New Awesome Scrapyard Finds! Repair-A-Thon!

/ tpai
Paypal-Donation-Link: www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted...
Email: [e-mail]
Other Repair-A-Thons:
Episode 1:
• Scrapyard Finds Repair...
Episode 2:
• New Scrapyard Finds! R...
Episode 3:
• More Scrapyard Finds! ...
Episode 4:
• Even More Scrapyard Fi...
Episode 5:
• Many More Scrapyard Fi...
Episode 6:
• Great Scrapyard Finds!...
Episode 7:
• Awesome Scrapyard Find...
Episode 8:
• Amazing Scrapyard Find...
Episode 9:
• More Beautiful Scrapya...
Episode 10:
• Huge Scrapyard Finds! ...
Episode 11:
• Terrific Scrapyard Fin...
Episode 12:
• Beautiful Scrapyard Fi...
Episode 13:
• New Amazing Scrapyard ...
Episode 14:
• Incredible Scrapyard F...
Episode 15:
• New Great Scrapyard-Fi...
Episode 16:
• More Amazing Scrapyard...
Episode 17:
• Scrapyard Finds Galore...
Episode 18:
• Scrapyard Finds to spa...
Episode 19:
• Rare Scrapyard Finds! ...
Episode 20:
• Fantastic Scrapyard Fi...
Episode 21:
• More Epic Scrapyard Fi...
Episode 22:
• Scrapyard Finds! Repai...
Episode 23:
• Exciting Scrapyard Fin...
Episode 24:
• Quality Scrapyard Find...
Episode 26:
• Surprising Scrapyard F...
Episode 27:
• Supreme Scrapyard Find...
Episode 28:
• Exotic Scrapyard Finds...
Episode 29:
• Precious Scrapyard Fin...
Episode 30:
• Unique Scrapyard Finds...
Episode 31:
• Valuable Scrapyard Fin...
Episode 32:
• Expensive Scrapyard Fi...
Episode 33:
• Unusual Scrapyard Find...
Episode 34:
• Military Grade Scrapya...
Episode 35:
• Scrapyard -Treasure Hu...
Episode 36:
• Terrific Scrapyard Fin...
Episode 37:
• High Power Scrapyard F...
Episode 38:
• Scrapyard Pneumatics a...
Episode 39:
• Scrap-Vehicles and Ele...

[@WatchWesWork]

When a mechanic says "you need a new wiring harness", what they mean is "we don't know what the problem is". When I have a dead short, I replace the fuse with an incandescent light bulb. That limits the circuit to maybe 500mA, or whatever the bulb draws, and if the bulb lights up, you still have a short circuit.

[@warrantyvoid100]

Fancy running into Wes in the comments section of TPAI! Hey Wes, have you been watching "Jimmy, Making it Work" ? I can't believe that guy's putting out a video 6 days a week! Also I voted "Keep doing what you're doing" on your poll. Sorry about that but I can't put it any better. I have watched all of your videos a minimum of twice.

[@samvalentine3206]

@@warrantyvoid100 - I concur! I thought of you (Wes) and also Eric from South Main Auto while watching Gerolf troubleshoot the short. So glad Gerolf was able to fix his problem! A cat might help control the rodents... 😊

[@dimitar4y]

I fkin love the "incandescent bulb fuse" idea, saw it used years ago in a local repair shop, and I beat myself over how stupidly genius it is and why I didn't think of it before. Since then I made myself a testing stand with multiple bulbs so when I plug in failing appliances, I watch the fireworks show with safe limited current, watch the faulty components fly off the board before I commence board repair. Makes it. So. Easy.

[@akawireguy1197]

The intensity of the light bulb can be read too. Normal component draw will light it, dead short will light it to full brightness.

[@dimitar4y]

@@akawireguy1197 shows visually the various components turning on and off, too!

[@pedalcarguy]

I think the SJ on the aluminium box stands for the Swedish national railroad Statens Järnvägar.

[@deviatefishy]

Can confirm.

[@davidprovan2250]

The style of the lettering confirms the Swedish railway ownership

[@jannebengtsson7338]

Yes

[@zerny1]

Statens Järnvägar

[@andreasgraube4376]

SJ, SJ, gamle vän.

[@ZOEng99]

your perseverance on the car is inspiring

[@vintageelektro5437]

Persistence is useful, after all, there are only wires here, there is no need to panic and scrap car. You have no chance to repair the broken engine block or the control computer yourself in the yard, but you can take out the electrical installation (especially only the separate engine wiring) and replace it wire by wire on the work table. Such a failure is not fatal if you have time (in any case, it takes time, even if you leave it at the car service) and you like electronics and turning screws.

[@idrisddraig2]

@@vintageelektro5437 Engine bock swap or repair and ecu repair on your driveway or even parked curbside is possible. Been there done that out on necessity.

[@lourias]

Supposedly, strong smells, like pepermint, help to keep mice, rats, and squirrels away. I do not know how well that works in the engine bay of a car. Maybe a leash on a cat, tied to the underside of your car might help. LOL Every project you do inspires me!

[@andreim841]

@@lourias Tesa and Honda have duck tape with capsaicin and if you wrap your electrical installation with this duck tape it is the only thing that will save you from rodents

[@vintageelektro5437]

@@idrisddraig2 Depends on the neighborhood, the time of year, and the car. If you are a motorist and have nearby a garage full of tools, maybe. But I mean, major engine repair is not possible in a normal home or garage with a file or a hand drill. This requires specific equipment and knowledge. Same with engine ecu repair. You can't do everything with a simple soldering iron or without special software. However, you can repair the electrical wiring with patience, wires, heat shrink tubes and a simple soldering iron and a quite few tools.

[@alasdair4161]

I know it's not under a car bonnet, but many years ago I had severe rodent problems in my workshop ceiling space where cables were getting chewed and damaged, not only posing fire risks, but also damaging my intercom system, surveillance cables and data. I tried traps but despite catching regularly they could not keep up and baits proved a disaster with the perpetual stink of rotting rat only removed by climbing in extracting the carcass... So I came up with an idea, the insulated ceiling space was entirely closed in and covered around 150 square meters and I purchased a couple of LED strobe lights that I set to flash at around 3Hz, one at each end. The effect was immediate, no more sounds of scratching, no more wires getting chewed, I even placed some dishes of nuts up there to check from time to time, and to this day they remain untouched. The LED strobes have now been running about six years straight, they only consume less than two watts each and have been 100% effective at dissuading the rodents from returning. I call it a big win, being clean, non toxic, low maintenance, low cost and silent and 100% effective. If your car isn't seen by the public, maybe an under bonnet strobe when it's parked could be just as effective. I since added some to our house ceiling after finding evidence of mouse presence. Good luck. I also have an old Subaru (Liberty) lol.

[@oldscratch3535]

Does the strobe effect deter them or do they just not like light?

[@alasdair4161]

@@oldscratch3535 I suspect they just don't like the freeze frame light effect, they are nocturnal so the light would be even more dazzling to them, even when they try to burrow into insulation bats, it's still going to freeze frame their sight. That probably kicks off a predator risk too, not having good visual perception is probably just not worth the risk. Another trick I heard once was to spray wiring or pipework with insect surface spray, at least once a year, especially around autumn. The residual taste is enough to put them off chewing plastic. I leave a can in my pump shed as the PEX pipes inside used to get eaten trough when they were looking for water, and so far the spray has stopped them, even in our current draught this year. That probably wouldn't work under a working car bonnet as the heat would most likely evaporate the chemical fairly quickly, but for a car long term stored it would probably help..

[@dimBulb5]

No time to chew wires while they are dancing the night away 😁

[@alasdair4161]

@@dimBulb5 No wonder they want a drink...

[@thejackofalltravels8267]

That was my suggestion too

[@brucepeebles4939]

In the future, when troubleshooting a fuse-blowing, consider using a LIGHT BULB inplace of the fuse. (wattage based on fuse being replaced) If the bulb is bright....the short still exists. This 'trick' is commonly used to save the cost of many fuses while the bulb protects the circuit.

[@jjock3239]

This is a great trick! I learned it from an old air force radio technician.

[@tripplefives1402]

Try those self-resetting fuses that have built in LEDs that come on when they shut off.

[@chrisgj198]

@brucepeebles4939 I was going to suggest using several car headlamp bulbs chosen to draw maybe 20 Amps, in place of the fuse. Then the current path through the wire to the short-circuit will get warm but not hot enough to melt immediately. This is the time to get out the thermal imaging camera and you might be able to follow the hot wire to the location of the short. This obviously is only practical when the engine is cold, but if you can't start it for several days then that's not going to be a problem!

[@schwuzi]

​@@chrisgj198 It doesn't work when you can't even see the harness

[@chrisgj198]

@@schwuziTrue, but if you can see the heated wire leading from the fuse towards some obstacle and then behind it, and the cable coming out the other side is not hot, then that might be a pretty good clue to look behind that object with mirrors, a borescope or whatever you need.

[@justarel]

As an auto mechanic that has training in electrical and electronics my main tools for finding shorts caused by rodent damage have been a basic test light, a source to inject low voltage into a circuit like a variable dc power supply, and volt meter with an amp clamp. A good wiring schematic with routing diagram is a must as well for finding possible spots where a harness can chafe and locating ground point locations that could have become loose or corroded. The main issue i run into when doing electrical is that while the fix may be simple and quick the labor cost for the time to find the fault can be costly especially on cars with lots of computer controlled systems that are seemingly separate but when traced via a schematic are interconnected like many newer vehicles. It's been quite handy having experience with board level circuits as i've been able to repair modules that were either hard to find or cost more than the customer could afford which would have wound up them possibly sending it to be scrapped, like a fuel pump driver i recently did that was $500 and would take 2 weeks to get, the car had sat in storage for a few years and the unsealed module was located in a spot where humidity could enter it, board and ic's were ok but all the caps were either bulging or leaking brown electrolyte goo, took me an hour to clean, recap, and test it before reinstalling and bringing the car back to life.

[@EShirako]

Oh, cheap capacitors...you were the bane of my motherboards, video cards, and power supplies for years and years, and now you get to be the bane of cars too!

[@mr.makeit4037]

So true regarding the fact that the only way to succeed going forward will be the DIYer who constantly builds his skills.

[@dimitar4y]

ahem you will own nothing ahem and you will be happy ahem.

[@mr.makeit4037]

@@dimitar4y yep that's what they say. Better to have and develop skills. They can't take that away. But I already own all that I have, so the powers to be would have to kill me and steal it all.

[@stephenbarlin2314]

I have an amulet purchased in Africa claimed to keep elephants away. Since I placed it in my home in the UK I have had no problem with elephants so it works well. Perhaps they make one for rodents? 33:19

[@dimitar4y]

@@stephenbarlin2314 i love you

[@Dziugenonas]

Or have a job that pays well. The reason I DIY stuff is because I like it and I find it satisfying to fix old stuff. Not because of some impending doom scenario that I made up.

[@feraloid]

FWIW: A squirrel chewed through a vacuum line on my truck. After diagnosing and repairing, I went on a search for ways to repel rodents and settled on Peppermint oil. It seems to have worked for almost a year, but that may just be coincidental.

[@laboulesdebleu8335]

Same. Just replied above before scrolling down and finding your comment.

[@ButterBallTheOpossum]

This going to sound crazy but i rehabilitate opossums and nothing will keep rodents away like a small amount of opossum urine. Two places i lived in were out in the woods and infested with rodents. I took a used puppy pad and wiped it around the outside parameter of my house and the rodents disappeared. Even the squirrels and chipmunks disappeared and even the flying squirrels left. Then when my grandma had issues with squirrels getting in her bird feeder i wiped some urine on her feeders and they disappeared again. I've always joked that i should bottle and market it😂. Opossum urine doesn't have a strong odor either so its great.

[@weeveferrelaine6973]

@@ButterBallTheOpossum You should actually market it. It wouldn't take much to bottle it, and you'd likely sell quite a bit of it if you can get word of mouth going. And it's not like you'd have much competition of other people going and buying opossums to keep around for their urine.

[@johnwhitmore2531]

I've used spearmint oil in the past and worked for me.

[@jimsvideos7201]

Those lamps are gorgeous.

[@dimitar4y]

They look quite a lot like the classic UFO, the dome, the skirt, and the 'balls' on the bottom :D

[@bvanlaer]

Mice (and possibly other rodents) hate the smell of peppermint. Also cloves (the type you throw in your soup) have a smell they can't stand.

[@Coxeysbodgering]

Wood aven roots are a foragers alternative to clove, it a weed and spreads it may even be in the shop garden.

[@juslitor]

I doubt a rat would be deterred by this.

[@tripplefives1402]

@@juslitor It works because its an irritant and makes it hard for them to breath. I also use spicy seasoning powder to stop critters from digging in the flowers.

[@juslitor]

@@tripplefives1402 Never found anything that kept the rats in my neck of the woods at bay.

[@weeveferrelaine6973]

@@juslitor Sounds like a perfect test place then for the peppermint and the other guy (@ButterBallTheOpossum) with pet opossums saying to try opossum urine

[@ekner]

Can't express how nice it is to watch these films. The pro-repair propaganda intros, the inspiring creativity, the history lessons, I really enjoy the format.

[@SwitchAndLever]

The box with the big SJ was actually made not for the Swedish armed forces but rather for the Swedish state railroad, SJ stands for "Statens Järnvägar" which literally means "the state's railroad", and is still the name of the company to this day, even though it's been largely privatized.

[@warrantyvoid100]

Hi S&L, I hope you can make some more videos soon!

[@EagleWH99]

Went into the comment section to say the same. 😊

[@DIYTechRepairs]

Correct!

[@1959Berre]

Rodent repellant system: 🐱. In the long run it is rather expensive, though. You have to feed it and take it to the vet's workshop once in a while. If you are lucky it works for about 16 years.

[@GarethDavies-hk9cg]

Thanks for the laugh !

[@dimitar4y]

and the government will issue new costs like chipping, tracing, vaccines, "required" maintenance.... ends up costing way more than a new harness per year.

[@nedlukies6940]

I live in Turkey, no rodents to be seen. Cats however...

[@serpent213]

@@dimitar4yHelps to be ungovernable…! 😉

[@dimitar4y]

@@serpent213 c h a o t i c n e u t r a l

[@bernardb8045]

You are so correct about our world, knowledge is lost everyday

[@dimitar4y]

Demonic beurocrat types censor the knowledge and burry it to the ground because it threatens their precious "profits". I know of 10 computer games that were amazing and have been completely eradicated from the internet, like they never existed. 0 search results, 0 videos, 0 images, 0 guides. Not in stores, not in archives. G o n e. Like I only dreamt it up. Yet it sits on my archival disk as a trophy.

[@memyselfandeye1234]

Mint plants (in your yard) and (Cheap) mint Essential oils Splashed / sprayed on the car are BIG Deterrent to Rodent and it works as we do it on a farm ... hope it helps and works for you .... also Cheap mint mouth wash works well spashed/ sprayed around ... and is ok in windscreen washer bottle to.... Thank You Kindly for an other Quality Video. peace

[@EngineeringVignettes]

Leaves your windows minty fresh :)- I heard that as well, or peppermint, cloves etc. The smell is too strong for them.

[@memyselfandeye1234]

@@EngineeringVignettes can't beat minty fresh windows :) lol yeah any of the mint family and cloves deserve there own respect to. cloves is also a mildew killer down to the roots to mix in alcohol vodka ect. peace

[@davidquirk8097]

When I was learning about electronic Diesel control, back in the early 1990s, during one of the sessions being run by one of the guys from K5 (Robert Bosch R&D group, based in Stuttgart) we discussed system troubleshooting and component reliability. Short version of a very interesting discussion: it's almost never a faulty ECU, it's rarely the sensors, most faults end up being traced to the wiring or the connectors. When you get a high current fault like you had there's not really any sensor that will support a continuous fault like that (first or second fuse will generally totally destroy the sensor) so your going to be looking at a wire fed fault to ground.

[@ThePostApocalypticInventor]

Yes I agree. Those were my thoughts as well. A 30A fuse will only blow Instantly when there is a dead short to ground involving a part or conductor that can actually maintain that kind of current. However, in the beginning I was simply going through all loads attached to the fuse in question and the obvious contenders like fuel pump, starter, alternator, ignition coils had already been ruled out. Even though the ECU Was very unlikely to be shorted itself, it could still be switching other loads via relays incorrectly causing an ovecurrent. The 30 EURO invest into a replacement ECU just to rule this out was the least of my problems.

[@buildfromsketch8102]

Unfortunately I have the exact same experiences with German car repair shops - even with independent ones. I once turned my car (build 2002) to an independent shop, because the parking brake would only actuate on one side. A stunning bill of 130€ later and the problem not fixed, they told me that the freshly rebuild brake caliper (I did it myself) must be replaced - but can't as the part is not available anymore. After I spend much more time investigating the problem, it turned out to be just a rusty brake cable, that could only move by 5mm. Every mechanic should have been able to diagnose this. I share your opinion about these shops and I don't really trust them with any given problem or diagnosis. Great repair, great diagnostics, great video! Thanks! :)

[@jaimeortega4940]

Hi PAI, I agree with you the days of "fixing anything" are long gone for a number of reasons. Mostly due to the manufacturers planned obsolescence combined with overpriced parts. For example, Samsung and LG two globally popular brands of appliances. Well, certain things might break on say your Samsung washer say a computer board placed in a strategic place for it to rust or short out. Now it costs $880.00 to replace the proprietary computer board complete with WIFI, Bluetooth and its own Facebook page and APP (like you said few to no people to fix at the component level anymore for the most part) the part plus the repair is slightly cheaper than buying a brand new one with a warranty. This is by design.

[@sithus1966]

"Why does my washer need WiFi?" It likes to play Minecraft. :)

[@oldscratch3535]

My mom found that out with her Samsung washer. The control board was over $300 just to purchase and she had to wait 3 months to get it. I have to buy a new stacker washer/dryer soon and I'm buying the old school kind that still uses stepper motors and mechanical switches. It doesn't look as cool, but its $800 cheaper and I can actually fix it.

[@oldscratch3535]

@@sithus1966 It needs wifi so the CCP can siphon your data off and pipe it back to the mainland. Just in case you work at Boeing or LM...

[@dddevildogg]

I have seen Maytag Factory Service bring parts (the PC board) in a Samsung box.The washer was 3 months old $700

[@sparkyprojects]

You could have used a high wattage 12V lamp instead of the fuse, it should go out when the short is cleared You would have got instant notification as you moved wires around ;)

[@nefariumxxx]

Very clever tip!

[@drlepre]

Could modern thermal imaging have been useful for this case?

[@sparkyprojects]

@@drlepre I don't think the fault was there long enough to get warm, also he said it was under the manifold

[@Slot1Gamer]

@@drlepre maybe using an expensive high refresh rate high sensitivity one but most people don't have quick access to them

[@ChuckKirchner-se6ib]

Eric O. at South Main Auto would be proud of you. After watching many of his videos, I knew instantly it would be the exact condition and reason you found. It was confirmed when you showed the Cherry Stones. Now fix that harness, and give it back to your friend in case he needs it.

[@EShirako]

Oooh, excellent suggestion!

[@rancillinmontgomery2480]

If you mix Vaseline with cayenne pepper flakes and spread that on the wiring harness or impregnate cloth wrapped around the wires they will not chew on them. It will not have an ill effect on the insulation. Dielectric grease works also. A scientist installing seismic sensors out on tundra came up with this method because critters were chewing off the cables. After wrapping the cables he never had trouble again. When I worked in the burglar alarm business I did the same to keep rats and squirrels off the alarm cables. Good luck!

[@user-cn8dn6nr6u]

Yeah, squirrels left my peppers alone after I planted habanero. That teflon infused Super Lube is good stuff, has amazing feature of repelling dirt and dust.

[@bawdydog]

When I saw the pic of you with your head in your hand standing over the open hood I felt a little sick. I've been there and it Sucks! Very glad you were able to chase down the problem and are back on the road. Good luck going forward!

[@biffbavaqua4400]

Been there too. I hate diagnosing automotive repairs.

[@tj11r]

The boxes were not made for the Swedish military but for the state railway. SJ stands for Statens Järnvägar...

[@autotoyexchangegarage7053]

I can picture Adam Savage gushing about that cool folding aluminum box. He collects them & should definitely buy that!

[@wktodd]

Tip use a headlight bulb instead of the fuse

[@darkwood777]

Yes that is an old trick used in model railroading.

[@mfbfreak]

Exactly, that's how i found an intermittent short in my SV650. Pulling, wiggling and tapping all electronic things until the short circuit light goes on again. I used an indicator light.

[@EngineeringVignettes]

Yes or make up a cheap trouble shooting light. High current / load trouble lights can use higher wattage bulbs while a low current trouble light could be as easy as a bi-polar LED (red for one current direction, green for the other) and a 1K resistor. Good idea.

[@SurvivalSquirrel]

Using a digital multimeter is actually better! You would hear it, (as it beeps) when you wiggle on the cable.

[@eDoc2020]

@@SurvivalSquirrel That can work on an unpowered circuit but not so well on a circuit where power needs to be present for the fault to present itself.

[@KubotaManDan]

I wish we had scrap yards to buy from. The nearest told me I'd have to be there when scrap arrived & then I could buy it only, before it went on the heap. I'm in Pittsburgh, USA. There is a second hand building products store, it's not a salvage yard. You always have great scores. That folding box is so clever. And the '70's receiver is amazing what was manufactured back then. Your Forester you repaired was awesome. I have a slightly newer Forester and anything to do with repairing them is very costly. Great video. Have a Happy Easter Holiday! ✝

[@sprint955st]

Same in the UK. The scrap yards for cars have all gone, you can’t climb and pick like you used to, everything has to be stripped and bagged. As for other stuff, we have ‘recycling centres’ where you are supposed to take your stuff like electronics and old furniture, but man if you get talking to another ‘customer’ and do a deal to take something from them, the staff go mental!! And yet there are signs all over saying don’t throw your stuff away…you should upcycle or donate…but try that at the recycling centre. Also, we don’t have ‘goodwill’ like the US does which I would love, we have charity shops but there is so much they won’t take like electrical and they are all in competition with each other. They are mainly full of women’s clothes and paperback books.

[@diyhard666]

As technician over 25 years I can tell ya: it's always the cables 😅 When I had to deal with students at work and they came: this and that machine is broken, I always asked if the have checked ALL cables. Most of the times I was right. Second most fault is water, then blown resistors, fuses or dead electrolyte capacitors. Of course replacing the intake manifold to find a broken cable is a kind of a job 😅 but measuring all cables resistance IN A CAR is a even bigger mission.

[@hoyks1]

For the piano hinge joint, don't be afraid to take the hinge pin all the way out. To put it back in easily, grind a slight bevel onto the tip. Put the other end in a cordless drill and run it at low speed as you push it back into the hinge assembly. The pin will help pull the 2 parts into alignment and find its way in as it turns. Taking it out can be done the same way, onve you have knocked out enough to get the drill chuck to grab on. Holding a solid lump of metal next to the rivet tail as you drive it out will save bending the part and put more of the force into knocking the tail out.

[@thosoz3431]

You are one very determined young man. Success comes to those with enough perseverance to get past real difficulties, yet know when enough is enough. Well done.

[@markedis5902]

Built in obsolescence drives me up the wall! The few companies that build things to last charge accordingly. Years ago I bought a shirt from the brand Craghoppers. It lasted for about ten years and even then was still wearable. When I ordered the same shirt again, what arrived seemed to be made from a totally different material, much thinner and not as tightly woven. Several months later I met their representative at an outdoor equipment event and I asked him why, in my opinion, had they ruined a fantastic product? He said that it was driven by the fact that if they made shirts to last 10 years they would have to charge five times as much as a shirt that lasted 2 years and if they did, no one would buy it. I suggested that they make a shirt that lasted 10 years and charge twice what they would for the inferior one then everyone would be buying it. He wouldn’t be swayed saying that they needed the regular repeat business. Well, they lost my business which is a shame as the original 10 year shirts were really comfortable as well as being hardwearing. It goes to show how companies work in the disposable society. Miele however operate totally differently. They build repairable products designed to last at least twice as long as their competitors. How great would it be if all companies did this. We know they can, but they don’t.

[@dimitar4y]

greed greed greed, want money money money, want customers customers customers. Their big daddy shakes them down with INSANE demands for rent and tax, and so they pass that on to crush their friends, family and patronage, instead of putting a stop to it. And the circle continues until EVERYONE DIES. But nobody cares. Because they made so much buck before the world went bang.

[@RinoaL]

This episode was very relatable with the automobile issues. Since I was a kid, we always drove junkers, many that we got out of fields. There are too many issues one can have with a car, and it seems like the only way to keep them running is to take them apart every year or two and obsess over every little failure. This makes it feel unworthy of my time to own a car for the most part. We happen to own a 2005 Lexus RX 330, and we recently had to have the front struts replaced because the previous owner drove it into the ground. Owning a car and paying for repairs makes me feel like a sucker.

[@rebel1988us]

One good thing about Subarus, they all have very similar parts and most of the time are interchangeable among similar year models. Loved watching you work through this.

[@jaimeortega4940]

The German HIFI people were way ahead of their time great job restoring part of that history and the neatly designed aluminum box.

[@no-expert]

I think you are lucky the mechanics stopped their diagnosis, imagine the amount of work hours they would need to put in to find the faulty wire in THAT spot. Even if they are quicker and have more knowledge it’s not a quick fix and the bill would have been huge. I really love your analytical style and deep dive into this, the narration is quite immersive :)

[@kevinsellsit5584]

You did a good job with your diagnostics given the limited tech info you had available. I work at an independent shop (all makes and models) that is known for fixing the issues other shops give up on. This is not always a good thing, because as you mentioned this type of issue sets its own schedule. Two of the resources I can't live without are *correct* wiring diagrams/schematics and the all mighty *component locator* It may sound silly to most people but finding the component we are fairly certain is the problem or will lead to the solution is half the battle.

[@Gary.6.10.19]

Nice of Subaru making that fuel pump access. Lots of cars you have to drop the tank to get to it.

[@user-bk3pl8bn7e]

repair the harness and sell it on or keep it in storage for future, same with the alternator.

[@JimmyBoqvist]

The box is made for the Swedish state railway SJ AB. "SJ (formally SJ AB) is a government-owned passenger train operator in Sweden. SJ was created in 2001, out of the public transport division of Statens Järnvägar, when the former government agency was divided into six separate government-owned limited companies. In 2018, SJ carried 31.8 million passengers." 🙏❤💪

[@UpLateGeek]

I love the look of those huge lamp shades! Very retro space age, especially the one with the curly bulb "filament".

[@thomasbrown9402]

Aw, I really wanted you to take the hump back panel delivery van home!

[@apollorobb]

What we do on the farm when we have rodent problems with electrical we wrap the harness with Honda rodent tape part# 4019-2017 the stuff works well and actually keeps them out from under the hood. I dont know whats in it but they dont like it at all. This should be a lesson to mechanics. Dont just fire the parts cannon at a vehicle you have to systematically test each circuit i use a clamp ammeter and actually locate which wire has the load on it . Ive been repairing Cars and tractors over 40 years and i can say ive never had one i couldnt have fixed(some just arent worth the money involved).And instead of using fuses use a Circuit breaker of the appropriate current rating

[@samhenderson2947]

You need a car ferret

[@mehmetalioz368]

If you paint white the inside of these lamps, you will get more light successfully reflected and diffused and make it more efficient.

[@alfredbucket848]

Troubleshooting electrical issues are always the hardest. I am lucky to have a auto electrical specialty shop where I live and they, surprisingly, are not only very good at electrical issues, they are actually reasonably priced. I have had to troubleshoot many an electrical issue on my own when working on vintage cars (rodents eating wires is very common) so I have gotten into the habit of tracing wires start to finish with a signal tracer (homemade), alongside my multi-meter, has worked very well for finding shorts and open circuits in wiring harnesses. It certainly helps that many of the wires are colour coded. Great Videos, keep up the good work! (my channel is "The Travells of Maus" not much electrical work, but some engine rebuild stuff and boring dashcam footage of roadtrips.) Cheers!

[@arnekristianlvikstellander6008]

That cool looking box is made for the Swedish railway company.

[@Kowyn]

In regards to you rodent issue, I live in a rural area in Canada and as of a year ago we have had black rats, I have tried every kind of repellent both chemical and ultrasonic with zero success, finally I had to resort to poison a choice I did not take lightly but it did help for a bit, finally I saw a video where a fellow used a 5 gallon bucket with about 6 inches of water in it and a little trap door so when a rodent steps on it to get to food (in my case peanut butter) they fall in, this method worked best, cheap and easy to make and you can catch many rodent's before needing to empty it, you will want to keep an eye on the trap it will stink really bad if you forget about it for a bit, in the first 3 days I got 17 rats and the number went down steady after that, now it's about one or two a week.

[@d.d.5633]

A friend with an air intake manifold is a friend indeed.

[@paulvale2985]

The lights were fantastic. I called the wire harness after you unplugged all the connectors (I am a retired electrician). I own a 17+ year old Hyundai Tuscan and have no intention to 'up-grade' anytime soon! You're a man after my own heart TPAI, I get really annoyed when something I could repair has been manufactured in a way that disassembly cannot be done. Glad you fixed your car, well persevered.

[@trulyinfamous]

I've haven't watched this channel in a while but I thought about it again because I've recently started going to a local scrapyard for steel to weld on. I've been teaching myself how to weld as I want to get a welding job in order to leave my current 12$/hour job and finally get paid enough for me to move out of my parent's place. Trade jobs are in high demand here in the USA and I hear that's the case all around the world. I reckon I could get a job anywhere I wanted if I was a certified welder. Welding isn't what I want to do as a career; I want to start a landscaping business with a focus on native plants, teaching about the environment, and removing invasives. I'll need more experience and capital for that so welding will be my stop-gap solution. Oops, looks like I got carried away. I like this channel and I'll probably soon be watching many of the vids I missed.

[@samvalentine3206]

Nothing wrong with this as it may help another in a similar situation by giving them an idea. 👍

[@Harryset1]

We have an old saying: "A trade in hand finds gold in every land" - aka "Handwerk hat goldenen Boden".

[@KallePihlajasaari]

You could start selling welded garden furniture and ornaments as you practice your welding skills and make contacts in the landscaping trade.

[@korpijeesus]

Oh god, this brings me PTSD of few rodent-buffet cars I had to fix in the past.

[@slyyguy3544]

Mechanic here, Just a quick tip for the next time you have a short to ground on a fused circuit like this. Instead of using fuses and blowing them continuously when you think you have found the short and want to check, simply use a test light hooked to a power source like the positive side of the battery and the ground side of the test light into your short. The light will stay illuminated as long as the short is there and you can just unplug components until the short to ground does or does not go away as in your case. Also around where I live we have had success using Irish spring bars of soap shavings around the engine compartment to prevent rodents from nesting there.

[@tomwyrick2824]

I had an instructor that showed us how to wire up a automotive flasher and a buzzer to replace the fuse that keeps blowing so when it you find it you will hear it and don't have to keep running back and forth! Also on the rodent problem you should be able to wire up some motion detection to an ultrasonic deterrent. I found that seems to do an OK job with squirrels and small rodents and doesn't annoy the bigger bipeds! I have every confidence that your solution will be simple yet elegant and include an arduino! Keep up the great work, and we on the on the otherside of the pond will try to not totally destroy democracy 👍

[@jeffh8803]

What a nightmare of electrical gremlins. Well done for finding it.

[@sprint955st]

23:39 not sure about in Germany but in England we have a saying ‘you can’t see the woods because of the trees’ basically getting bogged down and distracted looking for a complicated problem that turned out to be simple to resolve.

[@Ganjaseed]

Same saying exists in Germany (word for word) ;)

[@whocares281]

Replace "wood" by "forrest" and you'll have the translation of the German version.

[@dimitar4y]

well, the short was on the harness that was a PITA to remove and diagnose. It's more frustration than complication.

[@davidschwartz5127]

Woods because of the trees

[@zs1dfr]

One of my mantra's is "Common things occur commonly". Therefore check the simple stuff first, before you suspect the complicated stuff.

[@custos3249]

Been there, man. I can't vouch for the effectiveness since making sure my engine bay is free of plant matter and garbage seems to have done the job, some old mechanics have told me crushing and sprinkling the soap Irish Rain around the bay works as a mouse repellant. Also if you run into this again, get a 30 amp breaker. They also make resettable fuses for about the same price.

[@rob13854]

As always another very informative video, not only with the scrap yard finds, but the car problems also. By the way the lights look fantastic, well done. Regards from your friend in Australia 🇦🇺, Rob T

[@millsbrian55]

I had a very similar issue with a Toyota Tundra pickup. Toyota decided to install wiring with rice paper based insulation ( supposedly more environmentally friendly) on the ignition module wiring harness. Squirrels loved it! I had to remove and replace the entire intake manifold to access the harness… I feel your pain! Love your channel.

[@philshel1]

It's a common problem with most modern vehicles. The insulation is agro based to be biodegradable apparently it tastes good as well.

[@jjock3239]

The harness on my friend's new Tundra, was severely damaged. He lives on a farm, and had never experienced the problem before.

[@oldscratch3535]

It doesn't matter what you wrap it in. Squirrels and rats will chew anything. I used to be a roofer and I can't tell you how many pieces of vinyl siding, PVC pipe, and lead pipe boots I've replaced that had been eaten by rodents. Squirrels LOVE lead pipe boots for some reason.

[@NiHaoMike64]

@@oldscratch3535Lead apparently tastes sweet, also toxic but not toxic enough for a quick kill.

[@RyanMercer]

I always love these!

[@honsten]

Excellent episode. The whole maintenance economy is entirely broken and the car side of it is probably the most problematic, next to e-waste. Love your videos pal.

[@EasyMac308]

In our old 2005 Honda Pilot, the mice got at the wires going to the injectors. This was in an extremely difficult location to reach, but I managed to just barely get an iron in there and splice them. I'm not patient enough/skilled enough to tear things down as far as would be necessary to do it right and was too broke at the time to take it anywhere. A few years later when engine blew (a big chunk of the casting between a couple of cylinders just broke off), my trash harness fix was still working. We paid to have the engine replaced and were informed that Honda had switched something up in the insulation to make it more repellent to critters. Hopefully other manufacturers have done the same.

[@douro20]

They used soy in the wire insulation back then- the mice really loved that stuff.

[@jamesmendyk8546]

Rodents don’t like the smell peppermint oil, mothballs, or Irish spring soap.

[@kellyeye7224]

You miss out the modern 'killer' which is Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) - 'secrecy' that makes obtaining servicing information impossible to source.

[@samvalentine3206]

This is central to many pursuits. Nicely said.

[@dimitar4y]

don't worry, morons will find a way to close their ears and look away and then enforce it on you like they have no other choice. Evil like this prospers for reasons that no-one has tackled and no-one will bother even naming, because even if you name them, they fall upon deaf ears. Remember the "three wise monkeys" ? It had a significantly more sinister meaning when they were 4 before it got bastardized for american popularity.

[@jeromeorlandella748]

certified auto techs use shiny chrome hammers, whereas a grease monkey might use a pipe wrench. do it your self, you would have found that short with a short circuit tester. a short tester is a heavy duty directional flasher and a amperage tester you just move along the harness. when the needle deflects at its maximum, that is where the short is. the meter picks up the magnetic field in the wires even if the harness is hidden behind a fender. thank you for all the hours of entertainment you give us.

[@stephenhegarty]

Welcome to the wonderful worked of automotive diagnostics. Your approach was spot on and the methodical examination was successful in the end. You avoided the number one most common mistake of firing the “parts cannon” at it. This is exactly why I do all my own automotive repair - I doubt anyone could afford to pay the shop rate for diagnostics of this kind.

[@DirtyRobot]

Started as TPAI and ended as Mustie1

[@samvalentine3206]

Or South Main Auto or Watch Wes Work

[@donsurlylyte]

your manifesto is right on. there needs to be a worldwide movement of local community based repairs- so much can be fixed with minimal knowledge

[@Kenthis15]

For the rodent repellent… I’m not sure if you mean to do it non lethally. But we had outdoor rodent issues at the house I grew up in. My father bought cheap poison cubes and then made long PVC tubes capped on one side for the poison. This meant the rodents could get to the poison and nibble on it but something like a neighborhood cat couldn’t get to it.

[@dimitar4y]

"YOU WILL OWN NOTHING AND YOU WILL BE HAPPY" In more ways than covered here or anyone reading this is aware.

[@John_Smith__]

Dear Gerolf Another Awesome video and a great Repair of your car, but I need to Alert you for a major Threat in the coming EU regulations. There are EU regulations waiting to be approved that want to BAN ... Ban! ... cars older then 15 years out of the Street of all EU member countries. This is Insane! And we Must fight together Against such dictatorship and stupidity.

[@afineliner740]

I'm glad you rescued those aluminium exhaust vents, how could you not love those things, nice job repurposing them. 👍

[@blarggggg]

I once found evidence of mice hanging out in the engine compartment of my E36 BMW at one house I was living in. We didn't have a rodent problem, per se (there was never any evidence of mice in the garage or in the house), but I had rodents in my engine bay in the driveway anyway and they were apparently not dissuaded by me driving the car on most days. I installed a couple of plain-old spring-loaded mouse traps, and reset them (and sometimes cleaned out a captured mouse) every day or two whether I'd been driving or not. Eventually, after only a week or three, the rodent problem went away and did not come back. YMMV. Good luck. (And please try to avoid using poisons or killing trees to combat the issue. There may be other ways that directly address the problem without causing too much extra fallout.)

[@thoughtguardian]

Great video. Can you get a shop cat? It doesn’t completely solve the rodent problem but they usually avoid areas with cats and it would be fun to see one in your videos. Plus you could spend a few hours building cat trees or outdoor runs for them from scrapyard finds.

[@aaron71]

Glad you found the fault in the harness! I would never be able to sleep not knowing what the problem was. And those lamps.. wow!! SO cool!!

[@patjohnson3100]

The spacecraft lamps look great and are very creative. Glad you used led bulbs. The folding box looks very useful. Your Subaru troubleshooting shows that you are very patient and methodical. Good job. Very enjoyable video.

[@bobfugazy4916]

Great update Sal. At the end of today's show Sal says allision. Here is a definition from the web: allision occurs when a vessel strikes a stationary object, such as a bridge or dock. I'm not a mariner but I work with many mariners. For the landlubbers among us.

[@onogrirwin]

Grats on fixing your subi. Take care of it and you won't ever need another car. You are certainly capable of figuring out how to fix whatever goes wrong. By the way, I am a mechanic, and I've seen and fixed mysterious no start conditions that turn out to be mouse damage several times. It's often laborious and expensive, so don't feel bad that it took you awhile.

[@deanlowther4020]

Me dad was a TV engineer he passed in 1999 at that time he was in the process of closing down his business for the first 3 reasons you gave. Manufacturers don't want to carry spares they just want go sell you a new device, its all about greec

[@eDoc2020]

It also doesn't help when new TVs were getting so cheap. And while it wasn't a thing in 1999 HDTV was just around the corner, giving consumers another excuse to buy new instead of repairing old.

[@KentuckyRanger]

I hope you mended the wiring harness, placed it back on the manifold, and gave it back to your Subaru friend, to help someone else in the future.

[@michaelfairchild]

5. Machine you want to fix has one of the weird security screws and you need to shop for specialistic bits or screwdrivers.

[@jawollvollekannehoshi2422]

oh my what a jurney! great that it had a happy ending and great to see your forester running again! may it run like a that for many many years!

[@e-scott8326]

My son had the same problem with his Forester. Fortunately his insurance covered the repair, less the deductible. It took two months to identify and repair. He live in a rural part of upstate New York and after the repair he leaves the hood open with a light on too discourage varmints. It has been 100% effective so far. I have an RV that I have used an ultrasonic with flashing strobe to dissuade critters and it seems to work for all except rabbits.

[@tolbaszy8067]

Great video! Lights are superb! My Toyota 4.7L V8 had red squirrels nesting under the intake manifold. They chewed the Knock sensor wire, which advances the spark for power. As I picked out nest material, I found the starter with my retractable grabber, now useless. Signs of rodents are sure indicators of wiring problems for disabled vehicles. Computers make vehicles more efficient, but they make them more fragile and difficult to repair. Wiring harnesses are less expensive to replace than repair. In my Toyota, the wire was repairable. I accused the dealer's service department of inserting trained rodents when the same problem occurred a month later.

[@davidtheawesomeone5358]

Honda Rat Tape. Works great at repelling rodents from chewing through wiring harnesses, it repells them. Here in the states, when honda and other techs replace a chewed up harness, we wrap the new or repaired harness in the rat tape, helps prevent future gnawing

[@stickyreturn]

I drive a 70's vw van as there is so little to go wrong and it is easily fixed myself. Of course it still needs constant repair and faults can be confusing but by keeping it simple and sticking with the same vehicle I know it inside out and have learned so much over the years. I love your videos and ethos by the way.

[@cdoublejj]

odd choice of music for the lamp to my self but, they look great! like the industrial look with a touch of retro and upcycle appeal

[@T0tenkampf]

A trick for removing and reinstalling hinge pins is to chuck the pin up in a drill motor. That collapsable box is a fantastic design.

[@martinclemesha4794]

Well done fixing your car. Really like the lamp designs, also a good example of re-cycling. Maybe you could also earn some extra cash making similar.

[@ralphmartini2863]

Leaving the hood open continuously will discourage mice from moving in and eating. I worked at a retirement golf community, where owners just came for the winter. It was in metro Phoenix, AZ. The hoods stayed open from May to Sept. Don’t know if this will work in Germany. Thanks for what u do and share. I enjoy when u teach German and give great background info. Ciao, Ralph L. Martini.

[@IamDerick]

Yes seems like most of the time what separates you from finding the problem involves removing perfectly good parts hiding the naughty ones. Good work and the resistor idea was a good one I had never thought of. I usually use a test lamp but I will keep that little gem in case I need it. Nice video! Cheers!

[@nophobia123]

I work at a Subaru specialty shop. As soon as you started describing your problems, my recommendation was a replacement wiring harness for the engine. Subaru still makes these, and they’re not as expensive as you would imagine. Sometimes it is just better to replace the whole harness than to try to fully troubleshoot something like this.

[@bigwave_dave8468]

+1 for peppermint oil. Rodents took out the wire harness and vacuum line in my truck and an EFI wire in my other car. After repairing these, I sprayed the engine compartments with peppermint oil solution. No further problems.

[@bigmikeh5827]

Electrical troubleshooting is the bane of most techs. I love doing this type of troubleshoot

[@DissertatingMedieval]

In 2022 I went to the UK for a year fellowship, and I bought a Zarges case specifically because I wanted something kind of rugged that would carry more than standard luggage. For the post part, I was pleased with it. The corners could use more reinforcement even in the new cases, so it doesn't surprise me that's where the fault appears to have happened in the older one.

[@willtricks9432]

I had one of those folding boxes back in the 80's, got it from a local Tip. Great tool and used it for a lot but sold it on about 10 years ago. Solid and a great height when you want to sit or use as a work bench. Cheers

[@Pomidorer]

This video is great. At first it was so calm for me to watch the project of this lamp, because I lead similar projects and have never gotten such a cool result. Then you started describing the electrical problems in your car and I almost cried - I haven't been able to find similar electrical problem in my 2014 Tesla S for over a month now. I feel your pain...

[@andrewdolinskiatcarpathian]

Well done on identifying the problem with the car. Such patience and determination. 👏👏👍😀

[@JohnnyX50]

You were more thorough than I would ever have been when it comes to car repairs. Silly suggestion but best rodent repellent - An out door cat. Also makes a puurfect cuddle companion :) Rodents love the easy life. Your car was under (or on top of in their perspective) their favoured food source and somewhere to shelter. Easiest solution, move the car well away from the tree if possible. Or give them an alternative food source away from the tree and your car, like a dog bowl of berries when it's mouse season. I use this method to completely stop ants from getting into my house. When I see the little buggers roaming around my back yard for the first time looking for food I leap into action. All kitchen surfaces and hard floors at back of house are cleaned with mild disinfectant and then I buy a cheap pack of jelly sweets. Dip them in warm water and leave them in the garden near to the nest. They have the ideal food they want and never come in the house! :D

[@phrayzar]

I love the big lamps. I remember seeing UFO photos from the 60's that looked exactly like one of them. You could polish the underside with metal polish.

[@fredfarnackle5455]

Wow, what a saga! I am glad you got the car running again and you did find the fault. Well done!😎👍

[@somethingelse2740]

I had a 1988 ford pickup that I drove out of state to visit relatives, and the day I had to drive home, most of the electric system failed in a big way. I had someone drive me to a parts store and I bought a 12 volt probe with simple light bulb indicator. After much probing I found that the wiring harness wasn't delivering power all the way to the firewall. I unwrapped the harness and found a factory connection inside the harness where they crimped one wire to two wires with an aluminum crimp on copper wire. I'm thinking this had a galvanic reaction because all there was left of 2 inches of wire was gray powder. I cut back to fresh wire, soldered on some fresh copper wire and everything worked again. Automotive wiring issues can be a pain in the butt. Glad you got your problems figured out. Good luck with the mice. They will continue to enjoy the inside of your engine compartment if it is available to them. Parking indoors is the only way I've found to prevent mouse damage. If your indoor parking area is mouse free.