20240716 There are Two Lights!

The first time I noticed my left headlamp was not lamping was sometime in the last week of June. Ever since we moved to our own house, we had to get up very early in the morning to beat the traffic. And so, you guess it, driving in the dark was a little too dangerous what with other drivers did not have their morning coffee yet.

My spare lamp did not light up either and so, I began to suspect the wiring, which has hardened due to years (or shall I say, a decade) of being exposed to the element and engine heat. Just least year, because of a degrading rubber seal on the windscreen (which I found out was a common problem with this Myvi model), every time it rained, my dashboard lights has an extra disco mode. Trouble-shooting this area might solve a year long issue but it would mean going to the passenger side, especially the fuse box. And I'm too tired after coming home in the evening.

After discussing with the Techs at work, I started to look into the car's fuse box in the engine bay...

This is the view of the whole headlamp assembly as seen from the rear. The plug grips onto the bulb's metal connectors. Pull that away and also the rubber ICHIKO cover. Then slowly un-clip the metal springs to release the bulb. And yeah, the three wires here are hardened.

It took me quite some time to realise that the 'HEAD' is the headlamp relay and not the smaller 10A ones above it.

So I decided to order a replacement which came after 24 hours.

The replacement in the one on the LEFT but just like the review on the Shop, although it is brand new (The plastic package was not opened nor tampered with), it does have some scratches.

Finally! After putting it on, the right headlamp is still not lighting up.

So, I replaced the existing lamp with my spare which I've been keeping for years. I rarely used the headlamps, even when I was working further away years ago.

The older bulb had some suspect contacts. The backup bulb looks good. But alas, the right headlamp is still not lighting up. Looking closer, I realised its contacts was bent but yeah, it was still not lighting up.

As a last resort, I got this RM7.90 bulb from Mr. DIY. It proved that the earlier two bulbs were fit to be thrown away.

And the next day, coming back from work, I noticed the left headlight was not lighting up as well. I decided to get a new set with 130% more broghtness.

It's been after a few days and both light are working, with the left lamp slightly brighter. If either one keeps blowing after each replacement, it could be the alternator...

20230904 Running out of blinker fluid

It happened today, one of VeeChai's left indicator lights was not... indicating anymore. I am very thankful with today's cars as they do have some kind of signal or lights to tell you that something has gone wrong. Decades ago, the signals could be in the form of acrid smoke (electrical shorts), sudden stop on the road (broken timing belts or out of gas), complete darkness at night (burnt headlights or broken switch), and even the oft squeaks (I have no idea). 

These form of warning has now carried over to newer cars in the forms of non-intrusive indicators. For example, when there is an issue with the tyre, there will  be an indicator to tell you the, "Guess which tyre is flat' game has started.

And so, I had a kind of signal today when I wanted to turn left. The indicator light for the indicator indicated that it is no indicating. In other words, I need to top up the blinker fluid. By coincidence, there was a vacant spot near to a car repair/service shop. Thinking this was a sign, I happily went in to get some blinker fluid and came out RM18.00 poorer.

I mean, come on. Last month, the front right bulb went out and it only costs me RM10.00. "Aha, but these are from Japan. So they costs more.", she said. I am not that happy with her reply but I still bought it since I was that stupid. I mean, I expected half a litre of blinker fluids or something but no, these now comes in glass cartridges and I can't even see any fluid inside them anymore.

Another thing about these lights is that do not work all the time. In fact, they only work half of the time. You know, "it's working", "it's not working", "it's working" and so on.

The Japanese bulb (left) has wordings saying it is from Japan while on the right, it is darker because it is burnt.

20220913 Getting hot

After making sure my kids are delivered safely into the arms of their scholastic tormentors, it was time to go home. On the way back, while climbing the Mid Valley slope (the one where you exit off the Federal Highway right after the Petron gas station), I could hear my pistons pinging.

Usually when I start to approach the slope, I would use the car's momentum to let it go up about halfway before I step on the gas. As there was a car in front of me, I had to cancel the momentum and use the gas instead. And right there and then, I heard the sound. It only comes on if I just tap on the gas though. So I was wondering what is happening, thinking it could be the drive belt of something (OK, so the MyVi uses timing chains) and then I saw it with my own eyes...

 

The Engine is overheating!!!

And what made matters worse was that there is a slow moving lorry in front of us, watering the plants on the sides of the road. Keeping cool was all I could do since I noticed there was smoke coming out from under the hood. Finally, after an eternity, I got my car parked at the side of the road. Remembering that there was a Newsagent booth nearby, I two bottles of drinking water (3.0L in total)

The first thing you need to realise is that you cannot just open the radiator cap and pour in the (not hot) water. You need to wait or else, you will have more serious issue. After about a few minutes, I took the chance...

Slowly pouring in, hot radiator consumed about 1.25L of water while the reservoir took the rest.

There must be a lot of air bubbles as the water keep being burped out.

I know that the radiator was changed years ago after an accident and so, I guess it was time. Luckily, it was not the Radiator Fan nor its relay or even the temperature sensor. I had the water pump changed and also, I changed the thermostat myself last year. After thinking much about it, there was actually a warning sign which I could not recognise.

Days before and on that very morning, the car's air conditioner was blowing warm air. It distracted me as I kept wondering if there is any AC gas leak while not looking at the car's water temperature. And so, until I get this repaired, I had to pour in about 0.75L of water everyday.

 

Update: 20220919
I finally got the Mechanic (Mr. Sam from SK Chang Auto Service) to diagnose the issue which turned out to be the cracked radiator. The final price was  the same a pair of of new tyres (they're so bald, I can practically see the steel threads) which I planned to change. Because I am no longer required to commute 92Km daily, the radiator is now more important.

The Old radiator

I did not stop to check on the cracks but it is definitely near the hose.

This is from Mr. Sam's Phone which showed the damage.
He updates me on every progress. He told me he could not find any replacement sponge though. I might need to find it myself.

Yeah, that's two bottles of red coolant. I wanted to ask him to use the Toyota Long Life but since I did not see it in his shop, I just agreed.

Got a new radiator car thrown in since the old one's rubber has expanded

Maybe I should be looking into upgrading a larger radiator fan...
Not that it is necessary but sometime, the AC is quite warm and the water temperature needle is now halfway (sensor old?) instead of in the first quarter.

 

Something new for my VeeChai?

To be honest, my spare Alarm fob is lost and I am not so used to those Push to Start buttons, I am wondering why VeeChai cannot have one?

Actually, I just wanted to know, it its ECU is capable of interfacing with those OBD2 meters. So far, there is no answer unless I go to those Car Accessories shops or Perodua mechanics.