Newell Renewal - Day 2

7:20 am - Sunday - April 19th - Wittmann, AZ - 55° F, 49% humidity, wind 3 mph out of the east by northeast......clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 80° F.  On this day in 2014 we were near Blanding, UT visiting the Edge of Cedars State Park......

.....an exploring an ancient a Native American Kiva and a good example of Puebloan  life dating back to 1,000 AD.

 And so began day 2 of, as I like to call it, Newell Renewal.....we left off Friday in the middle of removing the dashboard in Glenn and Laureen's 1984 Newell Classic.  As we have found over the years Newell technicians are not shy about using fasteners of all kinds redundantly.  By that I mean they often use glue, nails, bolts, staples and screws in combination, and this dashboard was no exception.  There were at least 10 bolts, a dozen wood screws, 8 nails, and 20 staples holding the padded dashboard, and the underlying 3/4" plywood base in place, and a little glue for good measure.......

....by mid morning you could see some 'daylight' beginning to appear under the padded dashboard.  About 90 minutes later we (Laureen and I) had successfully finished removing the two pieces....a little blood was shed by moi in this endeavor....

......then began the search for the bad wire(s).....whether it is singular, or plural we do not know.  While Laureen and Tom (both electrical engineers, or "Double E's") began the methodical search for damaged wiring I headed to the roof to remove the old 'batwing' TV antenna, and the old, outdated Winegard dome satellite dish......

....in order to install the solar system these items must be removed to create roof space for the  four 2' x 5' 170 watt solar panels....

 

 
.....it took me several hours to remove a couple dozen sheet metal screws affixing both the 'batwing' and Winegard dome, and then all of the cable stretching along the roof in both directions.  Once the two areas were cleared of the aforementioned obstructions I was able to lay out the templates Laureen and Glenn provided to figure out how to place the panels.....

.....ultimately, in direct consultation with Glenn and Laureen, we decided on the above layout subject to further review.  Three of the panels will run 'north and south' with the fourth panel 'east and west'.  The two fan vents to either side of the panel in the foreground, plus a black tank vent just to the right of that template, prevent us from placing two panels side by side in that space.

Glenn and I also pulled out the Kohler generator to find out why it had overheated, and found that it had lost coolant via the coolant overflow bottle which is quite old, and leaking, so we will replace that item, and one of the radiator hoses to cure that issue.

By the time called day 2 of Newell Renewal it was after 4:30 pm.  On a high note Tom and Laureen have narrowed down the wiring issues, and it feels like we are getting closer to solving the 12 volt electrical issue that knocked out their headlights and turn signals.

Darlene cooked hamburger patties for dinner, and TLE provided sauteed zucchini and squash as the side. We all ate dinner in the ramada, and were treated a beautiful sunset in the process.....

.....it was a good day with much accomplished.  Now that the dashboard is removed accessing the hundreds of feet of electrical wiring under the dashboard has been simplified dramatically.

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