Some Jeep Work and a Shot in the Hand.

 

There hasn’t been a lot going on the last couple of days.

We are still waiting for the the RV to be released from the shop. The guy promised it would be ready by Friday. The problem has been getting parts for the chassis AC.

Work on the Jeep.

The auxiliary braking system has been giving some trouble. When the brake-away switch is actuated the signal to the pump pulses and the pump runs and stops, runs and stops.
I thought that the problem was with the plunger switch so I took it apart and found that the switch was ok.

As you can see in the above picture, the switch is very simple. There is a plastic plunger that goes into the end of the switch which slides between the two points and keeps the circuit open. There is a cable connected to the plunger at one end and connected to the towing vehicle at the other. If there is an accidental separation the cable pulls out the plunger, the switch closes and the brakes are automatically applied.

I did find a problem with the switch. The wires are riveted to the blades of the switch and one side was not making a connection. I put tie blade on the anvil, rapped the connection with a hammer and that took care of that problem.

I put everything back together and hooked the switch back up. You can see the plunger in the front of the switch below.

When I pulled the plunger the pump started but it still pulsed. As I was checking for loose wiring the pump stopped. I noticed that the control module for the system was very warm. I checked the voltage at the pump and it was gone.
I have to wait until I get the the RV back before I can trouble shoot this problem further. All the documentation on the aux braking system is in the RV and the RV has to be connected to the jeep brake system to go much further. I am thinking that the controller for the system is fried but I won’t know for sure until I can look at the paperwork and do some more trouble shooting.

A Shot in the Hand.

Last year I was having trouble with a trigger finger.
A trigger finger is caused by inflammation of the tendons of the fingers where they pass through loop’s that hold them in place. It’s like a lump in a cable and it gets stuck on each side of the loop when you open and close the hand. It can be very painful. 
Last year I went to the doctor and had some cortisone shots in the hand. 
The shots fixed the problem until I came home and started doing a bunch of Blacksmithing.

Now the finger is messed up again. I went to see the hand doctor yesterday and convinced him to give me another shot so I can drive more comfortably. I promised the doctor that I would have the finger surgically repaired next May but there isn’t enough time to get it done now. 
The doctor acquiesced and gave me the shot. Unfortunately the shot didn’t make much difference. The finger still locks up and hurts when I unlock it.

Ok that’s all I have for now. Talk to you later.