Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 09:33:25 +0200
Reply-To: Andrew McCain <dmccain@SEVAKFI.ORG>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Andrew McCain <dmccain@SEVAKFI.ORG>
Organization: S.E.V.
Subject: electrical oddessy: long, drawn out, and annoying
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-9
yes, it is time for another harrowing episode of the "trials and
tribulations of upkeep," with an international twist.
i got my '82 Diesel(it is now confirmed) a few months back, and as it
needed some work, i found myself a region of town devoted to repair. .
.each shop with his own specialization - but nothing vanagon specific,
of course. bodywork and interior are complete, after a mere month and a
half, as is a new exhaust and cabin fan(still not that much heat, but i
didn't really expect that).
BACKGROUND - i need to state that this is going on in Istanbul, Turkey,
which is most likely the paperwork capital of the world. the bus was
registered to a foreigner previously, and could only be sold to another
foreigner - namely me. the paper trail after sale to get it registered
is long and arduous, which is why i decided to have this work done - i
couldn't drive it until that happened. anyway, i am left with no
registration, or plates, and am surrounded with a police force who LUUUV
a little bribe. paranoid? not me.
ok. picked up this sleek looking vehicle 'couple weeks ago, got it home,
and promptly parked dad's car behind it to hide the fact that it had no
plates. the next morening was the big day - devoted to having the bus
tranfered from the previous owner at customs(it has to "leave" the
country to get it off his passport), thence to the local DMV fpr
registration, thence to have the licence plates made(really!) and back
to DMV to have the plates officially stamped. jumped in, warmed up the
glo plugs(or so i thought), turned the key and heard - nothing. jumping
didn't work, and neither did pushing it. got a buddy from the site who
has all of the connections, who got it started(needed the "touch," i
guess), and we took it over to the electrical guy who i have to give a
lot of credit, because he tried everything he could think of, but we
finally decided that the started was just dead. changed it.
take two: jumped in, warm up the glo plugs, go, whir whir whir, dead
battery. jump, whir whir whir, check the glo plugs, which were still
cold. and i bet you thought that the middle east was always sunny, huh?
well, it was snowing. back to the electrical guy, who checked the glo's,
and they checked out ok, but found a bad relay. changed.
take three: whir whir whir, oops, we didn't run it enough for the
battery. went to jump, and now dad's car won't start - '88 mitsubishi.
go figure, whaddyagonna do?
lessee, anything i missed - apart from waiting until the sun comes out
and customs is closed?
sorry it's so long,
AnDrew McCain
'82 Diesel
Istanbul Turkey
| 
