Re: *sigh*... today is one of those days

[jtrealty@xxxx]

I like your analogy of cooking the elephant. While it is true that big 
problems can be reduced to a bunch of little problems sometimes you 
need to step back and look at the "big" picture. You can't kill the 
elephant a little at a time or cut off a piece at a time. You must 
attack (kill) the BIG problem. It is always helpful to know the 
history of a car but in some cases we can infer from symptoms some of 
the major events. If the car was indeed in deep water an experienced 
eye could see that and if it was then you could reasonably anticipate 
the troubles that will occur and what to do. Attacking them one by one 
will disappoint you when they arise and shake your confidence in the 
car. Better to "bite the bullet" and go through the whole cure then to 
repeatedly have the car leave you stranded or have recurring 
intermittant problems. Going after the symptoms and not delving into 
the root cause will have you chasing the problems instead of getting 
ahead of them and fixing the car once and for all. This is one of the 
differences between a guy who fixes cars for a hobby and someone who 
is knowledgeable about cars and has years of experience. When you go 
to the garage for repairs although you think they are talking you into 
a bigger job then you need they are really offering to fix the WHOLE 
problem not just the symptoms. Most shops will want to repair a 
problem right the first time because even if the owner thinks he was 
overcharged he is happier than the customer who in spite of paying has 
to keep bringing the car back again and again. If you lose the 
alternater ground you also lose the B+ reference (ground) so it can no 
longer figure out what the output voltage is even though it can still 
read B+.( one of the drawbacks of having the regulater in the 
alternater)
Just my 2 cents worth.
david Teitelbaum
vin 10757


--- In dmcnews@xxxx, dherv10@xxxx wrote:
> Andy, What Dave is saying is true about the alternator. If B+ shorts 
> to ground then all kinds of things can happen. But: If all was 
> working well before, then maby it's something simple. Except they 
are 
> all coming at one time. Here's my 2cents.
> #1. Assumming the flasher unit is ok, then make sure the wires are 
> plugged into the socket ok and when the unit is inserted into the 
> socket it isn't pushing the wire/connector out or just part way to 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]