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Sharpshifter

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Sharpshifter last won the day on July 3 2015

Sharpshifter had the most liked content!

About Sharpshifter

  • Birthday 02/11/1984

Profile Information

  • Interests
    Vintage Electronics, Physics, Classic cars
  • Location
    Sacramento, CA
  • Gender
    Male

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  • Website URL
    http://www.stellar-tv.com

Previous Fields

  • Zip Code
    95822
  • Model
    Conquest
  • Type
    TSI
  • Model Year
    1987
  • Transmission Type
    Manual
  • Factory Color
    Palermo Gray
  • Interior Color
    Dark Red
  • Status
    On the road

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  1. Earlier this year, an '86 Starion showed up at the local Pick n Pull yard and I was thrilled to be able to pick up quite a few good parts off of it. One of the best pieces I was able to get was the digital dash cluster. Not knowing whether the cluster worked or not; the yard having a strict no-power-up policy flanked by a generous 30 day-return policy, I took a risk on it. When I removed the cluster, I also cut off the plugs with enough pigtail attached to work with. Per information on this forum, I learned that these digital cars use a dedicated fuel tank sending unit and speedometer "pulse generator" so I also grabbed these two items. Per the '86 Electrical Service Manual I made a crude color code diagram comparing the colors of the harness in the 86 with those of my '87. Many are a color-for-color match. Some are not. For a basic bench powerup, I was able to apply 12 volts to only the cluster computer and the illumination circuit. Without the illumination, the LCD is mostly indiscernable. What did I find? The cluster "lit up" but all of the LCD displays were blank. It was acting as if the cluster computer was DEAD. For all intents and purposes, it was... as when I traced the 12 volt B+ supply through the unit, only about half of the board was receiving power. It was also painfully clear to me that the board needed to be completely reflowed, as too much time in the sun caused nearly every one of the solder joints on it to crack out. Sure enough, after I resolved the power issue, the speedometer and other gauges were "intermittent" when I tapped around the back and edge of the cluster. Absolutely unacceptable. Anyway, something interesting I found which was key to getting the cluster to actually operate, was jumpering the two pins on a bi-pin plug along the bottom side. 12 volts was running to one pin, and the other pin was wired indirectly to other points on the board which were also supposed to be receiving power. My logical conclusion? Jumper the pin. I first jumpered it with a 1 ohm 1/4" resistor... just to act as protection and carry the load in case this was not the correct solution. Cluster fired up. I don't know what plugged into this originally- if anyone knows please speak up otehrwise I'm going back to the yard to check the wiring. While I had the cluster apart, I went through and tested all of the capcitors with an ESR meter. Everything looked good. There was another gentleman on the board here who posted on the subject of his intermittent digital speedometer some while ago, and upon a visual inpection, blamed the capacitors, which appeared to be "leaking out their guts" and leaving brown stuff all over the board. Well, this was deinitely NOT the case in his instance, as this brown stuff is common in 80s Japanese electronics and is just a glue used to keep components from moving on the board. Small capacitors do not 'vent' through the top in this way either, their mode of failure is usually seals along the bottom failing, which causes a corrosive solution to leak out and eat through traces on the circuit board. You can always smell this type of failure, because that solution smells like dead fish. Easy mistake to make though, particularly if you are familiar with bulbing/leaking capacitors on PC motherboards! So, what am I trying to say? If you're trying to repair a cluster, don't mind this brown glue around various components on the board. Mine tested OK so I opted to leave them in. After reflowing every solder joint on the board, the gauges went through a self-test just fine! I've detailed this in a video... looks like embedding does not work here, so you'll just have to click the link to YouTube: I will post follow ups as I make progress on the conversion.
  2. I had the same issue when I decided to replace the radiator on my 87 Conquest. Bought one of these cheapies from "the bay"- though it's available pretty much anywhere. I was astounded at what appeared to be very poor quality control! Electric fans barely mounted up, and the water outlet was 'clocked' improperly at the bottom, interfering with one fan. Turns out: This radiator is for the non-intercooled cars with an engine-driven fan. The mounts on this radiator are for the shroud specific to this car, not mounts for the electric fans. I only discovered this recently when I pulled the radiator/shroud and fan out of a non-intercooled '86 in the junk yard to convert mine over. Got rid of the electrics and the subsequent drain on the electrical.
  3. Beginning about 3 weeks ago I determined that my '87 Conquest was due for a release bearing. I bought the car last year at 168k miles and have driven it regularly; rolling the odometer up to about 180k miles. What it began doing was 'singing' with a random clutch application. Release / "Throwout" bearing obviously. Clutch overhaul time. Records for this car are spotty to nonexistent, but there is a sticker underneath the hood that boasts "Centerforce Clutch," so I know the clutch has been replaced at least once in the car's history. Picked up a kit-- made extra sure to get a 'thin' release bearing for my INTERCOOLED car-- I found out there was a difference thanks in large part to this site! Everything came apart smoothly. Dropped the transmission and... well, I was not impressed. The release bearing on there was seized per my own efforts- but also distorted, reamed out, and even off center! It was a "how was this even working" moments. What's more: it was the larger release bearing for the NON-INTERCOOLED transmission. Well, either I had the wrong part in my hand, OR my car is a franken-ride with the incorrect tranmisssion. Maybe the previous technician was not discerning enough to provide the correct type. Everything else was in good shape, including the clutch. Nothing much else to tell, installed the proper bearing and clutch kit, slid everything together and it works great. I'll wager that given the width of that improper bearing, it was semi-engaged every running moment.
  4. Good information to know. I'll wager a good amount of my success is the residual R-12 charge that was in the system before I topped it off. It blows icicles on the highway... but warms up a bit when stopped at a light. I'm not complaining, but I have plans to flush it all out and charge it with the R-12 replacement. I did this on my old 68 Jeep and it's like a meat locker.
  5. The main argument for converting from R-12 to R-134a is the compatibility of oils. An R-12 charge requires mineral oil, while R-134a requires ester oil. I have been running a R-134a synthetic in my stock A/C system with no problems, courtesy of the 'adapter' fittings available at most auto supplies. Freeze-12 or other synthetic R-12 replacements would come much more highly recommended and offer a much more suitable(read: compatible) alternative to R-12. Seriously, this stuff is under $10 per can. Don't waste your money on an expensive full 134a conversion which requires swapping out of your condenser to a 'high efficiency' type. High efficiency? Oh because of the low efficiency gas. Right. Again, having said that, the R-134a has been fine in my system. Incompatibility with the oils supposedly creates issues with the old seals, but the jury's still out on that, in my opinion.
  6. I had all kinds of problems with the wiring harness around the battery leading to the relays and fusible links. Many members here will gesture you to remove, clean, and check the connections on all your fusible links. These are the plug-in wire 'loops' next to the battery on the driver side inner fender. Be aware that there are some hiding behind the removable metal panel. In addition to this, my problem lay in the wiring harness junction connectors in this same area. Some had such a poor connection that the plastic connectors were melted from the heat. In my case, since I had no intention of unplugging these ever, or removing the harness form the car, I hard-soldered all of the appropriate wires together with a high wattage iron after clipping off the offending connectors. These connectors were tucked down between teh battery tray and inner fender. Jabbing around in that area with a probe would, for me, temporarily solve my electrical issues. Also, grounds are extremely important. Your negative battery cable jumps from the battery, to the body beneath the battery tray, to the engine block. That connection at the body is prone to corrosion as well. Check it.
  7. Double check the wire terminals that plug into the 'pickup' underneath the rotor. Make sure the wires aren't corroded and the terminals are tight.
  8. Thanks Mark. I have thought about how black carpet might compliment the interior. I want to find a good balance of red/black and right now the red carpet is in great shape. Black carpet might actually highlight the remaining red trim. What shape is your carpet in? Price?
  9. If you've removed the distributor and are assured that it hasn't turned at all since removal, it might be very close if not right on. If there is any doubt: remove the valve cover. Turn your crankshaft pulley/harmonic balancer to 0 degrees Top Dead Center. Now, the camshaft pulley has a locating "key" pin that ought to be ALMOST 12:00. More like 58 minutes. If it is not, then rotate your crank pulley one additional revolution. Assuming there is no anomaly with your timing chain, everything is going to line up. When your timing mark is at 0 degrees and this key pin on the cam gear is at "58 minutes," then align your distributor so that the rotor is pointing at the #1 plug wire. Many caps are marked. Remember that when you insert your distributor, the rotor will turn as it engages the cam gear. All there is to it. Start your car and zero in 10 degrees BTDC at idle.
  10. My car is running wiper arms off of a late 80s/early 90s Volvo- it's a better Shepherd's Crook design and easier to find blades for. I had CarQuest special order my rear wiper blade, which was exactly like what you have pictured. It was their "exact fit" line and came with the pin installed. All other cross references were sans-pin.
  11. We could suspect a great number of things here without further tests. 1100-1200rpm idle is much too high for a warmed up car. Your analysis of the TPS makes it sound very suspect, but I have never persoanlly done a TPS reset. The voltage output level (which someone else can remark on) ought to be stable. Going through this in my mind, here is what I would do if I was in your situation: Check the timing. TEN degrees advanced at idle (BTDC). Continue checking all four wires while you have the gun out to see if you have a non/misfiring cylinder. Any anomaly in the timing may suggest a slipped timing chain, especially if you had checked it prior and know for a fact it's changed. Disconnect the fuel line and direct the hose into a cup or jar. Crank the car over and check that you have a steady flow of fuel from the pump. This is not a suitable PRESSURE test, but it is a good test for VOLUME. Nonscientific- all we want to know is if the car is getting a good volume of fuel without hooking up fuel pressure gauges and everything under the sun. If no gas while you're cranking, run a hot wire to the fuel pump bypass connector- along the passenger side fender by the air canister. It is a single black female spade connector. Even with the ignition off, you should have flow. That idle issue could be timing, or a lean mixture caused by vacuum leak. It might be prudent to plug off ALL of your manifold vacuum nipples and see how it runs.
  12. Thank you! Out of all the colors I would have opted to paint the car... yellow, green, or black... the two prior simply wouldn't match with the interior. As for the latter, I've owned nice black cars before and they are a BEAR to maintain. No thanks! Hey, thank you! Be happy to take some pics. Since the seats I just put in it are for a GM thirdgen F-Body (Camaro/Firebird... purists, avert your eyes) I was going to start a seat retrofit thread. The seats that were in the car when I got it were the type with the adjustable lumbar, also with the adjustment for knee height. Driving the car with those seats moved all the way back, my knees practically against my chest and my head in the sunroof was not fun. The PMD seats I put in definitely sacrificed the rear passenger leg room (who needs it?) and were a snug fit, but in the end were just right. Front brackets bolted to the frame brace, and the rear through the floor pan. I get most of the forward/rear movement and no interference with the lap belt. The seat mounted lapbelt latch mounted up to the GM seats with one fresh tapped hole & bolt, and another self tapping metal screw. I'll make a post about it. I suspect one could also use a nice pair of the 'Ultima' seats from a GTA Firebird or a 4th gen car with similarly minimal modifications. As a purist, I tried to do nothing that couldn't be undone. It was necessary, if I was to keep the car, especially as a daily driver.
  13. Looking for a nice used set of steering wheel radio control buttons, working or not, I just care that they look better than mine which are peeling. For the 'Atari' style steering wheel, not the later 4 spoke one.
  14. WEAK SPARK. Throughout all of this, repeated checks with the timing light told me there was a regular spark. Pulling the primary wire and arcing to ground told another story. A weak orange fizzle. Guess what else, printed boldly on the coil body was "REQUIRES EXTERNAL RESISTOR." It's a points ignition system coil, probably well overheated and damaged by a steady 12v supply. Replaced it with the proper coil "FOR ELECTRONIC IGNITION" and it runs fine.
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