hardiholi
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- Feb 6, 2013
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FIY = Fix It Yourself (or MacGyver-like workarounds for minor problems when underway)History : After I got my 16 year old BMW E36 cabrio I had to start sorting out some minor issues like fixing a broken cut-out for a dash board switch and repairing the cigarette lighter socket so I could power a newly purchased Papago GPS. These two descriptions are a bit important when it comes to the solution as written below, since I left a screwdriver and the Papago’s 12V supply cable binding-wire inside my car.Incident development : A few days later I noticed a squeaking noise when pushing the accelerator pedal, hence using a bit spray of WD-40 into the direction of the supposed upper pedal end which I could not see behind the lower dashboard cover. The squeaking noise vanished (quickly also sprayed some WD-40 lubrication onto the door hinges, but this has nothing to do with the problem coming up later, as described below).Next Sunday I discovered some black rubbish particles on the driver’s side foot-mat, collected the pieces and threw them away, without paying much attention to what they were (never ignore something unusual … in an old car), then went on a trip from KL to Banting to visit relatives.About 10 km into my drive and on the rightmost lane of the Federal Expressway the car suddenly lost power, no reaction of the gas pedal but engine kept running in “idle” and I had to switch on the hazard warning lights and managed to cross all 3 lanes to a halt on the road shoulder as there was luckily not much traffic that Sunday.Inspection : opening the bonnet and checked if the accelerator cable was still connected to the carburettor … it was. So I had to remove the lower dashboard cover to see the other end of the cable and luckily (as written above) I could do that as a screwdriver was available (has to be noted that such a useful item was missing from the in-car tool set).Bingo … the hook of the cable had slipped out of the accelerator pedal rod and I immediately recognized that the “black rubbish” which I found earlier was the left-over from a rubber “grommet” (this word I learned later when searched online for this as a spare part).The ‘temporary’ fix : It was quite a hustle to connect the accelerator cable hook somehow “securely” inside the much larger hole of the pedal rod by using just a piece of cable binding-wire … but I succeeded and could continue my way to Banting, however … only carefully and slowly. There, my first stop was at the EconSave and I bought some rubber ringlets which are normally used by plumbers to repair leaking water taps.After I reached my relatives’ home I managed to push and slip the rubber ringlet over the head of the accelerator cable hook. Please observe that there are ringlets with 2 different hole sizes and the smaller one (which I think I got) was such a tight fit (my thumbs still hurting by reading it now) that this ‘temporary’ rubber is still in use today.See below how the hook with grommet should look like and besides what kind of ringlet I used instead.View attachment 29200 View attachment 29201Lesson learnt : Fresh owners of somewhat “older cars” need to put an “extended” set of on-board tools into their car before undertaking longer trips, as problems (touch wood) … may happen. Further, besides the usual wear and tear parts (e.g. bulbs & fuses and don’t forget bottle of cooling water) better have some steel wire, cable ties, electric cable with connectors and insulating tape with you. This listing is just covering the basics … can easily be extended, depending on how good your DIY skills are or how much you “trust” your vehicle. I’m thinking here about parts like relays, belts, sensors … etc.Especially for owners of convertibles who drive around with a soft-top only … I was reading somewhere that a roll of strong duct-tape and some elastic strapsView attachment 29202may come in handy to tighten or secure the canvas above your head.So long … everyone enjoy your trips ... and don't mind the long long post (just habit of old engineer to detail it all).
