Day 628

I woke up at 6 today.  There was no particular reason, I just did.  I spent an hour or so surfing and then got up.  After pet stuff and breakfast I did some shopping.  One of the places I regularly shop at had a 4th of July sale with good prices on some things I wanted.

After that it was go outside and work on the Ranger.  I worked from about 8:30 until 6:30.  I started off by finishing the windshield wiper install.  I finished fishing the power cables, strung the wiring harness, bolted the wiper module to the windshield, and installed the fluid container.  When I was finished the whole thing worked like a champ.

The next task was installing the roof.  That was relatively quick and easy.  Then I started making up a wiring harness for the two new light switches I was installing.  It took awhile to figure out the Chinese wiring diagram.  When I tested the first switch I discovered that the accessory fuse was blown.  It was time for lunch, so I took that as a que to eat.

After lunch I went to Woodburn to get fuses (I didn't have the right type).  I also got some wire loom.  While I was at it I bought some metric hex wrenches and deep sockets.  I'd needed both and didn't have them.  I topped it off by stopping at the post office.

When I got home I blew 4 fuses (of the 5 I bought) determining that I'd misidentified one of the OEM wires.  I thought it was ground, but it was really +12 switched.  I'll need to buy more fuses.

After fixing the wiring I completed the wiring harness, cut holes in the dash, and installed the switches.  Then I routed the wires for the inside light and installed it.  I finished up by attaching the rear lights to the cab.  By then it was 6:30 and I was hot, hungry, and tired.  It took awhile just to put all of the tools away before I could go in.

I still have to string the wire for the rear lights and hook them up.  Then I have to install the temperature gauge.   The final work will be reinstalling the dash.  The whole effort shouldn't take more than a couple of hours (famous last words).  Then I'll need to buy a radio and install it.  That might be delayed awhile.  I also have to finish installing the LED light in the little trailer and poison the environment.

After dinner another ad from another company came in.  They had some sale items I wanted, so I made another order.  I was too tired to surf, so I spent the rest of the evening watching the gun shows on TV.