a little bit of delights for Isolde

 

Sometimes something simple brings pleasures.

Isolde's sliding door has become difficult to latch securely, especially at low ambient. I decided to give the door adjustments another go. This time I read up on the shop manual and made sure I fully understand all the adjustment points.

I adjusted the leading upper and lower arms which help alignment the door as best as it can to the chassis's opening

this is the striker pin which can be move in 360 degrees directions

I have been wondering if the springs in the latch has weaken over time, or the latching mechanisms are worn; I decided that I would order Go Westy's replacement mechanism while I can even I see no reason to replace them right now

by sighting from the inside I can determine if the striker pin is too high, too low, or just right WRT the latch

I stopped by a weight station that was closed to take advantage of the open scale. Isolde has very little payload with about 2/3 tank of fresh water, a tool box, and me in the driver seat.

the wet weight with a driver is about 4,300 lb

the rear axle weighed in at 2050 lb, this leaves the front axle with a driver at 2250 lb; I always thought the rear axle is slightly higher than the front but it turned out to be nearly 50/50 spread

I ordered some goodies from Go Westy. I wanted to get the sliding door latch repair kit while they are available. You just never know. I also found this drop in cigarette lighter which is nearly identical to the original one that has a green illuminated ring around it. The difference is this is a re-design that will accept the common 12V accessories without being loose and fails to make contact. I also order a set of very hard to find copper nuts for the exhaust flange, and a pair of rubber feet for the pop top dog legs.

the new and improved versus the OEM original; visually they are identical when installed and both are made in Germany

the Vanagon glovebox has this very cleaver design that you can drop it easily to gain access to the back of the cigarette lighter; however it turned out the air hose is in the way

with some struggle I managed to removed the old cigarette lighter and pull out the wiring harness and its connector

the kit came with everything I need - such a pleasure when this happens; Go Westy

I tinned the conductors with solder and then crimp the spade lugs on

this illuminated cigarette lighter is one of my favorite part of the Vanagon dash

now it grips the DC accessories firmly; the best part is it preserves the original appearance but solved the connectivity problems

It is a small thing but very important for reliable power for dash cam and cell phone, taking the electrical utility from the 80s to 2020s.