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January 2014 NewsletterOFFICERS:President: Wayne Bane
724.594.7482 [email protected]
Vice President: Peter Sarkis 412.310.1589
[email protected]
Secretary: Mary Beth Meyer 412.747.0769
[email protected]
Treasurer: Jerry Longstreth 412.466.9091 [email protected]:
www.pittbirds.org
The Pitt Birds welcomeMary Beth Meyer to theposition of
Secretary,effective January 1, 2014
The Pitt Birds welcomeWayne Bane to the positionof President,
effectiveJanuary 1, 2014.
NOMINATION OF OFFICERS
The Pitt Birds thank BettyMacek for her ten years ofservice as
Secretary.
The Pitt Birds thankCarol Vivaldi for herfourteen years
ofservice as Historian.
The Pitt Birds welcome Richand Ann Augustine to theposition of
Historian, effectiveJanuary 1, 2014.
The Pitt Birds thank BobMacek for his twelve yearsof service as
President.
Peter Sarkis will continue in the position as Vice President
Jerry Longstreth will continue in the position as Treasurer
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Holiday Dinner: Saturday, January 18, 2014Forty-two Pitt Birds
members celebrated their holiday dinner atPeter’s Place Restaurant.
The hors d’oeuvres, dinner anddessert were delicious. After dinner
Bob Macek introduced the2014 officers:
President: Wayne Bane
Vice President: Peter Sarkis
Secretary: Mary Beth Meyer
Treasurer: Jerry Longstreth
Historians: Rich and Ann Augustine
RECENT EVENTS:After the introductions, Peter Sarkis, on behalf
of the Pitt Birds,thanked Bob Macek for his twelve years of service
as clubpresident. Bob listened to a short roast about his
experiencesas president and then Pete presented him with a
Thunderbirdpocket watch for time and effort well served. Betty
Macek wasacknowledged and thanked for her ten years of service as
clubsecretary. Carol Vivaldi who has been the club historian for
thepast fourteen years was acknowledged and thanked for
herservices. Both were presented with bouquets of flowers.After the
formal ceremonies, members participated in a livelygift exchange
and everyone went home with a new gift. Fun,family, and friends
appeared to be the theme of this enjoyableevening. Our thanks go
out to Bob and Betty Macek fororganizing and hosting the
dinner.
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Holiday Dinner: Saturday, January 18, 2014
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Bob and Betty Macek
Wayne Bane, Carol Vivaldi, Pete Sarkis
Wayne Bane and Bob Macek
exchanging gifts Fred and Nancy Antill
showing off their gifts
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. UPCOMING INTERNATIONAL EVENTS:Mocking Bird Run VIMay 2-4, 2014
Oakridge, TNVisit: www.ctci.org/events.php
VTCI – Vintage Thunderbird Club International ConventionMay
28-31, 2014 New Orleans, LAVisit:
www.vintagethunderbirdclub.net/events.htm
TBN – Thunderbirdnest “Bluegrass Cruising”June 11-15, 2014
Lexington, KYVisit:
www.thunderbirdnest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38941
CTCI – Classic Thunderbird Club International ConventionJuly
1-6, 2014 Springfield/Branson, MOVisit: www.ctci.org/events.php
UPCOMING EVENTS:Winter Meeting: Thursday, February 6, 2014The
Pitt Birds will meet at 6:30 PM at Kings Restaurant whichis located
at the intersection of I-79 and Route 910.GPS: 105 VIP Drive,
Wexford, PA 15090.We will discuss and finalize ideas for the 2014
adventures.Please bring your suggestions to the meeting or
contactWayne Bane at 724.594.7482 or Jerry Longstreth
at412.466.9091.
Phipps Conservatory: Sunday, February 16, 2014The Pitt Birds
will meet at 12:00 noon and tour the PhippsConservatory in Schenley
Park. Following the tour we willhave lunch at the Schenley Park
Café and Visitor Center whichis adjacent to the Conservatory.GPS:
700 Frank Curto Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15213. If youhave any
questions, call Barbara Longstreth at 412.466.9091.
Atlantic City Classic Auto Auction and Car Show:Saturday, March
1, 2014
Bill Snyder is running a bus trip to Atlantic City. The bus
willleave from Robinson Township and Monroeville at 1:00-1:30AM
Saturday morning, arrive in Atlantic City at 9:00 AM, leaveAtlantic
City at 7:30 PM, and return to Pittsburgh at 2:00 AMSunday morning.
If you are interested, please contact BillSnyder at
412.848.7080.
Mardi Gras Celebration:TUESDAY, 7:00 PM, March 4, 2014
The Pitt Birds will be celebrating Mardi Gras at the R E Club
inSharpsburg. Club member, Ron Hopkinson, the club’s discjockey
will play the oldies. Costumes and Beads are availableand
encouraged.GPS: 65 7th Street, Sharpsburg, PA 15215.
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MEMBERSHIP:Current Membership: 64 Member Families
Wishing a rapid recovery to:
Barry Henderson
Karen Sarkis
Jon Strebeck
TREASURY:Current Balance as of January 1, 2014: $3,699.59
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FOR SALE: 2004 Thunderbird:Rare Vintage Mint Green with optional
Whisper White InteriorAccents. All options including removable
hardtop with boot.10,000 miles. $26,500. Contact Peter Sarkis.
412.310.1589
Golf Shirts: If you would like to purchase a Turquoise /
Thunderbird blue golfshirt with the Pitt Birds logo, contact Wayne
and Dolly Bane at:724.226.0788. The price is $30.00 ($32.00 for
XXL).
Tee Shirts:With the Pitt Birds club logo are for sale for $15.00
each.Shipping and handling to your address is an additional
$3.00.Limited supply remaining, sizes available; 6 large and 6
medium.Contact Carol Vivaldi at: 412.486.6009.
Wanted:1930 or 1931 Ford Roadster.Contact Frank Rybicki at:
724.842.6112
To advertise in the newsletter, please contact Jerry
Longstrethat: [email protected] or 412.466.9091
2014 Dues Payment:If you have not paid your 2014 dues, your
payment is due.Please make the dues payment of $20.00 to:
Pitt Birds1723 Pleasant AvenueWest Mifflin, PA 15122 2857
If you have paid your dues, you should have received a
membership card in the mail.
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Electrical Leaks Reprinted from CASCO newsletter, September
2013
Electrical leaks are an unwanted current flow and can occur due
toworn or damage insulation, corroded connections or
excessivedampness. This is nothing more annoying than jumping into
yourThunderbird in full anticipation of an enjoyable drive and
finding thebattery too low to start the car. If you think you have
an electricalleak (or short) that is running down your battery
here’s how to findit:1. Turn off everything that uses
electricity.2. Remove the battery cable that goes to the starter
solenoid from
the battery.3. Connect a multimeter set to measure DC volts
between the
battery terminal and the cable. If it reads battery voltage
there isleakage or a short.
4. Switch your meter to read DC amps (start on the highest range
toprevent damage to the meter) and measure the current flow. Ifthe
reading is 1 amp or more then quite likely there is somethingstill
turned on. Any current flow between 1 amp and .01 amps isa major
electrical leak. Less than .01 amps is a minor leak.
5. If a leak is detected, first clean the battery terminals,
battery top,and battery cables, then one a time remove fuses
anddisconnect wires until the current drops to zero. When it
does,you’ve found the source of the leak.
How to Find a 12 Volt Wiring ShortBy Jonra Springs, eHow
Contributor
1. Remove the positive terminal from the battery by loosening
theterminal bolt with an adjustable wrench. Pull the cable away
fromthe battery to prevent the terminal from making contact with
thepositive post.
2. Refer to the wiring schematic for 12-volt electrical systems
incars to find all the electrical wiring involved in the
non-functioningdevice. Locate each of the physical wires in the car
that areshown in the wiring diagram.
How to Find a 12 Volt Wiring Short (Continued) By Jonra Springs,
eHow Contributor3. Set a multimeter to "ohms" to perform continuity
tests on each
of the wires. Zero out the ohms scale on an analog multimeterby
touching the leads together and setting the needle on zerowith the
calibrating wheel or dial.
4. Touch one lead to one end of a wire and the other lead to
theother end. Avoid touching the leads while taking a reading,
asyour skin will affect the resistance being measured. Use longlead
extension wires with alligator clip ends if necessary forreaching
both ends of long wires.
5. Read the ohms values shown on the meter display. A
readingreflected by any number shows a good wire. An
infinitereading shows a short in the wire. Replace any wire
thatproves to have a short with this test to restore service to
theon-board appliance.
Troubleshoot an Electrical Drain on Early Thunderbirds Author
Unknown
Remove the positive battery cable off and connect the testlight
between the battery cable (you just took off) and the batterypost
it came from. If the light shines you have a drain. If itdoesn't
shine, your battery may have an internal short.
To troubleshoot the drain, disconnect the B wire from
yourvoltage regulator. If the light goes off, put the B wire back
on andlift the other two (generator) wires off your voltage
regulator. If itstill stays on, your regulator is shorted to
ground. Remove thevoltage regulator cover and inspect the relays,
the normally opencontact on the far RH side may be stuck together,
a coil may beshorted or the resistors may be bad.
If your light stays on when pulling the B wire off your
regulator,put it back on and go to the starter solenoid. Disconnect
thebattery wires from that post. All the wires to your dash,
windows,seats and headlights start here. If the light goes off when
you pullthe wires off the starter solenoid, follow the yellow wire.
Makesure it isn't frayed and arcing anywhere. This wire has no
fuse.
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Tracking Down the Suspect FuseBy: Tom Taylor, RockAuto.com
Tracking down the circuit that is draining the battery gets
harder ifthe problem is intermittent. Current drains can often be
found byunplugging connectors or removing fuses and then using
anammeter or test light to bridge the disconnected
electricalcontacts. There is current draining away if the test
light turns on orthe ammeter gives an amp reading. However,
disconnectingconnectors or pulling fuses might also sometimes only
hinderdiagnosis by inadvertently making the problem temporarily
goaway.
This is especially true for newer, computerized
cars.Disconnecting power might reset the computer controlling
aproblem circuit so that the problem temporarily disappears.
Forexample, maybe a body computer is staying on forever because
itis receiving a signal that a door is still ajar. Disconnecting
power tothe computer or the door sensor might reset everything back
tonormal until the next time the offending door is opened or
someother trigger reactivates the problem. Disconnecting things
candelay tracking down intermittent problems on cars from almost
anyera. Diodes, capacitors, electromagnetic relays and other
basicelectronic components with problems might be temporarily
“reset”if their host part is unhooked from the vehicle’s positive
and/orground connections.
Here is another method for troubleshooting battery drains.
Insteadof unplugging stuff and using the ammeter function on your
multi-meter, leave everything hooked up and use the
multi-meter’svoltmeter function set to millivolts. Voltage (V)
equals current (I)multiplied by resistance (R) or V=I x R.
Everything, even the bestautomotive wire or fuse, has at least some
tiny resistance. R isalways greater than zero. Therefore, any
current (I) flowingthrough a fuse (with R resistance) will create a
measurablevoltage (V) drop across the fuse.
Remember to set the multi-meter to millivolts. The
fuse’sresistance is very small so the voltage across the fuse will
besmall. Put the meter’s probes on the exposed ends of old
styleglass fuses. Put the probes on the two exposed contact
pointson the backs of blade fuses (see photo). If the
measuredmillivolts are anything above zero, then current is
passingthrough that fuse and the circuit protected by that fuse
mightcontain the malfunctioning part that is draining the
battery.
It might be normal for current to be traveling through somefuses
even when the engine is off and the key is out of theignition. New
cars often have systems that are designed to staypowered up for
minutes or even hours after the car is turned off.Old cars may have
clocks, alarms and other systems thatalways draw current but not
enough to quickly drain the carbattery.
Comparing millivolt readings from known and unfamiliar fusescan
help track down something abnormal. Let’s say the fuse forthe dome
light circuit has four millivolts across it when the domelight is
on. That means another circuit with a seven millivoltreading across
its fuse would definitely drain the battery ifallowed to draw
current indefinitely after the car is shut off.Continue to track
down the problem by using the owner’smanual or service manual to
find out what parts and systemsare on a suspect fuse’s circuit.
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