Jamcleat

The Flower Flyer started as a re-build.  My wife had found a rusted coaster wagon in someone’s trash and dragged it home.  I built a body for it and painted it green.  Phillip made a stencil and painted Flower Flyer on the sides.  It was a pretty thing.

But the outdoor storage was hard on it and it developed dry rot.  Time for a new body.  I was sure that I had a picture of it but cannot find it.  After I took it apart, I took a picture of the body as it was.

Flower Flyer body

Many years ago, my late mother gave me a birthday present Sphere of Falling.  Over the years I have never failed to smile whenever I see it.  Sphere of Falling is a hollow clay sphere.  It must have been very difficult to make. It is very round.  The small base of the sphere is flat and it stays in balance on its own if left undisturbed.  But if bumped, it will roll.  At some point I got concerned and made a base for Sphere of Falling.  There is a post in the middle of the base that keeps the sphere from tipping or rolling.

A few weeks ago, one of Mr. Sphere of Fallings feet got bumped and broke off.  A spot of glue put him right and he is again back where he lives

Sphere of Falling was created by Meg Scott.  Now she teaches Laughter Yoga .

Icemaker quit. Icemaker broken. Icemaker does not work again. Icemaker motor stalls. This time the fix is simple. Warm up the ice until it dumps one more time. Back off the cube size (on my icemaker, 1/4 turn CCW). Test.

Perhaps more involved for this fix as the freezer was full. I have sometimes been able to get the ice to come out by pouring hot water to melt the previous cycle or using a hair-dryer to warm it up enough that it comes out. This time I removed the bottom screw that attaches the unit to the freezer wall and loosened the two top hanger screws. Unplugged the connector (squeeze the tabs and work loose), removed the icemaker unit until is was thawed. Made the adjustment (1/4 turn CCW) and replaced. Works good.

My Check Engine light has been on for some time.  I read it out with the scanner and it says “EGR #1 Error”  or perhaps #2 or #3.  I took the EGR valve off and it may be OK or it may be bad.  I replaced it a year ago but that did not fix the EGR indication.  I cleaned out the port underneath where the exhaust would go to the manifold. I put it all back together and it seemed to be OK. But the light comes on again after not too long.  I guess I will have to keep messing with it.

Several weeks ago I drove to work in a heavy rain. On the way, I went too fast through a deep puddle. I stayed on the road and nothing seemed out of whack with the car. But when I started the engine that evening, there was definitely something amiss. A loud rattling sound came from underneath. There were no warning lights and nothing else seemed wrong, so I drove home. After the engine was warm, the noise stopped.

That is until, I reached the driveway. Going over the bump at the end of the drive caused the noise to return. Once parked, I looked underneath. I saw nothing obvious. I checked again later after the car had had time to cool. I shook the catalytic converter and the tail pipe. It was clearly making contact with the heat shield. But I could not tell where.

This last weekend, I borrowed a pair of the small ramps and got a good look underneath. Where the exhaust pipe made a bend in front of the rear axle, the heat shield was bent just enough to contact it when it was cold. Some light finger pressure and a shake to check the clearance was all that it took to straighten the heat shield. No more noise.

The previous post talks about the problem with the ice maker. This is about the fix.
Basic ice maker theory. 1. Put water in a container. 2. Put it in a cold place and 3. wait until it freezes. 4. Warm the container until the ice is loose enough to come out. Repeat.
Automatic ice maker theory. Actually begins with step 3 since this is where you will find the automatic ice maker most of the time. There is a thermal switch that detects when the container (and the ice inside) is at a frozen temperature. When this happens, the switch closes and the motor rotates the paddles. A switch turns a heater to warm the ice mold to loosen the ice. The paddles push against the ice.. The motor will push the paddles against the ice until the ice releases. When the ice releases, the paddles continue around and push the ice into the catcher. At some point the heater turns off and the water is turned on to refill the mold. There is a small slotted adjuster on the side of the unit that sets the amount of water and hence the size of the ice chunks.
My unit was somehow jammed. I poured about 1/8 cup (.03 liter) of water to get the cubes loose. The paddles rotated and the cubes came out. It refilled normally. The water going in made a noise like the mold might have been really hot. The ice made in about 20 minutes and came out normally. I reduced the cube size slightly (clockwise 1/16 turn of the slot with my thumbnail) to reduce the force required to push out the cubes.
It is still working a week later.

About a year ago, the ice maker in the fridge died. Since my brother and his family were on the way from where-ever to visit and spend the night, ice was vital. I went to the part store and got a new ice maker and put it in.
Recently when the ice maker started making no ice and an annoying clicking noise in midweek, no panic but genuine annoyance. There is good new and bad news. I can look at it on the weekend but the parts store is open week days. I unplugged the plug and my wife put the ice tray in the freezer.
On the weekend, I had time to look. The ice maker has a white cover on the end. It has some catches on the side away from you that you understand once you have it off. Slip a flat-blade screwdriver under middle of the lower edge and work it in a bit until you release the catches. Gently but firmly. The plastic cover comes off and reveals the motor unit. The shaft of the motor (on the side away from you) turns a shaft with a set of paddles on it. There is a metal mold to form the semi-circular-segment prism ice “cubes”. There is also a heating element and a thermal sensor. The underside of the cover has the a sticker with some clues to as to how it works.
The next post will discuss the fix.