valve

This is the valve that is in question. We cannot find what connects to the back side of it. Thanks to 05GT from newtiburon.com forums for use of the pic. The original pic url is http://img12.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=49587_100_0203_122_1020lo.JPG&loc=loc1020

Tiburon belt routing

For those interested in serpentine belt routing. This is a diagram of a 2004 V6 Tiburon. It is a bit crude but you get the idea nonetheless.

long time

Sorry it has been so long. I will try to do better. Story of my life huh?

Well anyway, does anyone here know what the term vestibular-neuropathy means? Don't be shy raise your hand right up.

OOOKKKK. Basically it means that your inner ear balance systems barely work (or not all all). Mine comes from having inner ear disease since 1981.

In technical terms, you have to use your vision and touch to make up for having no gyro thingy in your head.

And there is a big trade-off. Concentration and short term memory suffer a great deal. It is very easy to get exhausted and worn out.
You trip and run into things a lot.

When you go to the store you always push a cart, so you won't have to use your cane. But that is just the way it is.

The emotional toll that chronic inner ear disturbances take are almost unseen. For many years most people think you are crazy or lazy. Friends and family stop coming around. Your hearing deteriorates slowly and the buzzing (24/7) gets louder every year.

Somedays you feel prety good and others you feel terrible, but you look ok.

Others are jealous of you because you are on disability and do not have to work. If they only knew....I would love to be back at my well paying job at Certainteed.

So you are kind of isolated. But that is just the way it is. You keep on going and still try your best to be Patriarch of your family (wife and 4 grown kids).

And you do a pretty good job also. Besides, very few people even know that you exist, nor do they care about what happens to you.

So what is my point???? Not sure, just needed to vent a little I guess. :)

240 volt circuits

Here is where 220-240 volts starts:



The buss bars in the breaker box are set up to where every other position is a different phase. This means that there are two separate 120 volt power sources coming from the 240 volt breaker.

The small breakers with only one hot lead are called single pole breakers. The ones with two hot leads are double pole breakers.

In a 240 volt circuit is referred to as ungrounded. What that means is, there is no neutral conductor involved. Here is a simple 240 volt circuit:



This diagram shows only the circuit and switches for a 240 volt motor. Only 2 wires of 120 volts are needed. The power comes in through both wires and is neutralized within the motor. Power does not have to travel back through a neutral conductor.

Shown is a perpendicular 240 volt outlet. In reality the motor would be plugged into the outlet with a matching plug. There are several kinds of 220-240 volt outlets and plugs. Here are some.




The 20 amp can be found on some room air conditioners. The 30 amp can be found on clothes dryers. The 40 can be found on some electric ranges.

In some instances the grounding conductor is used as a neutral. I am not sure exactly how this works, but it is allowed. Here is a demonstration:



This is a 220-240 volt clothes dryer. The motor and heat element are 220 volts. The motor control circuit (including the timer) is 120 volts. In some cases there is a 4 wire plug and outlet that utilizes a neutral wire.

This diagram is not correct as shown, but only for demonstration purposes. In reality, there would be switches and the motor control circuit operating the unit.

Each chapter in this series is to give you general information. It is my hope that it will encourage you to learn more about electricity as it can be a most fascinating thing.

The last chapter is a review of the series. I hope you have enjoyed. :)

Parallel Circuits

The wiring in your house is in parallel circuits. Here is another view of the 2 flashlight batteries wired in parallel (discussed earlier):



Let’s start with a description of a duplex outlet receptacle, commonly found in homes:



The neutral screws will be silver colored and the hot screws will be darker (sometimes gold). The grounding screw is green. On a quick-connect, use the holes that are just behind the slots.

Three outlets wired in parallel could look something like this:



Power enters on the black (hot) wire and leaves on the neutral (white) wire. It is important to keep the black (hot) wires to the hot (smaller slot) side of the outlets.

There are two screws on each terminal. They are joined by a tab, as long as the tab is intact; it makes no difference which screw you use on that side. If you break the tab, then the connection between the upper and lower “plug in” will be broken.

You will see why that can be useful a little later. Now let’s talk about switches. For simplicity, I will only mention single pole switches. I will devote a later discussion to other types of switches:




Here is basically what happens in a single pole switch. The two screws are connected
in the “ON” position. The connection is broken in the “OFF” position. The purpose of the single pole switch is to break the connection of the hot conductor. This interrupts the circuit and kills the power.

There are several ways to wire a switch in a 120 volt parallel circuit:



Power going to a switch is called the “feed”. Power going from the switch to a light, outlet, fan, etc. is called the “switch leg”. In this diagram, a switch controls a light. I have not used the ground conductors to keep it simple.

This same switch could just as easily control an outlet. This is often done at room entrances. A lamp can be turned on to light a dark room, upon entry.

The common screw (darker) will stay hot all the time. This is important so, power can be run to something else. If you ran additional things like outlets, from the switch leg side, everything in the circuit would be dead when the switch was “off”.



In this diagram, the light and outlet A are off. Outlet B is live.



In this diagram the switch operates the top plug of the outlet. The bottom remains hot all the time. Notice the tab broken. That separates power from the top and bottom.

At present, the top is dead and the bottom is live. To do this, you must run an extra hot wire. But in some cases, the switch and outlet are in the same box (double gang), so the extra wire need only be a few inches long.

When using switches, the neutral wires will need to be spliced together. The best thing to use is a spring loaded wire nut. They thread on the wires and work very well.



They come in many sizes. There is just the right size for the job you need. If splicing only 2 wires, there is no need to twist them together. Just strip about ½ inch of insulation.



If twisting the wires, you will need to strip quite a bit of insulation, then snip it off even. Make sure you snip enough so bare wire will not be showing, after you have threaded the wire nut on tight.



The green wire nut is for ground connections and no need to worry about bare wire showing.

Next is 240 volt circuits.

Grounding

First we will talk about 120 volt branch circuits in your house, and why they must be grounded. Here is where a circuit originates:



Notice that the neutral wire and grounding wire are connected to the same buss bar.
Let’s follow the power to show you why.



The power comes from the breaker box to a receptacle as shown. When you plug in something like a clock or television, the power goes in through the hot wire, through the appliance and leaves on the neutral wire.

The grounding wire does not normally carry current. But it is needed when you plug in a metal chassis appliance. This could be a computer, refrigerator, or such. The grounding conductor is used to ground appliances for safety. Here is a demonstration:



This is a standard grounding plug with the third “prong”. This prong connects to the metal chassis. This connects the entire appliance to the neutral buss bar, (which connects to the ground) when plugged into a receptacle.



If something goes wrong (like a broken or bare wire) and the power makes it to the chassis, it (or anyone touching it) will become a conductor, unless the chassis is grounded.




If the circuit was not grounded here is the scenario: The electricity enters the black wire and to the chassis (bare wire touching chassis). Instead of going to the motor it now goes to you if you touch the appliance.

You could be injured or killed, depending on your connection to the ground. Here is what happens if the appliance is grounded:




The power enters from the black wire and to the chassis. However, the appliance is grounded by the grounding wire (green). A short circuit will result. Have you ever seen what happens when a live wire is touched to a grounded wire?

There is a loud pop and a great deal of current is used. The current now flows through the green wire and back to the breaker. This huge current rush will trip the breaker and turn off the power to the appliance.

Do you see why it is not a good idea to use one of those 3 prong to 2 prong adapters to plug in a metal appliance? If you do, your appliance will not be grounded.

You may live in an older house without grounded outlets. There are 2 ways to correct that. You can run a ground wire and use a new outlet. Or you can install a GFCI receptacle. The GFCI stands for “ground fault circuit interrupter”. They are also called “shock savers”.

Shock savers monitor the electric current coming and going. If there is a slight difference it will kill the power in a fraction of a second. Your outlet may be grounded, but if you are wet and in a situation to trip the breaker, it may be too late.

It may take the breaker, a second or so to trip. Electricity travels close to the speed of light. It could pass through you many times in one second. The GFCI can be a lifesaver.

GFCI outlets are important to have in bathrooms and kitchens. You should use one anytime there is an outlet within six feet of a water source. They should always be used outside, too.


At a later date I will write a section on installing GFCI outlets. Next is series number 8 "Parallel Circuits".

Electric boxes

There are many type of boxes available. First we will mention outlet boxes. These boxes are rectangular and house receptacles and switches. However, they come in different sizes and makeup.

Single boxes are made of plastic or metal. There are construction types that nail to a stud. These are installed before the wallboard. And there is the cut-in type that you can install afterwards. These will be used if you are installing a new switch or receptacle where there was none before.

And there are ones made specifically for outdoor use. Here are a few examples:


Single wall construction plastic box


Double gang box similar to above


plastic cut-in box (notice the tabs)


Ceiling boxes are made to fasten to the ceiling joists. They also make them in cut-in type, but are not recommended for heavy things like ceiling fans.


Typical ceiling box.

In most simple projects you will not be installing a new box. But knowing what is there will help you to better understand what you are doing.

Now it is time to talk about the importance of grounding. And you will discover what that bare wire is doing in those electric boxes.