Month: May 2013

I Ain’t Buying

We are currently 2/3 of the way thru a free trial of SuriusXM. There are only a limited number of channels available, but fortunately for me my favorite channel is of of those. But I’m not listening to it much though. Maybe it is my memory, but I think I’m getting a lot more signal dropouts than I did back during the initial 6 month trial and the couple other previous 2 week trials. They have been happening almost every time I pass by a bunch of trees on the west side of the car. Maybe as a way to cut cost they have dialed back the signal strength a notch.

Today in the mail was their letter telling me that if I have enjoyed my free trial I should consider signing up for the next 6 months at low price of $25. I ain’t buying.

Man On A Hot Shingled Roof

A quiet Memorial Day was spent doing a little shopping and then a little yard work. Finally washed the coating of pine pollen off screened porch on Sunday, so Monday I did the last bit of outdoor “spring” cleaning that needed done, blowing the oak pollen clusters off the roof.

Normally I do this kind of job in the early morning, but today I waited until mid-afternoon and I won’t do that again. Dark green asphalt shingles that have spent several hours with the sun beating down on them get quite hot. When I put my hand down on the roof to step off the ladder I swear I heard a faint sizzle.

Hopping off the ladder I only needed to place one hand down for a short while, but going down required balancing on both hands for a bit longer. I think I ended up with 1/2 degree burns. =:-O

Three Planets

New Radio

Yesterday afternoon I put the final touches on the new radio install and what better way to put it to the test that a pleasant summer evening drive. Donna had the idea of what to see, a rare grouping of 3 planets in the night sky and I had the perfect spot to see a nice unobstructed view of the west northwest sky, J. Strom Thurmond Dam at Clarks Hill.

We arrived just after sunset with the west sky a brilliant red to find the parking area pretty full. There were people fishing along the shore, people watching the sunset and a few folks there like us to see the celestial triangle in the sky formed by Mercury, Venus and Jupiter.

The middle third of this 75 mile journey is the best part, all rural and with some semblance of windiness to the roads, add to it our own soundtrack and it made for a perfect evening drive.

Strangly Enough They Were Related

Cruise Control CircuitLast Sunday after I came back from Augusta with a non working cruise control I wondered if it was related to the non-working radio.

A search of the internet turned up a PDF of a 2003 Miata Wiring Diagram that I could use to help me trouble shoot my electronics woes Turns out that the radio and the cruise are related.

Attached is a segment of the cruise control wiring diagram and in the upper left hand side there is the Bose radio with a red/green wire connected to it at Pin I. This is the speed pulse coming from the PCM so that the radio knows to increase the volume as the car’s speed increases. It is also used by the cruise control module.

Even after seeing this tenuous connection I couldn’t believe that a dead radio could cause the demise of the cruise control, that is, until I replaced the head unit and the cruise started working again…

That Was Expected

The folks at Taylor Hyundai do a really nice little thing when ever you bring them your car in for service, before they give it back they vacuum the interior and wash the exterior. The Purple Whale looked really good each time we walked by it on our 3 daily walks during breaks, but the 30% chance of rain predicted for the CSRA today fell 100% on it later this afternoon.

That Was Unexpected

#1

When I called to set up the service appointment for the Purple Whale I had to emphasize that I wanted just the manufacturer’s recommended service. The dealer has its own “recommendations” which include everything Hyundai calls for plus, balancing all 4 wheels, lube hinges and steering stops, multi-point inspection OEM recommended and somethings called BG Battery Service, BG Oil & Fuel Service Additives and BG Transmission Fluid Exchange Synthetic, that are mostly snake oil and jack up the cost considerably. I ask the service adviser how much my 30k service is going to cost me and he replies, “$237,” and he proceeds to read me back what I’m going to get for my money. I almost stop him because I’m looking at the dealer’s web site and he is reading the same thing I’m looking at, but I’m glad I don’t. As he gets to the bottom of the list he adds, “Because we are seeing a lot of problems from ethanol in the gas we put in…” I stop him there and say, “I don’t want that. How much is the service without it?” After a brief pause, “$206.”

So when we get to the Service Desk at Taylor Hyundai over in Augusta yesterday to pick up the car I am fully expecting to have to battle to get that extra $31 worth of worthless additive off the bill. The key and my invoice are right on top and I can see the total right there – $174.83. WTF?

#2

When I got home from work there was an email from Crutchfield, the Emperor’s New Radio that was supposed to ship on June 15th, shipped today.

Great Lucas’s Ghost

I drove the Emperor and Donna drove the Purple Whale to Augusta this morning. We both came back in the Miata. We left the Sonata at the Whale Doctor for it’s 30,000 mile service.

On the way over driving the Interstate I set the Miata’s cruise control to 75 and that was fine for the first half of the trip. Then for no reason it surged a few MPH up and coasted back down. Then surged back up again and coasted down again. Then it seemed fine, but it was kind rainy, so I shut it off for the rest of the trip. On the way back I tried again and this time it wouldn’t engage. The on/off switch would turn on and light, but when I tried to set the speed the cruise light would flash on and right back off, without engaging the cruise control.

So what do these two things have in common? I don’t know, but maybe a search of the Miata.net garage will tell me.

Started down, went up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 1226