Yoram Posted September 8 Author Share Posted September 8 On 7/26/2024 at 4:12 PM, Yoram said: Added a positive terminal cover from Amazon (trimmed height by about 4mm). Sleeve ID is 10mm but pretty stretchy to pull over and stay in position on the cable. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088ZT2LFL?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1 Status report: The Odyssey battery seems to have solved the problem. Due to combination of SC heat and out of town trips, the car was not driven for a whole month. But I made a point of not trickle charging it but rather watch it sit and see what happens. Based on past experience, the Banner would have been depleted over that period. A few days ago I measured the voltage across the terminals and it read 12.9V. The next day I decided it's time and it started right up. This also alleviated the nagging thought that I may have an electrical leak somewhere besides the immobilizer. So for now I decided to continue without trickle charging and just watch how it does over time. The remaining open issues left over from the build are all gauge related: The coolant gauge is dead, the tach is off (hoping for replacements from Caterham), and the dipstick is too short and so far I haven't found a good solution. On the upside, the car seems to drive better every time... Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MV8 Posted September 9 Share Posted September 9 Buy two replacement dip sticks. Add length as needed for the level to align with the FULL mark. Cut at least five inches from the plastic handle yet above any significant bending that may be required for insertion in the tube. Wrap the stick between the handle and cut with a wet rag. Butt weld with a MIG, belt sand or flap wheel to smooth area if needed but don't grind weld level with the unwelded stick. This is something you can order to be done remotely if you know how long it needs to be overall. Avoid converting to a wire rope "stick" as they usually need longer tubes in the pan to ensure running oil flow does not cause the rope end to make contact with the spinning bits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoram Posted September 9 Author Share Posted September 9 8 hours ago, MV8 said: Buy two replacement dip sticks. Add length as needed for the level to align with the FULL mark. Cut at least five inches from the plastic handle yet above any significant bending that may be required for insertion in the tube. Wrap the stick between the handle and cut with a wet rag. Butt weld with a MIG, belt sand or flap wheel to smooth area if needed but don't grind weld level with the unwelded stick. This is something you can order to be done remotely if you know how long it needs to be overall. Avoid converting to a wire rope "stick" as they usually need longer tubes in the pan to ensure running oil flow does not cause the rope end to make contact with the spinning bits. Excellent input! Wondering why buy 2 sticks? To keep the existing one intact as reference and backup in case fabrication fails? Thanks also for the tip re wire rope stick. I actually tried a coiled stick and it is way too flimsy and gets stuck in the tube (buckles and does not make the bend). Sent it back (to Amazon, of course). Great tips, @MV8 ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoram Posted September 12 Author Share Posted September 12 (edited) On 9/29/2023 at 9:27 AM, JohnCh said: I drilled out a lowered floor rivet, then riveted one of the spare cable tie wrap mounts in its place. Lousy photo, but it should give you an idea. -John Hello John, Resurrecting an old yet unresolved topic... I am now in a tidying up mode, and this loose Lambda sensor wire has been bugging me, even though it does not droop (yet); it hugs the bottom of the body pretty well. But my OCD side keeps nagging that this is still "wrong". So... I would like to implement your solution of drilling out one of the existing skin rivets and riveting in place a zip tie base. I'm thinking of using one of those below as they are stainless steel, sit flush and allow the rivet gun to react against their surface. https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/essentra-components/MTH1-1/3814005?utm_adgroup=&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PMax Shopping_Product_Category_Cables and Wires&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_id=go_cmp-20053924771_adg-_ad-__dev-c_ext-_prd-3814005_sig-EAIaIQobChMIgZXJ4de7iAMVFTYIBR1Jtx5BEAQYByABEgLyZfD_BwE&gad_source=1 My struggle is how to remove cleanly the existing body rivet. I did not attempt it on the car yet. I did some trials installing some pop rivets in a 1/8" thick aluminum profile and then trying to drill them out. Using a drill bit just a tad bigger than the hole I end up spinning the rivet in place... What is your trick to remove a pop rivet cleanly? Other folks please chime in as well. Thanks! Edited September 12 by Yoram Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 10 minutes ago, Yoram said: My struggle is how to remove cleanly the existing body rivet. I did not attempt it on the car yet. I did some trials installing some pop rivets in a 1/8" thick aluminum profile and then trying to drill them out. Using a drill bit just a tad bigger than the hole I end up spinning the rivet in place. I use a drill bit a bit bigger than the shaft and smaller than the head and rarely run into a spinning head issue. However, in those cases, I've either wedged the head with a chisel to stop it rotating or put some duct tape over the head to hold it in place. Always start with duct tape when cosmetics are a concern. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pethier Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 Tell me again why you don't leave the original rivet in place and put a new rivet near it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 You certainly could drill a new hole. I simply preferred reusing a factory drilled hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoram Posted September 12 Author Share Posted September 12 1 minute ago, JohnCh said: You certainly could drill a new hole. I simply preferred reusing a factory drilled hole. I feel the same way. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoram Posted September 12 Author Share Posted September 12 16 minutes ago, pethier said: Tell me again why you don't leave the original rivet in place and put a new rivet near it. Paraphrasing Sir Colin: No rivet shall have a free ride! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoram Posted September 12 Author Share Posted September 12 14 hours ago, JohnCh said: I use a drill bit a bit bigger than the shaft and smaller than the head and rarely run into a spinning head issue. However, in those cases, I've either wedged the head with a chisel to stop it rotating or put some duct tape over the head to hold it in place. Always start with duct tape when cosmetics are a concern. Performed a few more process development trials and established a repeatable, capable process . The secret is patience -- very light drill pressure and very low speed. The drill bit eventually picks up the head off the rivet. Then a light punch tap on the shaft and the clean hole is exposed. Only issue is the shaft and bottom part of the rivet would of course remain inside the chassis tube. This will degrade irreparably our highly refined NVH levels... That's where @pethier's approach offers an advantage. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pethier Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 3 hours ago, Yoram said: Performed a few more process development trials and established a repeatable, capable process . The secret is patience -- very light drill pressure and very low speed. The drill bit eventually picks up the head off the rivet. Then a light punch tap on the shaft and the clean hole is exposed. Only issue is the shaft and bottom part of the rivet would of course remain inside the chassis tube. This will degrade irreparably our highly refined NVH levels... That's where @pethier's approach offers an advantage. Cheers! Bingo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoram Posted September 18 Author Share Posted September 18 (edited) Lambda sensor wire management -- Conclusion Today I drilled out the head and tap-punched the body (unfortunately into the chassis tube) of one of the bottom body skin rivets. In its place I riveted one of the stainless steel zip-tie bases from DigiKey per link a few posts up. I zip-tied the Lambda sensor wire to this base ensuring enough slack to accommodate exhaust motions/vibrations. No problems encountered and I consider the issue closed. Thanks to all who contributed to the solution. The stainless steel zip-tie base, and trial riveting onto a 1/8" thick aluminum profile: Installation on the car: Cheers! Edited September 21 by Yoram 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoram Posted October 8 Author Share Posted October 8 (edited) How to jump an Odyssey PC680 battery Before I get to this topic I want to first send a shout out of hope and encouragement to all those of us in the SE USA who endured Helene. I hope y'all and your loved ones are safe and well, your pets and homes intact, and your Se7ens unscathed. Here in the Greenville SC area we suffered considerable wind damage with several large trees fallen on our property, one damaging the detached garage housing Yellowjacket. Fortunately only minor structural damage and the cars are unharmed. One of the effects of Helene was that we lost power for nearly two days (fortunately shorter than many in the area). This power outage triggered the subject of this post. Walking into the garage to take stock of things for the first time after the storm I did my customary Yellowjacket electrics check by switching on the lights rocker (a habit born from the dreaded Banner days). Nothing happened. Another quick check found that when I last pushed the car into position before the storm I accidentally turned on the ignition (to prevent the steering from locking) and left it that way. Now, my Chinese trickle charger does not work during a power outage. It then occurred to me that I had never before thought about jumping the PC680 battery. Now that I did, I realized that it is impossible for regular jumper cables to clamp onto those M6 button screw heads on top. Which brought about another mini-project -- the subject of this post. The ground side was easy. There is an M8 chassis ground bolt on top of the passenger foot well. I replaced it with a longer (40mm) one and a quasi-jam nut. The nut clamps the battery and engine cable ends to the chassis. I first screwed the bolt in until it bottomed out, then backed it up a couple turns and tightened the nut. Done. The positive side is more tricky. After thinking about it for a couple of days I ended up with the current solution. It involves clamping under the positive screw of the battery, on top of the cable ends, a 1-1/2 x 1/2" L bracket with the vertical leg shortened (to reduce protrusion and flex). At present the drawback is that I have not figured out yet a handy removable insulating cover, but the bracket is not at risk of touching the bonnet or anything else. Nevertheless ideas for how to cover it are welcome (other than by electrical tape...). Cheers! Edited October 15 by Yoram Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamScotticus Posted October 8 Share Posted October 8 Thanks. I hope the ignition coils didn't suffer too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoram Posted October 8 Author Share Posted October 8 (edited) 1 hour ago, IamScotticus said: Thanks. I hope the ignition coils didn't suffer too much. I know.... Car started and ran fine afterwards. Could there be hidden damage like shorter coil life, or reduced engine performance due to reduced spark voltage? Edited October 8 by Yoram Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBuff Posted October 8 Share Posted October 8 I think a silicone cap would conform to the rectangular tab. https://www.stockcap.com/silicone-caps.html or you could plastic dip the upper part and have a silicone cap for the vertical end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoram Posted October 9 Author Share Posted October 9 4 hours ago, CBuff said: I think a silicone cap would conform to the rectangular tab. https://www.stockcap.com/silicone-caps.html or you could plastic dip the upper part and have a silicone cap for the vertical end. Great find, @CBuff ! They even have rectangular section sizes. Not sure yet how/whether can order one or a few, but will look into it. Will report. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBuff Posted October 9 Share Posted October 9 Also thinking if you got some heavy duty shrink tube. If you wanted to make it removable just er on a bigger size with smaller shrink ratio and non adhesive. https://a.co/d/684EZvT They have it in red. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoram Posted October 15 Author Share Posted October 15 (edited) On 10/8/2024 at 5:09 PM, CBuff said: I think a silicone cap would conform to the rectangular tab. https://www.stockcap.com/silicone-caps.html or you could plastic dip the upper part and have a silicone cap for the vertical end. Talked to the StockCap sales person today after browsing through their website. She told me that they do not carry stock of any of the options I identified and that this would be a production order with a minimum quantity. Routed me to leave a voice message for another person who is supposed to know what they may have lying on the shelf, which I did. Hoping to hear back. Very impressive company for production/industrial business from what I've seen, not geared for retail walk-ins. Will report further progress. Thanks for the lead! Edited October 15 by Yoram Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted October 15 Share Posted October 15 If you want to approach the problem from a different perspective, consider buying motorcycle jumper cables. Their smaller clamps work well with the bolt heads on the battery. I carry these on tour and have jumped a Caterham with a PC680. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UKD6II/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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