Wrenching – Modern Anachronist

Adding brakes to the utility trailer- hardware (days 2&3)

Because you know I can’t do a project without things going sideways.

I decided to dry fit my wheels on the hubs before hanging the hubs on the trailer and……

One of these things is not like the others.

…..erupted in a cloud of profanity so robust that Old Man Parker* would have been impressed.

Adding brakes to the trailer – hardware (day 1)

It turns out my trailer has been non-compliant with NJ law for the entire time I’ve owned it. Trailers over 3,000 GVWR must have brakes & a breakaway system. My 3,500 pound trailer had neither when I bought it. So, let’s get to work.

Adding Brakes to the Utility Trailer – Electrical (Day 3)

In which your narrator is flummoxed by a bit of electronics.

So, I’m a firm believer in “Trust but Verify”, so I wanted to be sure that I knew which wires in the trailer wire were carrying which signals to the junction box*. Because I can’t be both in the drivers seat of the Honda and sitting at the trailer tongue with a multimeter, I enlisted the help of the youngest offspring.

He loved sitting in the drivers seat, stepping on pedals, flipping levers and things were going pretty well.

I was able to confirm my ground, hot, turn signals & marker lights. That left two terminals unaccounted for and no trigger voltage for the trailer brakes. No matter how hard he stepped on the pedal or pressed the override button, I wasn’t getting voltage on either post, but I was starting to get pretty hot under the collar.

Time to pull the dashboard apart again and make sure that everything was working correctly. There’s only four wires between the controller and the Honda, so it shouldn’t be too hard to sort.

Adding brakes to the Utility Trailer – electrical (day 2)

Good day, and welcome to day 2.

First step – get the junction box hung so I can complete my day 1 tasks.

New trailer wire

Adding brakes to the utility trailer this spring. I’m going to post little bits as I go, instead of one big post.

I’m moving from a four-wire cable to a seven wire cable to support the brakes & break away safety system. I’m also adding a seven pole junction box.

Garage Door Openers (pt.2 – the physical install)

I (mostly) installed both garage door openers (GDO) in a single day.

Garage door openers (pt.1)

We’re getting to the point where buying a house from a flipper is catching up to us. (It didn’t help that the flipper got the house from an addict.)

It’s time to start replacing things that have been neglected for years.

Up next, the garage door openers. (I’m pretty sure the water heater is next. Good times.)

First scratch!!!

Luckily it’s on the center display screen.

Honda was kind enough to include a “microfiber” cloth to clean the screen. One day, about a week into ownership, I was cleaning fingerprints with the official cleaning cloth & it dug into the screen & scratched it.

🤬😡🤬😡😡🤬😡🤬😡

Be prepared

As an Eagle Scout, I still try to prepare for any contingency. One of the common roadside emergencies is a flat tire.

For the past 35 years of driving, I’ve carried a traditional four way tire wrench to remove & install tires – but the Ridgeline doesn’t have a good place to store it!🤬

The good folks at The Ridgeline Owners Club have given me some sound advice.

The Death of Fessick

A sad day indeed, but one that I’ve known was coming for a long time. Today, I said goodbye to Fessick.

When the running board broke under my weight. Removing the running boards made it painfully obvious that the rocker panels were totally rusted out.

When the Neutral Safety Switch started getting wonky. To start the car, I need to switch between Park & Neutral until the switch completes the starter circuit.

When the parking pawls stopped engaging reliably. If I’m parking on a grade I have to go in and out of Park until the transmission manages to hold the car in place. Now the parking pawls seem to have failed completely, I’m parked against a pair of wheel chocks.

When the front hubs started whining. Actually, I’m not sure if it’s the hubs or the brakes, but there’s a definite whine from the front end.

Realistically, I could have fixed any of these issues, but when you stack them all together, it just doesn’t make sense.

The Excursion really doesn’t fit into my lifestyle. I live between NYC and Philly, this truck isn’t a good city vehicle.

I don’t do any heavy towing. I don’t cart around seven passengers.

In the six years I’ve owned this truck, only once have I used a feature of this truck that is unique to it. When I built the tiny shed, Fessick lived in the backyard with all my tools and materials.

And now the search begins… {note – the search actually began several months ago.}