DIY Fix for your Vehicle's Ignition Coil

I am very proud to be writing this post. You know that stereotype that women know nothing about vehicles? Well unfortunately, that is me. I can spot vehicle colours; I can tell the body difference between a little car and a pickup truck; I know what a camper shell is. Done - that is the extent of my vehicle knowledge.

But that's been changing since I recently purchased my very first vehicle - a 2002 Chevy Trailblazer.

The Problem

If I haven't mentioned this before, I am a fantastic destroyer of electronics. All I have to do is touch a phone, computer, tablet, etc. and its performance immediately plummets; on my unlucky days, it just breaks altogether (I apologize to one roommate in particular).

This is a real phenomenon, I'm not alone! Any of you cursed with this destruction?

Anyway, I say this because at the time of the incident, my boyfriend and I had owned this vehicle for nearly two months, with him as the primary driver. The one day when I drove it for, I don't know, about the fourth time, I was not at all surprised by the fact that it decided to suddenly act out against me.

As soon as I started the car, I could feel it shuddering abnormally. The shuddering was worse when idling or braking, and the poor thing hardly had enough power to make it up to 30 mph. Sorry, Trailblazer.

I did some research that day and decided my problem sounded like a bad ignition coil. I don't know if that counts as an electronic (poor vehicle knowledge, remember?), thus making it subject to my destructive touch, but nonetheless it still managed to break the moment I turned the key.

Anyway, more research brought up the fact that this would cost me over $600 to have fixed. Um, no! Luckily, being the savvy chick that I am, I was determined to figure out how to surmount this issue ourselves.

Sure enough, another search brought up several helpful videos for my needs.

The Solution

Now, I won't offer up a thorough tutorial here; I suggest watching videos if you need to take on this project, because they do a really amazing job walking through the process and I won't pretend I can do better. My post will serve more as a refresher once you already know what you are doing - I'm sure I'll be using it myself in the future.

Step 1. Gather a ratchet, a screwdriver, and your code reader if you have it - we have one that works with an app on our phone to tell us the exact meaning behind that pesky "check engine" light.

Step 2. Remove everything that is holding in this big plastic thingy.

Step 3. Hello there, ignition coils! To remove one of these guys, you need to unplug it and take off one bolt. Here are a few pictures to prepare you:
.

Step 4. If you have a code reader, then you can easily test the coils before replacing them. To test the coil you think is broken, simply switch it out with another one and get a new code reading. Our first reading said there was a misfire in #5. So, we switched that coil with #1 and went for a drive until the engine light came back on. Our new reading brought up a misfire in #1 instead, affirming that it was indeed the coil that was bad, not something else in slot #5.

Step 5. Just plop in the new ignition coil and put everything back together. Done!


30 Minutes and $600 Worth of Labour Later...

This was such an easy fix. Anybody who is capable of using simple tools can do this themselves, whether or not they have any prior vehicle experience. But the best part? It only costs one trip to the auto store (or a shipping cost) and a $70 ignition coil. That's a savings of $530!

It's been a couple months now and even though I've driven it several more times since, our Trailblazer is still running smoothly! Wish me luck for that to continue.

Now, is there anyone willing to pay us that $600 for our labour?

Stash Update #7: Star Hot Pad

Hello blog world - long time, no see!

I've learned something about myself this year: evidently I don't do much much blogging in the summer. This is the first week I've really even booted up my computer; I've been busy with outdoor summer activities instead. I'm not saying that is a bad way to be, but it does mean I don't post anything here!

I have been busy taking pictures of things for posts I plan on offering up to you, though, so don't think I've been completely lazy.

Now here, just to get the ball rolling, is a quick Stash-Buster update.

Star Hot Pad

I made this for my Mom this month, using my Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn (coloured Sonoma, I believe) and following the pattern from FreeCraft Unlimited on Ravelry.

I added in a little loop at a tip though, so it could be hung.

I made it in about two hours, and it was a really simple yet unique project. It ended up weighing just 43 grams. I think I need to start using a larger hook than recommended, because my projects always turn out smaller than expected.

Enjoy the Summer!

So that's all for now! I'm going to get back to the offline world. Hope everyone is having a great summer so far!

DIY Stock Paper Envelopes

Hello everyone! I've got a simple project to share with you today; you may already have the things you need lying around the house.

But if you don't? I suggest going to Michael's! But then, I always do that.

Wait for it...

Michael's always has such pretty stock paper in their store, and it seems to go on sale every month. I always wished I had a reason to buy some.

I also wished I had better envelopes to send my friends' letters in...

....

Eventually, I realized that the two wishes were connected. So I loaded up on about 150 12x12 open stock papers of all different designs and colours!

Cutting the Envelope

As it turns out, these papers are just the right size to produce one of the typical square envelopes. If you have a steady hand and some patience, you can just unfold an existing envelope and follow the cuts you have to make yourself.

I despise using scissors, so I turned instead to my Cricut. Now, I don't have an envelope template for that machine, and I was very against spending $30-$50 to get one. Luckily I figured I could just build what I needed, with some finesse and expertly placed rectangles and triangles.

A few failures and lots of math later, I had forced my Cricut to create the perfect envelope. I would show you exactly how, but I'm not sure if that's against some kind of law - showing off ways to make envelopes without buying the proper cartridge. If anyone knows, feel free to quote rules at me (common sense informs me that it's fine, but that can never be trusted).

However you make your envelope, the process is still simple. Cut out the shape like so:

And then fold it up!

After that you just need to glue it down. I use my amazing glue pen from - where else - Michael's! The glue is blue while wet and permanent, and fades to clear as it dries to become tacky and reusable. I glue three sides with blue, and leave the top flap open to dry clear, pushing it closed when the envelope is ready to be sent.

Here are some completed pictures!

I also use my Cricut to cut out fancy address labels, but I keep writing on them before I remember to take pictures. That part can be done however you want though, so I gave up on label pictures.


Do You Still Write Letters?

There you have it! Simple project... for a fading method of communication. But I still love writing letters to people, and some of my friends enjoy writing back. Plus, I like to think fun envelopes make the mail carrier smile.

What about you? Do you enjoy taking time to write the people you care about?