4 for 4 today

Justwondering

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Yesterday was a rough day.
But today was a great day.
My life is like a roller coaster right now.

Today :::
1. Put a new battery in the 2002 Suburban and it appears to have cleared up the P1518 reduced engine power error code... SCORE!

2. Put a new battery in the 1987 Chrysler 5th avenue, added a full container of fuel additive, primed the carb with gas (not all on the same day) and she starts, runs, and got her backed way down the driveway so I could clear the path for chainsawing down the dead tree .... SCORE!

3. Drained the water from the diesel Mahindra tractor fuel filter, reprimed the filter, found a replacement cotter pin for the front, and Mister started it right up..... SCORE!

4. Made a 2nd trip to town for parts to replace the leaking Power steering pump and lines on the 2000 Chevy Silverado, I have all the parts .... SCORE!

Manana??
Dig the water line far enough to know if its a 4 inch or a 6 inch pipe that I need to repair.
Search through the garage for something the get the pulley off the front of the Silverado engine so I can get the power steering pump off.
Call the plumber to arrange for them to come put in 3 shut off valves for the repair line I uncover.

Best part of the day ??? No rats and no electric line problems in the 87 fifth avenue.
Why?

There was a 5 foot snake skin on top of the driver side bank across the front under the hoses and back up the passenger side bank.
Looks like I had help this year while I was stuck all those months at the hospital with the mister. ..... ASSISTED SCORE!

JW
 

69-

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At least some things work out at last. Success is good, how's the Mister doing?
 

Oldiron440

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I'm glad you can still see the positive things, sometimes we need to add them up to find our strengths in the rough times. You've always impressed me with your strengths, hang in there.
 

Justwondering

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Mister did something today that was 'good news, bad news'.

It had rained about 4 hours (projected to be only 45 minutes--lol). So he took a dry towel out to the tractor and put it on the seat so he could drive the tractor up and down the long driveway to mash the rocks in and smooth out the ride. He's been working a few hours a day on it for weeks. Building up his stamina (and driving skills).

I'm sitting in the living room doing computer work and realize it started raining again. After about 20 minutes, its getting harder. So I rush to get the keys and drive the truck up to where he has the tractor (about 1/4 mile away). My thought was to get him in the car and out of the rain/water.

I pull up.
He says 'whats up?'
I say 'think you ought to get out of the rain?'
He says 'why's that?'
I say 'Cause your batteries might get wet and cause a problem'
He says 'what batteries?'

I sit there stunned. Good news -- he thinks everything is normal. Bad news -- he doesn't realize that water and his heart batteries is not a good thing. It could cause his pump to fail if things get wet.

For once in my life, I'm at a complete loss as to what to say. I don't want to worry him into not doing things, but I certainly want him to be safe.

He sits on the tractor looking at me and after about 30 seconds he looks at me with amazement and says 'Oh my batteries! I forgot. Yes, I should probably come in from the rain. I'll just finish this load and be up to the house.'

lordy, lordy.

So he came back to the house and I defrosted ground pork and ground turkey for him to make chili.

What???

He wanted to cook!

I'm thinking we need another rainy day... A very remarkable day.

JW
 

69-

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Good to hear he's quite well.

All the best to you both. :)
 

Justwondering

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LMAO ---
New Battery did NOT clear up the P1518 code.
A week at the mechanic and it never threw the code even though he drove it over 100 miles, started and stopped it, etc.
Then yesterday, I get the P1518 and 'battery not charging' warning and a blinking red idiot light.

50 mile round trip, 2 hours of my life, a new alternator installed and the dreaded P1518 has gone away ...
Yea!

I'm so glad BudW and everyone else helped guide me years ago in changing the alternator in the Chrysler 5th Avenue... piece of cake to do the Suburban. I spent more time traveling to get the dang thing than to replace it.

I am Thankful for you folks on the forum!

JW
 

Aspen500

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Those alternators are about the easiest ones to change there is. My Mustang took longer almost to open the hood than change the alternator. Then there's others that are a 4 or 5 hour job,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,or even longer in some cases. Certain year range Audi A8: Step one, remove powertrain from vehicle................................Second only to the starter on an early/mid 2000's VW Passat W8. Step one is also remove powertrain from vehicle. Fine German engineering LOL! :rolleyes:
 

Justwondering

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So far I've replaced ...

the battery,
the alternator (which finally cleared up the p1518 error)
the tensioner pulley,
the idler pulley
and I still have a high pitch delicate whine.

I'm beginning to think the alternator introduced the whine. Buggers.

JW
 

69-

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Listen to it with a looong screwdriver (or the like) to the alternator and your ear. Be careful with your hair and all and the fan. You'll hear the bearings. Or whine. :)
 

Aspen500

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High pitch whine usually is the alternator. Tensioner and idler pulley bearings sound more like blower belt type noise. Some of the rebuilt parts store alternators are junk and whine like that. Dealt with that more than once at work. Replace a failed alternator and the new one works but whines. We won't send a vehicle out that way and so get to change it again. Try unplugging the field connector and see if the noise goes away. Not sure what makes the noise, maybe the diodes. It's an electrical noise in most cases, kind of like the sound old style TV's made.
 

kkritsilas

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Sometimes, even the belt itself (I am assuming it is a serpentine belt system) can create a whine, if you are using an existing belt with new pulleys.
 

Justwondering

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Took the suburban to the ENT (ear nose throat) 2nd option on paralyzed left vocal cord...

Got the 'reduced engine power' warning before I left. Took 2 tries starting it for it to disappear.
Got the 'reduced engine power' warning light when I was leaving the doctor office. Took 7 tries for it to disappear.

Stopped and started the car 4 times on the way home (restaurant, gas, etc.) and it never acted up.

Whine seems to come and go. Is there about 60pct of the time.
I am so ANNOYED after driving that beast now. Ugh.

I purposely parked the suburban in the sun, near all the leaves, so the rats could find it tonight. BLEH

JW
 

Aspen500

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About 90% of the time on Chevy trucks the "reduced engine power" message comes on because of the electronic throttle body. If TP1 and TP2 don't jive with each other or with AP1/AP2, protocol is to limit power for safety. In other words, a false signal might cause the throttle to go wide open or more than it should. Most times the throttle is disabled and go into limp in mode. There's a spring in the TB that opens the throttle plate and you have what amounts to a fast idle. Doesn't take much more than a split second blip in the signal. TP1 and TP2 are throttle position sensors and read opposite of each other. TP1 is 0-5 volts, TP2 is 5-0 volts, Same for AP1 and AP 2 (accelerator pedal sensors). There's also an AP3 which is basically a watch dog for the other 2 AP sensors. Very rare for the AP sensors to go bad. There should be a DTC code stored related to the throttle body, but sometimes there isn't. All depends on the fault. A sporadic fault may not necessarily store a code.
 

Justwondering

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thanks for the info Aspen500 ... I'm beginning to think its an aging harness with a cracked or compromised wire. Next time it happens, I'll get out and move the harness a bit and see if that corrects the problem. Its too young to get rid of (215,000 miles) so it still has plenty of time left on this earth.

JW
 

Aspen500

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Yeah, I forgot to mention every once in a great while, it is a loose connection, or compromised wire, or even a loose/poor ground. It doesn't take much to have a fault since the signal current is measured in milliamps and the voltage signal is measured down to the millivolt.
 
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