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The local Honda dealer annoyed me in more ways than I thought possible. The next nearest place to get OEM parts the same day is 40+ miles away. So I bought a Toyota. The dealer's OK but, like Samsung, Toyota thinks they know what I want things to do and how they should act, and they're wrong...

OK, we seem to have lots of motorheads here. Those of you thus inclined, Google "Frankenferrari." You're welcome.

I forgot about Saabs. They lasted *forever*, even in the 80's. The first time I saw a Saab clutch I fell in love. Conversely, the first time I saw the access panel for an XKE starter I was taken completely aback. Thank goodness I never had to do one of those! I didn't work on many French...

Its called a "ballast" resistor because it adds weight to the car.

Datsun, too. Possibly Toyota as well. Been a long, long time. I had a Chrysler car at one point (possibly a Volare). It wouldn't hold a front end alignment for more than 8K miles. I carried two spare ballast resistors because one wasn't enough. It ate them with dismaying frequency. A coil...

Gee, I always thought ballast resistors were there to assure a good spark with a weak battery when cranking while keeping the coil cooling after starting. On most cars, they were bypassed while starting.

I once fell off a dive ladder. Rough seas, missed my handhold, reg was out, mask on forehead. Grabbed the necklaced reg on the way down, pushed the mask down, hit inflator about the time I hit the water. It was all reflexive recovery, but nonetheless I left the mask on and reg in after that...

There were *two* links there. Did you read the first? I included the second because it was very clear about what was happening as the fields collapsed. It's the higher voltage temporarily induced by the field collapse in the primary coil that's at issue when it comes to sparking across the...

Oh, no question. Everything is more difficult when you're shallow.

We can lead you further afield without much difficulty (grin). Just ask!

Oh, poo. You made me actually look it up. These folk and others disagree: How Ignition Systems Work https://www.tomorrowstechnician.com/how-capacitors-protect-ignition-circuits/ However, I had the sequence wrong. It's there to absorb the initial energy from the field collapsing, not the...

Technically true, but as you advance some courses will have minimum number of dives at minimum depth requirements. Best to look at that while you map your way. I had dozens of dives from 93-99' (most with bottoms of 100' or more, but I wasn't focused on "going as deep as possible"), and I...

Yes, a dwell meter can let you set pitted points properly. But as the plating is already shot (along with the condenser if it was the right size), it's a temporary fix at best. I thought the condensers were sized to absorb the remaining energy contained in the collapsing field in the ignition...

My point was that, even by the side of the road, it was easy to have a matchbook cover or IBM card at the time (both were pervasive back then), and knowing their thickness allowed measurement to something pretty close to spec. I'd be fascinated to learn how setting the points using dwell can...

Eyeballs: Good. Measurements: Better.

Point gap by the side of the road is 5 IBM cards or 2 matchbook covers. At 2 matchbook covers you *might* get a little ping under hard acceleration, but 5 IBM cards won't give you too much advance. With either an IBM card or a matchbook and a screwdriver, Bob wuz yer uncle.

Used to use those patterns ("cat's eyes") to align disc drive heads on 1970's era computers. With a 'scope displaying a Lissajous pattern and a Jacob's ladder made from a oil burner transformer and a couple of steel rods, you could have a horror movie set in a heartbeat!

Best bet: Find a shop that will let you try out all their fins in scuba gear in a pool. You don't have to be using the scuba gear, just have it on. Buy the ones that work the best. Try flutter, frog, and dolphin kicks. If you don't know them all, learn them first. Even then, the odds are...

I have a couple of scopes. I've been using them for a Long Time. I have no clue why one would be useful for diagnosing the average scooter. Can you elaborate?

You do know the difference between MechEs and CEs, right?