Gremlin hunting.

I've mentioned before that there are some little things that need to be hunted down and fixed on Barney. One of them cropped up a couple of days ago.

I fired up Barney with the intention of heading out to do some errands; got to the corner up the street and hit the windshield wiper switch to clear some dew off the glass -- nothing happened. So I hit the heater fan switch, and nothing. Ditto the turn signals. One U-turn later, I was back in my driveway trying to figure out the trouble.

What one thing do all these items have in common? They all run off the car's Accessory bus, the electrical circuit that is energized only when the car is running.

I fired the car back up and... everything worked. Shut it off, turned it on again and... no accessories. Wiggled the key and they came on! That put the point on it: tired ignition switch, which will have to be replaced.

Luckily, Stude vendors like Studebaker International and Chuck Collins' Studebakerpartsonline.com have reproduction switches that will slide right in. One more project for the list!

Out on a Mission.

It was a beautiful day today in SoCal, so I took Barney out for a few minutes in the sunshine. We live a few miles from the Mission San Luis Rey, so we tooled down the road and parked out front for a few iPhotos. San Luis Rey will be familiar to fans of Disney's old Zorro TV show, as many scenes were shot at the church.

 

Barney is running really well right now. There are a few things that need attention, of course - the ignition switch wants replaced (it doesn't send current to the Accessory bus when the car is running unless you jiggle the key), the heater still isn't hooked up, and the factory-style steering wheel awaits installation... but it's sure fun to drive.

Even with all the little stuff, it's sure fun to be out on the road with him, and every now and then to get a double-take from a car guy who knows what he's looking at :)

Here's hoping the weather clears up this nicely wherever you are reading this from!

Quick catch up...

Well, it's still raining here, but at least we're not under two feet of snow :) Richer rebuilt my alternator (Jim told me that the inside parts "fell out in his hand"), and after reinstallation, is working perfectly. I've had Barney on the road a couple of times since then, and the charging system is working perfectly.

Next project is getting the NOS springs refurbed with new bushings and paint so I can stop the car sliding back and forth on the old worn-out ones when I turn corners (it's a helluva bang! when it happens).