Growing up doesn't have to suck

[iamdub]

Ohhhh, he knows. Actually requested it

TCC lock up torque management change. You know the one

As soon as you mentioned twerk management, I knew right where you got that "bug" in your rear. I mean, ear.

 

[pwtr02ss]

As soon as you mentioned twerk management, I knew right where you got that "bug" in your rear. I mean, ear.

I'll never kiss and tell

 

[iamdub]

I'll never kiss and tell

No need to. We're all role-playing together.

 

[pwtr02ss]

No need to. We're all role-playing together.

"as the world turns"

 

[randeez]

No need to. We're all role-playing together.

We wut....

oh right , yea just pretending

 

[pwtr02ss]

We wut....

oh right , yea just pretending

"pretending" You got it

 

[iamdub]

Rushed home yesterday to get cleaned up to head out to Kin's school play. Running with no time to spare, I hopped in the Tahoe and turned the key- nothing. Battery couldn't have been more lifeless if it were a ghost.

So, y'all remember that time I installed a subwoofer and forgot to run a remote wire so I tapped into the power wire for the power fold/tumble seat? Yeah? Well, I forgot to turn it off when I got home Tuesday night. I hooked up the charger and stole the work van to make it to the play. Afterwards, Walmart was the only place still open. After reading some reviews, watching a Project Farm video and calculating other factors of my current situation, I went to Walmart and picked up the best they had. I've always gotten Super Start batteries from O'Reilly. But this EverStart looks identical and was $70 cheaper ($180 vs. $250). Has the same specs, an extra year of warranty, and was cheaper than the SS Premium I would've gotten from O'Reilly. TLE was closed and the lights were off, so I helped myself to the battery rack and dug in the back to find one dated 4/23. Hecho en Alemania:




I had to make it appropriate for Cinco do Mayo, so I added some avocados to the cart. That was my 9:00 Friday night- a car battery and avocados.

 

[iamdub]

I can't ever just do one task. While the battery was out, I decided to finally do something about that crumbly conduit on the main power wire that goes across the firewall to the fuse & relay center. Didn't have conduit, but thought the mesh sleeve I used everywhere else was befitting. If I was messing with that, why not upgrade the wire? I took the fuse and relay center apart to remove the main power wire. All I had enough of on hand was that 4 gauge OFC welding lead I used for my amp power. The main power wire looked to be 4 gauge, just with a thinner jacket than the welding lead. I don't think there's anything in that panel pulling enough amps to justify the hassle, so I just put it all back together.

Before:




Mesh sleeve installed:




After:




I used a piece of heater hose over the portion that goes over the hood strut bracket. It was a friction fit between that and the underside of the cowl.


At this point, all the main power cables are in the mesh sleeve and everything in the corrugated conduit are control circuits. It looks like a lot, but it's pretty much the stock layout, just bigger:

 

[iamdub]

Old vs. new battery comparison:







Got over five years out of that Super Start, abusing it the last three or four. Tahoe cranks faster now and my headlights are dimming noticeably less, as expected. I went for a ~30 minute drive to ensure a solid initial charge. My alternator was supposed to have been here yesterday. But, UPS do what UPS do. ETA is now Monday.

 

[iamdub]

Since the battery had been disconnected for so long and they were relearning, I used my handheld scanner to monitor fuel trims. Also checked the alcohol content- it was still fluctuating between 11% and 12%. This is the sample of what's currently in the tank:




I have about 40 miles to empty and the nearest station with E85 is 22 miles away. I wanna be on fumes when I refuel with E85. So, I could either run some made-up local errands to burn gas or drive like an ass to the next one that's 35 miles away.