Big bots, Bourne again, More Miata

On Friday night I knocked out even more of my chore list, trying to clear up my weekend for other things.  One of the Friday night things included replacing the cracked lid to the pool filter.  When I ordered the new lid I also decided to order a new pressure relief valve and pressure gauge as well since the old parts were beat to hell from 11 years in the Florida elements.  Hopefully this will extend the overall life of my pool filter another few years.

On Saturday morning I was once again doing work on Cindy’s Miata.  It suddenly would no longer start one day last week.  I did a lot of research on the problem and discovered that Miatas are infamous for crank, but no start problems, especially 23 year old Miatas.  Unfortunately there are 5 or 6 things that can cause this symptom.

In 1990, cars didn’t have very advanced diagnostics.  In order to perform some of the recommended tests I had to use a jumper wire across various points in a diagnostic terminal under the hood.

I have done a few things on the car so far.  As I dig through it, I am reminded of the 88 Vette I owned for roughly 6 months, there has been a lot of rig jobs done on the Miata over the years.

So anyway, my testing had determined that the engine is getting spark but no fuel.  My troubleshooting guide lead me to check out the fuel pump.  The first test was to once again use the diagnostic terminal to bypass a relay to see if I could hear the pump running with the engine off.  I couldn’t.

I then proceeded to access the fuel pump which you do via the rear deck inside the passenger compartment.  After removing the carpet and padding I pulled off the metal cover that hides the pump.  The pump itself was rigged as well with a wire spliced in and routed through a small hole in the top of the pump housing.

So I lifted the pump partially out and inspected it.  I didn’t see anything wrong so I thought maybe I would try the run test again, just to make sure it was not pumping. I expected it not to run.  Well imagine my surprise when it did.  Not only did it run, it spit some gasoline out since the feed end was still dipped partially into the gas tank.

I had pulled the rubber feed and return lines since my intention was to totally pull the pump out.  As a result the gas spilled on the ledge.  Luckily I was quick to kill the key but still enough spilled to make the car smell like a gas station, grr.  It was stupid of me to try to run it without the lines connected or at least a towel or something in place to catch gas.  I just assumed it wasn’t going to work.

So now the pump was working.  I am not sure if something was flaky with the rigged electrical connections  and my removal just happened to get it connected again or what.  I put the pump back into the tank and turned the key, the car started for the first time in 4 days.  Wow.  I ran it through a number of start tests and took the car out briefly on the road to see how solid my “fix” was.  The car was fine and has been fine ever since. Of course what I did got it going for now but sooner or later it could pop up again.  If it does, replacing the fuel pump and the rigged wiring would be the proper course of action.

On Saturday night I saw Pacific Rim.  I had seen some poor reviews of the film but I really didn’t care, it had huge ass robots in it, it couldn’t be that bad.  I actually liked it.  I did not realize that this was basically a 2013 Godzilla style movie, complete with Hong Kong being used as a a huge boxing ring for monsters/mega robots.  I found the movie to be fun and entertaining.  If you are looking for deep plot, meaningful dialogue and Oscar worthy acting then keep on walking.  If you want to see some kick ass robots beating the shit out of some hard core monsters from hell, strap in and take a look.  I actually would give it an A- just on entertainment value.

Sunday morning it was looking dreary and overcast but I wanted to get a brick in anyway.  The rain stayed away but the roads for part of the bike ride were quite wet, my bike was coated in sand and grime after the 12.25 ride.  I also got a fast 1200 yards in the pool, averaging less than 9 minutes per 400.

During the swim there was an encounter with an incredible dumb ass father.  As I was swimming, during one breathing head turn, I noticed some guy on the diving board wearing sunglasses.  You are not ever supposed to ever go off a diving board wearing glasses, the impact with the water could potentially break the glasses and smash the shards into your face.  Of course the dumb kid lifeguard didn’t flag the stupidity either.  I recall thinking, “what a dummy” as I continued swimming.

So a couple minutes later I am turning at the wall and see the same guy by the edge of the other lane with his wife and two daughters.  As I push off and head back the other way  I hear him say “get ready, go!”  This guy had just sent his two kids down the other lane, the lane that Cindy was occupying.  Not only was she occupying it, she was about 15 yards away from the kids and swimming right towards them.

Luckily Cindy saw the flailing kids before she ran into them.  She abruptly stopped and asked the brain dead dad what he was thinking, sending his children headfirst into an oncoming swimmer.  I had heard the noise and stopped at the far side.  The guy apologized but we were both dumbfounded by just how stupid his actions were.  It was confirmation of the guys habitual poor decision making based on his sunglass sporting diving action right before.

I tried to analyze the thought process he utilized.  Did his little girls say “daddy we want to race in the lap pool!” and he was unable to deny them, even for a minute, so he let them loose without thinking about their safety or of anyone else?  Maybe he was just really, really unobservant.  Perhaps he is just a moron?  I am leaning towards choice three.

That being said, if the kid lifeguard was doing his job, he could have saved the guy from his own poor decision making, twice.

Sunday there was more Miata work, this time installing headrest speakers.  I did not know that Miatas have the option for headrest speakers.  The only vehicle I knew of that had them were the old Pontiac Fieros.  Installing the speakers wasn’t hard, it just took some time to make sure it was done right.  It’s kind of cool having the stereo output come out right by your head, it’s like open air headphones.

Sunday night I saw the latest Bourne Identity movie, the first one without Matt Damon.  It was good although I once again made the mistake of watching it while drowsy, causing me to miss some elements that may have added to my overall enjoyment of the film.  Even with the gaps I’d give it a B+.

It was a good thing I got the grass mowed last week.  The unrelenting rain since has turned the property back into a swamp wonderland.  One of the few perks of this phenomenon is occasionally ducks will mistake the back yard as a pond and stop by for a visit.  I had two of them hanging by the bird feeders for quite awhile on Saturday.