[Maiden voyage]

Thanks folks. I am use to slow, as Saskia and I did the obligatory trip across America in a 1964 VW van in the mid 70's. Stopped by Napa autoparts on my way home from work today but did not buy a belt because the autoparts guy had a couple of questions I could not answer. Take care. Gerry

[Maiden voyage]

Thanks John, I will see to my belt issue. When on the long steepish grades, in "D"rive and need to push the pedal to the floor, is the shift generally just down to 2ed, or will go all the way down to "L"ow and then begin upshifting as the engine catches up with the load? Reason I ask is, it seems the reaction to mashing pedal in "D" is more 'effective' than down shifting to 2ed. Thanks, Gerry

[Maiden voyage]

Appreciate the welcome, and prompt reply. My rig is indeed a 4cylinder. The sound is unique in that it seems to come on abruptly about 3500 rpms when the throttle is pushed to the floor and 2ed starts to gain momentum. Should the coach pull up to 40 + and I relax the throttle, the sound drops back to 'just a small engine pulling a hill'. I will check belt tension. I noted what appeared to be some oil (?) about the airconditioner pulley, but the air conditioner was not on at the time. Keep the ideas comming (please). In a couple of days I will post some pictures of my 45watt Harbor Freight solar array. Take care. Gerry

[Maiden voyage]

Good to find this forum and I will effort to contribute.. We purchased an 88 Dolphin to keep me busy and get ready for retirement. I am still playing around with some of the 'little' issues. The rig has 55,000 miles. Seems to run fine. There was an issue with a frozen shift cable but with repeated pressure flushing and oil, I was able to get the cable to work. At this point, I took it to a transmission shop and had the transmission drained and adjusted. The shop seemed to be familiar with the engine/trans and said all is now well. I took the rig on a test drive. As I am a slow driver, all seemed fine. When climbing a rather long, steepish grade, I needed to 'mash' the pedal to the floor. The trans kicked down to 2ed fine, but once the rpm's got up around 4,000 (40mph) I heard a sound that was notably different than I heard at 3,000rpms. I seemed to be 'kind of a screech' with a bit of 'high air flow' (without air cleaner). Since the Dolphin is new to me, and an air cleaner is in place, I am puzzled.

I understand that with this small engine, a kick-down on a grade will make a difference in engine/trans sounds. It was about 87 degrees out and the engine temp on the climb peaked at about 210 according to my aftermarket gauges. This all seems fine, and with windows open, no odd (hot) smells were detected.

The sound, though not a "major" stand-out, was a bit disconcerting. I though of a slipping belt in combination with kick-down. This 'issue' seemed to take place during a climb in which I need to get the rig going a bit faster ( from 35 to 45) before the folks behind me started shooting.

As this is the first time on the road since purchase and minor renovation, I am not paniced, just curious. Thanks for any and all insight. Gerry

[LED pics]

As did Waiter, I cracked some bulbs, cut the original filiment and soldiered to metal filiment holders. I did not do this with the stock bulbs. I purchased some cheaper license-plate bulbs and kept the much brighter (more expensive) bulbs for those 'just-in-case' situations. Gerry

[LED pics]

I am a new guy and inclined to 'give' before I take. Recently purchased an 88 Dolphin and am getting it shape for our driveway camping adventures ( :-) ) as gas prices seem to be going UP. As for LED's, I purchased a number of 'surface mount' units from a Chinese Vendor for $1.00 a piece. The Vendor was exceptional, but the 36 LED array's got "very" hot, drawing it seemed, 300milliamps (to much). I contacted the vendor and within hours a refund was offered. During the interval, I experimented with dropping the voltage with some resistors (simple). With a 61OHM 1/2 watt resistor from Mouser, the array dropped 7.75 volts ( instead of the entire 12v), the resistor dropped the rest. The array was still bright but much cooler.

My advice (new Guy) if you are a do-it-yourselfer, do not assume your Import LED's will be cool upon "your" conversion. Watch to see if the double sided tape melts before you venture off. Not sure what the issue is, likely a 'low-cost' curcuit design. For me, the 1/2 watt, 61 OHM resistor made all the difference. With a bit of work on my part. Take care, Gerry