relay
Final Project – Walkthrough
After two semesters, I can finally present my complete, ~fully functional, Final Project.
A good project is never finished, and I do indeed have other features and fixes I would like to implement in the future.
Check out the video below to see it in action!
How To: Fix 1997 Honda Accord DRL Relay
A common problem with the Daytime Running Light (DRL) module in many 90’s Honda vehicles is cold solder joints at the relays in the control module. These develop over time, and cause sometimes intermittent issues with running lights. I encountered this problem, which would usually present itself on mornings with lots of dew, and would fix itself sometime during my commute to work. Rather than pay a mechanic to repair or replace the module, you can do it yourself with some basic tools.
A Google search will reveal many forums and sites with instructions to fix this problem: here are the two links which I consulted prior to performing these repairs.
http://www.nyx.net/~smanley/hondadrlfix/index.html
http://www.hondaaccordforum.com/forum/general-tech-help-7/drl-fix-3719/
Video blog – Cana-kit Clapper
Last night, I built one of the two kits I received for Christmas!
DIY: UPS
March break has found me a project! Here is a little background. My friend’s dad gave me an old Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) he had at home, but that the battery was no good. I have plenty of batteries, so this was a non-issue. The UPS was a godsend because that same day I had gone shopping for one, but not found one suitable for the server.
When I took this used UPS home, and hooked up all the batteries in my arsenal, I discovered that it was too weak to power the server for more than 2 seconds. Bummer. Even for power flickers that was not suitable, as there is a 5 second delay after the power returns before it switches back to mains power. What to do, what to do…
Oh, I know. Make my own!
Update: My testing proceedures blocked me from finding one critical fault with the design. As you will notice, I am using a resistor in order to short the capacitor from the AC-DC adapter, in order to more quickly de-energize the relays. Unfortunately, it still isn’t fast enough. My testing involved simply unplugging the adapter, and checking for any flickering in the devices. However, this testing does not remove mains power. Thus, the slight lag time for switch over does not affect the device, as it is has power on both relay positions. However, in a real situation, the power fails, both on input power and the adapter, and I’ve tested that my switch over time in this case is too great for most devices.
Fix to come…
Home Device Repair
Hello again, it has been a little bit. College has picked up, and as I am moving in a little over a week, most of my projects have been packed. However, I’ve worked on a few things in the past little while.
Remember my half-repaired LCD monitor? Well recently I obtained yet another defective LCD monitor. Symptoms: no power, no lights, no noise. I may or may not post photos about this one, because I did all repairs without taking photos, and it was a pain to take it apart, and I wish not to do so again, hehe. Basically, the cause was 4 blown caps in on the circuit board, which I’ve replaced and it now functions fully, aside from a little squealing when in stand-by or turned off (I believe due to a capacitor that started blowing but that I measured to be within proper values.)
A few months ago, however, I did document a repair project I undertook. I have two home theatre amps at home that I’ve had problems with. At one point, both had stopped functioning properly. So, naturally, I decided to set to fixing them.