by "Manwich - now Keto-Friendly" (manwich)
Published 12/31/2017 at 10:22
by "Manwich - now Keto-Friendly" (manwich)
Published 12/31/2017 at 10:22
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STARS: 0
So in the past week with the arrival of REALLY cold weather, I had one instance of my car almost not starting (and the battery voltage got low enough that my radio reset), my passenger side windshield wiper decided to start falling off and a headlight went out.
It proves the old superstitious say that things happen in threes.
So I got the replacement parts at Crappy Tire.
The battery is over 5 years old now. So I’m not surprised it’s due to be replaced. What did surprise me is the realization that the previous owner had installed an undersized battery. The new one (in the correct size) is 2-3” wider.
Also at Crappy Tire yesterday when getting a new headlight bulb... there are the el cheapo ones for around $10... and the next step up to either longer life or brighter ones TRIPLES the cost. And the high end halogen bulbs are now going for $50 to $60.
It it used to be that you might pay 50% more for a regular long life bulb and the only time you would pay triple was for the high end halogens.
I went for the el cheapo bulb and see how well it does.
For the much bigger premium they’re asking for better halogen bulbs, I might decide to do an LED headlight conversion:
"If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent" (essextee)
12/31/2017 at 11:09, STARS: 0
My intake leak has gotten so bad from the cold that my car actually stalled on decel when I put the clutch in to downshift while getting off the highway. The tach started on the way back down to idle and then kept on going before I had a chance to swap in the new gear.
I have to order a new intake boot today and hope that that was where the leak was. If that doesn’t fix it it means I have a crank ventilation issue or my idle control valve’s blown again.
"jimz" (jimz)
12/31/2017 at 11:17, STARS: 0
those LED things are almost as bad as throwing HID capsules in there. they’re not meant to go with the reflector.
"Manwich - now Keto-Friendly" (manwich)
12/31/2017 at 11:22, STARS: 0
On the $90 kit, they say “LED arrays in each bulb are designed to mimic the filament in halogen bulbs—creating a closely matched beam style”
So in theory, it should behave like the OEM lights, just last a lot longer.
"jimz" (jimz)
12/31/2017 at 11:48, STARS: 1
well, sure, they say that. but tell me, how are you going to mimic the near point-source of a cylindrical filament emitting light omnidirectionally with a handful of unidirectional LEDs mounted on a circuit board?
you aren’t. even their own pictures down the page show the LED replacements have poorer light dispersion and improper beam shape.
"Echo51" (echo2047)
12/31/2017 at 11:52, STARS: 0
And to add to this, the LED retrofits rarely if ever last the many thousands hours described. Well, the LED part might, but the driver board normally goes bad way quicker. That and the excessive noise in the FM band(that will ruin your radio reception) in most kits.
"Manwich - now Keto-Friendly" (manwich)
12/31/2017 at 19:24, STARS: 0
Well in any case, I went with the el cheapo halogen bulb... it’s fine.
And changing headlight bulbs on the Focus isn’t too hard