Car Care App, Review & Use

Introduction 

Following this blog’s theme of "D" maintenance and upkeep, I think and trust that you'll find this an appropriate posting.  This is about an an iPhone app, called “Car Care” ($4.99).   Note that this app also works on the iPod Touch and the new iPads, and works just as well in Imperial or Metric units.

Car Care has been around for a while, it was one of the first applications of its kind on the iPhone. I've been using it for nearly two years now, so this review is based on the practical usage, and not just on the recent discovery of an app.  Today there are others, and I have tried a few of them, but they are either poor copies of Car Car, or none of them can do everything, or as thorough, as this one.  Additionally the author, Karl Becker, encourages and replies to feedback.

What is does

In a nutshell, this handy little program when properly fed with data (takes discipline, but it's a quick process), will provide you with: MPG performance, maintenance history and reminders, as well as a history/summary of ownership details and vital car facts.

  

Here is a shot of the opening screen, you can enter and track one, or all the cars the car that you own with this app.  As you can seem you can customize this screen with your own background pictures. 

Fuel Mileage History: Features

Once your vehicle(s) are set up, it then all starts with a gas fill up. You record type (set once if you always pump the same type), gallon (or liters) used, cost per gallon (or liters), and the odometer reading (miles or km).  The entry screen looks like this:

It then automatically records the approximate (GPS synch speed sometimes throws it off) location, total fill cost, date and time.  The manual entry work is done in under 30 seconds, so it’s quick and easy to collect and enter this data just after a fill up.  So far this data is just record keeping, but the more you use it the better the available information becomes available.

On your second and follow up fills (can be partial fills as well), you then begin to create an MPG and vehicle history. Within a few entries, the program then will provide you a reasonably accurate summary of:

MPG average with graph (Selectable for all data or for a period of time).

Fuel cost graph, interesting to see the fluctuations over time.

Total fuel Cost

Avg Fuel Cost

Total distance logged

Fuel Cost per mile

MPG average, best, worst, and if you vary type, the avg by type of fuel.

Carbon footprint

Largest fuel fill

Most & Least Expensive fuel purchased

Avg Distance per fill

Avg Days between fills

Here is the "Vehicle Stats" page, for my daily driver (two iPhone screen fulls combined for clarity):

The "Graphs" screen shows your MPG performance on top, and a historical price of fuel cost/volume.

Fuel Mileage History: Usage

Looking at the summary above, it is certainly more data than you’d ever want, but this data is as useful as you make it, especially if you use the resulting information above to track to a goal and or to monitor performance.

Let me provide you with a recent example of how this data recently came in handy. Our other non-D quirky/classic car recently has started showing a drop in MPG performance from previous months of identical usage.  Something changed, and it triggered us to think what it could have been.  We recently found that one of the disk calipers was binding on a rotor, and we addressed it.  In gasoline fill ups after that, we observed that the MPGs started to go back up.  That’s a good example of how these types of programs can assist us to ensure that our classic (quirky) cars, are kept reliable and well maintained.

Maintenance History and Reminders: Features

The second major feature of this program has to do with maintenance, and I think that while this is generally useful, it becomes a handy preventative maintenance tool for owners of older cars.

Similar to the MPG data and results, you also record a vehicle maintenance by category and sub category, at what mileage it was performed, and the associated cost.  You can then also set it up for automatic reminders at selectable intervals, for follow up maintenance. For example, the most obvious one being an oil change, you can have the program remind you of the follow up oil change based on either miles or time period elapsed. While that seems mundane and easy enough to not need a software program, you can also put in service reminders for many other pre-defined or custom maintenance or recommended manufacturer intervals.

This picture shows the Maintenance reminders on our Supra.

Once they are triggered they turn red, and you are reminded to check here at the app's icon, and each time you launch the app.

Tip: On newer vehicles, always reference your service guide for service recommendation, most shops including car dealer shops, often add intervals or services ($$) inside those factory recommendations. When in doubt, check your vehicle's manual for the official recommendations.

The service reminders are triggered by the odometer and date input from your gas fill ups, and you are offered pop up maintenance reminders, as well as a symbol reminder on the main screen in the form of a wrench on an orange box next to the associated vehicle(s), and the apps icon (number of reminders).  

Perhaps not as useful, but interesting to compare amongst your different vehicles, the program does summarize all work done with the following statistics:

Total Service Cost (this is sometimes a scary number, with older, quirky/unique/classic cars)

Service Cost per mile

Maintenance History and Reminders: Usage

I have found the maintenance reminder feature very handy in setting up service reminders which I would have otherwise not recalled, such as for coolant flushes (once every 18 months, or 12K miles, is what I follow for good clean system), and tire rotations (worth it to follow as long as possible, to extend the time in having to purchase new tires).

If you have old service records you could also enter them in this app, sure there’s paper records; however, I find that having this type of information at your disposal (in your pocket) is a) handy when shopping for parts and you are not near the stack of receipts, and b) great for preventative maintenance e.g., anywhere, at a glance, you can see when the last time a clutch slave was changed, and how long it lasted in use, and even the part number or its equivalent cross over number for reference (e.g., out of town, looking for a 25 year old part).

Feature: Data Back Up

It would be a crime if you recorded all this data, and you change or worse lose your mobile device, because you would lose all this data and information.  Cleverly the author allows the data for each car recorded to be emailed to you, as a text file, which imports into Excel well enough.  If you wish, once in Excel you can dig deeper into data analysis, if you are so inclined.

Summary:

If you are vested in the Apple scheme of mobile devices, this is an excellent tool that integrates smoothly and in sync with your car hobbies, interests, and upkeep.

If you are outside of the Apple scheme of mobile devices, then join me in convincing the author to get this app into the Android market!   LOL!

The author's support website is:  http://www.karlbecker.com/carcare/
...and I just noticed he has a detailed video walk through of his program here:
http://www.karlbecker.com/carcare/car_care_screencast1.mov

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Let LEDs light your wings.

Introduction


This is such a simple mod, that I've generally ignored documenting it. HOWEVER, to demonstrate the point of how simple and quick (and advantageous) this can be, I am doing this write up on it.


LEDs
LEDs are taking over the world.  A melodramatic statment? Yes, but the technology has come a long way from the blinking red LED of ancient VCRs (..uhm, for you youngsters, that's how we use to record televised programs 
in our day...on large casettes with a small reel of magnetic tape....ok, stop laughing now). Anyway, LEDs are still a little pricey, but every year they come down in price and newer better ones come along. Today they are pretty affordable, especially for this application. 


Door Lights
Kudos to the DMC designers of the past, that thought it would be practical (and no doubt cool) to add fore, aft, and side lights to the gull wing doors.  Back then they had no other practical choice but to use the lighting of the time, the little (wedge based) incandescent bulbs.  Those lights while they do draw low power, if the doors are left open long enough, will eventually drain your battery; additionally, they are not very bright during the day time.


LED your door lights
Replacing your incandescent door lightbulbs with LEDs, fits perfectly with the theme of this blog. There are three distinct advantages to making this mod:
1) Replacement LEDs for your door lights, draw considerably less power than incandescent.  Other owners have commented of leaving their doors open (thus door lights on) for a week, with no noticable battery drain.
2) These LEDs are brighter than their incandescent versions.  I have seen at car shows our cars with brightly lit door lights - in bright daylight. They were all running LED lights.
3) Properly made and used, LED lights can last a very long time. It will most likely be years before you'd have to replace one of these new LED lights.


Where do I get them?


DMCH
DMCH has a convenient one stop shop for a kit of 2 red and 4 yellow multi-led bulbs, for $14.95 (+ shipping/handling) 

LINK: http://www.delorean.com/store/p-10360-led-light-kit-doors-only.aspx


They are plug and play, take the old ones out, put these in.  I have seen these used the most, and all observations noted above have been the DMCH kits.


Superbrightleds.com
If you want to experiment with brighter (needed?) or different colors, you can buy your own at Superbrightleds.com. On this link: Link to LED Wedge Bulbs ,the first group of LEDs shown, are the "WLED Minature Wedge Base Bulbs"...these are they ones typically used.
On the second group of bulbs shown at that link, titled "WLED Minature Wedge Base bulbs with High Power SMD LEDs"m are some variants that are said to be even brighter than the LED bulbs of the first group.


Installation, with pictures:
So let's see what it takes to put them in. As this article started, the installation is really very quick. Again, it's so simple that I've only read it described, but since digital pictures are cheap, here is the installation, documented with pictures:


1. Starting point. No need to unplug the battery for this as long as you don't mess with the wiring, and it also greatly assists the installation at a later step.

2. You want to pull the boot that holds the bulb and the lens, out of the door. You can try with your fingers, but I find that a screwdriver as a twisting wedge (being careful not to poke through the boot) is a good start.  

3. Once you get an edge of the boot out, you can then pull out the rest with you fingers, out until it clears the door. You'll need to pull more than you may think you need to, and for goodness sakes don't pull on the wire behind it.

4. You now need to remove the lens from the boot, do this by pushing back on the front lip of the boot. Only one hand shown because the other was holding the camera. You may be able to take just the lens out without pulling to boot out, but I find this way easier and less likely to damage the lens or boot.

5. Lens comes out. If you'll notice I already had an LED bulb in there. My previous onwer had replaced these, and years back the bulb in there, which only has one LED on it was affordable enough, but not at all bright enough. Pull the bulb straight out.

6. Now plug your new bulb in. Note the socket position, and aligh the connector end of the LED bulb with it.  

7. If the LED bulb does not immediately light up, pull out the LED bulb and spin it 180 degree and reinsert. LED bulbs unlike incandescnet bulbs are polarity sensitive, in that they will only work in one orientation. (This is where leaving the battery connected helps out do allow you do this only once.)

8. Reverse the process by replacing the lens on the boot, and pushing the boot back into its cutout on the door.

9. You are done. ...once you do the other five. : )

Conclusion
You now have very bright, low power, very cool looking door lights on your car. If you're still running incandescent bulbs, seriously consider this simple and relatively inexpensive upgrade to your car.


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If you have a few minutes, be sure to check out the "Best of" postings. Thanks.

DeLoreans Sold on Ebay: 2010 Q1 Update

The 2010 Q1 Update of DeLorean DMC-12 sales on eBay is updated.  

The data of DMC-12s sold for the last 42 months, is summarized in a graph and table format. 
For the direct link click here.   

I hope you continue to find this information interesting. 
Thanks.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have a few minutes, be sure to check out the "Best of" postings. Thanks.

DeLoreans Sold on Ebay: 2009 Q4 (EOY) Update

The 2009 Q4 (EOY) Update of DeLorean DMC-12 sales on eBay is updated.  

The data of DMC-12s sold for the last 38 months, is summarized in a graph and table format. 
For the direct link click here.  

I hope you continue to find this information interesting. 
Thanks.

Gremlin Hunt / Fuel Pump Area Upkeep

This posting starts off with the picture above for several reasons.

• First, and most relevant to this site, is that the picture represents 2109 (on left) out for a reliable and spirited weekend morning ride, after being down for the previous 4 weekends, until a malfunction was corrected.
• Secondly, it is pictured next to my friend Mike in his DeLorean, which he recently got back on the road, and it is the first time both our cars were out for a drive together.
• Lastly, the picture was taken from my son’s (who was down for Thanksgiving) ’85 Supra, which is a cool car itself, and it represented the 3^rd car of that weekend’s impromptu 80’s car cruise.

The Gremlin Hunt

Back to the blog posting, 2109 was down for 4 weekends, as I chased down a gremlin which was causing the car to at first buck, then stall, while driving. The stalling was as if someone reached in and turned the key off, as the car would restart just fine after it would stall. It got progressively worse where it would happen after 30 minutes of driving. The issue felt like an electrical problem, so it was time to chase it.

My approach would be to start at the fuel pump, and finish at the engine bay, on all related components. I knew that working only on weekends this would limit me to driving her until it was fixed, but I also knew that this meant that certain older untouched (by me) systems would get addressed.

In the order of attack, I would investigate and repair if required:

• Fuel pump
• Fuel pump connector (previously identified as a “connector of interest”)
• Grounds for fuel pump.
• Fuel pump connections at washer bottle.
• Inertia switch & wiring
• Fuse box area
• Ballast connectors
• Ignition Coil
• Ballast resistor & wiring
• Distributor cap & rotor

As expected from a car that at this writing is 28 years old, at each step above, something suspect was found, and then was corrected. In this posting I will only cover a few of the items above, and discuss and show what upkeep was done to those areas, which you may wish to consider for your car as well.

Fuel Pump Area

Since the symptom was the engine just stopping, the fuel delivery system, specifically its wiring, became suspect of possibly cutting out power to the pump, thus causing the engine to starve for fuel.

I must confess at this time that when I first got 2109, and was looking at references for parts replacements, the subject of anything to do with fuel, and work on fuel related parts was intimidating to me because of the respect that I had for working with gasoline - in my home garage. The project below became my best medicine to cure me of all the intimidation. I suppose the trick, for me, and what I recommend, is to not rush work in this area, and to take proper preventative safety measures.

And those measure are: Be respectful of working in this area, you are dealing in a potentially high combustion area, do take the proper precautions such as taking the battery offline prior to commencing the work, and having no spark or flame producing items near this work area. Also protect your hands from contact with fuel, and work in a well ventilated area.

Starting Point, Fuel Pump Area

The picture above, was when I first opened the access door about 20 months ago. This was uncharted area for me, since then except for the tank nearly everything there has been replaced today.

Before this Gremlin hunt, I had previously:

• Replaced the original fuel sender for an updated one, then wound up putting the original back on (a story for another day)
• Changed the fuel boot cover (discussed below).
• Changed those orange fuel lines which were beginning to get brittle where they met the hard lines. This was producing a gasoline smell when the car was in the garage, so I took care of that promptly, and it did solve the fuel odor issue. For the replacement lines, I used new fuel hoses rated for high pressures.
• Covered the AC hoses nearby with some pipe insulation to prevent them from rubbing on the access panel.

By the way there are some excellent looking fuel hose replacements available from Martin G. at Delorean delorean.co.uk, for $105 shipped anywhere. They come new fittings pre-crimped, as well as with a stainless dome nut and copper washers, for the fuel pump. Here is a picture of them, more information at his site:

Fuel Boot Cap

I’d previously had the boot cap off the fuel pump area and when I did, I noticed that it was very soft and it felt like it was thin and could easily puncture it. Months earlier I had ordered from Don Stegar's DeLorean Motor Center in California, their replacement boot which sells for $29.75 and has gotten some positive remarks from other owners. This replacement boot feels noticeably thicker and sturdier that the one that came with my car, and as I understand that it is less susceptible to fuel rot due to the ethanol mixes we are all currently having to purchase.

106684, Upper Fuel Pump Boot
DeLorean Motor Center, CA.

Another interesting feature of this new boot cap, is the the fact that the hoses that come out of it are a very tight fit. It took a little silicone spray to be able to force and pull the fuel hoses through them ... which is a good thing because they remain very secure and water tight, as installed.

Fuel Pump

Since the symptom was the engine just stopping, the fuel pump became suspect of possibly cutting out. I searched 2109's maintenance records (available since 1981) and found that I was running an 8 year old pump, which as about 15,000 miles – the age and miles weren’t terribly bad, but I figured that a refresh here may not be a bad idea, worst case is that it did not fix the issue, but at least I would have a new pump and good spare.

The pump came out fine, looking in great condition for its age.

Fuel Pump Baffle, Screen, and Pickup Hose

After the pump was out, the baffle remained inside the tank and was very easy to remove.



Referencing the service manuals and online parts catalog, my baffle was missing one set of hold down wires, and the bottom circular part.

That bottom part is important, because in effect instead of the baffle forming a drain cup to collect returning gasoline, without the bottom it was more of an in-place open collar. I suppose under low fuel conditions, this would cause fuel starvation, and especially with low fuel at an incline. On this topic, Dave Swingle from DMC-MW stated on DMCTalk, most of the early VIN cars did not have the bottom of the baffle installed, as he has observed in servicing them. I suppose that it is possible that the part was not available for early production, and the factory decided to proceed builds without them. Contact your nearest DMC franchise for availability, should you also be missing one.

At this point, also check your pumps filter screen. at the bottom of the baffle, at the end of the hose. If it looks dirty, a replacement ("improved part") can be ordered through DMC (#101643, $18.95).

SpecialTAuto also has this part (#101643, $18.95) shown below. They also have a custom filter application that bolts immediately under the fuel pump, and eliminates the need for the pickup hose, but I chose to keep the stock functionality with the pickup hose attached to the pump.

The baffle system was reconstructed with the new bottom, and the existing hoses were re-used as they were in good condition. Evaluate your car's hose, you don't want this hose, which it has been known to, kink inside the tank. Also important note: I made the mistake of thinking I could buy regular fuel hose, but that is not recommended as this hose will be submerged in fuel and most parts store fuel hoses are not. Again, if you need ot replace, this is an available DMC part (#106286, $19.69 - not a NOS part).

The reconstructed baffle system is shown below. It does not go in as shown, the circular bottom drain part needs to be off to clear the the tank opening, and is then reattached inside the tank - trickier that it sounds, but very doable.

Fuel Pump re-Assembly

If you wish to replace your fuel pump, you have a surprising amount of choices for our cars. There are two options from two vendors.

DMC will sell you a NOS pump (#11085, $139.):

...or a newer "after market" pump (#11085A, $99)

SpecialTAuto has new Bosch fuel pumps ($134.95)



...and a new higher flowrate pump (#$89.95):

I like the fact that this one comes with those protective boots, for the electrical connections.

An unexpected surprise was how corroded the hard return line was. This is a uniquely bent tube that sticks out of the pump cover, sort of wraps around the pump, and is where the submersible fuel hose that feeds into the baffle cup, attaches to. Being a regular steel tube, mostly suspended under fluid for 28 years, I suppose it makes sense it would not look too fresh. Fortunately DMC (#105020, $24.95) and SpectialTAuto (#$44.95) both sell a stainless replacement, which are excellent “while you’re there” mini-refurbishments (SpecialTAuto's price also include a stainless fuel pump metal collar ring).

A few other things to check, or consider to upgrade in this assembly are the fuel pump boot, the lower part that goes inside the tank (DMC #101391, $54.50), the pump's wiring conector , as well fuel pump's fittings. In my case, I could not remove the fitting from my original pump (remember you'll need two copper crush washers), so I ordered a new one for the new pump. It's probably a good idea anyway leave the original fitting on, so in case an emergency spare is needed, it will already have it's fittings (and washers) pre-installed.

Below is the re-assembled fuel pump assembly, ready to drop back into the gas tank.

Putting it back in is a little tricky the first time and definitely requires some trial and error. The trick is to have it drop in the correct orientation, where:

• the return line inside the tank will not kink,
• where the fuel pump connectors are close to the mating harness connector,
• that the return line does not stick up too much,
• and that the supply and return lines are oriented just right so that their matching hoses line up correctly.

You'll figure it out what works best, just takes a little patience.

Fuel Pump Wiring

The last item to look at in this area is the harness connector to the fuel pump. This is a two wire plastic plug that on my car had exposed wiring just going into the crimped connector pins. Additionally the wiring just beyond the connector was brittle. I took the opportunity to correct all this by disconnecting both the fuel pump and fuel send connector, and pulling from underneath the car (easy to do, of course with the spare out). I did this so I could solder at a distance from the gas tank. I soldered a new set of wires directly to the pins, then spliced a good 18-20 inch section into the existing harness.

Conclusion...

The above work was done on spare weekend time, did it solve my engine stalling issues? No.

So this meant that a) as stated earlier all changes done represented good upkeep in this area, b) I know now that I have a good working spare pump (with fitting), and c) I would have to move on to other components. I am publishing above my component research, findings, and fixes, so that you have a reference to consider checking the fuel pump area as a future project, and/or as a preventative measure. This is by no means a comprehensive fuel system update to the car, to take it further it would have also replaced the accumulator (previously done), the external fuel filter, and the injectors (also previously done on 2109).

There were a lot of different parts mentioned here, mostly available from either DMC or SpecialTAuto. These of course can be bought as seperate parts, but check with both vendors as "kits" with many of the parts mentioned are offered by both vendors.

Picture of completed fuel pump job.

UPDATE 05/18/13
So, reviewing this posting I should note that (if you didn't know) there is a completely new Fuel Pump solution by DMCH.  It is a very modern fuel pump that integrates the fuel sender as well.  All information today points to a great new product.

Ordering information here: http://store.delorean.com/p-10569-fuel-pumpsender-module.aspx

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If you have a few minutes, be sure to check out the "Best of" postings. Thanks.

"Best of" Postings

Below are some of the most popular postings here, categorized for reference.
Hope you find them useful.

Modernizing or Upgrading the DeLorean’s...
Converting your DeLorean to (nearly) 100% LED illumination.

Dome Light Timer (for LEDs & Incandescent)
Engine bay light, with LEDs

Smooth shifting on a 30+ year old car.

Digital Clock - The search and alternative solution to a modern replacement
Digital Clock - A new, modern, near OEM alternative

Radio - Modern alternatives


Exhaust and Ignition System
RPM Relay

Spare tire
Rear Suspension


DeLorean Maintenance on:
Burping the Cooling System
Sticky power window switch fix
Speedometer Cable

Engine Bay (detailing)


Considering a DeLorean?
Low or High Mile DeLorean
A DeLorean as a daily driver?
Purchasing Tips
History of DeLoreans sold on eBay

DeLoreans Sold on Ebay: 2009 Q3 Update

The 2009 Q3 Update of DeLorean DMC-12 sales on eBay is updated.

The data of DMC-12s sold for the last 35 months, is summarized in a graph and table format.

For the direct link click here.

I hope you continue to find this information interesting.
Thanks.