Thunderbird Club

[GonePlaid]

Edit: I don't see how it could start with the battery reversed; the starter should turn backwards then.
And the generator would be pumping things backward into the battery which should would be one BIG short. If you've never seen a car battery shorted out, you should. But you want to be ten feet away, wearing goggles and a rain coat, and have a way to clean up the battery acid afterward.

More slapstick?

 

[GonePlaid]

Indeed, we rarely expect those who live through something to survive...

Like some of today's "drivers"!

 

[GBassNorth]

Edit: I don't see how it could start with the battery reversed; the starter should turn backwards then.
And the generator would be pumping things backward into the battery which should would be one BIG short. If you've never seen a car battery shorted out, you should. But you want to be ten feet away, wearing goggles and a rain coat, and have a way to clean up the battery acid afterward.

Like I said, I've never had to deal with one wired up wrong but according to the link it can be done on the old 6 volt system, but it's not the way it was designed to operate. I don't think I'd want to try it.

 

[PillO]

More slapstick?

Probably borne of the stories people tell never thinking to fact check (or use common sense).

The idiosyncrasies of my old VW were amusing to say the least. In winter, the car was always cold inside, but if you opened the little vent windows (the ones intended to keep the windshield clear) the heat worked a bit better. I also recall that if the windshield wipers got slow, it indicated that the spare tire needed some air.

 

[GBassNorth]

More slapstick?

...vs AutoStick.

Had one of those in a 1968 bug. Goofey design. Basically an automatic clutch that you still had to shift manually. IIRC the shifter had mechanical linkage back to the engine compartment that activated a hydraulic solenoid valve which then connected to electronic switches for shifting.

 

[GonePlaid]

...vs AutoStick.

Had one of those in a 1968 bug. Goofey design. Basically an automatic clutch that you still had to shift manually. IIRC the shifter had mechanical linkage back to the engine compartment that activated a hydraulic solenoid valve which then connected to a electronic switches for shifting.

 

[GonePlaid]

Probably borne of the stories people tell never thinking to fact check (or use common sense).

The idiosyncrasies of my old VW were amusing to say the least. In winter, the car was always cold inside, but if you opened the little vent windows (the ones intended to keep the windshield clear) the heat worked a bit better. I also recall that if the windshield wipers got slow, it indicated that the spare tire needed some air.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

More slapstick?

The summer after 11th grade, I worked as apprentice mechanic for a pipeline contractor in Atlanta. The rest of the crew were good ol boys from the boonies, good at what they did, but not real up on science. Truck wouldn’t start (biiig battery), and one of them was slapping a big set of pliers across the terminals to “guage the juice”. Third slap was sloppy, and the battery blew its top. Lucky he still had his eyes, because at 45 he got a new case of acne and lost most of his eyebrows. We only found one of the cap sets. Pliers were a bit melty.

 

[GonePlaid]

The summer after 11th grade, I worked as apprentice mechanic for a pipeline contractor in Atlanta. The rest of the crew were good ol boys from the boonies, good at what they did, but not real up on science. Truck wouldn’t start (biiig battery), and one of them was slapping a big set of pliers across the terminals to “guage the juice”. Third slap was sloppy, and the battery blew its top. Lucky he still had his eyes, because at 45 he got a new case of acne and lost most of his eyebrows. We only found one of the cap sets. Pliers were a bit melty.

I think I saw that in a Laurel & Hardy film.

 

[PillO]

That's why they are idiosyncrasies… I also maintained that leaning forward would increase top speed by at least 1 mph. Brakes were different from other cars. I think it may have had drums all round.

The summer after 11th grade, I worked as apprentice mechanic for a pipeline contractor in Atlanta. The rest of the crew were good ol boys from the boonies, good at what they did, but not real up on science. Truck wouldn’t start (biiig battery), and one of them was slapping a big set of pliers across the terminals to “guage the juice”. Third slap was sloppy, and the battery blew its top. Lucky he still had his eyes, because at 45 he got a new case of acne and lost most of his eyebrows. We only found one of the cap sets. Pliers were a bit melty.

Melty...

There is some logic to hitting a battery that is weak - you can knock enough crud off the plates to give you just enough cranking amps to start. But if you need to do that, your battery is at the end of its life. Shorting the terminals to gauge the juice? Is that like licking the terminals of a 9v battery to see if it is good?

 

[GBassNorth]

The sUmmer after 11th grade, I worked as apprentice mechanic for a pipeline contractor in Atlanta. The rest of the crew were good ol boys from the boonies, good at what they did, but not real up on science. Truck wouldn’t start (biiig battery), and one of them was slapping a big set of pliers across the terminals to “guage the juice”. Third slap was sloppy, and the battery blew its top. Lucky he still had his eyes, because at 45 he got a new case of acne and lost most of his eyebrows. We only found one of the cap sets. Pliers were a bit melty.

Remember the old Buss fuses. One day I had a fuse go out on my 65 Mustang. I wasn't at home and didn't have a tool box with me. So I did what any idiot would do, I used my car keys to pry the fuse out of the clips. WHAM, FLASH, BANG. I welded my key ring to my wedding ring (yes, that's a lot of heat in that metal band wrapped around your finger). Doh - I guess there's a reason fuse pullers are made from plastic.

 

[PillO]

The summer after 11th grade, I worked as apprentice mechanic for a pipeline contractor in Atlanta. The rest of the crew were good ol boys from the boonies, good at what they did, but not real up on science. Truck wouldn’t start (biiig battery), and one of them was slapping a big set of pliers across the terminals to “guage the juice”. Third slap was sloppy, and the battery blew its top. Lucky he still had his eyes, because at 45 he got a new case of acne and lost most of his eyebrows. We only found one of the cap sets. Pliers were a bit melty.

Does this mean it is time to recount stories of bad behaviour in electronics class? Like using the high amp power supply to cut most of the way through the leg of one of the metal stools (ahem) in the lab?

 

[GBassNorth]

Does this mean it is time to recount stories of bad behaviour in electronics class? Like using the high amp power supply to cut most of the way through the leg of one of the metal stools (ahem) in the lab?

Or in Chemistry class, when my partner in crime and I pocketed a few feet of magnesium ribbon off the spool. Then later that night when it was good and dark outside and no one could see us, we wrapped the ribbon around the gym door knob outside (during a basketball game). And lit it on fire with a bic lighter. Do you realize just how bright magnesium burns? Let's just say that it looked like 1000 watt halogen flood light. So much for not being seen. And 10 seconds later the door knob falls to the ground. I still don't know how we didn't get caught but I'm sure there would have been jail time involved if we had been.

 

[Dr_Feelgoood212]

Correct per my VW recollection as well. You could hook the old 6 volt system battery up backwards and the car would run but the radio and anything else with transistors in it wouldn't operate, or so I've heard. Never had to deal with one that was hooked up backwards. Post war they've all been negative ground from the factory IIRC.

Edit: some useful info...
TheSamba.com :: Beetle - 1958-1967 - View topic - Positive Ground VW

It's worth it to just switch them to 12v and be done with it.

 

[Dr_Feelgoood212]

I stand corrected. Back when I was 17, I had a 1966 Type I (beetle), complete with the 6-volt system and a rusted out floor. The battery fell out of the bottom of the car, shorted out, and made the car push start only. It was mostly rusted in half, and the driver's seat leaned back against the back seat. No seatbelts of course. It's a miracle any of us who lived through that era survived. Proof there's a God who likes slapstick entertainment, I guess.

My Bug also doesn't have seat belts... has floors but no roof.... and the passenger door doesn't always like to stay closed

 

[Engle]

Probably borne of the stories people tell never thinking to fact check (or use common sense).

The idiosyncrasies of my old VW were amusing to say the least. In winter, the car was always cold inside, but if you opened the little vent windows (the ones intended to keep the windshield clear) the heat worked a bit better. I also recall that if the windshield wipers got slow, it indicated that the spare tire needed some air.

It was the washer fluid. There is no pump. It uses spare tire pressure!

 

[Engle]

...vs AutoStick.

Had one of those in a 1968 bug. Goofey design. Basically an automatic clutch that you still had to shift manually. IIRC the shifter had mechanical linkage back to the engine compartment that activated a hydraulic solenoid valve which then connected to electronic switches for shifting.

I took that system out of my 73 super beetle. It was an electrical switch in the shifter lever that would activate the clutch. Somehow there was a clutch AND a torque converter.

 

[Engle]

One of the best books I have ever read:

 

[Chucky Stiletti]

It was the washer fluid. There is no pump. It uses spare tire pressure!

fact check...lol!!!

 

[Engle]

Or in Chemistry class, when my partner in crime and I pocketed a few feet of magnesium ribbon off the spool. Then later that night when it was good and dark outside and no one could see us, we wrapped the ribbon around the gym door knob outside (during a basketball game). And lit it on fire with a bic lighter. Do you realize just how bright magnesium burns? Let's just say that it looked like 1000 watt halogen flood light. So much for not being seen. And 10 seconds later the door knob falls to the ground. I still don't know how we didn't get caught but I'm sure there would have been jail time involved if we had been.

YIKES!