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Got the Contributing Memberships stuff finally worked out and made up a thread as a sort of "How-To" to help people figure out how to participate. So if you need help figuring it out, here's the thread you need to take a look at -> http://www.corvetteflorida.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3581
Thank you, everyone!
Rich Z.
take the ammeter, and install it inline with the positive battery cable.
IF amperage is detected, take the fuse box cover off, and start removing one fuse at a time until the amperage reads 0, when removing a fuse, if no change is made on the ammeter, replace it in it's location. do this in the fuse box under the hood and in the car (if there is one). you will likely find the exact circuit that is causing the draw and can then troubleshoot further find the source.
take the ammeter, and install it inline with the positive battery cable.
IF amperage is detected, take the fuse box cover off, and start removing one fuse at a time until the amperage reads 0, when removing a fuse, if no change is made on the ammeter, replace it in it's location. do this in the fuse box under the hood and in the car (if there is one). you will likely find the exact circuit that is causing the draw and can then troubleshoot further find the source.
Thanks Benjamin. Pretty scary how much I have forgotten about basic electricity theory.
Yeah, I've been reading all sorts of methods on how to track down a battery drain like this, but the clamp style ammeter I have is designed more with larger amperage use such as house wiring and such. So a small drain probably won't even register on it. Here's the one I found which seems to be designed with small parasitic power drains in mind -> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001TCWL1E/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i02.
I did read an account of putting a 1 ohm 10 watt resistor in series with the battery cable and simply measuring the voltage across it to get them amperage that I liked. But I just don't have a resistor like that around here, and I've about given up ever finding anything like that locally anywhere. So I can get 10 of them sent to me at a buck a piece from China if I want one.
I'm just keeping the battery tender on it for the duration, even though it never gives me a green light and wait for the stuff I ordered from Amazon, I suppose.
I took a look at the little fuel leak on the driver side fuel rail, and it wasn't the simple fix I had hoped it would be. First thing I tried was to just put some teflon tape on the male fitting on the end of the fuel rail, but that didn't make any difference at all. That's not where the leak was apparently coming from. BTW, I read a bunch of stuff concerning using teflon tape on fuel fittings, and it ran about 50/50 with people saying "yea" or "nay" about it. Well, my opinion is that it's a big NAY. When I pulled the fitting off again, the teflon tape looked pretty ratty in just that short period of time. So I cleaned the end off real well and tried a new fitting on the hose itself. STILL leaking. WTH??? The only thing I could figure was that it was a real tight fit trying to get that crossover hose back onto the fuel rails (not sure why since it seemed to be OK before) and maybe it's just cocking the fitting ever so slightly to make that very slow seeping leak. So I decided to use fittings with a different angle and also use a slightly longer piece of braided hose so there would be a bit more play in the hose and fittings. Well, that seemed to do the trick, but the job I thought would take me 15 minutes to do wound up taking a couple of hours. But hopefully that's done and no more fuel leaks anywhere. I really don't like the smell of gasoline permeating the entire garage.
So, now, what is going to happen between now and Sunday to screw up the tuning being done then? Pessimistic? Me? Why in the world would I ever be pessimistic?
Radio Shack has those 1 ohm ceramic resistors in stock. I purchased a couple a few months back for a project I did. they were between $1.50 and $3 each IIRC.
Radio Shack has those 1 ohm ceramic resistors in stock. I purchased a couple a few months back for a project I did. they were between $1.50 and $3 each IIRC.
Didn't have any smell of gasoline in the garage when I went over there today, so maybe that leak is fixed for good now.
Seems pretty darn odd thinking I really don't have ANYTHING I need to do on the car right now. Except maybe clean it up a bit before it gets out on the road on Sunday. Hopefully Mike won't find anything that will prevent that from taking place. Oh, they are calling for rain on Sunday, so I guess when I get the car back into the garage I may be cleaning some mud from underneath it after driving on the sandy road we live on. Might be kind of tricky doing any sort of power runs on wet roads, however.
Yeah, and those tires are probably starting to get old and hard. So be careful. Here's to hoping the rain goes right around you this time and keep the roads dry for you.
Yeah, and those tires are probably starting to get old and hard. So be careful. Here's to hoping the rain goes right around you this time and keep the roads dry for you.
Yeah, I got those tires (Michelin PS2s) when I bought the car at the end of 2005 since the tires on the car when I picked it up were bald with threads showing. Not to mention regular C5 tires and wheels were on the car then too. Actually thinking about it, I got screwed from the very start with that car.
I do have some newer tires and wheels sitting in the garage, but there is one brand on the rear wheels and another on the front wheels. Not sure that would be any better.....
Maybe I'll try to get Mike to take the wheel at least the first couple of times out, as he would certainly be more experienced at driving cars like this than I am. Besides, I want to get his opinion about that clutch that is in there. It just feels strange to me, but never having driven a car with a dual disk clutch before, I have nothing to compare it to. Dual disk clutch, light flywheel, carbon fiber drive shaft, etc., etc., so everything is going to be different to me.
Well, that's getting old for a tire, much less a performance tire under a 700+hp car. I'd just give them a good once over to see if there is any bad cracking going on, but usually the damage is on the inside once they get too old and can delaminate without warning (but usually fills like the a tire is out of balance...because it is).
The British Rubber Manufacturers Association (BRMA) recommended practice issued June, 2001, states "BRMA members strongly recommend that unused tyres should not be put into service if they are over six years old and that all tyres should be replaced ten years from the date of their manufacture."
I'll ask Mike what he wants to do when he gets here on Sunday. My guess is since the car will be driven on public roads, then there aren't going to be any very high speed runs on the tires. I actually bought those other tires because Aaron was complaining that the current tires wouldn't bite onto the drum on his dyno very well. But when I got them, he declined to have me bring them up there to use them. :shrug01:
Yeah, just a sign of them being hard. Michelins are well built, so I doubt they'll fall apart on ya. Just giving you a heads up. You'll be fighting for traction, but it'll give you a heck of a ride. eelout 1: I'm also very picky about my tires and burn through them LONG before they ever harden. I did get a used set with a set of wheels I bought. OMG I don't know how anyone ever drives on old goodyears. They were only four years old and just hard as concrete and just felt like I was driving on pins and needles. Drove on them twice and replaced them with used Kuhmo 710s. Talk about a drastic change in traction. :lmao:
Well, quite honestly, had my car not been tied up in shops for two and a half years, I'm sure I wouldn't be having this sort of problem. I actually put some substantial miles on those tires, and they held up pretty darn well. But I'm pretty sure had I been driving all this time that I would have normally used up the tread on those tires, and age wouldn't even be an issue. I think there are Goodyears on the C6Z that are getting kind of thin on the tread that will likely need to be replaced shortly. I'm going to get Michelin's when that time comes along.
Oh, about the battery situation on the C5Z. I disconnected both grounds going to the battery (the main cable and the one for the fuel system), and the battery tender gave me a green light after a short bit, so I guess that Yellow Top is just fine. Now when I put the main ground cable on the battery, sparks flew and I could hear something that sounded like it was under the passenger side fender clicking when the cable made contact and threw sparks. I probably need Connie to try to figure out what that is for me while I make and break contact. Unfortunately she works tomorrow, and Mike is coming out on Sunday, so that isn't going to happen real soon. Maybe whatever is making the clicking noise is the culprit responsible for the battery drain... I just hope it's nothing expensive that needs to be replaced or repaired... :ack2:
Could you possibly have a normally closed relay that has been inadvertanly put inplace of a normally open relay. That might explain the clicking noise when you hook up the battery. You may be hearing the relay close.
Oh, about the battery situation on the C5Z. I disconnected both grounds going to the battery (the main cable and the one for the fuel system), and the battery tender gave me a green light after a short bit, so I guess that Yellow Top is just fine. Now when I put the main ground cable on the battery, sparks flew and I could hear something that sounded like it was under the passenger side fender clicking when the cable made contact and threw sparks. I probably need Connie to try to figure out what that is for me while I make and break contact. Unfortunately she works tomorrow, and Mike is coming out on Sunday, so that isn't going to happen real soon. Maybe whatever is making the clicking noise is the culprit responsible for the battery drain... I just hope it's nothing expensive that needs to be replaced or repaired... :ack2:
On the passenger side footwell where the BCM/fuse block is located you will hear some relays clicking when the power cable is reconnected to the battery. It takes a few seconds for the relays clicking to stop.
You might want to take a look at the wiper motor that controls the right headlight bucket. I have seen when, for some reason, you pull the negative cable that somehow it tries to energize the passenger side headlight motor and somtimes strips the plastic gears. Just a thought.
You might want to take a look at the wiper motor that controls the right headlight bucket. I have seen when, for some reason, you pull the negative cable that somehow it tries to energize the passenger side headlight motor and somtimes strips the plastic gears. Just a thought.
Well, that could be.... When I was scoping out the positioning on the catch can right below it, I manually operated the headlight quite a few times. Certainly will give me something to look at...
Well, yesterday was the "make or break" day on my car. Mike Carnahan (http://www.VengeancePCM.com) came down from Georgia to tune the car and I figured that if he was unable to do so, then there was something still seriously wrong in my engine/car, and it was just time to bail on this whole thing. Honestly, I was pretty stressed out just thinking about it...
So, Mike shows up around 10 or so and jumped in immediately with EFILive and started working his magic. Well, heck, let's just look at the video I compiled of the experience...
Sorry about the shakiness in the video in spots. I have NO idea why it did that. It was almost like there was some sort of electronic or magnetic interference in some spots.
Actually the car ran pretty darn good! Mike said that the tune file in the car was corrupted and he had to wipe it out completely and start from scratch. He said the throttle response was just really screwed up and he knew something was just wrong in the program for it to feel that way. So he just wiped it and started over with a fresh file.
I went along with him on the ride while he was tuning the car and he stopped several times to mike adjustments to dial in the tune. Almost got whiplash a couple of times when he ran up the rpms. He couldn't get all of the cells covered, however, simply because the tires just wouldn't grip the road when about 6 pounds of boost was reached, so he never got to the 10 psi point. But he extrapolated the values staying on the safe side, and we can deal with that sometime later on, if need be. He did comment that he felt the car could reach 850 horsepower if I wanted to hit that number. But honestly, that isn't all that important to me. I probably wouldn't be able to keep the car on the road as it is if I got heavy footed.
After Mike (and his wife Christina) left for a little tour of Apalachicola, I took the car out for a spin and also to get the gas tank filled. Connie followed behind in her truck, just in case. Obviously I need to practice with this new clutch, as I was nowhere near as smooth engaging it as Mike was. I also made the clutch chatter quite a bit while engaging it from a dead stop, and I never heard that happen when Mike was driving it. He said it just needs to get broken in properly, as it catches in two stages and kind of high. Also, I ran the air conditioning whereas we didn't do that while tuning the car, and there does need some adjustments done to compensate for the AC being used. It hunts at idle when at a stop, and is very hard getting started from a dead stop without stalling. I actually had to turn off the AC when coming to a stop, and then turning it back on once I got rolling. But this is a minor thing, for certain.
All in all, the car drives very well and has a LOT of power. I would say that with just a bit more really fine tuning tweaks, the car will be able to be driven just like a stock Z06 as far as throttle response and driveability is concerned. To say that this is a big load off of my shoulders is an immense understatement. I was on pins and needles the entire time Mike was working on the car, expecting to see the puzzled frown, and and ominous "hmmm" from something being found in the tuning attempts that would turn out to be the dreaded "brick wall". But fortunately, that didn't happen, and Mike saved the day.
Anyway, last night I put the new wheels and tires on the car, figuring that might be a good thing to do just so I don't get myself into trouble driving the car if I decided to goose the gas pedal a bit. But all in all, it looks like I have a driveable tuned car now.
I think I will play that movie over and over again. Too bad we couldn't see your face while this was going on. More film of the finished car running please.
eelout 1: I'm also very picky about my tires and burn through them LONG before they ever harden. I did get a used set with a set of wheels I bought. OMG I don't know how anyone ever drives on old goodyears. They were only four years old and just hard as concrete and just felt like I was driving on pins and needles. Drove on them twice and replaced them with used Kuhmo 710s. Talk about a drastic change in traction. :lmao:
