Window motor replacement in 2000 Caravan

It can be difficult to replace the window motor on 2000 Caravan. The passenger door window stopped working and after inspecting determined the power window motor had failed. I was able to locate a new replacement motor for $50 on EBay. All would have worked out better if the coil of cable in the window regulator assembly would have lined up with the new motor but the coil slipped then uncoiled the cables. Then the cable dropped off the pulley’s up in the door frame where I couldn’t quite get the wire restrung. So with some difficulty I removed the regulator and placed all the hardware on the workbench and was able to get the cables restrung correctly and then with some maneuvering I was able to get the regulator and motor located back inside the door and secured. All is now working. Too much effort however. Crappy design if repair is a consideration. Thanks Chrysler

.(Found the brushes were completely worn out on window motor.)

Defective Motor Assembly

Replacing Hot Tub

We installed a used hot tub in 2003 and used it until 2009. The tub had previously been repainted on the inside and lacked cosmetic beauty. I found a nice looking free tub and while installing, I found it leak under the seats, an area hard to get to for repairs. By this time I had damaged the original tub while borrowing a jet for the pretty tub. I took both tubs to the dump and began looking for a replacement. Recently I did find another nice looking tub with a good cover.
After plumbing and filling with water this one leaks at the air inlet port which again is under the bench seat and the only way to get to the fitting is by cutting a hole under the seat.












Close up. Notice the drip. Looks like the leak is in the seam of the PCV pipe and fitting.

Further I have no idea what this through port looks like. Maybe I can fix this leak externally since there is little water pressure at this point.

Well, a couple weeks have gone by and I have been thinking. I tried several ways to stop the one leak and may have slowed the leak down some. The other leak seems to be slowing down a bunch also.

Then the filter case lid started leaking significantly especially with an increase in water pressure with the circulation pump running. I found the case lid to have a crack likely due to age and fittings too tight. So I removed the filter and now the leaks are sort of under control. They are just an occasional drip and maybe will not cause a problem. So I turned on the heat and we have been enjoying the hot tub for 3 nights. I have not added chemicals yet as I plan to use this water for 2 weeks at most then I plan to drain and fill with fresh water and at that time will add the chemicals. Looks like we are having success.

Battery Charger Repair 10/30/50 Amp (Schummacher)

The charger failed to even turn on after the leads were momentarily connected in reverse polarity to a mostly discharged battery.



I found the 50 amp output fuse right away but it was still good. After checking a few items out I observed some components tucked into slots near the center core of the transformer. The leads were long enough to pull these components out and one appears to be a 2.5 Amp fuse along with a 150 degree centigrade fuse. I jumpped this item with a green clip lead and all worked.




I did not bump into this device on the DigiKey web site so purchase a 3 amp package of auto fuses and installed one across the leads.



All worked until I tried the 30 amp position. I had the charger hooked up to my charged car battery for this test. The fuse blew so I replaced it with either a 10 or 15 amp auto fuse. This time the fuse held for all tests.


(The above is the inside view of the charger.)

I seldom jump the fuse up so high from original but I figure the house circuit will be protected and if the charger blows, fine. Get a new charger. We don’t want a good charger to fail due to a fuse especially a fuse hidden inside the box.

Note - since the charger is running of 120 vac and then converts this ac voltage to only 12 vdc the input amperage will need to be only 1/10 or so of the rated output.

1998 Chevrolet Metro oil leak

Finally I think I found my oil leak in the metro. A loose Allen head pipe type plug in the head under the camshaft sprocket is the source of the main leak. The plug looks clean but is covered with clean oil. I backed the plug out 2/3 of the way until it met the camshaft sprocket. (The plug was loose.) Looks to me like a manufacturing port of some sort.


(Note the leaking plug is below and left of the camshaft.)

I cleaned the exposed threads of the plug with some alcohol and applied some special Permatex thread compound then tightened up real good. I am quite sure this will resolve most of my oil leak. In 2009 I installed this rebuilt head and never dreamed this plug was loose.

It did take a long time to find this leak as it is under the plastic timing cover which is under the pulley driving the alternator and a second belt to the power steering pump and the compressor for the air conditioning. Finally I left the plastic timing cover off along with the second belt and was able to see the leak at the source instead of near the bottom of the engine.

I used a product called the Right Stuff to seal the metal to metal surface under the end crankshaft journals where it appeared some oil was leaking to the outside. I also replace the valve cover gasket and used the right stuff for the gasket under the oil pump case and for the oil pan.

(Picture shows the joint in the journals that was not sealed.)

Interestingly enough the Metro Service Manual appears to be incorrect or the camshaft sprocket is labeled wrong. The manual shows to have the “E” at top dead center. However the sprocket has 2 “E’s”. One located near the edge and another in nearer the center support. I used the one near the center as that is where it had been running so well. The manual indicates using the other “E“. The “E’s” are separated by about 100 degrees. Small little error!!!





(Note, picture from the Service Manual.)





















(Note, 2 "E's" stamped on sprocket! One is about in the 8 o'clock position. The other is just above the center bolt.)

Sofa repair

As we moved the sofa this morning for the annual cleaning underneath we noticed the right arm seemed loose. We turned this huge, heavy sofa over and observed the arm's wood framing was broken!

Notice the top piece is suppose to be 2 inches to the left with the top piece set into the notch. Staples are all loose.




I was able to fully disconnect this piece except for the fabric, which will allow me to get more glue into the joint. I cut off all the staples.









I found some two and a half inch wood screws and was able to grind off one quarter inch which with the half inch wood spacer made all fit perfectly.












Looks like the repair may work!









Probably stronger than new. (It is a Lane sofa.)

Laptop Computer Repair

I was given a broken laptop computer as there was no video on the screen at all. When power was turned on a couple blue led indicators lit but all else was dead. This is an HP Pavilion tx1000 with Vista installed.



This video chip is know to get too hot on this and similar computers. As it gets hot apparently the solder melts and the chip separates from the mother board causing the failure.

Twice, using a hair dryer, I tried to heat up the video chip on the motherboard enough to reflow the solder without help. Apparently the hair dryer was not getting the solder hot enough. Then once I tried using a heat lamp 2 inches from the board but ended up blowing up the bulb, literally. Then I purchased a better tool which is sort of a heat gun with higher temperature output like 400 degrees Fahrenheit on the low setting and 800 degrees on the high setting. Using the new tool I fried that chip until the little chips board was getting heat blisters. Then assembled the little computer leaving out 5 screws as they are not fitting or no place observable to insert them. And by now I doubted the computer would ever function again.

I powered it up and “Walla“, video on the screen! Windows Vista kept wanting to upgrade which I did several times. I connected the computer up to the internet using an Ethernet cable and it worked fine. The antenna to the Wifi was and still is broken so that is not working.



It is hard to determine how long the computer will continue to run. Possibly it is fixed for the long haul. Who knows? I would keep the computer off laps and such to ensure it can get enough cooling air.

The original owners are welcome to have this computer back as it probably has some personnel files on it. One owners files are password protected. If they don’t want it back I will need to delete all the personnel stuff and go from there.

The video chip is cooled with the same fan and duct work as the main processor. There was a little dust in the duct blocking maybe 10% of the air flow. The dust was easily removed when I had everything apart. Kind of interesting to work on a little unit like this. It is amazing how easy the hard drive comes out. Not so amazing how the DVD unit comes out. The keyboard and motherboard came out rather slowly. Of course I have not disassembled one before this so maybe next time will be faster.

DSL Century Link

Good old Century Link. On the Seahawks game they advertised high speed DSL for $19.95/mo for a 5 year commitment. When I called the following Monday they didn’t seem to recognize that deal but offered to cut my bill by $10/mo to $46 for year then $56.45/mo for both phone and DSL. And DSL would increase from 526 kb/s to 768 kb/s. They would also throw in call waiting and caller ID. Still not fast enough for good quality netflix which needs 3 mb/s. I checked my download speed and am getting right at 700 kb/s with the upgrade. Seems a lot faster than before. Youtube items don’t have to buffer anymore.