One step up and two steps back.. again..

[dgcantrell]

Yep.. At least it's an easy fix though. I've been cleaning the coolant system from the results of an oil cooler issue leak on the 88 S I've been working on for a while. Flushed it several times with Simple Green and a water hose with the heater pipe disconnected to run water forward and backward through the system. I've let it sit empty for a couple of weeks. I filled it with fresh coolant (50/50, distilled water) and let it sit another couple of days. I go to fire it last night and the it turns over a few times kind of slow. Damned battery.... I pull the known good battery from my DD 944 and the same thing... Well, hell.

A while back I'd removed the starter to install the flywheel lock and ended up busting the solenoid all to pieces getting the main power cable disconnected. Fortunately I had a spare starter in the recent project and slapped it on. I'd used it to fire the engine a few times a couple of months ago when I encountered the leaking front seal. I had fixed that and was running straight water in the engine on subsequent firings to clean out the coolant system. I had also gotten a new solenoid for the original starter and had soda blasted it and painted it with epoxy paint to use on future projects. Well, I had to drag it back out and put it back on the car.

She fired right up. Still have a lifter that ticks if the car has not been fired in a few weeks but it quietens down after a couple of minutes. I let her run for a few minutes and see the coolant drop in the reservoir so I top it off and cap it. Bleed it off. Let it run for another 20 minutes to get good and warm. Heater is blowing hot temp gauge is running right at the lower mark. All is good.

I decide to pull it into the garage to start doing some interior work and to put the power steering pump back on, prepping it for the road in the next few weeks. I turn it off. Fans are still running as normal so I go in the house for a bite to eat. I come back out another 30 minutes later......... and the damned fans are STILL running.. I promptly disconnect the battery...

Recalling the Clarks Garage trouble shooting, I disconnect the fan switch from the back of the radiator. The fans don't come back on when I connect the battery back up. Looks like I need another fan switch. I just had put on in the DD a couple of months ago. Sheesh.... This thing is not wanting to cooperate sometimes.

On a sidenote, the LED bulbs and method I used to fix the factory reflectors in the instrument panel worked like a charm. I'll be putting together a small article with pics and post it soon.