is the most expensive investment (or money pit) that you'll probably have (or at least the bank will). While furnaces and air-conditioners don't have the conversation value a new car or plasma television have, they are probably more important to your health and safety than that car (definitely more so than that precious, useless television). Business has been slower than slow lately and even with the discounts on clean and checks for furnaces, it has been an uphill climb, but praise God it has been uphill.

After much telemarketing today, leaving a lot of messages and a few people saying "not interested" and even one proclaiming "I'm on the do not call list,": to which I snickered to myself, "You're a past customer and I'm only informing you of our special, not a big deal." I finally got a service call from a customer assuming that her air-conditioner, in sub-70 degree weather was "low on freon." The first thing I did was to hook up my gauges and turn the thing on. The fan ran, but the lack of a metallic whirring sound and no change of pressure on the gauges told me the run capacitor was gone. A quick change and the homeowner was back in business.

One thing about a service call is to go over the entire system while you're there. The homeowner, a middle-aged lady informed my dispatcher that she "had never needed work on her furnace in five years." I went downstairs to check on the furnace, a five year old American Standard that was in good shape, but an inspection of the inside revealed otherwise. Two hoses had nearly worked their way off the drain trap in the blower compartment, leaking water. A look under the draft blower revealed a patina of rust underneath and I knew from experience that the transition was cracked and leaking condensation into the cabinet.

Fortunately, I had the part on my truck and about $80 later, had it changed out. The old transition was cracked badly and the customer gasped at what could have amounted to a trashed control board. The mistake that homeowners make is while they may spend hundreds of dollars servicing their car, they ignore the equally complicated machinery right under their feet. A furnace with a 90 plus percent efficiency rating is a trade off. While there is money to be saved in buying on, there is a lot to be lost in neglecting maintenance. Electronics are crazy expensive in a furnace and one call can exceed $600 or $700 to replace the control board in a two stage furnace. Do this in a communicating model and the costs will be much higher. Add to this failing on Christmas Eve and company coming over the next day and your holiday is ruined, not to mention your bank account.

90% and above efficiency rated furnaces are called condensing furnaces in that they create water that needs to be drained because the heat that would normally allow this to vaporize is being used to heat the house. As long as this water can drain out into a condensate pump or floor drain unimpeded with no leaks, this isn't a problem. The issue comes when traps and drains get plugged or components fail and allowed to leak water onto expensive electronics or structural sheet metal. You really need to have this equipment maintained yearly to head off problems. In the days of old, you could let a furnace run for decades without any major problems or inefficiency penalty. There were only three moving parts back then. The gas valve, blower and the fan/limit control and these were relatively trouble free, the only other thing to wear out was a thermocouple. Now there is a control board full of relays, an electronic blower motor, a draft blower, at least one or more pressure switches, an igniter and flame sensor, and this doesn't include the mess of hoses a 90% furnace needs to get the water drained.

Now is the time to make an appointment to get your heating system serviced; while the weather is halfway decent out. If there is something expensive, you can at least budget for it and not have to borrow money when it dies during your turkey dinner. You may not think it needs service, but you could pay a little now or a lot more later. Maranatha!

More Very Hard Won Truisms

2010-08-12T22:59:00.003-04:00

Even the best of employers have their struggles: Heaven had a third of their employees walk out.

For every finger you point at someone, three are pointing back at you.

"Judge not, lest you will be judged" wasn't meant to be a license to sin.

Holiness is in the eye of the accuser.

God blessed us with the ability to choose and made it easy to choose wisely.

There are no bad seats at the Judgement Seat of Christ. There isn't a good row at the Great White Throne of Judgement.

Devil means slanderer and Satan means adversary, neither name I want in my corner.

Necessary pain is more than enough, so why volunteer for more?

Life is a trip better made with your excess baggage left behind. I prefer a carry-on myself.

Very Hard Won Truisms

2010-08-11T21:25:00.002-04:00

Humility is the best form of servitude.

The best possible product of an argument is understanding.

If you cannot meet in the middle of an argument, it is best to step to the side.

Human ambition should never exceed human ability.

Godliness is next to godliness.

Think of the Bible as a life preserver, not as a billy club.

The best act of love is to tell the truth.

The best way to prevent an argument is to ask before you put your foot in your mouth.

Getting into an argument is like getting stuck in a fence, easier to get in than to get out of it.

It doesn't take talent to be mean to others.

Berries aren't the only things that get in a jam.

I once complained about my shoes, until I met a man with no legs.

I once complained about my job, until I had none.

Those who don't take risks don't drink champagne, I prefer a nice cold glass of water after I take mine.

The best blessings are the simplest.

Jesus is the perfect judge, so judge by His standard. Maranatha!

Bible Mythbusters: Truly the Light is Sweet...

2010-08-08T21:58:00.005-04:00

There are some things which are so basic that even a child could understand and interpret them correctly. However, there are those with a darker nature who wish to try and discredit the Bible for being antiquated, out of touch with today, or just plain incorrect. I agree the Bible is old, but not antiquated because our nature to sin and our need to accept and serve Jesus has not changed over the millenia. On this premise, the Bible is very much in touch with reality today and as Hal Lindsey once said "the Bible is more accurate than tomorrow's newspaper."

The verse I'm going to interpret today is Ecclesiastes 11:7 "Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun."

This verse looks innocuous enough, but those who wish the Word harm say it is stupid to look into the sun because you could go blind.

Does this mean that Dido Armstrong is wrong for her lyrics "See the sun" or any other contemporary writer? What "seeing the sun" is is called vernacular. It is one of the basics of the English language and it means using another word or meaning for something else. Seeing the sun is simply seeing another day. This is what Dido wrote about in her song and it's what King Solomon also indicated in Ecclesiastes 11:7. The Lord is not mocked, his word is perfect and will not return void. Rejoice in the validity of the Bible, it is 100% correct. Maranatha!

Converting Your Kenmore Range to Propane

2010-08-08T21:04:00.005-04:00

As a service technician (and handyman), I see a few things that are out of the ordinary. Along with fixing heating and cooling equipment, I've worked on dryers, washers and the occasional gas range. Tomorrow, I get to gas pipe a generator, so that one will be fun and if worthy of being written about I'll get to it. This isn't a step-by-step tutorial on how to convert a gas range to burn propane, but to illustrate something that even a few home service professionals aren't aware of. If you choose to use this info, remember that propane, or LP gas is extremely dangerous. It's heavier than air and will explode when concentrated enough and an ignition source is present. Injury, death and/or property damage could result. When in doubt, call a professional or technical support. As an added bonus Sears will not warrant installation damage because they have no control over your work. I don't either. Use this info at your own risk. Call backs are a pain in the rumpus especially when they interrupt one's anniversary night. Friday was the night and a range that I installed and converted for a long time client of mine brought to light the importance of clear and complete instructions. The week prior, I had installed a Kenmore range and converted it to use propane. It involved changing orifices on the cook top and turning the pin on the regulator around. Because propane is heavier than natural gas, the orifices are smaller and the spring pressure on the regulator is different. Leaving natural gas settings in place and using propane will cause the appliance to over fire. This can be unsettling at best and dangerous at worst. Of course using natural gas on a propane set appliance will cause it to under fire , which is annoying. When my client called because her oven had flames a foot over the burner, it was unsettling, and perplexing. After all, I flipped the pin on the regulator, swapped out the orifices for the cook top, etc. I did everything the instructions said to do. This should have been the end of it and my client could be cooking her garlic paste in her brand-new oven. I want to say that my family has used Kenmore products for nearly 40 years and we will continue to do so. I will say that they need to more complete and clear on their instructions with something as potentially dangerous as a gas range. The instructions for setting the burners on the oven AND broiler were supposed to be in a leaflet in the use and care guide. Because this range was a display model, this leaflet was probably gone with the wind. The result was there was no instructions for converting the oven, only the cook top and regulator. Neither I nor the homeowners checked the oven the first time (my bad). This doesn't excuse Sears from their directions, which seem to be in a foreign language with parts missing, but it does bear mention to check everything. Well, here is the "trick" to converting the oven AND broiler, without emailing Sears or trying to call Frigidaire. Remove the door to the oven (read the instructions) and the floor to the oven(there are two screws). Pull out the drawer and set this stuff away from the work area. You'll need a 1/2 inch wrench and a pair of gripping pliers for this. There is a spud (nozzle) that feeds gas to the burner and this is adjustable. It lives under the oven. Tighten this down all the way, at least 2 1/2 to 3 turns with a 1/2 open end or flare nut wrench (do not use a crescent wrench or you'll round off the brass spud). The same story goes for the spud feeding the broiler, but use the gripping pliers (or groove joint pliers) to hold the stationary part of the nozzle steady while you tighten the spud. As per the directions, the oven burner flames need to be about 1 inch high and the broiler flames shouldn't exceed the burner shield. Put the floor, drawer and door back on in that order and turn the oven on for a half hour to burn off the cosmoline. As long as you do everything right, you can roast garlic to your heart's content. Don't forget to invite me for some yummy garlic bread. Maranatha!

Thy Will Be Done, or How to Pray.

2010-08-03T18:33:00.003-04:00

Today, while I was on the way to my service call to fix a leak in a hothouse (greenhouse) listening to the radio, it occurred to me the reason and practice of prayer. This is something Jesus said most succinctly in Matthew 6:9-13. "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."

Today, popular culture defines prayer as asking the Lord for a favor as if He owed us anything. While He can and does bless us abundantly, this is NOT the focus of prayer. Christians have a responsibility to reach the lost and spread God's word, not to ask for intervention in the lottery or in manipulating someone else to do something in your favor. It's also not to further the "name it and claim it" or "prosperity" gospel. I've said this and will until Kingdom come: the Lord is NOT your genie.

The Lord's Prayer is probably one of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible, save for those concerning the rapture. It seems like some neatly packaged script that anyone can memorize and use ceremoniously in a funeral or church service. I've been to a church were "canned" prayer is part of tradition, but worshipping the Lord involves more than tradition. Of course the prayer is Biblical, but the meaning is the most important. We all have relationships with others and we treat each person in a different fashion and respect. Obviously, with the Creator of the universe as well as someone whose Word is all powerful, the respect is or should be the utmost. Because I'm a Christian, (and I pray you are too) there is the relationship factor as well.

We wouldn't approach every friend with the same words and sentences every time we talk to him or her, why do that with our Father in Heaven? It is the meaning, not the "canned" prayer, that we must adhere to. We're supposed to love Him and loving Him means to speak from our being. God keeps the pies in the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, and I'll simplify this as well.

Our Father, which art in heaven = self explanatory.

Hallowed be thy name = His name is above all other names. (See my post about blasphemy)

Thy kingdom come = we look forward to his kingdom on earth and earn a crown of righteousness in the process.

Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven = pray for God's will to be done, since his is perfect and yours (and mine) isn't.

Give us this day our daily bread = acknowledging the Lord provides for our needs.

Forgive us our debts (or trespasses) as we forgive our debtors (those who trespass against us). Obviously, if we expect the Lord to forgive us, we need to forgive everyone else.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. = Avoid any appearance of evil; put on the armor of God.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. = We're His creation, so He makes the rules, has the power and deserves the glory. We bless this with an 'Amen.'

As we can see, the Lord is all about us and when we pray it needs to be all about Him. Praying for others' salvation or giving you the strength and resolve to do His will are examples of His will being done. Praying to win the lottery isn't. His name is above all other names. We need to be willing to forgive if we expect the Lord to forgive us. We need to look forward to His kingdom and submit our will to His. This is a prayer, but it's also a code of conduct when we pray. Blessings in Christ Jesus.

Replacing a Steering Rack on Your GM Vehicle (Front Wheel Drive)

2010-07-31T00:39:00.006-04:00

This could go for any front wheel drive car, save for some Chrysler LH or GM J cars, but this is for any 1997 to 2006 GM minivan, sedan or crossover S.U.V.. The latter includes the Pontiac Aztec and Buick Rendezvous, for this is no hard copy service manual and the information isn't very detailed, but requires removing the stabilizer bar. This is across the board with GM cars , but I'm going to give you a quicker way to do this with minimal swearing and breaking parts, I'm also going to give you some suggestions of what to do and what not to do.

A word of warning; I am NOT an expert on these things, but when presented a $600 bill for a part that nearly broke my arm today, it was time to get busy. The best bet is to call a competent mechanic and you will have to take you car to one to get the alignment checked. This job is a pain in the part you sit on, and you can cause personal injury, death or property damage if you screw it up. Even if you follow this to the letter, you could still break something or someone, so use some common sense if you think this is over your head. Be careful and take your time as this isn't a job to rush. I have no control over the quality or lack therof of your work. Do this or any repairs at your own risk.

First of all, it's common sense to use jack stands and not work under a car supported only by a jack. You will need a three ton floor jack, two ton jack stands at a minimum. You'll also need a good socket set and an 18mm flare nut wrench for the hydraulic lines a pry bar and a hammer. First thing is to raise the car with the floor jack and place your jack stands under the front of the sub frame as high as safely feasible. Remove the front wheels and loosen the jam nuts on the tie rod ends, holding the inner rod with a 13mm end wrench. Remove the ball stud nuts and tap the steering knuckles where the studs go in with a hammer. These should pop right out of the knuckles and you'll unscrew the tie rod ends, counting the number of turns. Take note of the turns and place each end to the corresponding side on the floor with the stud and jam nuts. Next, unscrew the coupler after lifting the dust boot off the rack. It takes an 11mm socket. Then remove the heat shield and the two bolts holding the rack in.

The next step is tricky and dangerous. You'll need to use the jack to support the sub frame before you remove the two bolts in the rear. Do this like you're jacking up the car from the front, but place the head of the jack in the center of the rear of the frame. Take out the bolts after you've supported the frame, and drop the frame no more than 5 inches. If you let it fall too far, you risk breaking something. You need just enough space to undo the hydraulic lines. Remove the lines slide the rack out.

Putting the new in is pretty much reversing the procedure. Count the number of turns as you put the tie rod ends on and secure with the jam nuts. Use new "o" rings on the lines and remember to index the input shaft to the coupler. This means centering the rack by turning it from lock to lock, counting the number of turns and dividing that by two. When everything is put back together, fill the reservoir with clean power steering fluid (do not use transmission fluid) and with the wheels still in the air, start the engine. The noise will be really bad. Turn the wheel lock to lock until this noise goes away, making sure to keep the reservoir from going empty. Lower the car and take to an alignment shop to get the toe in set right. You're done. Maranatha!

Another Thought...

2010-07-27T23:33:00.003-04:00

While I'm at it, cleaning up the site and making corrections to a few typos, I have noticed the direction of this blog changing. It was never intended to be only about one subject, but a journal of some pretty tough and trying times. It was also (and still is meant) to stir it up in the reader's heart to turn their life to Jesus. I've read more than a few of these sites that seem to be a diatribe of every annoyance of the writer. We all have different tastes, needs, wants, et cetera. As for me, I serve the Lord and find Him a lot more interesting than the odds and ends piling up. However, I can't see not telling someone how to save money by fixing something either. In truth, we've become a throw away culture, while in many countries things like cars and other durable goods are repeatedly fixed and recycled. Mainly because the majority of people are very poor and can't afford new stuff.

I don't intend to water down anything down a bit, nor do I intend to delete my posts about the rapture or the like. These still hold true and despite my misinterpretation (and this is more time to accept Jesus, so I'm not going to complain) I believe this is an immanent event that gets closer with each passing day.

However, back to fixing stuff, I've found that fewer people want to be really handy, if at all. The few self-professed handy people, in my opinion are not up to the task of really fixing anything, but hooking up the new stuff. Well boys and girls, I want to try and keep the old stuff going and there are few people in my circle of friends and family willing to accept what I want to pass on. I'm 40 years and not getting younger. Life is temporal and when I'm gone, raptured or whatever, the knowledge will go with me. When I was a kid, I relished the time I spent with Grandpa, because this guy seemed to know everything. He fixed trucks for the City of Lansing and even made an air compressor out of a scrap oil tank and some old parts. He bailed me out on more than a few car repairs before I finally got smart and started to obtain technical information on EVERY car I've owned. In the end, I helped him with his cars and trucks.

It is my hope that you dear reader, become a Christian if you aren't already and that you will learn something from my writings and hopefully a few pictures when I get a camera again (even my influence has to stop somewhere). I have much to share as the Lord has blessed me abundantly. I want to bless you. Blessings in Christ Jesus.

The $500 Mistake Homeowners Make.

2010-07-27T21:06:00.006-04:00

This is such a simple thing that most overlook it, but it's something that no one wants to pay for it when it breaks. Let's face it, $500 can buy groceries for month for a family of 4, 8 very nice nights out, or even a weekend stay in a fairly decent hotel. It can also pay for a month's worth of camping at the KOA (maybe).

What people hate to spend money on is their home comfort system; in my terms, the HVAC system, (Heating Ventilation and Air-Conditioning). The truth is that the price for me to come to your door and find out what's wrong with your HVAC system is about $90 to $130, depending on the time of day or weekend. In addition, the cost of a blower motor installed is $350 to north of a grand for a higher-end variable-speed motor. These aren't cheap, and I've had customers defer these expensive repairs and put up with the sweltering heat and humidity while the equipment they spent good money on sits useless in the mechanical room. While there is Murphy's Law, my stand is that 90 to 95% of these repairs are completely and utterly preventable with a little knowledge and some common sense.

To add more to the carnage, I've seen expensive equipment reduced to scrap metal because of the improper use of furnace filters. Heat exchangers can fail, cooling coils can ice up and cause water damage to circuit boards, blower motors, and other moisture sensitive parts. Did I mention furnace filters? Yes I did.

Neglect is the reason a lot of things fail, whether a relationship or your prized ride and is true for your furnace and air-conditioner chugging happily away in your basement or laundry room. Ignore your spouse, schlep out of doing your oil changes or forget to replace your furnace filter and you'll suffer financially. I've seen filters that were left in "only three months" that ruined motors or resulted in an A/C icing up. The truth is that ANY ONE INCH FILTER MUST BE CHANGED EVERY MONTH YOU USE THE SYSTEM. Even the so-called three month filters will destroy your system faster than the cheaper filters because the tolerances of the material are tighter. Try blowing as hard as you can through one of these filters (before you install it) and you'll likely run out of breath. Then try blowing through a fiberglass filter (one of the blue or white ones without the pleats) and you'll notice the difference. The looser material is easier to blow through for you and your equipment.

Personally, I don't recommend using 1 inch HEPA or "high performance" filters because of the danger to equipment and your wallet. These have tight pleats meant to trap very small particles that also tend to clog quickly. These also make the blower work harder to move the air; costing you more money to heat and cool your home. This is what also shortens the life of your equipment. There is simply not enough surface area to allow enough airflow through these pleats for the blower to work correctly. This is why many media filters are 4 or 5 inches thick to give more surface area and more capacity to trap dust and dirt. A better idea, if you really want to minimize these nasties is to buy an electrostatic filter such as a Trane Clean Effects or American Standard Accu Clean as these will remove the cats and bowling balls and almost all of the smaller stuff. These are pricey, but well worth it and ozone pollution is minimized as opposed to an electronic air cleaner.

If money's tight, there is the option of the 4 inch media filters like Space Gard, Air Bear, General AC-1, Honeywell or the like. These range from easy to change to utterly ridiculous, with the AC-1 taking good manual dexterity to change and the Space Gards without the upgrade kits being a pain in the rumpus as well. I've been installing these for 14 years and they can still be a bit of a nightmare.

If you must use a one inch filter, use a good quality pleated filter with the lowest MERV (the filtering capacity) number you can find (MERV 8 or lower). I like the filters with some sort of cardboard reinforcement to hold the pleats and keep the frames and pleats from snagging on the slot, making them easier to remove or install. To me, this is more important than any supposed filtering ability. 1 inch filters are to keep the cats and bowling balls out of the blower, that's about it. If you're concerned about your health, you're going to have to upgrade to 4 or 5 inch media filter or an electrostatic job. For the "high performance" 1 inchers, you're going to spend $100 to $200 a year if you change these monthly (you'd better) anyway, not to mention a blower motor once a year. Compared to that, $1000 for an AccuClean looks really good. Maranatha!

Customer Care...

2010-07-19T23:13:00.004-04:00

I'm not about to be an egomaniac as my boss was equally culpable in this caper, but this goes to show how important the details are. It also shows that assume really does make an ass of u and me.

The job was a no cooling call, which means that an air-conditioner is on the fritz and nearly always with grumpy customers in tow. Let's face it, we can bundle up a little more, but we can only take off so much before we risk being arrested. Jokes aside, there was a problem. How big I wanted it to be was up to me.

So I go to this house and find the A-coil iced up and charging the system impossible, but a well timed call from my boss suggesting that I turn the furnace on to thaw it out. Who knew, my boss is a genius. Well then, onward we go. The homeowner is ticked and told twice by another company's techs that he's going to have to buy a new coil and he'd be better off replacing the system entirely. The problem is that it's only six years old and not even through half of its life. Despite my cajoling, he's convinced this is going to cost big bucks. I tell him not to worry, but we need to do a leak search.

I have a Harbor Freight refrigerant leak detector that cost me $80 a couple years ago and despite needing repair on the switch, works very well. The first thing I did was to turn on the device and walk toward the outdoor unit and barely pointing the sensor, it started to beep quickly. When I made it to the service valves, the device screamed; BINGO. Guess what, found the problem. It was because the installer overheated the service valves as per usual. Opening the covers revealed that a well-meaning tech tried to band aid the problem with Leak Lock, but the leak remained unlocked and continued to bedevil the homeowner for 3 years.

After confirming this, I went ahead and traipsed to the basement, detector in hand and found no leaks at the A-coil. This was, according to the homeowner, going to cost almost $2000 to fix, for a 6 year old A/C. This was crazy. Now I'm not perfect myself, but this is a reminder that as techs we can't just go and condemn parts. We need to gather evidence and prove this to the customer. He or she is the one paying the bills. Speaking of bills...

My fix was replacing the service valve caps with sealing ones (O rings), recharging the system with R-22 and the leak search. All told this was about $260.00 to save an A/C, not mention the customer's wallet. Again, this was taking the time, having the right attitude (even at beer thirty) to help your customer out and actually giving a care about them. Everyone wants good customer service and everyone deserves it, but we should all be willing to give it too. Our work is a reflection on us and should be to glorify our Creator. Making our boss and company look good won't hurt either. Blessings in Christ.

Getting the Lights On in Your GM Radio

2010-07-17T23:33:00.004-04:00

As always, I am not in control of your work or what you're working on. I cannot accept responsibility for your mistakes. When in doubt, call a certified mechanic or GM dealership. A new OEM (original equipment manufacturer) radio can run in excess of $400. If you have some patience, time and a few bucks, this will save you most of that. Again, I cannot guarantee your work or what you're working on. Do this at your own risk...

Car radios can be a nice source of background noise on the highway of life. Mine is nearly always tuned to Christian music or talk radio because it's calming and uplifting. What's annoying is having lights out on your radio because the bulbs are burned out. This is the time that a lot of people decide to trade in the car to avoid this hassle or expense. In my situation, I'm just glad to have a running car that looks nice.

But having a bunch of lights out is annoying and distracting at night. There are many good reasons to have a radio you can see at a glance, especially at night. It will keep you engaged and avoiding stopping or lighting a match to see the buttons. The more time figuring something out is more opportunity for a crash. While the solution might be to not use the radio and sing hymns. It may not be the best choice for your passengers.

Buying an aftermarket radio is also an option, but in my opinion, not a good one. The buttons are nearly always too small and unless you spend a lot of money on a double din unit, it will never look right. On many GM products (like mine, a 2004 Buick Rendezvous), the warning chimes and other functions are channeled through the radio, necessitating buying a special wiring harness for these to work. Even if you get this harness, the speed compensated volume and the controls on the steering wheel won't work. The worst is that aftermarket radios never seem to hold up. My wife's 1990 Cavalier had a Pioneer that needed to be replaced after three years with a Craig unit, that lasted two. The OEM radios are made a lot better and will outlive the car with a little maintenance.

But the bulbs can and will burn out because they are incandescent, like those in many houses, because they need to be dim-able. This doesn't mean that you should throw the baby out with the bathwater. If you have a little experience with taking things apart and know how to solder (and had some practice), you can save a lot of money and add years to your radio.

The tools you'll need (assuming you have the radio out) are a 15 watt soldering iron, rosin core solder, a small pair of vise grips and a set of 1/4 drive sockets with a handle. I used a 4mm and 7mm, but yours may vary. You'll also want a small flat screwdriver and a pair of side cutters. The supplies are going to be patience and 7 or 8 packages of 12 micro lamps from Radio Shack. The number on these is #7219 12 volt 60 milliamp. These are great for the heater control and speedometer cluster. These are about $1.79 for a package of 2 bulbs. The radio takes 14 bulbs.

The first thing is to remove the top and bottom panels with the flat screwdriver. These pry off the back and sides, but hook in the front. Be careful not to bend them. You will want to carefully unclip the three wiring harnesses from the front panel to the main board of the radio on the top half and untwist them. There is another harness next to the volume knob on the bottom. Remove this one too. Then carefully pull off the knobs and make note of which one went where as they are not interchangeable.

The front panel is plastic and held on with molded tabs. Gently ease these off with a screwdriver placed under them. Use just enough pressure to ease this off or you'll break the tabs or the panel. I did it by just disengaging the tabs enough to carefully lift the panel off the radio. Now for the "fun" part; you'll need to separate the circuit board from the panel. This panel has the display as well as the bubs, buttons and other parts. This is delicate and will not take too much manhandling. The plastic puzzle called the front panel is also a pain to try and decipher if you let the buttons get away. I'd use some blue making tape on the front to help keep the buttons in place with special attention to the H and M ones. The H is on top and the M is on the bottom. Just tape the buttons and keep the panel face down and your life will be easier.

Remove the six screws holding the circuit board to the panel. Flip the board over to reveal the bulbs, which are covered with a blue cap. Carefully remove these caps with your fingers as tools will tear them and set them aside where they won't get lost. Another little bit of advice here; replace all of the bulbs, or you will be doing this again shortly. Unsolder all the bulbs and save the holders. put these holders on the new bulbs and use your soldering iron to heat the joints enough to get the leads through the board. Once the leads are through, use the (small) vise grips to pull the leads through, one at a time, a little at a time while using the iron to keep the solder soft enough. When the bulbs are tight against the board, stop. Pull these leads gently or you'll break the bulbs. Solder each lead, making sure the joints don't touch. Use a pocketknife to gently scrap any stray solder so the leads don't touch. once you're done soldering and satisfied with the results, clip off the excess leads with side cutters.

The rest is a reverse to install, but make sure all of the bulbs are capped with the blue silicone caps and that the screws are in and tight. thread the wire harnesses through the holes before snapping on the front panel. Thread the ones with the smaller molex connectors on the top half to the hole next to the side panel and the larger one to the top. Don't forget the bottom. These only go one way so you can't screw them up, but don't break the main board as this is not serviceable (even my influence has to stop somewhere). Snap the top and bottom covers on and replace the knobs. Plug the radio in and check your work. When the lights are on, all the lights should work, but the lights for the controls for the tape or CD player will be out when the radio is in use and vice versa. So double check this before tearing into the radio again.

Once you're satisfied with the results, put the dash back together and play that Michelle Tumes CD. Maranatha!

Fixing a Thermoplastic Battery Tray.

2010-07-12T22:46:00.005-04:00

It's Sunday evening, you have to get to work early Monday morning your ride has a broken battery tray. After calling several auto parts stores whose service people tell you the item isn't available in any way shape or form (auto parts stores seem to offer a lot of excuses nowadays. I've never understood this mentality either). All you hear is this is a dealer or junkyard item. Well, on my particular car a junkyard batter tray is not an option because it's money their already broken and the dealer item will also break prematurely. I've yet to see a Buick Rendezvous where the said tray hasn't broke. One young lady whose Rendezvous needed a jump had the battery held in with a bungee cord, NO TRAY. This is very dangerous in that the battery might end up in the water pump and leave you stranded. Bungee cords tend to stretch and a 20 pound battery is going to move when the car does. It will shorten the life of the battery. I did this once with my '75 Nova and it KILLED my battery within a month. Batteries are expensive nowadays, even at Wal-Mart, so jury-rigging isn't an option, or is it?

On the Rendezvous, the tray broke off at the stationary tab toward the front of the vehicle, while the hold down with the bolt was intact. The plastic is black and the consistency of a well made laundry hamper; something easily fixed with a heat gun.

Again, this is at your own risk. Heat guns are HOT and they WILL burn you if you aren't careful. You can cause personal injury and property damage if you screw up. If you still want to do this, use a heat resistant surface like a metal workbench. I used a stainless steel sink away from the Formica counters.

The tab in question is about four and a half inches long and has a weak point that makes it easy to fail. You can heat this together, but it will break again. The the trick is to reinforce it with something, such as the same material the tray is made of. I used a piece of scrap plastic cut to fit against the tab and the rest of the tray and glued in a couple places with super glue. The trick is to heat this together until it starts to melt together, but not to get too gooey. Once the materials melt together, there will still be seams, but the parts will hold together. Take your time and let the plastic cool after a few minutes. Once you're satisfied with the result, run the workpiece under cool water and test it to make sure it'll hold the battery. This is not the time to skimp as it'll need to hold 20 plus pounds going around corners, rolling over, etc. You will have to figure out how much heat you need and when to quit. I took my time and got the materials to fuse together, heating them 'till it was the consistency of putty, but no more.

Carefully put the tray back into the car and the battery back in. Carefully tighten the hold down bolt and try lifting out and sliding the battery.There should be no movement. Any breakage will require fixing it again or biting the bullet and replacing the tray. Maranatha!

Admitting Mistakes (In Spite of Pride).

2010-07-12T22:13:00.003-04:00

The one thing that must be said about your work, first and foremost, is that you must care about it; as well as those you do the work for. There is nothing else that matters, absolutely nothing. Even then, you will make mistakes. This is not an option, especially with a new job and especially if you've been out of the loop for a while. I was out of work for a year before being hired by a firm out of Lansing (Thank you Jesus).

If I'm lying, I'm dying, the first week was a pain. It was hot, humid and rainy. The customers were more than nice enough, but having working air-conditioning has a direct effect on one's mood. I've prayed daily to be a blessing to those I've come in contact with and fallen short twice. While arguably, it wouldn't have made much of a difference on at least one of these calls in returning the equipment to working order, it does have a profound effect on customer perception, follow me?

In both instances, it wasn't about condemning the equipment to make a buck. This is not the case, or I'd have to change my moniker to replacinggrace. My aim is to make something work as long as inhumanly possible and economically feasible. The latter is one that's open to interpretation and the customers' perception which is reality. Let's face it, most of us can't swing it to replace everything when it's due. I can't buy a new car every three years to avoid fixing the big stuff, so I have to adapt.

When an air-conditioner leaked at my last employer, it was done. Well, my new boss has a different philosophy. If it's under 15 years old, his view is to try and fix it. I fell flat on my face with a leaking air-conditioner and partially with one with a blown fuse (the latter was moot in that the compressor was trashed, and I told her that, but she was still ticked about it. Who can blame her). I've yet to hear everything that went down with the leaker, but today gave me pause to think this morning when I had another one to deal with.

This one was about the same age as the first one, about 10 years old, give or take a year. It froze up something horrible and it took me several hours and the customer almost $400 to fix it, but it ran like a champ afterward. Hopefully, this guy won't have to see my smiling face for awhile and his A/C will work for another decade with a little maintenance. The point is that nothing is more important on your job than those you're trying to help. If you lose sight of the mission, you lose, your boss loses, and your customers lose. Eyes on the prize, that's where everyone wins as much as possible. Maranatha!

Why I Never Have to Worry (even when I still do).

2010-07-04T02:28:00.004-04:00

As of today, several things have happened that have or could have had a significant impact on my life. While the idea is to never be too preoccupied with oneself, there is the hope (at least in this post) of relating to others in similar situations. In times of so much angst and worry, I like to be able to post something positive. Victories sometime seem few and far between and miracles even less so, but Jesus is our source of victories and miracles. In this life, we are dependent on Him whether we acknowledge Him or not. I choose to acknowledge Him because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He intervenes. Let's face it, the numbers don't lie, but even then, Jesus is still Lord.

Unless you've lived in a cave, (this pertains to the United States) you know that the federal government has cut off unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed. Up to this point, we were getting half of our money to buy groceries, pay rent, pay bills, etc through unemployment benefits. My wife and I have lived austerely, yet decently for a year and a half while I've been looking for work. (My amounts are N.O.Y.B.). Take away half of someones paycheck and they're going to be hurting. In my case, it would be back to living back with my parents with kids in tow. This would not be a fun thing (I love you mom and dad) for anyone involved, but would beat homelessness to be sure. This is event one; the bad news if you will.

The other momentous occasion was and still is a milestone. I'm now 40 years of age and a member of a protected class now because of my age. Golly, being 40 sure feels like being 39, but it looks a lot older now that the first digit has changed. It could mean that my job search as gotten a lot harder.

The third momentous event took place over several days and finally culminated last Friday (7/2/2010). A couple weeks ago, I applied for a job at a heating and cooling firm in Lansing through the Michigan Talent Bank (This is a job board that has been panned by the uninformed, but it works; pun intended). I got a call 6/29/2010 on Tuesday to come in for an interview (which I did) and I took a test and filled out an application. Friday, the same week, I was called in for an interview. The owner, a really decent guy who knows his stuff and I talked for 15 minutes before he said to me "Have your *** here Tuesday." "Okay, I guess I'll have my *** in here Tuesday then, what time?" was my reply. It was congenial and most importantly, a job.

I've spent the better part of Friday and Saturday getting my tools ready for work next week. Bought a set of manifold gauges, a hose and a micron gauge, as well as some fittings and a fin straightener to replace my worn or missing stuff. The rest just needed to be cleaned and organized to some semblance of usability in the interest of finding something when it's needed. Soldering stuff in one bag, large hand tools in another, cords in one, power tools in their respective boxes and hoses in a huge tote. Basically everything needed to fix a furnace or air-conditioner with some semblance of accuracy is now in my cave.

The part I like so much about this is for the glory of the Lord. He is an over comer of temptation, tribulation, despair, discouragement, calamity, sin and death. In short, everything evil or wicked is overcome through the power of Christ. My mother told me that He knows no recession and I've had head knowledge of that fact, but was eighteen inches from reality (from my head to my heart). Fortunately, this was rectified long before I got this job, so any worry or angst was a non-issue. Let's face it. Being unemployed isn't fun. The paradox is that while someone is at rock bottom in their life, they need to be at the top of their game to find another job. Being able to write clearly and concisely, communicate well verbally (not one of my better attributes) and have some pluck is a job in itself that cannot be taken too lightly. This where faith comes in.

Quite frankly, I've stopped worrying about how or when the Lord is going to take care of me. He just does it and the component of faith is knowing that He will. Maranatha!

Part 2: Fixing Dash Lights on a Late Model GM Vehicle (Out of Warranty).

2010-06-26T12:10:00.003-04:00

This bears repeating, I do not have control over what you're working on, how you're working on it, or what your working with. There are risks to fixing anything and you assume all risks involved. Even if you're careful, stuff happens and you could cause personal injury or property damage. When in doubt, call a professional...

You may be tempted to buy a junkyard piece and be done with it, but the chance of getting one with same options as your vehicle are slim and getting one with the correct mileage is nil. The former is for functional reasons (who wants a tire pressure warning light when your car doesn't even have the option?) and the latter for legal reasons. Odometer fraud is a federal crime and any discrepancies MUST be declared on the title. This WILL reduce the value of your vehicle unless you plan on junking it in the near future. Extended warranties usually won't cover speedometer faults and certainly not bulb changes. So your options are limited. What to do.

My choice was to dig in and fix this, carefully.

There are eight light bulbs that need to be changed to get the instrument panel lit again. This does not count the bulbs for the idiot lights that wear infrequently. This is going to be helpful for the next step. Radio Shack is still the best place to get parts for electronics, but inevitably, they will not have the 12 incandescent bulbs this cluster has. As it was, I cleaned out every one they had and I had to do some digging. The ones preferred are the 12 volt - 50 miliamp Bi-pin lamps (#272-1154). You can use the 12 volt ones with the hookup leads, but these are a pain in the tuckus and you WILL break at least one trying to prepare it. Get the Bi-Pins bulbs, you'll be glad you did. You will also need a 15 watt soldering iron (no higher) and a roll of .032" 60/40 rosin core solder (not acid core)

The instrument cluster's held together with tabs that snap on like the edges of a tote. First remove the lens and set it aside. This is where it gets tricky. The needles need to come off and they are not intuitive or indexed. It would be good to mark their positions on the dial with a grease pencil (do not use a marker or paint) or your readings will be inaccurate. There are tools to remove these, but a regular fork placed under the needles where they attach to the stepper motors will suffice. Lift up gently on the needles with the fork to remove them.

Unsnap the back of the cluster and you'll see the printed circuit that lives inside. A word of caution here and this is one reason why this is risky. You need to work where you can ground yourself to protect against static electricity, which will destroy a circuit board. The best place is in the kitchen where you can at least touch the faucet.

One either side of each stepper motor, there lives a bulb and these are not unlike Christmas tree (not holiday tree) bulbs in their form factor. The difference is that the Xmas tree bulbs are too tall to fit. The bulbs sit on ceramic holders with each lead into a solder joint. twist the bulb and holder off the board. As there are four solder joints under the holder, pay attention to the ones the leads go into and they are larger, so that will help.

Take your bi-pin bulb and carefully, with pliers, bend out the pins at a 90 degree angle so they can sit in the solder. The rest of the job is going to be soldering in each bulb so they stand upright and and not burning up the circuit board, or your appendages. The bulbs with the wire leads will have to be installed like the originals and these are tricky. I cannot teach a person how to solder parts together in this post. This is something I've been doing since I was ten years old, tomorrow I turn 40. This is not the part to practice your skills on either.

One you get the bulbs in and you're satisfied they're in securely. put the dash together, making sure the stepper motors are at their lowest limits AND and the needles are in their original positions (HINT these are not going to point below the marks until you actually hook the cluster up, but some adjustment is to be expected. BE careful or you will compromise the accuracy of the speedometer and may to use a GPS to set it straight. If the job's done with care, you'll have your dash lights for less than $20.00 for about an hour's worth of work. Compare this to being without your car for several days and paying the dealer five bills. Maranatha!

Fixing Dash Lights on a Late Model GM Vehicle (Out of Warranty).

2010-06-26T11:21:00.003-04:00

Remember, I do not have control over your work or workmanship. The process is pretty straightforward, but mistakes happen and you could cause personal injury or property damage doing this. When in doubt, call a qualified mechanic. Auto electronic systems are very expensive.

Bulb changes on a car or truck are a fact of life. From the amount of cars and trucks I see on the road with burned out headlights, daytime running lights, brake lights and turn signals, this is something not enough people acknowledge. For most, if the car starts and runs, they get in an go and don't pay attention to anything unless a friendly police offer points this out. The result is a $100 fix up ticket and a trip to the shop, or in my case trying to fix it yourself. Of course, once the item's fixed, then find another officer, have him or her check out the problem and sign off on the ticket, mail it in an waive the fee. Either way, you still have to fix the issue. It's a lot of time wasted for something you could have been proactive on. My opinion anyway.

Dash lights are equally important, unless of course you don't mind driving with a flashlight strapped to your shoulder or the interior lights on. Neither one's a good choice and could cause a crash. Driving without dash lights can cause you to have an accident, run out of fuel, or a speeding ticket that may result in a fix up citation too. I had to replace the bulbs on my parents' minivan and heater unit at about 130,000 miles. This usually involves removing the steering column covers or dropping the steering column, unsnapping the trim around the instrument cluster and removing 4 7mm screws, and sometimes a cable for the shift indicator (carelessness usually breaks these things). Then all you have to do is unhook the wires, (maybe a cable for the speedometer, but these are non existent on cars built after 1996) and remove the cluster. All there is to replacing the bulbs is twisting the holders on the back of the cluster and swapping the bulbs out.

However, GM has made this a bit more involved. The cluster is easy enough to get out. All you have to do is undo to two 12mm nuts to the steering column, a few 7mm screws holding the trim on and a butter knife to get the trim off the rest of the way. This is a five minute job. 4 7mm screws (with Phillip's heads) hold the cluster in and once you get it out, the only thing to remove is the wire harness.

I removed the cluster and found none of the usual bulb holder on the back. There are no screws holding this together, only tabs. Needless to say, one of the few bulbs I could get to with a pair of hemostats was soldered in. There was no ready access to them either. To be on the safe side, I went to the GM dealer and they quoted me $500 to replace the bulbs in the cluster. This was so not happening...

Jesus Came, What's Next (from Lamb Lion)

2010-06-10T01:08:00.000-04:00

Did Many People Disappear?

To Err is Human...

2010-06-09T01:19:00.005-04:00

It's just south of 50 days since the unfortunate accident in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 hard-working people and has created one of the worst environmental disasters since Chernobyl. The latter has absorbed the liberals to the point of eclipsing the former, which to me is much more poignant.

And there is plenty of blame to go around, including Americans' insatiable thirst for oil. I think of this fact every time I see my disabled car and the thirty or forty dollars of gasoline sitting in the tank going to the scrapyard. But this has turned into another polarizing event which has divided us yet again. Understandably, there is a strong emotional component to this disaster and we are emotional creatures.

However, this doesn't change the facts. This was an accident. BP made a mistake, that's all it was. The effects are horrendous and they will have to clean this up, but the facts remain that this is just an accident. The public relations nightmare this firm has endured would have been a strong disincentive to do this deliberately. The fact that oil is over $70 a barrel right now is another hit to the oil company, not to mention the hit they took on their stock. They've been more than prompt at at least trying to fix the problem, which is more than I can say for any armchair critic, myself included.

I went ahead and clicked the "like" button for BP's Facebook page, and have presented articles in a truthful, yet voice of reason-like manner. I'm not mad at BP folks; I'm not mad at anyone to tell the truth (save for the devil and his minions). Mistakes are a part of being human. We are human after all, even though the liberals would like us to believe we are gods despite evidence to the contrary.

And I have gotten flak for this stand. Unless you're rabidly mad at a huge multinational firms, you can't possibly be human. Unless you're a Communist who loves big government and hates it when someone might be better off than you, you're defective. And if you're a Christian, people will question your sanity. The thought that someone can forgive someone else or not be consumed with hatred is anathema to the liberal secular humanist crowd.

I want to let you in on a little secret if you're lost. This life your living, as much as you loathe it, is as close to heaven as you will get if you don't accept Jesus as your Savior. This oil spill will be a welcome relief compared to what's coming soon. During the tribulation, water of any quality will be scarce and wealth will be measured in food. If you miss the rapture and go through the tribulation, you'll learn to cherish the times we live in now. It will make this look like a domestic dispute.

Right now, the wheels are already in motion.