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 What is the origin of the white "fog line" marking the right edge of most roads in the US?  A. Gypsum, limestone, coal ash or other powders lining roadways helped prevent horses from veering off the road to graze. B. In 1917, the Philadelphia City Council had a white line painted on the edge of major roadways to discourage pedestrians from wandering into traffic. C. To help drivers stay in their lanes at night, retired chemical engineer John Dorr made it his personal project to tirelessly and successfully lobby governments for the lines in the 1950s. | |
 I was a senior in high school in 1999 and had just bought a 1987 Cadillac DeVille. A strange choice of car for a high schooler perhaps, but I always liked traditional American luxury cars. Being a 12 year old car, the factory cassette radio left something to be desired, so I set about replacing the head unit with a modern (for the times) CD player. I had done several of these before on previous cars and for friends, so I was confident going into the install. I had purchased a wiring kit so I wouldn't need to cut the factory wiring harness. Everything went smoothly except that a small, 2 wire connector from the kit wouldn't click into place with the factory plug. Being that the kit fit many GM vehicles of the era, I didn't think much of it, and a handy zip tie held the connector together securely enough to make the connection. I put everything back together and fired up the new head unit. It turned on, but the sound was weak, and the digital dash displays for the car's automatic climate control and fuel gauge dimmed with each bass note. Within 20 seconds of turning it on, the radio went dead, along with the digital displays and climate control. I checked all the fuses, but none were blown. I now had no climate control, fuel gauge, or radio. I did some other basic troubleshooting, but nothing I tried worked. Luckily, my after school job was pumping gas at a local gas station/repair shop, so I went hat in hand to one of the mechanics at the shop for help. Remember that connector I zip tied? Turns out I connected it upside down, which is why it didn't click. One side was the main 12v power, and the other was a low-amp signal feed from the body control module (BCM) for radio dimming control. The new radio pulled its main power out of the low-amp BCM signal wire, and fried the BCM. After a costly BCM replacement, everything came back to life. The only lingering effect was that the blower was stuck on high. I couldn't afford more professional help, so spent most of my free time the next few weeks reading wiring diagrams. I finally found a burnt out in-line fuse deep in the dash on a wire that provided feedback voltage to the BCM for speed control. Hardly vindication for my mistake, but I took some pride in figuring that last problem out. Ultimately, the lesson was learned to stop, think, and troubleshoot if something doesn't seem right, and don't jump right to the zip ties as a solution. I also received the added benefit of learning how to read wiring diagrams, which has been helpful when working on cars ever since. Tony in California |
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 There is almost always at least one car in my family's fleet connected to a battery charger while the vehicle is stored for the season or the primary driver is away. I recently bought an additional battery charger after catching myself moving a charger from one car to a neighboring car without unplugging the charger's electrical plug from the wall socket. To avoid sparks, always unplugging battery chargers before moving them is a good habit. Now each car will have its own charger. It is also a good habit to read the instruction manual when you get a new battery charger. There may be a thought-provoking new safety warning such as, "NEVER attempt to permanently mount this battery charger on a marine or recreational vehicle." Even better, I discovered my new charger has low voltage charging capability I can take advantage of. Older smart chargers often are programmed to not even try to charge a battery that has been drained to 4 volts or less. Some chargers need a minimum voltage from the battery in order to power up the charger's own internal circuitry. At such low voltages, the charger may not be able to confirm that its clamps are connected to the right polarity. The charger may not be able to differentiate a recently heavily drained battery from one that is damaged, short circuited or has a fatal build-up of hardened lead sulfate crystals (sulfated). When an older smart charger did not turn on, I would use my multi-tester to confirm the battery had an unusually low voltage (<4) and also do a continuity test to make sure any fuses in the battery charger's cables or elsewhere were not blown. I would then use my trusty 1970s era un-smart battery charger to charge the drained battery to above 4 volts. Once the drained battery had more than 4 volts, the smart charger was hooked back up. Many newer smart battery chargers (like the one I just bought) have an override that allows them to charge batteries that have been drained to less than 4 volts. It is necessary to read each battery charger's instruction manual to learn its unique cryptic terminology and procedures. Battery repair mode, forced start, override mode, push mode, recondition mode, regeneration mode, soft start mode are all examples of words battery charger manufacturers may use for boosting a drained battery above ~4 volts. The process may be completely automatic, there may be an obvious dedicated button on the battery charger marked something like OVERRIDE or you may have to read the manual to learn the secret override procedure is initiated by holding "down the START button for 3 seconds" and clicking your heels together three times.  When charging a very drained battery, it is extra important to follow the instructions in the manuals for whatever battery chargers are used. Instructions often say to take the battery out of the vehicle and outside to reduce the chance of damaging vehicle electronics or allowing explosive gases (hydrogen, oxygen...) to build up. Smart chargers are better than my 1970s era charger for among another reasons, they are able to avoid overheating/overcharging, and they can actually heal some damaged batteries by doing tricky things like dissolving powdery sulfate through slow or pulsed charging. Tom Taylor, To read more of Tom's articles, choose from story titles on the Newsletter Archives page. |
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 I thought it would be fun to share the magnet collection in our shop! Daniel in Iceland Attention RockAuto Magnet Collectors! |
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I'll make this story quick....My father purchased a similar 1966 Ford Country Squire brand new as a family car. Being the third child, my older brother and sister sat in the middle seat. The rear seat was where I spent many years and many miles. When I got my license at age 16, it was in that car, which was then handed down to me as my "first car." After many years of serving the family well, and with over 250,000 miles (402,000 km) on the engine (never been opened!), the East Coast winters finally took their toll. The car was now badly rusted. The frame was cracked, so the car had to be retired to the junk yard in 1981. In February 2025, I was at a flea market where I met a guy selling some NOS Ford parts, and we struck up a conversation where I mentioned "my first car." He then told me that "he knew a guy selling a 1966 Ford Country Squire" nearby. I purchased that car the moment I saw it a few weeks later. The car was/is in amazing original condition with less than 80,000 miles on it. I bought it from the original owner who bought it for his wife. When she passed away, he couldn't bring himself to drive the car, and he stored it away for a decade before we met. The car is also fairly well loaded with desirable features such as a 428-4V engine, automatic transmission, air conditioning, power windows, power seats, and a few more options. With help from RockAuto, I rebuilt the engine and transmission, and reconditioned the braking system. Other than that, it's a great survivor! Saul in Colorado |
 What is the origin of the white "fog line" marking the right edge of most roads in the US? B. In 1917, the Philadelphia City Council had a white line painted on the edge of major roadways to discourage pedestrians from wandering into traffic. Answer: C. To help drivers stay in their lanes at night, retired chemical engineer John Dorr made it his personal project to tirelessly and successfully lobby governments for the lines in the 1950s. (source: www.courant.com/...) | |
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Your Hard Work Do you purchase parts from RockAuto? If so, RockAuto would like to give you the opportunity to have your car or truck possibly featured in one (or occasionally more) of our publications such as the monthly newsletter, collector magnets or other commercial use. New, old, import, domestic, daily driver, trailer queen, classic, antique, we want to see them all! For submission instructions and tips for taking pictures of your car, please visit our Photography Tips & Submission Info page. Show Off Your RockAuto Magnet Collection Email a high resolution image(s) of your collection to marketing@rockauto.com. Include your geographic location (state, province, country, continent, etc.) and any other details you would like to share. Your Most Infamous Auto Repair Blunder Use your woe to help others avoid similar mistakes. Please email your story to marketing@rockauto.com. Include your mailing address and if you would like a RockAuto Hat if we publish your story. See the Hats under Tools & Universal Parts in the RockAuto catalog. The story will be credited using only your first name and your vague geographic location (state, province, country, continent, etc.) so you can remain semi-anonymous! | |
