Topic: Rookie Mistake
in Forum: C3 Electrical
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Doing a carpet install. While I'm at it repainting my console. Forgot to disconnect the battery. Oops, accidentally made contact between gauge cluster and radio. A beautiful plume of smoke emanated from my battery gauge and my temp gauge pegged. Willcox gets $59 richer and I learned a valuable lesson. Always disconnect the battery!
I fired up the car the temp gauge seems to work. Battery gauge is reading zero no matter the rpms. I hope all I have to do is replace the battery gauge. Does that sound right to you electrical experts?
I should replace the clock now. But money must go elsewhere. That's a project for another day.
|UPDATED|6/23/2013 5:18:50 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|
|UPDATED|6/23/2013 5:18:50 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|
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Here's a another rookie mistake which, thankfully didn't result in a trip to the ER.
I was tuning my carburetor from the passenger side of the car and reached over to goose the throttle. Luckily I sort of reached around the carb and not directly over because the resulting pop and fireball that shot up would have left a pretty nasty burn on my forearm.
So here we have the beginnings of probably a pretty handy list:
1) always disconnect the battery when messing with wires.
2) never reach over an open carburetor of a running engine
I believe their is a fusible link in that circuit at the starter I will keep looking To see if I can pin it down if no one chimes in with better info
|UPDATED|6/23/2013 12:30:53 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|
|UPDATED|6/23/2013 12:30:53 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|
BigShoes16 said: Here's a another rookie mistake which, thankfully didn't result in a trip to the ER.
I was tuning my carburetor from the passenger side of the car and reached over to goose the throttle. Luckily I sort of reached around the carb and not directly over because the resulting pop and fireball that shot up would have left a pretty nasty burn on my forearm.
So here we have the beginnings of probably a pretty handy list:
1) always disconnect the battery when messing with wires.
2) never reach over an open carburetor of a running engine
Nice list. I'll bet it grows!
Lifetime MemberLemon Grove, CA - USA
Joined: 10/17/2007
Posts: 2041
Vette(s): 1982 C3 Collectors Edition 44000 miles, sat in the sun most of its life, My wife purchased it for me for Father's Day in 2007 from her girlfriend that had it for 19 years. It is on the road again. I'm retired but it is now my daily driver.
Taking the center gauge cluster off without taking pictures so I would know where all of the insulators and spacers would go. Lesson
Learned: Always take lots of pictures digital pictures are cheap.Taking off the intake manifold assuming I could easily find
the torque and torque pattern. Adam to
the rescue on that one. Lesson learned:
Have all of the tools and information available before you start. You will still be short something but at least you have a chance.
How about installing a very lubed up push rod, and letting it slip out of your fingers to land nicely inside the cylinder head?
I taught myself some new curse words as I tried to fish it out with a small magnet...
I taught myself some new curse words as I tried to fish it out with a small magnet...
"Let them that don't want none have memories of not gettin' any."
- Brother Dave Gardner
Tough to say if you burned up the gauge or a wire that feeds it...you would have to test the wire to see if it is fried...as far as mistakes....I could write a book!! The latest which happened last week...6 speed push button start car....tech drives car in to check codes....leaves it in gear and hooks up computer hits the button to turn it on and it starts and drives into the shop tool box and almost breaking the tech's left foot in the process...car needs front bumper and reinforcement beam...he didn't push the clutch in so it should not have started...we thanked the advisor for forgetting to write down that that's why the car was there...and not an engine light.
My first parade at Carlisle 2010
Lifetime MemberLemon Grove, CA - USA
Joined: 10/17/2007
Posts: 2041
Vette(s): 1982 C3 Collectors Edition 44000 miles, sat in the sun most of its life, My wife purchased it for me for Father's Day in 2007 from her girlfriend that had it for 19 years. It is on the road again. I'm retired but it is now my daily driver.
Darryl & Rich
Those beat mine.
Lifetime MemberModerator
Duncanville, TX - USA
Joined: 11/8/2003
Posts: 20214
Vette(s): #1-1974 L-48 4spd Cp Med Red Metallic/Black deluxe int w/AC/tilt/tele./p/w-p/b/
Am-Fm/map light National/Regional/Chapter NCRS "Top Flight"
#2-1985 Bright Red/Carmine Cp.L-98/auto
Member: NCRS, NCRS Texas, Corvette Legends of Texas
yostusota said:we thanked the advisor for forgetting to write down that that's why the car was there...and not an engine light.
OH...the stories we could tell, eh Rich?!
I've made so many "rookie" mistakes in my lifetime, I can't remember them all. One time, I had to tear a transmission back down 4 times to install the same dang part.....I forgot to put it in the first time, so I took it back apart, put it back together again...and left the same part still sitting on the bench. Did that 4 times before I finally managed to remember to put the dang part IN.....talk about brain farts.....
Joel Adams
C3VR Lifetime Member #56 
My Link 
(click for Texas-sized view!) NCRS
"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"
Now that's funny!! I did a floor harness in a 13 genesis today and forgot to plug in the third brake light.....which meant taking apart the entire rear interior again...got lucky though and the wire was just hanging out the one hole the rear deck had.
My first parade at Carlisle 2010
in Forum: C3 Electrical
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