Sunday, November 28, 2010

Making a stopped Maruti 800 '94 start

Note: The pictures are all annotated, zoom in to see annotation


Maruti 800
1994 Model
Bad Condition

History
  1. Replaced Tyres Nov 27
  2. Had a wiring short circuit two centimeters from the left battery pole, fixed by removing connectors and shorting the wires directly. Prior to this fix, the car would suddenly lose power in mid drive and only pick up again on holding down the clutch and repeatedly pumping the accelerator.
Symptoms:
  1. Stopped after running fine for ~28 KMs after fix (2) above
  2. Would not start
  3. Car moves forward when ignition is turned in first gear without holding the clutch down
  4. Left car overnight
Fix Log
  1. Opened bonnet
  2. Looked around in confusion
  3. Saw silver cylinder on top right hand side near the bonnet hinge
  4. Remembered that the mech had fiddled with it
  5. Pulled off the wire in the center (see pic)
  6. Noticed that the wire was connected to the holder by a thin strand. AHA!
  7. Tried putting the wire back and turned ignition....no effect
  8. Pulled connector off the end of the wire, put the wire back on without the connector after ripping off the end of the insulation with my teeth (yes teeth! That's what the mech did)
  9. Turned ignition, no effect
  10. Asked neighboring Maruti Service station mechs to help push the car to one side so they could continue to fleece other customers (my mech is not a Maruti Service center type)
  11. Mechs offered to help, I accepted
  12. Mech looks at the same connector and replaces it with a spare one (not really a spare, just a bit of wire with a connector at the end of it
  1. Turn ignition, no effect
  2. Mech opens up one of the whatchamacallits (see pic, the one with the cap and multiple wires coming out of it like dreadlocks. I think its called a self, the mechs here dont like to reveal what they're doing. Clearly shamanism has not died away).
  1. Mech claims that it needs a "gap". There is no "gap". Self is "stuck"
  2. He tries loosening a screw (see pic). The screw does not cooperate
  3. Mech sticks the screwdriver at an angle into the screw head and tries to chisel it open using a pair of pliers for a hammer. The pliers aren't heavy enough, so the screw only gets chipped and stays stubbornly in place
  4. Mech gets a heavier pair of pliers. This time the screw seems to feel something and moves
  5. Mech opens the screw and pulls a bit of the plate (see pic) counter clockwise. Then he tightens the screw back
  1. Mech closes the cap with the dreadlocks
  2. Turn ignition, car starts
  3. I thank Mech profusely and leave...he doesn't ask for payment, so I assume I owe him a favor
  4. I bring car home
  5. Open bonnet
  6. Disconnect the makeshift wire and make sure car wont start
  7. Open dreadlock cap thingie and see inside, cant make sense, but resolve to read up
  8. Close car and wait for next failure

3 comments:

  1. Laughed all the way through-happy to see that I am not the only one completely befuddled by what lies under the bonnet!Keep up the writing-i think its brillian!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. @ Shrink...thanks bud! Lots more to come

    ReplyDelete