Month: May 2013

I could see through the door gaps that when my passenger door was open, my driver’s door lights were lit. That’s not supposed to happen, the door lights should operate independently. After reviewing the wiring schematics, I traced the problem to a bad diode.
After some troubleshooting, I found the red diode was bad:

Hey, is there something wrong with my steering column?

The door lights now work correctly.

Costs:

My negative battery cable was very stiff, and the insulation was cracked. I don’t like the Delorean’s claw-like battery connections either. I’ve also seen the frame connection end of the cable come apart. With vendors charging big $$$ for new cables, I set out to find a cheap alternative. Here’s what I found:

(not the actual car)

A junkyard third generation Firebird had nice cables. Heck, there was a positive cable that wrapped around most of the engine compartment! It measures in over six feet! These long, thick gauge cables aren’t found on today’s cars.

The negative cable also has another smaller cable leading into the battery connection. I might utilize this someday for stereo equipment, or my fuel pump. For now, its wrapped in electrical tape, and strapped down, away from the positive terminal.

I like the GM style battery connections better, and the frame connection has a nice crimp on it:

I ended up cutting the Delorean cable to remove it. I’m willing to bet a lot of electrical problem arise from these poorly made connections. Again, this is why vendors are pushing sales of their expensive cables.

…and with minimal effort, I was easily able to twist the connection off. Look, it made contact with less than 1/4 of the copper bundle. The rest is corroded:

Connected to the frame.

Someday I might cut off the red positive battery connection on the long cable, crimp on some terminals, and run it from the frame to the engine. For now, this will probably improve the grounding of the car.

Costs: