Comments for blog.limedaley.com/post/long-commute

Comment #1098

2007-02-12T21:05:45Z

Hooray! After all, the car has to last as long as the Venture's air conditioning does....

Comment #1097

2007-02-12T20:03:58Z

I forgot to update this conversation:

I figured out the wiring diagrams for the car, so cut the wire and soldered in two resistors to replace the resistor in the key, and after 12 hours (not sure why it didn't work immediately - I did unplug the battery in order to allow the PassKey system time to reset) the security went off, and hasn't come on since, so I think it is fixed.

Comment #1096

2007-01-31T13:42:15Z

My key isn't quite reliable either, it just works better than Heather's.

Comment #1095

2007-01-31T11:19:05Z

Brrr! Car trouble should never happen in the winter. I did get a kick out of visualizing you and Jonathan working together on the car. I agree it's not a permanent solution, but if your key works, would it help to get a copy made?

Comment #1094

2007-01-31T02:16:43Z

Our security system has started to work...

Heather wasn't able to drive to women's bible study this morning, since it wouldn't let her start the car.

After reading a bunch of posts on the internet, the solution is to cut a wire or two inside the steering wheel and permanently add a resistor inside it. Unfortunately, Jonathan and I couldn't figure out how to get the steering wheel cover off - we got one little bit of it off, and I can see some wires, but not well enough to work on anything. The housing appears to be one solid piece, so I am not sure how it comes off.

I have been unable to find a technician's manual for this car, which would have instructions for all this.

It looks like Heather's key is more problematic than mine, hers has one little tiny dot where the resistor pokes through, where mine has a 1/4 inch or so to make contact.

So, we switched keys for now, and hopefully, I will be able to find the wires - it would also be nice to have a warmer day to work on it.

Comment #1093

2006-12-13T15:34:14Z

I tend to be overly cautious when it comes to cars that people I love are riding in. :) I also hate to have car trouble on a long trip. (Okay, I always hate to have car trouble, but especially when I'm out of town.)

Comment #1092

2006-12-13T15:05:38Z

Turns out it is an expensive problem - or rather, my mechanic doesn't like looking at stuff unless he is going to replace it, so he probably replaces more things than is necessary.

A "random cylinder misfire" is what the computer reported; he hopes it will just be an old wire, and not something more difficult to diagnose. And in the process, he figures he might as well do a full tune up.

The funny thing is that I just asked him to check everything, and he said everything should be fine for another year. So maybe it doesn't work to try to do a pre-emptive check.

Comment #1091

2006-12-08T11:32:58Z

Yes - perhaps the service engine light was joining the "party" with our security light that came on when I must have jammed the key in at slightly the wrong angle, and broke the car-only-starts-with-exactly-this-key-and-not-a-copy.
My mechanic thought it was pretty silly that the car could detect that the security was being bypassed, but still let us drive the car.

Comment #1090

2006-12-08T04:05:54Z

Hopefully your car is like ours - the check engine light is always on and no problems have been found in the past year. Now the e-brake light has joined the party - and I know for a fact that I am not driving with the ebrake on!

Comment #1089

2006-12-08T04:05:31Z

Hmm, seems like this was pretty typical tonight. My bus ride from Oakland to D'town (an average of 15 minutes per ride) took an hour. Was I ever glad to get on that trolley!

Comment #1088

2006-12-08T03:45:11Z

Oh, man, do I ever feel your pain.

I left at 4:30 p.m. with the girls to join Jason at his staff Christmas party in Ambridge. We arrived at 7 p.m! It was the longest trip from Swissvale to Ambridge, ever.

You're right--regular rush hour, Pennsylvanians who don't know how to drive in the snow (sorry, I know that was harsh, but I'm not feeling particularly gracious this evening), and the Steeler game combined to make a very, very, very slow drive. I thought about turning around many times, but I realized it would take me longer to get home than to just keep pluggin'. That, and there was no where to turn around.

You have my empathy.

Comment #1087

2006-12-08T03:28:44Z

One of those days when you wish you had biked to work, no matter how cold the ride. :(

I like the map -- I hadn't seen Gmaps Pedometer before. I hope the rest of your evening was relaxing, and that there is nothing wrong with the car.

I suppose this is not the right place to complain about the bad weather (clouds) that caused travel problems here tonight (scrub of the shuttle launch).