March, 2010
The next club meeting:
7:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Golden Corral, Dothan.
Join us for dinner at 6:00 p.m.
Yep, that's snow in Daleville.
Snow in the Wiregrass – Wow. And we did a cruise with snow on the ground – double Wow!! Yes sir, we won’t let a little snow stop us. I’m talking about the Sweetheart Cruise to the Mossy Grove restaurant in Troy that we did in February. We had 13 cars take part in this afternoon event, much thanks to Bill and Jackie James for setting it up.
In March, we have 2 significant events coming up. On the 13th, I have organized a 3 club event at Xtreme Motorsports in Blountstown FL. We will have something for everyone – A dyno challenge, a participant judged Corvette Display, and an event for the ladies. Parramores seafood restaurant will be cooking up a seafood buffet. Please put this one on your calendars as this should be a blast!! Then on the 27th, the Mid-Alabama club in Birmingham is hosting an all Alabama Corvette event at Barber Motorsports Park. This one is intended to be primarily a social event to meet our fellow Alabama Corvette enthusiasts, plus we will be allowed on the Track for some ‘warm’ laps. I’m definitely looking forward to this event. Another significant event this month is the 12 hours of Sebring from the 17th to the 20th. Jim and Charley will be attending to support the Corvette racers, and to pick-up items for the Corvette item auction we will have during the Caravan.
Caravan pre-registrations are coming in slowly, but the bright spot is that we almost have our minimum room booking met at the Marriott. Hopefully we will get the usual surge of registrations during the last few weeks prior to the event.
Bruce
Click for the Museum Homepage: National Corvette Museum - opens in its own window.
Click here for Charley's NCM Newsletter
Courtesy of your NCM Ambassador
- Charley Robertson
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Got gremlins in your C5 door/s? Do they fail to lock or unlock when commanded? Does the window freeze or have a mind of its own? Keeping in mind that GM buys components from the lowest bidders, your car may never have these problems, or may have had them since new. Here's a look a few of them and how to fix it.
Theory of operation - Everything in the door is controlled by the Door Control Module. It received signals from the buttons in the door trim and/or from the Body Control Module (BCM). The DCM then switches the higher current operating voltages thru built-in relays to the servos that do the heavy lifting in the door, thus raising or lowering the windows and operating the locks.
Well, the dealer's first choice to fix them is to replace the DCM, the door control module. I've changed the right DCM, fixing the right window that stuck open in the rain. Replacement of the left door lock servo did not fix the left door lock. It works fine for months, then gets cranky, locking the door but only clicking away when attempting to unlock. My keys will actually unlock my car; have you checked yours? ( ;-)
Did I mention, replacing these things is $400 plus labor? So, lets look at some alternatives.
First, check some wiring connections also known to go bad. Your dealer will not do this first, but only after the $400 replacement fails to fix. Part one - open the door and look in the hinge area. See that black plastic accordion tube? Get your skinny 14 yr old geek neighbor to pry the inboard end loose from the car. You should be able to see a blue plastic cable connector. One of those wires was made too short by the contractor, causing the insulation to peel back away from the connector and the wire to contact things it should not. Reposition the insulation as shown in this article - Click here for pictures and words. Then scroll way down to the big photos. Next, pull the filler / liner out of the right front wheel well so you can see the Power Train Control Module (PCM) in all its glory. See these pictures and instructions. Disconnect the battery, then ensure the cable connectors on the bottom of the PCM are secure are clean, have waterproof grease, and secure.
After the above, drive car until you're sure the fixes did not work. Time to bring out the heavy guns. We've narrowed down your problem to the very cheap relays in the DCM. They can be replaced with the exact part or reasonable substitutes as shown in this article - click here for the Corvette Forum DIY instructions for finding and installing replacement relays. I don't recommend the DIY fix if you've never used a soldering iron on a circuit board before - you must also have some skill in unsoldering if you expect the DCM to work when you're done. You will have to take the door apart without wrecking it. Desoldering tools and the forked door tool required. Wrap the door tool in black electrical tape to prevent damage - the door interiors fit very tightly.
Some of the writers have had some success by gently opening up the relay box without removing it from the PCM and filing away the damage to the contacts caused by electrical arcing on the make and break. Like I said, cheap.
Some of the forum readers in that DIY link, above, claim they can fix it for you, and others give a place to send the box. Or if you've got a few hundred lying around, replace the DCM yourself !
As always, your mileage may vary.
OBTW - my previous fix of the air conditioning control LED display still works.
Brent Gourley
'93 Z25 / Z07 40th with 190,000 miles
'99 white Z51 coupe with 135,000 miles
March - be sure to check out the complete 2010 calendar
Dothan's Azalea Trail - exact date determined by the flowers and the weather. Lineup 1 pm in the bank parking lot corner of West Main and Woodland in Dothan. We usually need ten cars to participate and carry the Azalea Court.
13 Get together with our ‘neighbor’ Corvette clubs at Xtreme Motorsports in Blountstown FL. We will have a Dyno Challenge, Corvette Display, and an event for the ladies. Parramores seafood restaurant will be cooking up a seafood buffet on site. Starts at 10:00, awards at 2:00, $15 per person covers everything.
17 Racing at Sebring. Contact Charley for details or http://www.sebringraceway.com or contact Charley.
20 Orange Beach 10th Annual
"Gulf Coast Fun in The Sun" Car Show at the Wharf.
Pre-show activities on the evening of the 19th.
Click for detailed info ;
the flyer ;
Condos at the Wharf ;
registration ;
and, the rules for valve cover
racing. Really.
27 Weevil City Cruisers car and truck show. Click here for the flyer for the Weevil City Cruisers Car Show
27 Statewide Event at
Barber Motorsports Park sponsored by MidAlabama Corvette Club.
See the March calendar and/or click here for the flyer for complete
details.
(Flyer is a large pdf and loads slowly)
April
8 -10 Our 30th Panama City Beach Caravan
17 Saturday MSCC “Vettes and Jets” Car Show at 10AM the National Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. $30 Donation/Registration. Remember, some proceeds will go to the Naval Aviation Museum. Top 20 Trophies. Also, bring your Valve Cover Car and Race! Trophies for Valve Cover will be 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners and a People’s Choice Trophy will be given. Longest Distance Wins!! Helpers needed – be there @ 0800.
23 - 24 Emerald Coast Corvette Beach Odyssey at PCB <--- click for more info
July
3 "Vettes 4 Vets" - pace
laps at Talladega for donation. The first 200 cars - Corvettes only.
Click here
for registration form;
click here for the flyer.
Sweetheart Cruise to the School House Restaurant, Troy. on the 13th, and the snow on the 12th.
Our thanks to Bill and Jackie for this Sweetheart
Cruise the day before Valentine's Day - and the flowers and treats for
the ladies.  |
The crew, gathered in Ozark |
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A truly beautiful day; the day after the record snowfall. |
| The building began life as a one-room
schoolhouse, century before last. |
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Snow, February 12, a good way to end a Friday early... |
 in the work place parking lot, |
 first time in years, maybe since this car was
new, snow on the ground, |
 snow in Dothan, 12 Feb 10 |
Our host snapped the group photo,
with the assistance of a local winter denizen.
We welcome our new members to the club!!!
Jeff Bishop & Cindy Linden (2006 silver Z06)
Mark & Tammy Robinson (1971 blue coupe) (2009 blue coupe)
| HAPPY March
BIRTHDAYS 10 Charlotte Countryman 12 Velvalene Bowens 14 Peggy Heneveld 19 George Heneveld 21 Michael Pusateri 23 Micky Young 24 John Holley 29 Daniel Braley 29 Tammy Robinson
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and March
ANNIVERSARIES:
19 Curtis & Melody King 12 Rick & Sue Early 17 Dale & Bridget Stroud 29 George & Peggy Heneveld 30 Jamie & Paula Flowers |
| 73 Vette. It has less than 60K and is all original >
except the radio. All numbers matching components etc. Please pass this
on to all club members in case they know someone who may be >
interested. Asking $16,000 I am the 4th owner and I have the owner
history. I am looking for a 63 to 67 Coupe but need to sell this one
first. Thanks,
Carl J. Shea
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Think you've seen all the Corvette videos? Not til you've seen this collection !
Toyota accelerator problem explained - maybe ??
Do you have an incurable passion for 'Vettes? Seek help at Corvettes Anonymous.
Vettes for Vets Event ON the Talladega Motor Speedway
Lambo can't get away from a ZR-1
How to clean a car, by the MiniCooper group.
A Norwegian perspective (thanks, Stan) http://www.lov2xlr8.no/
GM's HyWire - the car of the future on Top Gear
Building the last C4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YII-h21xJvw&NR=1
Think you can win that ZR-1 and the '67/427 advertised on Facebook?
Read here before you donate:
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/12/05/Northpinellas/Wish_granting_charity.shtml
How to make your car last - http://tinyurl.com/qwdp7t
Nostalgia videos - http://www.oldbluewebdesigns.com/
LS2 Engine Assembly - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2ZQQRDmlJc&feature=related
President: Bruce Carter
Vice President: Russell Lewis
Secretary: Barbara Pattberg
NCM Ambassador:
Charley Robertson
Treasurer: Jim Robertson
Caravan Coordinator: John
Hickman
Local Event Coordinator: Bruce Carter
Newsletter Editor:
Brent Gourley
Member at Large:
Charley O. Robertson
Member at Large:
Rick Early
Webmaster: Brent Gourley
