Trout
GT Reference
Well now in this age of hi tech where we are now hooking laptops to lawnmowers (yep Kohler twin cylinders are computerized) to diagnose malfunctions or going on line for the cure I'd sure like to hear from other folks how they or someone they knew diagnosed, tested & fixed stuff. Doesn't have to be bikes or vehicles just anything at all were somebody actually sat down, looked over the situation, thought it through and tried different stuff until it was fixed.
I got the idea to do this from posting in the Tonti section on Supafleas battery drain. Probably won't help him at all but it just got me to thinking...... I'll re-post here and add an un-related "event" that some may find amusing and gives a sample of figuring stuff out.
"In the Old Days" (or who cares about this s**t anymore): Old timers would make their own load tester using any old starter motor and stepping *(See note below) on the drive while it was engaged. This caused a heavy "load" to be put on the battery and with the caps off the battery they would look to see if a cell bubbled, how hot the starter cable got and how many 1,000's it took to kill the battery. Load testing a battery is fine but you should also check it with a hydrometer. I've seen many that passed a load test but had a bad cell that will only show up using a hydrometer. A bad cell will keep a battery from holding a charge or fully charging, although they may still show 12v on a meter and pass a load test.
* NOTE: The preferred started was from a flat head ford v8 because the drive was not enclosed but hung out there on the end of the shaft. Also the body of the starter was jammed under the wheel of a vehicle to keep it from spinning, a knee braced against the starter body & a foot on the drive then hold the cable to the positive side of the battery.
I grew up in South Jersey USA and winters were cold enough to freeze water. One time me & the boys were out in a Ford Bronco looking for deer hunting spots. We drove into a clearing before realizing it was a small froze over pond. We went through the ice and fortunately it was not deep but we were stuck. Today everybody has an electric winch but that was big bucks back then. We were many miles into the Pine Barrens and to walk out was not an option before sundown and freezing temps. We did have rope and the Bronco had spoke wheels so we let some air out of one of the front tires, passed the rope through the spokes and tied it off. Ran the rest of the rope plus some extra to a small tree and tied it off. Started the truck put her in 4wd & she walked herself out. That's my story & I'm sticking to it.
Anybody else?
I got the idea to do this from posting in the Tonti section on Supafleas battery drain. Probably won't help him at all but it just got me to thinking...... I'll re-post here and add an un-related "event" that some may find amusing and gives a sample of figuring stuff out.
"In the Old Days" (or who cares about this s**t anymore): Old timers would make their own load tester using any old starter motor and stepping *(See note below) on the drive while it was engaged. This caused a heavy "load" to be put on the battery and with the caps off the battery they would look to see if a cell bubbled, how hot the starter cable got and how many 1,000's it took to kill the battery. Load testing a battery is fine but you should also check it with a hydrometer. I've seen many that passed a load test but had a bad cell that will only show up using a hydrometer. A bad cell will keep a battery from holding a charge or fully charging, although they may still show 12v on a meter and pass a load test.
* NOTE: The preferred started was from a flat head ford v8 because the drive was not enclosed but hung out there on the end of the shaft. Also the body of the starter was jammed under the wheel of a vehicle to keep it from spinning, a knee braced against the starter body & a foot on the drive then hold the cable to the positive side of the battery.
I grew up in South Jersey USA and winters were cold enough to freeze water. One time me & the boys were out in a Ford Bronco looking for deer hunting spots. We drove into a clearing before realizing it was a small froze over pond. We went through the ice and fortunately it was not deep but we were stuck. Today everybody has an electric winch but that was big bucks back then. We were many miles into the Pine Barrens and to walk out was not an option before sundown and freezing temps. We did have rope and the Bronco had spoke wheels so we let some air out of one of the front tires, passed the rope through the spokes and tied it off. Ran the rest of the rope plus some extra to a small tree and tied it off. Started the truck put her in 4wd & she walked herself out. That's my story & I'm sticking to it.
Anybody else?