2002 Volkswagen with electrical issues [Solved]

As I had posted before with my Suzuki, I have recently been working on a 2002 volkswagen, the symptoms were very perplexing and so I wanted to share the results now that it has been solved. The summary of the list of issue is as follows:

• Failure of the turn signals but the Hazards aka emergency flasher/signal still worked 
• so it could not be the lights themselves as they worked with the hazards
• No main headlights, but working fog lights. Tested all the fuses - all okay
• Failure of the windshield wipers
• No heater core aka no fan, heater or AC. 

If you check other car help forms, or have a mechanics background, you may have picked up on the issue. I learned just recently myself, it is the Ignition Starter Switch. Thankfully, this addresses all of these problems in one fell swoop, one thing I did notice was that sometimes I would get one system or another back randomly when I hit a bump or something. This was most likely due to the fact that within the switch you could get contact with the rattling on a rough road. (Just to keep in mind if you only had a few of the above issues) Hopefully this will have helped you in finding the issue with your car if you had the same symptoms, I have heard that the VW's especially for the 2000 era cars had particular electrical issues, and wanted to post what I learned. Good luck with your car. 

Adventure Cup

Adventure Cup. 

The original REI Camp Cup. (the link just takes you to a defunct page because they have discontinued the item.

Hands down my favorite travel cup, I have had it for about 3 years now, unfortunately it is discontinued by REI. So I suppose in a way this is an appeal to REI to bring back the champ, maybe even better then ever.

The Hard Numbers (Technical Specifications):
Best Use: Travel
Capacity: 0.47 liter /16 fluid ounces
Material: Stainless steel
Dimensions: 5.25 x 5.25 x 3.5 inches
Weight: 13 ounces

The critical features that set this mug apart from others is the full stainless steel construction, the screw on cap with rubber o-ring gasket and the flip-top opening. The double rubber stoppers in the lid allow for a smooth pour while being completely leak proof, the combination of screw on cap with o-ring and rubber stoppers, makes it completely leak proof. I mean fall out of a work truck, down the stairs, off the table, kind of leak proof. The all steel construction for the main body also results in a nearly indestructible cup, I have hammered in rusty nails, crushed nuts, and cooked dinners in this mug. In a number of old reviews the label used to melt/smear off, the handle breaking off, and the lid cracking, however in the latest and sadly last iteration all of these problems seem to have been solved. One feature that has been a no compromise when I choose travel mugs is the interior composition I dislike plastic interiors because there are times I have forgotten coffee in the mug for a number of days and it got disgustingly moldy, but with steel just scrub with a pad and some dish soap and good as new.

After years of abuse, funny enough, even though there is not really a part I need to replace, (perhaps have a backup rubber o-ring) I am wondering how to farther upgrade it, perhaps machine mill a solid steel lid, or water jet cut a steel new handle. In summary, this is really a love letter to this travel mug, and a request to REI to properly bring back the original camp cup.

On a separate note, two products that I have joined as a backer on Kickstarter are Hey Joe Coffee Mug and the Go Plug Power Bag. They are awesome, a little too late to join now, but keep an eye out for them when they come to market, I will update with a review when they come in the mail.

Suzuki GS500F Review - After more than 2 years

Rain or shine, snow and ice, now with more than 18,000 miles on the odometer, it has been more than two years since I first rode my Suzuki GS500F out of the dealership, so lets take a look back. Much of what I have felt overall about the bike has not changed much from my last review, which you can find here. This would be more of my thoughts on problems that have arisen over the years of riding my Suzuki. There are times when I feel like I have a case of Stockholm's syndrome, especially when my bike acts up and I can't figure out why. Then there are other times when the bike is running just right, the sun is out, the roads are clear and the air is crisp. The open road calls. You understand why you put up with all that grief in the first place; That clear blue sky, the soft warmth of the sun on your skin, the crisp fresh mountain air, the slight recoil of the throttle under your hand, the hint of exhaust, this is why.
 
After spending hundreds at a bike shop with them making wild-ass stabs in the dark on what they think the problem is, and just ending up being angry. Then scouring hours on the internet, I find various cases similar to mine. Off to Youtube (BaltimoreGS), and the DIY section and various forms, where I end up teaching myself a little motorcycle maintenance. It turns out my problem came with the great symptoms of "wavering" idle with the inability to hold at a reliable idle speed, sputtering at low idles, a "dead zone" in the idle when using choke, and the sudden jump to an extremely fast idle. This translated just as bad when on the road, anything under 5000 rpm would not sit stable, and at stop lights I looked like a beginner, fighting to not stall the engine. What would cause this strange set of symptoms? Well, after spending a few hundred dollars at a shop and getting my carburetors squeaky clean, I can tell you it is probably not the carburetors.

For this little adventure we are going to have to break out the service and repair manual (which I highly recommend by the way even if you are not going to do any maintenance by yourself, if you can at least isolate the issue you can approach the shop with an idea of what you want done). Under maintenance schedule, every 4000 miles (6000km) or 12 months there are the usual check battery, brakes, spark plugs, tires, oil filter, oil change, and then there is check valve clearances. Well it turns out usually in the cause of the valves merely checking them will not be enough as in my case nearly like clockwork, every 4000 miles or so after the initial Cinderella period of the first 8000 miles, it will act up signalling another valve adjustment. For the Suzuki GS500F, the valves are adjusted by changing the shims that sit under the camshaft. While this is not indicative of all GS500's this is just my case so take it for what it is worth. Doing this maintenance work yourself will save you hundreds if not thousands in the long run so I highly recommend you roll up your sleeves and be ready to get your hands dirty. This video might help.

All in all after all this rambling what does this boil down to? Well if I were to distill all this I would say with the ownership of a motorcycle, you will either be spending a fair amount of money to keep your bike running, in ship shape and to deal with the problems that arise; or be putting in blood, sweat and tears to do the maintenance and the repairs (within your ability) yourself, and with that comes an investment of the heart and soul. Why do you ask, are so many motorcyclists so attached to their bikes? Well this would be one of the reasons why. Unlike many modern cars, where outside of changing the oil, much of the engine and components are covered and hidden - difficult to reach and thus much of the maintenance is left to the shops. Motorcycles are generally more accessible, especially those in the more reasonable price ranges, and with the hourly rate charged at motorcycle shops, it is usually far more economical to do most of the maintenance and light repairs yourself.

Thus my final thoughts on my 2009 Suzuki GS500F? Well if I were to do it all over again I would definitely look at the overall maintenance costs and factor that into my estimates for long term ownership. Perhaps get a bike with longer intervals before needing major services, look at the track record for repairs needed, and the general community supporting the bike. Yet, do I have any real regrets for purchasing my GS500? Well, No. Perhaps I can understand a little and even sympathize with the classic British bike owners, where there is that strange love for those stylish and unreliable machines, cause when they are running, it is glorious. While my Suzuki has never been unreliable in that sense, I defiantly has its hiccups. Yet in its wake, I have learned so much,  not just about motorcycle maintenance but maybe - just maybe a little about how to approach life as well. Would I do it differently next time, perhaps. Do I have any real regrets? Hell no. I have learned so much, and even when rolling with the punches and occasionally having life's left jab connect - roll with it and counter. So if you were sitting on the fence about getting a bike, all I'll say is it is a helluva time, so even if it isn't biking, go have some fun. Oh and don't forget to wear sunscreen.

Suzuki GS500F Motorcycle Review

After about a year of commuting on the Suzuki GS500F, here are my impressions. As this motorcycle is not characterized as a sport/racing motorcycle, I will assume if you are considering this bike that you are probably not looking for peak performance. Thus I will be going over the points that I was looking for when considering this motorcycle; economy, handling, comfort and overall livability.

The motorcycle is rated on paper to get 59 mpg, I have found that I have averaged about 55 mpg; this is about 24 miles highway and 16 miles local a day. During the winter the average dips a few points while the summer bumps up a few mpg, this was over a year in the pacific northwest, everyday rain or shine. A few factors may have affected the average, after transitioning from the Honda Rebel 250 to the Suzuki GS500F, I have noticed that because I can go faster I generally do so to keep up with traffic, where as on the Rebel, I avoided the faster lanes. Even though the Suzuki is more of a standard bike, the gearing still gives it a sporty feel, thus should you feel the need, the power is there at a twist of the throttle, unlike the Rebel where at highway speeds there is the feeling that the bike its at its limits. Finally due to weather conditions I am generally decked out in full gear, and even when not wearing rain gear I still carry it, thus weight wise the bike is pulling around more than just a rider.

As the GS500F is billed as a crossover of a beginner bike and a transitioning bike, the handling is very friendly and forgiving.  There are a good deal of reviews that discuss this issue in depth so I will just go over the main points. The low seat height gives a good grounded feeling and the solid handling will give riders a feeling of confidence in turns as the bike does not feel as if it is tipping over when compared to more traditional sport bikes.

A second benefit of a low seat height is being able to stand flat-footed at a stop light, this scores big points when riding through the city or local streets and generally through stop and go traffic. It is much more comfortable to be able to stand on both feet to support the bike than it is to have to lean on one leg trying to balance the bike. One point of contention that I do have with the bike is the riding position, this may be an individual nit-pick but if you are considering this bike make sure you get a few test rides in and generally sit on the bike to make sure you are in a comfortable riding position. For me the riding position is a odd mix of sitting upright and a half riding tuck, I suspect this is due to my height ~5'6" my arms, hands and wrists are tired after a few hours of riding. (I end up supporting my weight on my wrist when riding.)

Finally livability, by this I mean a combination of all of the above factors rolled into one, cost wise fueling up is not too bad as at even my calculated 55 mpg you are still beating a good deal of half liter and up bikes out there. However as Suzuki calls for among many things : valve checks, nearly every major check up this adds up and will get quite expensive, as most places will be charging 3.5 to 4 hrs of labor. My next bike I will definitely be checking out the maintenance costs and factoring that into the over all life time cost of the bike. In terms of daily useability, the bike does not come with any easy points to mount luggage, thus to haul anything substantial you will need a good backpack or pick up a luggage box and rack. Accessories are difficult to find in the United States, one necessary accessories are slider pegs or crash bars and if you lay this bike down it is expensive as the casing juts out past the fairing. This bike is definitely not for long road trips; the seat is a little too hard for that and depending on the rider, the riding position may leave you sore. In short as a commuter, learning/transition bike, it fits the bill, as being more of a jack of all trades it does not do anything perfectly, but rides the line with a little of everything.

Edit: Also see my take on everything 2 years later.

Rocking the Cascades and a Review of the Suzuki GS500F

Rocking between the Fringes of the North Cascades National Park and Mount Baker National Forest, on my new bike; the Suzuki GS500F. Given that this trip was basically the shake down cruise for my new bike, with the break in for the engine and getting to know the characteristics of power and handling, I was in my element. Soaking in the stunning scenery; Mount Baker putting on a show in the gleaming sun light as I skirted the western side of Mount Baker National Park, the rim of the North Cascades National Park was no slouch either on visuals, with breathtaking jagged peaks and the road weaving between the river and old homesteads with open meadows.

While this trip may have been to break in the bike, I found myself getting broken in as well. Due to starting on the Honda Rebel I found that the riding stance that I am used to puts a great deal of strain on my wrists not to mention the lean towards a more aggressive riding stance compared to the Rebel. This coupled with trying to learn the leaning and turning tolerance of the bike made for quite a sore body afterwards.

The six speed transmission for the GS500F shifts smoothly and is a nice upgrade compared to the five speed Rebel, I found that at the final shift down from 2nd to 1st - there is a slight shudder as gears grind - if you are too gentile in changing. I can not speak for the power for now as I am trying to stay under 5500 rpm as much as possible during the break in period that coupled with my tendency to ride in a higher gear than normal - usually results in less pull from the engine until I shift down. However that tendency has resulted in a little more than 62 mpg after the first major fuel up and that is even during the break in period before max efficiency. Nice. That gets me to one of the things I did appreciate, the 20L or 5.3 gallon gas tank couple that with ~60 mpg - I can get over 300 miles on a tank! After being used to the 2.7 on the Rebel, the nearly double volume with that extra 2.6 gallons is amazing. The brakes work well enough, a little squeaky although it may be a little dirty so a nice cleaning should take care of that, time will tell how good they are as I get more chances to use them. Things that I would change/add, to personalize my bike include some luggage storage, I may put in risers for the bars to get a better seating and feel, and maybe get a gel seat as well, again time will tell, but I can say this bike make a good first impression and it is growing on me.

Revamp and Reorganization

Completely reorganized and labeled a great deal of the posts as well as fixed the dates on the older posts that I had to migrate from my old blog. More updates and posts to come.

Around the Island and Back Again - Day 2

The next morning after waking up I stroll down to the seawall and look back at the hostel, a non-discript building in the cityscape. Getting packed and ready to head out to breakfast, I find out that overnight the battery has finally died, having the to start a 150cc engine with a battery only rated for a 100cc bike has its consequences. So we get on the other bike and head out for a bite to eat, Almond milk, a Chinese donut and a steamed bun. After breakfast, I push my bike a little under a mile to a near by bike mechanic shop, we find out that the starter motor is drawing too much power from a battery not design to power it, and since the bike is modded we can't get a replacement part in any reasonable time frame. The mechanic calls up his contact and gets the starter motor disassembled and cleaned out by hand on special order! Had this been in the US, this would have cost as least a round trip plane ticket back to Taipei. We get out for under 50. AKA if your ever down in the area this is the place to go.

After a slow start to the day we head out and ride along the coast, there are clam & fish farms and so for lunch we stop at the edge of town at a seafood restaurant and have a bite to eat. With the smell of salt brine in the air we press on toward one of the notable temples in the southwest. The temple and adjacent garden are huge and in the background is a multistory hotel under construction to be run by the temple to accommodate visitor and pilgrims during holidays. My favorite feature is a the stair case for one of the watchtowers.

With the afternoon upon us we make a stop at the famous "Salt Mountain" a former salt farm, where sea salt was harvested, the place is now a theme park of sorts. The central building sells many salt inspired novelties, from salt toothpaste (which as expected tastes like a mouthful of sea water) to the famous salt ice cream bars. Being a fan of dessert tofu I couldn't pass up try a cup.

Late afternoon just outside the city we make a stop to check the prices at a temple hotel, unfortunately being a relatively new facility the prices are comparable to hotels, So we press on. In Tainan we settle down with a bowl of beef noodle, priced at only 50NTD, only to find that a buffet at a department/mall was only 199NTD remarkably well priced. Too bad we were already full. After checking out the night scene we turn in for the night at a youth hostel. [On a side quest I find out that while 7-11 the local get everything store does not stock ear plugs! In fact had to pick them up at a domestic store, what would look like a Japanese/Taiwanese themed "dollar store" in the US except they sell all domestic items.]

Pictures after update.