Gonzo

a retired GM engineer called me, he told me this was called the "GM Guide Division Automatic Dimmer System" I told him I called it... "Zappa-Latta-the-Mechanica" he didn't find it all that funny... engineers, they don't have much of a sense of humor... LOL

glad your here... don't be shy... jot a note once in a while... Gonzo

I totally forgot what year this car actually was. But, if you wanted to know, I believe it was a 58 Chrysler... (I think) I had a 59 Chrsler Imperial and it had most of the same systems in it... but I don't remember the auto headlights on it.

The responces are terrific. If you didn't know it, but this is EXACTLY what I always wanted to see after someone read one of my stories. It's always a great pleasure of mine to see that I got you thinking about different situations that you've been in. LOL This is TERRIFIC. Thank YOU, Thank YOU... I'm so proud to be in the business, and if there is one thing I want everyone to know... I'M PROUD OF YOU TOO! It can be a thankless business, especially when somebody brings in a maggot filled car, or one that stinks to high heaven. We all need a laugh once in awhile. I hope I'm helping out in that area. My hats off to all. Gonzo

Lights OUT! It was a hot summer day and the humidity was high in the shop when I starting working on one of my regular customer’s new found gems. It was a late 50’s Chrysler, a big old boat of a thing with lots of bells and whistles under the hood and dash. Nothing was added, everything was original and in fairly good shape. You could tell this car has never been left outside for any length of time. The paint finish showed no signs of aging or fading. The interior was very clean, and without a single defect. Even the carpet and headliner had that new “old” look to it. He wanted me to go thru the electrical components on the car and see if I could get it all in working order. It had it all, radio, electric seats, power windows, power antenna, and just about anything else they could think of putting on a car in those days. I would try each window switch and each knob on the dash to make sure everything worked correctly. The turn signal indicators blinked on the tips of the fenders as well as in the dash. The heater blower motor hummed as if it was brand new. All the speeds worked on the wipers and even the reverse lights worked. It was truly a time piece of early Americana ingenuity. The only thing I found “not” working was this contraption under the hood. It was about the size of a shoe box. I took the cover off of it to see what all the wires were leading to. Inside the box were several early glass vacuum tubes and a dusty old circuit board with a few resistors and what appeared to be a voltage controller of some sort. Luckily, the new owner had the factory manuals with the car. Even the manual was well taken care of. Not a single torn edge or creased page. I carefully went thru the old manual so as to not do any damage to this priceless book. In the back section were all of the wiring diagrams right down to the size of the resistors on the circuits. (Let’s see the manufacturer put that info out these days…) I studied the diagram carefully and found out what this thing was. It’s an early automatic dimming headlight system. Way cool, wow, I’ve never seen one of these. But I could tell by just reading the prints how this thing worked. I went straight to solving the problem. Luckily (I think) I’m old enough to have had some training in the old TV tube era. Those classes sure were coming in handy now. It really didn’t turn out to be all that bad. The photocell in the front grill was disconnected, and the shoe box of tubes was in need of cleaning and attaching all the connectors back onto the board. I reached in and turned on the “auto” system… the tubes started to glow… wow… this is exciting! (Can ya imagine… a grown man getting a thrill out of watching old TV tubes warm up… I really need to get out in the real world a little more often…). There was a hum and a crackle of the tube grids… I could hear the unmistakable sound of the tubes coming up to temperature. The humming subsided a bit, and leveled off to a light electrical buzz of an old TV set. By now I was expecting to see the headlights come on by themselves. Nothing, nada, zip… crud… it’s still not working. I went back to the old manual and followed the diagram some more. At the very bottom edge of the page it showed a single lead going to the floor dimmer switch. Ok, I guess I’ll look there. By now its mid afternoon, and the humidity level in the shop is at its highest. I’m all hot, sweaty, and probably a little dehydrated. I stretched across that huge metal threshold and pulled the carpet back. Lying right there next to the dimmer switch connection was that single wire. I plugged it in… waited a second… nothing… so I reached over and pushed the dimmer switch with my hand. JumPin’ Gee’ ZaPPin’ ZING! WTF was that! I was jiggling around as if I was holding onto the electric fence at my Granddad’s farm. Now I know exactly how bacon feels when ya throw it into that hot skillet. I’m glad nobody saw me, because I probably looked like a fish flopping out of water the way I was wriggling around. HOLY Shhhhht! That smarts! ! ! After the ringing in my ears and the tunnel vision vanished, and everything returned back to normal I gave up on the wiring diagram and instead read how the system worked in the front section of the book. It turns out that driver’s “soled” shoe acts as the final ground to activate the system. It used a high amperage circuit to make the connection between driver and the automatic control unit out under the hood. To activate it you merely rested your foot on top of the dimmer for a moment. I guess if you were barefoot… you’d be in for quite a shock. It’s probably why the whole thing was disconnected in the first place. But, I’ll have to say… it does work, the headlights will dim and come on by themselves. Just don’t lay on a metal threshold on a hot humid day… all hot and sweaty, then grab hold of the dimmer switch with your sweaty palm… cause it won’t be lights on… it’ll be LIGHTS OUT! Always love to hear from everyone, the stories are here for your enjoyment. I'll do the final editing later, but right now you guys get to be the first to see them. Enjoy, and don't forget to leave a comment. check out my website for more stories, photos, product reviews, and other automotive related stuff. www.gonzostoolbox.com see ya! View full article

Mine is on a mix station, that way nobody complains.... but, after a while I gotta change the station... they keep playing the same songs over and over and over..... LOL

I guess I fall under the category of "Old Timer" now... My shop radio has never been shut off since I opened my shop some 28 years ago. Several years ago the one channel went out so I wired all the speakers to the same channel. But, it's on all the time in the background. Why? I don't know, it's just is...........

This is nothing new, I definetly believe its even more of a problem these days because of the electronics in cars. But, it's the same old thing from years past. For example, I had one the other day that the owner told me that he had it at the dealer 6 months ago for the same related problem. (No A/C) I checked it out for my usual fee, I actually used a scanner to watch the signal. It's a bad clutch coil, the pressure was a little low but it is after the winter chill, I kinda expected that. I wasn't concerned, besides it's exactly what the dealership just fixed for him. So, take it back you've got a warranty. Now the plot thickens. The dealer tells him that I'm a dumb ass jerk because what it REALLY needs is a "Compressor Coil" not a Clutch... and that the compressor is leaking around the middle seals. AND, since what they changed was the "clutch" it's not under any warranty. They gave the guy a total, and he called me to see what was up... I quickly looked up the cost of a compressor assembly with the labor and my total was almost half of what the dealer wanted to do the job. That's when the customer figured out that the dealer isn't the best way to go. (It's scheduled for replacement next week for replacement) My point, Look I'll buy the scanner, wrench, or whatever tool that I need to aide me in doing my job. And, figuring out the problem is NOT the issue, I'll figure it out don't you worry about that. I may not have the dealer schooling, but I wouldn't have lasted in this screwed up -"don't give out all the info, make me jump thru hoops because we are the dealer and your not" - trade if I wasn't smart enough to pick up on the new systems on my own. But, dealing with the friggin attitudes of the "Other" guy who is out there doing the same job as myself, and needs to make a living just as bad as I do. It really gets me to have a person, a shop, or an industry try to use that old adage... "he doesn't know what he's doing, he's only an idependent little shop" You want to know something, in my opinion.... this is THE real problem from long, long ago... That's the thing that I don't think we'll ever get past. It really pisses me OFF. (next time I'll let ya know how I really feel about it... LOL)

Cool, I have a regular monthly column with them.

Which magazine? Which article? I'm in a lot of magazines and different websites... LOL Thanx for the heads up... appreciate it... Gonzo

I hate these kind of jobs, and I some times refuse them too.. but if I up the labor time (a LOT)... and they say yes... I'll take a shower after I make the deposit at the bank... LOL Glad ya like the story. Gonzo

Hoarders Watching television these days you'll find a lot of so called reality shows on the air waves. I sat thru one of these hoarding shows, and quite frankly I wasn't surprised at all. I've seen this same thing in cars, trucks, and vans. Junk, trash, and just about anything you could think of piled up inside the car and/or in the bed of the truck. The one thing that seems to be common with every one of them is the mess. It's not so much the piles of crap that they keep in their vehicles, but how they keep their stuff. It's always a disorganized mess with no rhyme or reason of organization. I can't work like that myself. Now, I'm not all that neat with my tool box. But it's at least it's an organized chaos. Sockets and extensions of the same ratchet size in one area, cutting tools in another, screw drivers and pliers all have their own place. I actually use several tool boxes to store my 30+ years of variety of tools. Even with the tool boxes, I still have to have other tools that come in their own protective plastic molded boxes on shelves neatly labeled as to what is in each box, in order to retrieve them when needed. Older, out of date tools seem to always end up in lower and lower drawers. I can't even tell you where my dwell meters are these days… haven't seen them in years. Now I see the same trend in old scanners. The pile is getting larger and larger. I still have an old MatCo 4000E and a few other ones on one of the lower shelves. I don't think I've turned them on in years, but all the cards and cords are there. It's almost funny, (in a weird way) that each time you update a scanner, the new scanner generally will do all the older systems. So instead of pulling out your old scanner I'll reach for the new one every time. So what happens to that old scanner? It will end up with that old dwell meter somewhere out of sight and forgotten. These days I find myself "hoarding" some of these new tools, and wait for a chance to use some of them. Now, I've got a collection of so called "new" tools that I haven't found much use for yet. Special headlamp assembly removal tools, belt tools, shocks wrenches, front end disassembly tools, suspension tools, and so much more. Most of which I may only see use for only once in a great while. For example, I've done several of the water pumps on the "North Star" engines, and with the right tool it's an easy job. I wouldn't even begin to think of doing it without it. The tool wasn't cheap, but I'm sure at some point in time it too will end up in the bottom of the box. I don't think of myself as a tool hoarder, or a collector… I just want the right tool for the right job. As a tech the expense of these tools can be costly, keeping them clean and well kept helps me maintain them for a long time. Without the right tool, the job isn't as easy as it could be. So anytime I can get the correct tool I will. Then there are those homemade tools that I have a tougher time sending to the deep dark pockets of the lower drawers. At the time I needed that certain cut down tool or a socket I ground an edge off of… they made sense. Looking in the drawer at some of these old handmade marvels I have to wonder… why I did do "that" to this tool? Obviously, I've forgotten what it was for… so it now becomes the next tool that will get "re-made" into the next handmade tool. These tools I'll "hoard" for a long time, just can't part with them so easily. I've also seen guys who have huge boxes of tools that have every single socket and screw driver so perfectly placed in their tool boxes that they resemble museum pieces. I've even seen a guy who had a huge, and I mean huge, selection of hammers… of various sizes and lengths. All these hammers were lined up on overhead racks equally spaced apart, and put into a pattern from small to large, and by handle length. A thing of beauty to a tool guy like myself. Not that practical in my point of view though. I mean, really, how many hammers do ya need? A hoarder? No not really. I think it actually falls under the category of collector. Collectors take pride in what they have, and are proud to display them in an orderly fashion. One thing that goes along with those hoarders' cars and trucks is the stench… OMG… always, always, always it smells like something died in there. I'll bet doctors could tell some horror stories dealing with people and their hygiene, and I'm sure I'm not the only tech who has dealt with the smelly car from hell. Nasty, is the only way to say it… putrid, awful, and disgusting. YUK! Well, then again, it's work… not pleasant work, but it is work. I think the worst one that I can remember getting into was a Chevy van with a heater core leak. The van was stacked level with the windows front to back with the most horrendous conglomeration of junk I've ever had to deal with. There was only enough room for the driver and barely any room to move the gear shift lever. Totally disgusting, and even more to the point that smell, that awful unforgettable smell! Papers, fast food bags, clothes, shoes, and anything else you can think of. I always try to put things back in order that I take things out of a glove box or trunk, but, there was no way to "re-stack" everything back in on this "hoarder-mobile"… it was an intertwined hap-hazard pile of putrid junk. All I could do was grab handfuls of this stuff and throw it on the shop floor. In fact, I gave the lady the estimate based on book time… then I crossed out the book time, and told her that the book time doesn't apply due to the conditions I'm working in. She still said go for it… so I did. With an aspirator, plastic gloves and a long sleeve jacket that I planned to throw out as soon as I was done. I "dove" right into my work on this reeking pile of refuse, and finished it as quickly as I could. You know, I really should have done this job outside, because the stench lingered in the shop for weeks. These people have a serious mental problem, but most of them don't see it as a problem. I'm no doctor, so I probably shouldn't make diagnostic claims on things I know nothing about, I'm just a mechanic. I'll try to deal with junk and the smell, get the job done, and move on to the next one. (Hopefully a more pleasant one). When you finish with one of these jobs, don't forget to wipe your tools down before you neatly place them back into your tool box. Messy tools and a messy shop aren't very presentable, but for some customers it's not a concern of theirs how their vehicle looks or smells, they just want the car fixed. Even though I'll fix the car, the smell and the sight of these trash cans on 4 wheels sure does get to me. Yuk! After all these years of servicing cars... nothing surprises me anymore. I hope some of my stories put a smile on your face and starts conversations between techs. Your comments are what helps me decide which ones to send onto the editors and publishers. Keep those comments coming... Gonzo View full article

Here's what I found out Dewayne. tampering with the air bag is a choice of the owner, you own the car (not renting) so it's your choice.. you can even request to have the bag turned off for reasons of height, health, or disability. Even if the owner is a used car lot. however, knowingly selling a car with a defective air bag system and not telling the new owner is .. well, in some cases illegal. But, the way it's worded (typical politics) the phrase "knowingly" becomes the "escape clause" . But I'm with you... it ought to be illegal, and if a so called "professional" sale is taking place... then things like this should be checked out. This isn't the 50 or 60's where we didn't even consider seat belts as a requirement... this IS the time when as much care is taken to protect the driver and passengers as well as fuel mileage. It's just sad to find what I found on that car... are real eye opener to the other side of car repair.... the illegal side.

Same here... Oil changes I might follow the oil manufacturers requirements

The people that would even consider buying a vehicle under those circumstances are (in my opinion) just as bad as the salesman that won't let them get it checked out. Unbelievable... and YES, I HAVE physically thrown used car salesman out of my door. I know exactly the type you're talking about.

uote name='CARMandP' timestamp='1298740355' post='9530'] Wow, that's a new one on me. I have never seen that stunt pulled before Pretty smart if you ask me. (and yes it should be illegal) It really should be illegal in every state.

With all the "cents" spent on testing before a model goes into production it really doesn't make and sense in todays world that things like this still happen.