Author Topic: Working on your car  (Read 19417 times)
CEB1993
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Camdenburns93
Re: Working on your car « Reply #90 on: January 23, 2018, 01:07:52 PM » Author: CEB1993
I needed to replace some burnt out taillights in my car this weekend (Thank you to Nicksfans for spotting them while we drove.)  My Jetta uses a single holder that each of the bulbs in each taillight plugs into (please see below.)  It's difficult to remove the entire holder without knocking one of the working bulbs loose and getting it stuck in the lens.  Nick and I struggled with this  :o  Eventually, we got the bulbs replaced, but my replacement 7506 incandescent bulb I put in still did not work.

I decided to go LED the day after that and replace both of the brake lights with Sylvania 7506 LED's (please see below.)  They look great and they are legal to use for my purposes, because they are not exposed.  They are used behind red tail light lenses ;)  Now I won't have to worry about my tail lights burning out again for the rest of my time owning the Jetta.
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Silverliner
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Re: Working on your car « Reply #91 on: January 24, 2018, 08:03:43 PM » Author: Silverliner
How did you learn to work on cars? Took mechanic classes or learned on your own? I wanted to learn more but still struggle in life. I have replaced brakes and a few other things though.
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Lodge
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Re: Working on your car « Reply #92 on: January 24, 2018, 09:07:02 PM » Author: Lodge
How did you learn to work on cars? Took mechanic classes or learned on your own? I wanted to learn more but still struggle in life. I have replaced brakes and a few other things though.

What do you drive, and learning to fix most things you start with the basics, don't try to over evaluate the issue with your car, lots of people do that, and they start making things an issue that has nothing to do with the problem, and then they worry and the problem gets bigger then is really is, I get it cars are expensive but when you tear them apart they are a fairly basic simple machine, what are you looking at fixing on your car, or what is it doing to make you think it's broken ?

And I've always been a big believer in the fact if something is really broken, why not take it apart to see what makes it tick, after all it's broken so whats the harm, I get it if you have a new Ferrari maybe let the pros fix it, but I drive older beaters and often it's minor things when you start poking around and looking at it, and I like to visit the wreckers if it's something I'm unsure of because if I bust it there, it stays there but sometimes that part's of the learning process you fail, but it's not a total failure if you learn something..

Also factory service manuals are wonderful things, once you get one in your hands you will toss those simple Chiltons manuals from the auto parts store in the recycle bin without seconds though.. (there is a world of difference in quality of the material) 
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Re: Working on your car « Reply #93 on: January 25, 2018, 05:26:16 AM » Author: Mercurylamps
A lot of things about car maintenance have been self-taught by Googling or service manuals. I don't do any serious engine removal or rebuilds, I do smaller things such as replacing O2 sensors, cleaning the MAF sensor, body trim, stereo replacement, etc. A lot of things on cars can be done easily with a few simple tools and patience. I've even wired an aftermarket remote central locking kit into a 1989 Toyota Corolla, something that wasn't available at all by Toyota in that year in Australia. I even wired it so it would flash the indicators when you unlock or lock the car.

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CEB1993
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Re: Working on your car « Reply #94 on: January 28, 2018, 05:00:57 PM » Author: CEB1993
I've always been a car enthusiast and enjoy figuring out how everything in the car works.  I enjoy working on my car and fixing what I can so I can make it last longer.  I've had my VW Jetta for 7 and a half years now, and I've put about 60,000 miles on it.  I'm pleased that I've taken good care of my car and made it last this long.  I take pride in figuring out how to do DIY repairs on my car and preserve it so it keeps running.

I find that YouTube is a great place to start for figuring out how to work on your car.  I replaced my headlights, my mass airflow sensor, my air filter, and found out how to replace a radio fuse just from YouTube videos.  
« Last Edit: January 28, 2018, 11:02:35 PM by CEB1993 » Logged

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suzukir122
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Re: Working on your car « Reply #95 on: January 28, 2018, 09:06:41 PM » Author: suzukir122
I'm also a car enthusiast, but to a certain extent. I only like muscle cars, sport cars, and super sport cars. I'm
not a fan of average cars like a toyota prius or corolla.
YouTube is my go to for a lot of things... I've never really thought about YouTube being a source for helping me with
car related issues, but that's something I have got to start considering! Because I do not like, nor trust mechanics...
unless I know them on a personal level.
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Re: Working on your car « Reply #96 on: June 15, 2018, 10:19:18 PM » Author: CEB1993
My first project on my new Subaru Legacy was upgrading the high beam headlights to Philips Xtremevision 9005's.  The original Sylvania OEM bulbs were dull and close to EOL based on the soot buildup inside the capsules.  The Subaru headlight bulbs were so simple to replace compared to my old VW Jetta's.  Funny thing about the Legacy is that the low beam headlights are HID xenon and the high beams are halogen.  I would have thought that design would be vice-versa due to how much brighter and more intense the xenon light is.  The high beam halogen lights are more yellow, but they are directed to shine higher and further than the downward focused low beams. 
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Re: Working on your car « Reply #97 on: June 15, 2018, 10:24:39 PM » Author: suzukir122
That is an important subject to me, because I have also noticed that HID headlights seem brighter than their
halogen high beams. Why is it that HID headlights seem to be equipped with halogen high beams? This isn't just cars,
seems to be the case with motorcycles as well, so I'm guessing all or most HID headlights come with halogen high beams?
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Re: Working on your car « Reply #98 on: June 16, 2018, 12:36:14 AM » Author: takemorepills
My GTI and Infiniti Q60 both have Bi-Xenon HID headlamps. They have a motorized shield to switch between low and high beams.
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CEB1993
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Re: Working on your car « Reply #99 on: June 16, 2018, 08:56:19 PM » Author: CEB1993
My GTI and Infiniti Q60 both have Bi-Xenon HID headlamps. They have a motorized shield to switch between low and high beams.

That's a really cool feature!  My dad's Lexus ES has automatic high beam/low beam headlights that automatically switch from high beam to low beam when it senses an oncoming car in the opposite lane.  I've heard that in the US, automobiles are only allowed to have two distinct levels of brightness, high beam or low beam with nothing in between.  With my Lighting Design masters program, I might have an opportunity to research continuously adaptive LED headlights that automatically dim and brighten based on the car's environment and surrounding cars.  These LED's could revolutionize the headlight industry that's currently limited to high beam/low beam.
« Last Edit: June 16, 2018, 08:58:32 PM by CEB1993 » Logged

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Re: Working on your car « Reply #100 on: June 16, 2018, 09:21:57 PM » Author: suzukir122
Given how often I get blinded by people with bright/glaring LED lights, that idea might
be a great one. I'm sure there are cars out there that already come standard with this feature.
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Interests:
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2. Weightlifting/staying extremely athletic
3. Severe Thunderstorms of all kinds
4. Food and drinks. So gimme them bbq ribs
Lighting has ALWAYS been a passion of mine. I consider everyone on here to be a friend

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Re: Working on your car « Reply #101 on: June 17, 2018, 12:56:01 AM » Author: xelareverse
Yesterday and the day before I replaced all eight spark plugs on my 1996 F150. I had to put it on ramps and get under it for some of spark plugs, but it was well worth it now that the truck actually feels like it's got a V8 engine in it,not a two-stroke off of a moped. It's pretty Speedy for what it is, and I want to do a full restoration and maybe even supercharge it.
Also me and my friend are going to be bidding on a 2010 Chevy Silverado hybrid. His parents are fine with it if he uses his birthday money, they have an inspection date where you can try to start it. Hopefully this goes well.
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icefoglights
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Re: Working on your car « Reply #102 on: June 21, 2018, 06:00:31 PM » Author: icefoglights
My first project on my new Subaru Legacy was upgrading the high beam headlights to Philips Xtremevision 9005's.  The original Sylvania OEM bulbs were dull and close to EOL based on the soot buildup inside the capsules.  The Subaru headlight bulbs were so simple to replace compared to my old VW Jetta's.  Funny thing about the Legacy is that the low beam headlights are HID xenon and the high beams are halogen.  I would have thought that design would be vice-versa due to how much brighter and more intense the xenon light is.  The high beam halogen lights are more yellow, but they are directed to shine higher and further than the downward focused low beams. 

They reason they use halogen high beams with HID low beams in a quad lamp setup is that the high beams need to be able to be switched off and back on at will, without dealing with warmup and restrikes.  The HID low beams can run all the time, but the high beams have to switch on and off frequently.

As mentioned earlier in dual lamp setups, they can use movable shields to block off the high portion of the beam.  I also remember years ago reading about research into using deflection coils to shift the arc between high and low beam positions.
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CEB1993
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Re: Working on your car « Reply #103 on: June 21, 2018, 09:44:57 PM » Author: CEB1993
They reason they use halogen high beams with HID low beams in a quad lamp setup is that the high beams need to be able to be switched off and back on at will, without dealing with warmup and restrikes.  The HID low beams can run all the time, but the high beams have to switch on and off frequently.

As mentioned earlier in dual lamp setups, they can use movable shields to block off the high portion of the beam.  I also remember years ago reading about research into using deflection coils to shift the arc between high and low beam positions.

Wow, thanks icefoglights!  That makes perfect sense now that I think about it.  With the HID low beam, those aren't switched on and off too often.  Meanwhile, I turn the high beams on and off much more quickly and frequently (when an oncoming car arrives).  I can totally see how HID would not be ideal in such an application like high beam headlamps that are on and off frequently.
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Re: Working on your car « Reply #104 on: July 13, 2018, 03:12:02 AM » Author: ace100w120v
Although not my own, I have literally been learning all my mechanical skills and vehicle-servicing items on 2.5 ton and 5 ton Army surplus 6x6s.  Been greasing, oiling, etc. 
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