With all the crazy stuff that has been going on this year 'Christmas' seemed to lack its usual Buzz although we had a lovely meal prepared by the GF and me, for when the In-laws spend the day with us and none of the random drop-ins of friends at 'Orange Blossom Towers' which really made a welcome change from the usual Chaos

So when the In-laws departed the GF decided to put on the Washing Machine, which was the most exciting thing that She had done all day, especially when it went Bang and Burnt out, which was apparently my fault as there was something that I didn't know

And that was that a Washing Machine isn't meant for Washing Dirty Clothes but instead should be used for keeping Clean Clothes Clean! the only problem being that I didn't get the 'Memo' and used it to Wash my Gravel Encrusted Clothes, that got that way when Crawling about under my XJS

So having promised to buy her a New one in the January Sales and preferably one with Settings for Mud/Dirt/Grime and Gravel, there was still the problem of Washing my Clothes that would never ever get near this New Machine

When I remembered 'Greg's' Wise Words!

With a Concrete Mixer and a Welding Set any Man or Woman can Rule the World!

So left to my own devices, I went down the Garden and then returned with my Concrete Mixer, which looked in a bit of a state although it worked! and so it was out with the Angle Grinder to cut off the Bolts that held the paddles inside, where having chopped the bolts off, I took the paddles out

Which then left me with what I believed would be a Mega Awesome 'Steam Punk' Washing Machine, so have a look at the Video and see if you agree! as alerted by the Cranking Noise of this Mighty Machine

The GF came running out to see what all of this Fuss was about and have to report She was totally lost for Words and was so shocked by what She saw, that She just could not believe her eyes!

Although for reasons that I can't begin to understand, when She saw how clean it washed my Filthy Dirty Clothes, when She regained the power of speech She was so totally blown away that She's named it 'Bubbles'

But still wants a New Washing Machine!

As apparently 'Bubbles' isn't very user Friendly and Spills Water everywhere!

 

Someone get the net!!!!
We got a live one ovah here!!!

 

We've all been there haven't we and I was there myself an hour ago, as I just treated '50 Shades' to a Brand New Battery and after Connecting it up the Car won't Crank! and not for the First Time either

As this 'No Crank' Situation can occur at anytime the Battery gets disturbed, if for instance you've taken it out for Recharging as many of us do this time of Year, though luckily for me I know the most common cause and how to fix it!



A 'No Crank' Situation can be very often caused when either Changing the Battery or accidentally disturbing the Battery Leads in some way where in the event this may happen to you, its very often down to 'The Fuseable Link'

Which while looking OK from the outside may have come apart inside and just needs pushing together for all to be well, so hopefully this is going to help some of you guys this Winter after Charging or Changing your Battery

 

Too big to go in a Christmas Cracker but small enough to keep in the Glove Box of my XJS as the GF got me this cute little Battery Charger and having had one of these before, its one of those things that I have found to be really indispensable in helping to keep the Paranoia at bay

As worst case scenario I can always plug it in somewhere if we go away on a trip and I left the lights on or something like that, although in any event a very handy little piece of kit to keep in the Car

 

OB,

Good addition!

For real peace of mind, I carry one of the mini 12V boost power packs in the back of my cars. The technology is so much improved in recent years and these small packs have proved that they can jumpstart a very flat battery in my Range Rover. I don't go anywhere without one now.

As with anything, there's a huge range of power options and prices. From £40 up to £350. I'd suggest you get one with min 1000A. I can recommend the range of NOCO Boost Plus. I use the GB40 model. If you look around, the cheapest I can find is about £79.

Cheers

Paul

 

I buy the Harbor Freight viking 4amp chargers that sell for about $22-30, they're pretty decent for the money (I may have 10 of them) and have a volt meter built into it. Some of my cars have a slow module draw which the chargers don't pick up so it's good to have a volt meter so that you can check and reboot the charger.

For jump boxes, I have a mix of Gooloo and Noco, although I've gone off Noco after my 4000amp GP150 failed. I bought it in case i ever needed to jump my Ford 7.3 diesel and may have used it 2-3 times before it failed. When I contacted Noco, they told me that because it was out of warranty, all they could do is offer me a $30 credit on a new one. So I'm out $300, but they'll never get my money again.
The Gooloo is older and 1/4 the size and was able to start my truck on the occasion that I needed the Noco to start it. They also have similar sized units that carry a 24 month warranty (which automaitcally doubles if you buy using certain credit cards) at about 1/2 the cost of the Noco unit.

 

Hi ptjs (Paul)@Alabbasi

Although I'm really not sure why, I've always steered clear of 'Jump Chargers' as I think I remember reading somewhere that some of them can't do the job you were hoping they would

Especially if prolonged 'Cranking' was required in a 'No Start' situation, where just for the sake of Experiment on a couple of occasions, I've easily Started my V12 on a Tiny Lawn Mower Battery

So I think if I had £70 burning a hole in my Pocket, then I would rather Spend it on a Brand New Full Size Battery like the one I've just bought for my Car and as for the Battery Charger the GF told me She picked it up for only £9-50p instead of £14-0p because the box was damaged and so I'm pleased to see She's learning fast!

 

As with no run situations there sometimes comes a time, when all hope evaporates and the only thing that you have left is to clutch at Straws and hope and pray that 'The Wizard' will come to your rescue

That sometimes involves a component that is so Notorious that you are hoping against hope that it isn't that and remain in total denial, because its so elusive that you might even need to call in Sherlock Holmes to find it

Which just in case you haven't guessed is aka 'The Dreaded White Shielding Wire' which may have gone Crispy and even fallen apart while Changing the Spark Plugs or doing some work on the 'Dizzy'

As you will see from the Photo where I've pulled it out a bit from its hiding place, this Coax Wire runs all the way from the 'B' Bank Inlet Manifold to the ECU in the Boot/Trunk where apart from the fact its coloured White, is nothing more than a simple length of Coax like you have on a TV Aerial

Which you could in fact use to Test the Continuity by taking it from where its joined at the 'B' Bank Inlet Manifold and then running a length of Coax TV Aerial Cable, all the way round the outside of the Car to the ECU, in other words replicating what is already there and if the Car Starts after that then you have found the problem!

The Secret if there is one is what joins to where, which may not be obvious at first sight

Where Starting at the Manifold end its only the Inner Core of this Wire that gets joined and NOT the Woven Coaxy Shield around it, which must NOT be earthed even though everything in your head is telling you this can't be right and it should be

As if you earth it then your Car won't Start!

Not the same thing at the other end though! and this can mess with your head, as you only earth this wire with its Coaxy Covering inside the ECU that should be obvious when you look inside it

Where the Inner Wire goes to Pin 24 of the ECU (where as mentioned previously) is ONLY Grounded at the ECU end

This long piece of Coax that goes all the way from where it joins at the 'B' Bank Inlet Manifold and then runs all the way to the ECU where it carries the Signal to Fire the Injectors and so its vitally important that this Wire is intact with no breaks in the Circuit

 

They say some of the Best things come in the Smallest Packages, where in this case I can tell you that its absolutely True, as having a mooch around the Shops I picked up a couple of Bargains!

The First of which was something I had already got!

So let me explain........



In the Blue Box on the right is my Brake Pipe Making Kit, that if I remember correctly Cost about £28 and this has gone on to pay for itself over and over again, as I have renewed all the Brake Pipes on my XJS and have saved myself an absolute fortune!

Though in the Cardboard Box on the Left, is something that is maybe even more of a Bargain!



Everything you need to make your own Brake Pipes, that up to buying this piece of Kit I'd never done before although it is quite easy once you get the hang of it



On the Lid of my Brake Pipe kit, is an almost identical one that came in that small Cardboard Box though as you can see it doesn't come with a Pipe Cutter, which I didn't need anyway as I can use the one that came with the Kit in the Blue Box and I also have loads of these that I've used for Plumbing Jobs around the House

Although it would be as well to point out that if you haven't got one, then you are going to have to get one, as when you cut your Brake Pipe, it needs to be dead square or the Flare you have just made will be on the 'Wonk' and that won't do, because you need your Brake Pipes to be perfectly formed and up to the Job

In this respect I do admit I've had my share of Failures that weren't quite 'Up to Snuff' and as such had to redo them before I felt they were good enough to go on the Car, as putting it quite simply your life depends upon it, where unlike make things in life, 'Near Enough Won't Do' but also 'Practice Makes Perfect'

So even without the Pipe Cutter, why did I waste money in buying something I already had?

The Answer being only to get a Spare Die! which is the little tiny one on the right in 'The Blue Plastic Box' as this is the one most often used for making Standard Brake Pipes and also this Tiny Little Die, is so very easy to lose and maybe even harder to replace at a sensible price

As the Brake Pipe Kit in the Cardboard Box was only £7 which I consider to be an absolute Bargain! compared to the one in the Blue Plastic Case which cost £28

As for the Cupro Nickel Tube to make the Brake Pipes from, you can buy a Reel of this from most Car Accessory Shops for about £10 to £20 which all in all presents a Massive Saving on what a 'Shop' may charge to do this Job

Apart from the Fact that making you're own Brake Pipes is good Fun!

Once of course they manage to pass through your Stringent Self Imposed Quality Control!

How to make Your own Brake Pipes!

Page: 17 of my 'Cherry Blossom' Restoration Thread How To Make Your Own Brake Pipes My Step by Step Guide including Lots of Photos

 

Whats that Water on the Floor of my XJS

Its not that She had sprung a leak or even that I'd left a Window down but more the result of me Crying a River of Tears! as one of the Worst Storms in History had torn the £200 Car Cover off my XJS and ripped it all to Shreds

A State of the Art Carcraft one in Breathable 'Noah' Material that come to think of it may have even Cost £250

And if that wasn't bad enough, underneath this was my XJS Celebration Convertible, that I'd only taken outside to pump the Tyres up!

But 'fond of taking Tea Breaks me' thought that I would leave putting her away until the morning, as I had just finished Polishing her and was now in the process of detailing the Engine, that was looking Awsomer by the moment, where suddenly out of nowhere we were hit by one of the worst storms that I could ever remember

Maybe its me but I should have known something was wrong, when a 40ft Fir Tree decided to fall on the House but missed it by a Whisper, which was probably just as well as I hadn't taken out any House Insurance preferring to use the Money I'd save on buying a Plasma Cutter! which was a belated Christmas Present from the GF which I decided to Pay for because I've simply got a Heart of Gold

Or maybe be I was just covering up on some past misdemeanors, where if She were to have found out could surely help in reducing a Persons Life Expectancy (namely mine!) as using her Egyptian Cotton Bath Towels to Polish my XJS was let's face it Not the Best Idea I ever had!

As for the Plasma Cutter, it really looks an Awesome piece of Kit, although because of the Storm I haven't had the chance to even try it out just yet, although I think I've convinced myself, that this could be the 'Ultimate Big Boys Toy' full write up on that coming later!







Gone in 60 Seconds! The Storm had ripped my £200 Car Cover to Pieces!

 

Hopefully no damage to the Jag??? A car cover is cheap compared to a destroyed XJS. Hope it's all good.

Jack

 

Aww, I HATE wind! I ;left Montana to get away from Wind like that.
I'm really sorry you now have a mobile wading pool.
DANG!!
(';')

 

Hi Jack

Just bought 4 New Car Covers, though not quite the same as before so I hope they hold up

More on those later as we've just been hit by another Big Storm

 

Hi LnrB

I thought that Chicago was the Windy City, although today its everywhere in the UK

 

Another day in Paradise and Yet another Big Storm as this Week we are really getting Hammered, with Hailstones the Size of Golf ***** and Relentless Wind and Rain, that seems to keep on threatening to rip one of the New Car Covers off I bought today

So this will be the Acid Test to see how they hold up, assuming that they haven't blown away

Meanwhile back in the Sanctuary of 'Orange Blossom Towers' I've been making a Circle Cutting Jig for the Plasma Cutter, which is still in the Box it came in as the Weathers so bad I haven't even had the change to try it out or use it, which is very frustrating as it looks an awesome piece of kit

So we've just got to try and ride out the Storm until it goes away

 

If I thought yesterdays Storm was bad, today it went right off the Charts! as Storm Franklin Hit us with a Vengeance, causing widespread devastation with 100 mph Winds, that knocked my Neighbors Fence down just like a House of Cards

After which it then knocked over one of those massive Conifer Trees at 'Orange Blossom Towers' that left it hanging at 45 degrees over my XJS 'The Ice Princess' where you could see the the Root Ball coming right out of the Ground

The Tree is now in an awkward and dangerous position to be cut and all the Branches are Massive

So I dare not go anywhere near it, until the Wind has calmed down, as even now I think there is a 75% Chance of the Tree falling over on top of 'The Ice Princess'

That unfortunately cannot be moved, as I have taken the IRS out and haven't put it back yet and it also looks like a fond farewell to my 'Baby Merc'

 

It has been windy !

 

Just a bit yeah! (Lol)

 

When the Storm ripped my very expensive £200+ Car Cover to shreds, as you may imagine I was gutted! and so I needed a very fast fix, as leaving an expensive Car uncovered during the Winter, would not be the best idea that anyone ever had

Where my immediate plan of Action was to get a Temporary one, until I had replaced it with yet another Top Quality one, that aren't exactly Peanuts to replace, where I found what I was looking for on the Shelf of my Supermarket in among the Car Accessories and assorted Fluffy Dice!

This Car Cover was so Cheap and Cheerful (as we say) that I had serious doubts in my mind that it would be any good but since it was just a Temporary Fix I really wasn't bothered as it didn't really matter if it didn't last that long

After all you can't expect that much for £9-99p and NO that's not a misprint Nine Pounds and Ninety Nine Pence! and I'm please to say it wasn't rubbish either and was Shaped to Fit with Bungee Straps as well

Now hat is interesting here was that these Car Covers were date stamped 2010 which gave me the impression that my Supermarket may have gone and bought up some Old Stock and I have to say the Quality was Amazing! as they were made of what appears to be Rip Proof Terylene

And so impressed was I with this that I went out and bought another Four



Epic Supermarket Car Cover £9-99p



So good I might not bother buying another expensive one

 

OB - that has been quite an an adventure these storms...... I like the covers, looks better than my old bed sheets.