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My 1989 Crown Victoria.

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    some RTC have the battery built in... but if it's set up for a specific series of RTC that doesn't have an internal battery, then yeah... cr2032 for the win.

    Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
    rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)
    Originally posted by gadget73
    ... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.
    Originally posted by dmccaig
    Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.

    Comment


      Update

      I figured I would post an update to this thread.

      Back in December my passenger's side upper ball joint failed awesomely. I was able to repair it at my work's parking lot thankfully.

      Link to thread with pics: http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthre...k-a-crap-on-me

      Also, I never posted a pic of the low fuel light in action. Here's what it looks like when the modified low fuel light comes on in the 140mph speedometer:
      Click image for larger version

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      I've been very happy with the results!

      '78 LTD | '87 Grand Marquis | '89 Crown Vic (RIP) | '91 Grand Marquis (RIP) | '94 Town Car (RIP) | '97 Town Car (RIP)

      Comment


        Is it possible for you to make a little clock and date LCD screen that's able to be set with buttons on it M/D/YR and Time of Day? I'd want it to be the size and length to fit where the gear indicator sits. Fill the little rectangle hole that's there. Seeing as I won't have the gear indicator anymore.
        __________________________________________________


        1985.03 Crown Vic. Coupe "CVGT" Build thread - china whirlybird, burnout machine.
        The only 6 speed box on a late model frame.

        Originally posted by SVT98t
        It has air ride. I've disabled it since I've been jacking it up and down.

        That is how you're supposed to jack it.

        Up and down.

        -ryan s.

        Comment


          Possible? Yes. Fabrication required? Yes. Remote mounted controls required too.

          Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
          rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)
          Originally posted by gadget73
          ... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.
          Originally posted by dmccaig
          Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.

          Comment


            Yep. Exactly what Sly said. Definitely possible, just requires work.

            '78 LTD | '87 Grand Marquis | '89 Crown Vic (RIP) | '91 Grand Marquis (RIP) | '94 Town Car (RIP) | '97 Town Car (RIP)

            Comment


              I haven't really been driving the CV lately because of all the ice and salt on the roads. That said, my battery has died on me 5 times even though it's only about a month old.

              I brought it down to AutoZone after trickle charging it in my kitchen because it was dead again. They hooked it up to the battery meter and go "It's a good battery, we can't swap it out unless the tester says the battery is bad".

              I tell them that it's died on me five times, I've charged it and it still doesn't hold a charge and that I put my multimeter up to it and watched the voltage slowly drop just sitting outside of the car. Still nothing.

              He says "The best I can do is give it a full charge on the machine in the back but it will take about 45 minutes." I let him know I already did this at home with mine and he informs me that nothing I have at home could do what theirs does... (I have the Sears Die Hard battery charger/jumper that plugs into the wall.. I've used it for years without ever having a problem with it... but whatever) I drove there but figured what the heck. So he hooks it up to the machine and I go for a nice cold walk down to the bay waiting for this dud of a battery to attempt to charge.

              I get back after 50 minutes (the walk to the water was further than I thought) and as soon as I walk in he goes "Yep. Battery is a dud. Has bad cells." and then proceeds to get me a replacement.

              I pop the new battery into my car in the parking lot and away I go.

              I mean, I did enjoy the walk. It was pretty nice out today even though it was cold but I feel like having to go through all that was sort of unnecessary...

              '78 LTD | '87 Grand Marquis | '89 Crown Vic (RIP) | '91 Grand Marquis (RIP) | '94 Town Car (RIP) | '97 Town Car (RIP)

              Comment


                yeah... they fail to make sure the load testing actually works. some testers don't really load test batteries any more. It's annoying as hell.

                Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
                rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)
                Originally posted by gadget73
                ... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.
                Originally posted by dmccaig
                Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.

                Comment


                  What brand was the battery?

                  2000 Grand Marquis LS HPP, a hand-me-down in 2008 with 128,000 km; 175,000 km as of July 2014
                  mods: air filter box 'tuba', headlight relay harness, J-mod (around 186,350 km), 70mm throttle body, KYB Gas-A-Just shocks, aluminum driveshaft, ARA3 PCM

                  Comment


                    You may have a parasitic drain I would check for that before declareing the battery no good.

                    Comment


                      Originally posted by IPreferDIY View Post
                      What brand was the battery?
                      It was the Duralast Gold 65-DLG battery. 850 CCA. I should have read the reviews before I bought it. They're littered with people having the same exact problem that I had.

                      Link: http://www.autozone.com/batteries-st...3433_401309_0/

                      Originally posted by Rodentkiller View Post
                      You may have a parasitic drain I would check for that before declareing the battery no good.
                      No drain that I know of. Last battery was very old. It was a Deka battery from AutoBarn before they went out of business. I know I had it in my '91 GMQ when I owned it and I bought that car 6+ years ago. I think I had the battery in another car before that.

                      New battery died in less than a month. Replacement has been just fine ever since. If you click the link above, it looks like this is a common problem with this battery. I wish I read the reviews first, now I'm stuck replacing this one until the warranty runs out if it decides to kick the bucket again.
                      Last edited by slack; 02-23-2015, 01:37 PM.

                      '78 LTD | '87 Grand Marquis | '89 Crown Vic (RIP) | '91 Grand Marquis (RIP) | '94 Town Car (RIP) | '97 Town Car (RIP)

                      Comment


                        Cigarette Lighter Relay Mod

                        I was getting tired of having to unplug my dash cam every time that I turned the car off because the front cigarette lighter has power to it even when the car is off. I added a second concealed outlet inside the dash to be used for my dash cam and modified the wiring so I still had use of the original plug for GPS or what ever is needed. (Link to post about that mod)

                        I had extra relays from when I picked them up for the headlight relay mod (still on the to-do list) so I figured I would modify the wiring for the cigarette lighter further with a relay so that it only gets power when the key is in the "on" position. This way, I don't have to worry about leaving stuff plugged into the cigarette lighters when the car is off.

                        The relay I used is a 30/40Amp bocsh style. I made wires that run from the existing quick connectors I put in to the relay. Key on power for the switch comes from the line run to the to gauges. (The "eye" connectors). Power for the cigarette lighters comes from the existing power wire. Once the relay gets flipped, the lighters get power.

                        Here's a pic of the wiring and the relay. This is before I used a lighter to make the heat shrink tubing on the ends all pretty:
                        Click image for larger version

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                        Here's a quick MS Paint wiring diagram for it. I probably should have switch the ground instead of the positive to keep shorting down the line past the relay less likely but the fuse should catch that anyway.
                        Click image for larger version

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                        '78 LTD | '87 Grand Marquis | '89 Crown Vic (RIP) | '91 Grand Marquis (RIP) | '94 Town Car (RIP) | '97 Town Car (RIP)

                        Comment


                          Lighters should be on a relay circuit, or at least there should be a relayed power socket available. I realize that wasn't such a thing when this car was made but with all the crap we have now its damn useful. I know I've run batteries dead by forgetting to unplug stuff more than once.
                          86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
                          5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

                          91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

                          1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

                          Originally posted by phayzer5
                          I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

                          Comment


                            Is the hood ornament alarm up and operational. I always wanted to see that functioning.
                            ~David~

                            My 1987 Crown Victoria Coupe: The Brown Blob
                            My 2004 Mercedes Benz E320:The Benz

                            Originally posted by ootdega
                            My life is a long series of "nevermind" and "I guess not."

                            Originally posted by DerekTheGreat
                            But, that's just coming from me, this site's biggest pessimist. Best of luck

                            Originally posted by gadget73
                            my car starts and it has AC. Yours doesn't start and it has no AC. Seems obvious to me.




                            Comment


                              Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
                              Lighters should be on a relay circuit, or at least there should be a relayed power socket available. I realize that wasn't such a thing when this car was made but with all the crap we have now its damn useful. I know I've run batteries dead by forgetting to unplug stuff more than once.
                              Agreed. Back when there was nothing else to plug into a cigarette lighter besides the lighter it wasn't really necessary but now with everything having a power plug it's definitely a handy thing to have!

                              Originally posted by 87gtVIC View Post
                              Is the hood ornament alarm up and operational. I always wanted to see that functioning.
                              The alarm is done and operational, it just needs to be installed. I haven't had a chance to install it now that it's gotten so cold. I also ran into another roadblock I didn't think of when we were making it. I need to figure out a way to supplying power to this thing that won't drain the battery. I know it only takes a few hundred milliamps of current to run but that would still cause a (be it small) parasitic drain on the battery. I started thinking of maybe having it's own Li-ion battery to run it but then that starts getting things complicated. (Also not too sure how much a Li-ion battery would like the dead cold of winter)

                              Edit: Just checked wikipedia... Li-ion is not the way to go.
                              Originally posted by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion_battery#Charging_at_high_and_low_temperatures
                              Consumer-grade lithium-ion batteries should not be charged at temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F). Although a battery pack may appear to be charging normally, electroplating of metallic lithium can occur at the negative electrode during a subfreezing charge, and may not be removable even by repeated cycling. Most devices equipped with Li-ion batteries do not allow charging outside of 0-45 °C for safety reasons, except for mobile phones that may allow some degree of charging when they detect an emergency call in progress
                              Also my friend says we should do a rev 2 of the board and cut the size in half before going forward. I like the idea, but I'm not sure it's necessary for a trial run. I'll probably hook the thing up some March to see how it works. Plus, it would be nice to have a hood ornament again.
                              Last edited by slack; 02-24-2015, 03:52 PM.

                              '78 LTD | '87 Grand Marquis | '89 Crown Vic (RIP) | '91 Grand Marquis (RIP) | '94 Town Car (RIP) | '97 Town Car (RIP)

                              Comment


                                No real updates to add. I've been pretty lazy lately and the weather is just starting to get nice.

                                Took the car to PA to my sister's house. We then drove their car down to South Carolina for my cousin's wedding. My old CV handled the trip back and forth to PA without a hitch. (~3 1/2 hours each way.. better than the almost 5hrs to my moms)

                                Went to investigate the leaking the other week and noticed it was coming from the power steering return hose. I tightened the clamp up on it as far as it's going to go and it's still leaking. I'm not really sure what to do with it at this point...

                                '78 LTD | '87 Grand Marquis | '89 Crown Vic (RIP) | '91 Grand Marquis (RIP) | '94 Town Car (RIP) | '97 Town Car (RIP)

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