The HVAC blower motor in our 2001 Grand-Prix started acting up, sometimes only working on ‘5’, sometimes not at all, along with the trip computer (Driver Info Center or DIC) blanking out randomly. The fuses were fine, I cleaned the ground connections to no avail. Not wanting to chase the problem further, I took it to the dealer, who brilliantly diagnosed this as a failed resistor. Next day, same problems all over again. A few web searches later, and I convinced myself that the real problem was the ignition switch. While replacing this at first looks daunting, it really isn’t that hard, and it cured all the problems. I found detailed, easy to follow instructions online, and purchasing through gmpartsdirect.com saved considerable money.
While I had the covers off the lower part of the dash, I replaced the DRL diode, which brought the DRL’s back to life. Now the only problem left is the (un)heated seat.
File this under one of the reasons GM earns its bad reputation: After 60K miles, 2 (or maybe 3) of the 7 light bulbs in my 2005 Colorado XTreme pickup radio had burned out. As a die-hard DIY type, and knowing that such things cost more to repair than they’re worth, I tackled replacing the bulbs myself. Unfortunately, some bean-counter decided that sockets for bulbs were too expensive, and apparently that bulbs were cheaper than longer lasting surface mount LED’s (reliability – who cares?). Thus the bulbs are all soldered in, even though 3 appear to have been designed for sockets.
Luckily, Radio Shack actually has the right bulbs. They rarely stock such a large number, but they offer free shipping when you need more than what they stock. De-soldering and re-soldering these is a tedious operation, especially for someone that has never had steady hands, but it is possible. Just for grins, I managed to replace 2 of them with white LED’s & 560 ohm series resistors. Unfortunately my photos didn’t turn out, and taking this apart, while not all that difficult, isn’t my idea of fun. It’s not too difficult to figure out which side is positive with a DVM.
Fair warning, if you tackle this, replace all the bulbs! I tried just replacing the 2 failed bulbs first (one in the volume knob – a real PITA), only to have ALL of the remaining bulbs fail immediately!
I installed Street or Track tubular upper and lower control arms along with rollerized spring perches made by user “F15Falcon” from the F15Falcon on FordMuscle.com forums, and my Mustang now drives like an entirely different car. I really expected the heim joint based suspension components to make the ride somewhat harsh, but quite the opposite, rough pavement is less of an issue than ever before. I also installed a bump-steer correction kit, now bump steer is a distant memory! Last year my Mustang was unpleasant to drive at best, and scary at times due to the improper alignment and severe bump-steer. Now it’s a joy to drive again!
I highly recommend both Street or Track and F15Falcon for suspension upgrades. The Street or Track upper A-arms may lack some on-car adjust-ability, but they make up for it in strength. The build quality is excellent.
Lately I’ve been looking for a more technically up-to-date PDA device to replace my Palm T|X to use for on my frequent air travel. The Archos 5 IT is the hardware platform direction Palm should have taken instead of dropping the PDA market for the “smart” phone market, and locking into Verizon in the process. Devices that try to be all things to all people generally fall short because there are too many compromises. I love my Motorola KRZR phone, its the perfect size and it works better as a phone than any of the newer “smart” phones. I want my phone to be a phone, my PDA to be a PDA, and my computer to be a computer.
Palm has long had the best PDA software on the market. I’ve never been a big fan of Outlook, Palm desktop has exactly the features I want. It sync’s reliably. The rechargeable battery is still going strong (even on my 10-year-old m505!). Documents To Go has been a nice feature that simply works. However, while I could play some movies on the Palm, it had a hard time keeping up and the screen just wasn’t up to par. Palm’s internet browser also can’t connect to any hotel or airport that requires a web acceptance to set up the wi-fi. Also 802.11b is fading away.
The Archos 5 IT 800×480 screen resolution is awesome. Movies play flawlessly. I haven’t paid for the HD option, but all the reviews are positive. The GPS works great. Internet connections and browsing works well on my WPA2 secured home network, and anywhere with open wi-fi. Most of the free airport wi-fi networks also work. Marriott hotels now work also. As a calendar and contact manager, gcalendar and gmail are all well and good, but like many, I do NOT want my business contacts or calendar out in the “cloud”. This is where Google simply doesn’t “get-it”. There are a couple of companies trying to remedy this situation. CompanionLink and MyLink Access both look good, but I can’t get either to sync properly.
The trouble with ordering auto parts on-line is that you never know what you’ll get, see the photo below. These are the same part number (my mistake, 2-‘L’s instead of 1-‘L’ and 1-‘R’) on the same order. 2 very different parts. This was ordered through RockAuto.com. 10 days and counting trying to resolve this. Neither part exactly matches PowerSlot’s advertised parts. The left one is machined correctly for the slots, but the surface doesn’t seem to have the proper finish, nor is it painted like I would expect. The right one has the proper surface finish and paint, but the slots were cut very differently. I should have saved my money and had the original rotors refinished.
Same part number, same order, 2 different parts
