Oscilloscopes...

[TrimixToo]

I've never replaced so many evap cores on any other brand. The sludge that came out of them led me to believe that they didn't do much more than a five minute evac, if that.

FWIW, Mercedes, BMWs, Opels, and some VWs have that horrible old Euro-Leather stench. I just can't get past that rancid English Leather Cologne smell. Yeesh! While Morgans, early MGs, early Triumphs, and Rolls have that wonderful old wood scent, like an old church or library. Of all the Datsuns, the mid 60s SPL311s were my favorite. You could smell the tire in the trunk, though.

I, um, own an SPL311, a 1966 1600 Roadster. It's in the shed, awaiting restoration.

 

[The Chairman]

I, um, own an SPL311, a 1966 1600 Roadster. It's in the shed, awaiting restoration.

Holy fyck. I really, really hate you right now. With the dual side-draft Mikunis? A ragtop? I am so effing jealous. No one else on this forum knows what the eff we are going on about. How about that for an exclusive club? You've got to post a pic. I don't care how rough of shape it's in. I haven't seen one this century. I will be dreaming tremulous dreams tonight. Vrooom, vrooom!!!

I have an actual Freightliner now, a 2005 XC.

I had to look it up. So that's a motorhome, eh? I never owned one and probably never will. I was ASE master certified in both gas and diesels but hate the latter. They found out when I lived in the Keys, and I was constantly bothered by two dive-ops. I hate that smell worse than rancid euro-leather. I hate hypoid oil worse, though. And baby schitt.

 

[tursiops]

Back to oscilloscopes.....
I suspect one would be handy in diagnosing an AI transmitter.

 

[TrimixToo]

Holy fyck. I really, really hate you right now. With the dual side-draft Mikunis? A ragtop? I am so effing jealous. No one else on this forum knows what the eff we are going on about. How about that for an exclusive club? You've got to post a pic. I don't care how rough of shape it's in. I haven't seen one this century. I will be dreaming tremulous dreams tonight. Vrooom, vrooom!!!

I had to look it up. So that's a motorhome, eh? I never owned one and probably never will. I was ASE master certified in both gas and diesels but hate the latter. They found out when I lived in the Keys, and I was constantly bothered by two shops. I hate that smell worse than rancid euro-leather. I hate hypoid oil worse, though. And baby schitt.

Well, yes, all the SPL311s were ragtops. The carbs are SU clones, except their needles don't need to be painstakingly centered like the ones on the English SUs. Made by Hitachi. You're thinking of the U20 engine, not the 1600. The 1600 is pretty peppy, for its time. I thought about an L20 conversion but the engine is too tall. U20s are mosly unobtainium on a practical level and would likely require other driveline changes. I'll stay with the smaller engine and keep it stock.

I did, however, have a pair of Solex 44 PHHs on my autocross cars, which were PL510s. Sleeved down to 32mm, IIRC, so it wouldn't cough when you floored it at low-ish RPM, with Datsun SSS heads, etc. Does that count? Still have the Unisyn; I'll need it again someday for the SPL311.

There's a bunch of stuff on top of it right now, but I'll try to get a pic in a few months after the shed cleanout project has proceeded somewhat further. I have factory original rocker panels to replace the rusted ones. Other than that, the body just needs to be stripped, sanded, minor putty here and there, and painted. It's been in storage so long that the engine and perhaps transmission will need to be rebuilt and new seals will be neede everywhere...about 55K original miles. It has "interesting" fasteners on it. SAE fractional with metric heads. Sort of the reverse of what GM later did. I will literally have to make replacements where needed, I suspect.

Yes, we have a 2006 Tiffin Allegro Bus. I don't mind the smell of diesel fuel, and it's got the HPCR system in it with no "tuning" so it doesn't make noxious smoke. Yeah, the smell of (especially used) hypoid oil isn't really what I live for, but the Meritor rear axle takes something close to 5 gallons of it. I am grateful for its 100K service interval. The scale wouldn't surprise a truck mechanic, but...oil changes are 7 gallons. Cooling system takes 12 gallons. etc.

I never went after the ASE certs. Worthwhile, to be sure, but software jobs don't really call for them. The Master certs are nontrivial (sort of like Advanced Trimix certs).

 

[TrimixToo]

Back to oscilloscopes.....
I suspect one would be handy in diagnosing an AI transmitter.

What the heck is an oscilloscope?

Oh. Yeah. Not an automotive tool., but a device for displaying voltage over time.

I'll admit I don't know whether AI transmitters are RF or ultrasonic. Either way you'd need so rig some sort of receiver to see the waveform, but if they transmit intermittently (to save power, like a TPMS) you'd need a recording 'scope unless you just wanted to know if it ever fired, in which case you could "shoot the moon" to find out.

 

[Jeff_O]

What the heck is an oscilloscope?

Oh. Yeah. Not an automotive tool., but a device for displaying voltage over time.

I'll admit I don't know whether AI transmitters are RF or ultrasonic. Either way you'd need so rig some sort of receiver to see the waveform, but if they transmit intermittently (to save power, like a TPMS) you'd need a recording 'scope unless you just wanted to know if it ever fired, in which case you could "shoot the moon" to find out.

Yes, a storage scope feature I do have on a very inexpensive USB scope. Though the amount of storage is somewhat limited, I used it to look at a breadboard circuit of a temperature sensor serial buses data stream.

It ran out of recording while testing, but I was able to see the first parts of transmission so it was interesting.

It did reinforce that you would pay more for greater amount of storage as well as speed. I have not used it in a while and think it was only less than 100 Mhz speed.

The storage / logic analyzers that send phone calls, text, or email to use for intermittent or bugs when data matches what you did not have time to wait around for peaked my interest.

Couple a storage scope with a CPU emulator with single stepping I have not tried.

I know something's need to be run at speed to operate of find faults that only happen at speed, but for learning how a working device (standard) looks like it's always useful.

I reminisce, since being retired I rather spend time blowing bubbles, than as in the past using a 1000:1 high voltage probe to protect scope input limitations while debugging.

 

[TravisD]

For automotive stuff, I finally convinced myself to order a higher-end bi-directional scanner (one of the 2024 Launch models). We have 6 OBD-II vehicles (from 1996 thru 2022) and while knocking on wood I haven't had to do many repairs on most of them, I want to be ready when the time comes. We're now in the process of helping "the kid" fix up his first vehicle and I want to be able to diagnose some more complicated things like the fancy air suspension (in a 20 year old truck...). I'm also hoping that in the event my wife's fancy hybrid Jeep decides to brick itself again that the scanner might be able to reset things long enough to get it to the dealer (based on others having this luck in the Jeep forums with these models).

For automotive diag stuff, I've learned a lot watching some of the YouTube techs, like South Main Auto, and Pine Hollow Auto, who use a combination of scan tools, 12v test lights, and oscilloscopes to diagnose modern (and not so modern) vehicular maladies. One of the big takeaways I've gotten is using a test light that imparts a load - say 1-4 amps - to suss out poor, yet electrically connected circuits. Usually these seem to be where a wire is almost broke, but not quite, or where the "green crusties" have built up in a connector, adding resistance and dropping voltage.

Looking at the small 'scopes that are on the market now, I'm now tempted to add one to the arsenal as well, "just in case". For under $100 it's in the "why not have it when I need it" range...

 

[The Chairman]

Back to oscilloscopes.....
I suspect one would be handy in diagnosing an AI transmitter.

I would love to see the set up on that.

Made by Hitachi.

Nope, you're right. They were Hitachis. Easy to service, and I love how they took inspiration from both SU and Stromberg.

Still have the Unisyn

My gasket's gone all gummy.

My customer in Gainesville had a silvery blue SPL311 and a red 510. The 510 was uber cherry. He offered to sell me the 510 at one point, but I was not in a position to buy that, and it lacked AC, which is important here in Florida. Again, we're in an elite group that not only knows about them but have worked on and even drove them. That you actually own an SPL311 is freaking awesome. I am still in awe. I saw a hard top SPL 311 on display at a dealership. It could be removed just like the ragtop.

Oh. Yeah. Not an automotive tool.,

I've been diagnosing cars with scopes since 1969. It most certainly is an automotive tool. With today's sensors and CAN Bus systems, it's become even more important. I have high end scanners too. It's kind of funny, but I have the Foxwell NT510 Scanner and have ForScan installed on my PC, my tablet, and my phone. I have a BT bi-directional OBD II Dongle that I have left plugged into my Mach eX.

One of the big takeaways I've gotten is using a test light that imparts a load - say 1-4 amps - to suss out poor, yet electrically connected circuits.

Be careful. Randomly spiking your onboard computer with that kind of load can kill it. Better to get a high impedance probe to avoid that. No need to use it to suss lights, starters, and other high amp wires, although it works just fine for that too. Think 16awg or thicker wires for a traditional incandescent probe. On that smaller stuff, I only use an LED logic probe, or a hybrid that has a digital readout as well. That way I can easily test grounds or hots without re-clipping the tail clip. Seeing a green ground or red hot makes tracing things quite easy. As one poster pointed out, piercing insulation can be problematic, so learn how to back-probe at the connector. I bought a dozen blow darts eons ago. 3 or 4 are still kicking around in my kit and allow me to easily slide them into the back side of most connectors. It's important not to create more problems than what you started with.

 

[The Chairman]

I remember the first computerized car I had to fix. It was a Horizon with a VW engine, a Holly-Weber 5200 series feedback carb, an O2 sensor, and a feedback distributor. It was a bare-bones system but so intimidating. I bought the books (no Google or YouTube), and started pulling codes. Nada. I was tracing circuits and pulling my hair out. Why wouldn't it start. I could see the gas squirt down the carb, I had plenty of compression and spark, so why wouldn't it start?

On day 2 or 3, I espied the missing gas cap. Sigh. The gas I saw squirting was water. Opening the top of the carb, it was obvious that water had ruined the carb. She was a single mom, a friend, and in dire financial straits. A new feedback carb was over a grand and there were no rebuilts available. I fixed it with a $25 distributor from a junkyard that had mechanical and vacuum advance, a $125 Weber 5200 series aftermarket carb (no solenoid), cleaning the gas tank and fuel lines, a $5 gas cap, and pulling the MIL. I think I charged her $200. It took her over a year to pay that bill. KISS. Keep it Simple Stupid. I was blinded by it having a computer and missed covering the basics first. It was a good, albeit a time-consuming lesson.

 

[TrimixToo]

My customer in Gainesville had a silvery blue SPL311 and a red 510. The 510 was uber cherry. He offered to sell me the 510 at one point, but I was not in a position to buy that, and it lacked AC, which is important here in Florida. Again, we're in an elite group that not only knows about them but have worked on and even drove them. That you actually own an SPL311 is freaking awesome. I am still in awe. I saw a hard top SPL 311 on display at a dealership. It could be removed just like the ragtop.

I used to autocross and track PL510s (not to be confused with the later solid rear axle 510s). In addition to the 44PHH's, I had an SSS head, SSS cam, stiffer valve springs (redline rose to about 8K RPM), 240Z pistons, headers with a 2 1/4" exhaust into a Corvair Spyder muffler (it was quiet!!!), a lightened flywheel, and L18 valves in the L16 head, all with 4 angle seats (Neway seat cutters are *cool*).. I never had a dyno test, but 0-60 on a level road with someone else timing it was consistently about 7 seconds flat. Not bad for an .010 overbore with a tad under 1600cc in a car that weighed 2041 lbs. stock.

I've been diagnosing cars with scopes since 1969. It most certainly is an automotive tool. With today's sensors and CAN Bus systems, it's become even more important. I have high end scanners too. It's kind of funny, but I have the Foxwell NT510 Scanner and have ForScan installed on my PC, my tablet, and my phone. I have a BT bi-directional OBD II Dongle that I have left plugged into my Mach eX.

That was an off-the-cuff joke gone bad. Nonetheless, I have only ever needed a 'scope once, on my son's Jetta. My scan tools with live data have always been enough for everything else.