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a new check engine code
Monday, July 24 2017
This morning I drove the Subaru over to the brick mansion to deal with a mouse infestation in #2. On the way, the goddamn check engine light came on yet again (having been off for about 70 miles). But when I pulled the codes, I had one I'd never seen before: P0139. That's an error for slow response to changing oxygen levels, which is what one would expect for a large capacitor in the hardware hack designed to doctor the oxygen sensor's signal. I'd used a ridiculously-big 2200 microfarad capacitor in my circuit, so perhaps all I had to do was select a smaller capacitor.
At the brick mansion, I went around the apartment spraying foam into any gaps the tenant had found. I also found one of my own that was so big I needed to shape a board to fit over the gap before spray-foaming it into place. I also further investigate the absence of grounded outlet issue. After much testing, I found none of the outlets were grounded saved for that one in the bedroom. But even that outlet had been miswired; the hot and neutral had been reversed on the plug. What kind of person is successful at installing an outlet without having the basic competence to get that right?
In amongst the things I did during my remote-workplace workday, I continued work installing the fancy dual ceiling fan in the teevee room (it's a Dagny Atlas produced by Matthews Fan Company). Given that the teevee room is one of the major places Gretchen spends her time (and also one where I spend roughly seven or eight hours a week), that fan is important, if only in the summertime. We'd had a cheap one there since late 2002, but this new one promised to be better in every respect. When I finally had it hanging and hooked up, I turned it on to see how it behaved. The two fans, in addition to turning, were supposed to be orbiting around the central axis defined by the rod the whole complex hung on. (This action must be driven as a side effect of the ærodynamics, since there is no motor to make this happen.) But unfortunately, that orbiting wasn't happening. Then it turned out that the cages couldn't be bolted on around the fan blades in a way that kept the blades from hitting the cages. Finally, one of the welds on one of the cages had never happened; the component steel wires hadn't gotten close enough together. The fan had cost over $300, and as such was something of a boutique item. Could it be that expensive devices that are only produced in small runs are inherently at greater risk for problems, just because things that are delivered in larger batches aren't generally released until all the bugs are worked out first? I don't have a lot of experience with small-batch expensive versions of everyday consumer goods, although I've heard this is a real problem with expensive luxury sports cars, particularly Jaguars.
Gretchen was out at the Garden Café with Gilly tonight when Ray and Nancy invited me over to watch the second episode of this season's Game of Thrones. I was just getting ready to go when I heard Ramona outside barking in the way that she does when she's treed a bear. Sure enough, she and Neville were only about 200 feet to the west, across the Farm Road, beneath a white pine. About 50 feet up in that tree was a black bear. I followed the bear protocol, saying nothing and simply walking up and leashing Ramona, and then dragging (and even carrying) her home. I then went back for Neville. Taking them over to Ray & Nancy's for Game of Thrones gave the bear a good two hours to escape.
Ray had made garlic pasta with fresh peas and broccoli, and though it was great, I only ate a little because I'd had food not too long before. Watching Game of Thrones was complicated by the aggressive play Ramona and Jack kept engaging in right there in the living room in front of the television. I'd call Ramona over to try to get it to stop, and she'd lick me in the face mirthfully and then go back to playing with Jack. Mercifully, at some point they took their play into the dining room.
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http://asecular.com/blog.php?170724 feedback
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