Eco My Echo

[jcp123]

Yeah the space efficiency is quite nice. Things just fit in that car.

Hard life? Bah. It looks positively new next to mine!

[puddleglum]

HaHa, yes it could be a lot worse. Mechanically it's okay I think, a few little things to fix. It doesn't look too bad from a distance, but the cancer is spreading under the body kit and duct tape is holding the front bumper together. I really have to try and do something about it this summer. I can't jack it up at the lifting points anymore cause they've collapsed. Had to fix holes in the roof, trunk and the floor when I first bought it that were hidden under bubbled paint. Should have known better, wasn't going to buy a rust bucket, but I'm still happy with it over all.

[puddleglum]

I am really enjoying this car. Now that warmer weather is here, this car is amazing me with how it good the mileage is. The kill switch has made a world of difference and I'm starting to build some actual hypermiling skills. This really is a perfect short trip city commuter car for me. Best of all, I was running the numbers and I've been driving it for FREE so far. The profit on the van I sold payed for the car, repairs, mods and gas so far. Plus, I figure I've saved over $200 in gas already.

[California98Civic]

Love your mods. The shifter mod and the brake booster especially. If you have connected your shifter-mounted kill switch leads using butt-splices as in some photos, note that the shifting action will, over time, break loose the splices. It happened to me (twice). It can be distressing. Better to solder the connections. If you don't solder, then secure the wire somehow so the connection point does not move so much as you shift.

Love the booster, too.

[101Volts]

Thanks for the mod idea for the DRLs, Mother has an 01 Impala and the DRLs have been problematic in winter when it came time to start the car; we did use the parking brake but the car's primarily used for short trip driving and I don't believe the brand new battery was getting charged enough.

[puddleglum]

Thanks guys. The kill switch connections are soldered and then I glued the switch and wiring into place with a hot glue gun. There are no connections anywhere where the wires flex. You're right, it can cause a failure. The only place that I used butt connectors is at the relay connections, but it's tied up well and shouldn't move.

101Volts, Short and infrequent trips are really hard on batteries. I have the same problem with both my cars, especially in winter. They just don't run long enough to fully recharge the batteries and DRL's really add to the problem. With accessories running and the car running around town at low rpm's most of the time. The battery doesn't really get charged up very much. I have to trickle charge both of them in the winter, but my Rondo is really bad because it not only sees short trips, but it often sits for days in between.

[puddleglum]

I started installing some LED lights for DRL's this week. As usual I seem to do things the hard way by trying to go cheap. I forgot to check how I wired my bypass switch and wired them wrong at first. The switch is on the ground side. Anyway, changed the wiring but something is still not right. They work, but they don't completely shut off unless I turn off the switch. I need to confirm but I think I may have a high resistance connection through the drl relay. I'll post pics soon. Does a anyone have a suggestion for a workaround? I can use the switch but it defeats the purpose.

[Stubby79]

a diode in the right place might do the trick...but can't help ya without knowing what you're working with. Only way you'll get that across is with a schematic.

[puddleglum]

thanks, I'm not sure how to upload a schematic. I found one on Autozone but I don't think I can copy it. I may try. But, how could a diode work with an led? I don't think it's back feed issue but a leakage issue through the relay.

[puddleglum]

Got it sorted. I moved the positive wire to ignition power. Now I'm legal again without the high current draw of having the lights on all the time.