Friday, November 2, 2012

Halting the Radio


Ever since I acquired the car I'd been turning the engine off and leaving the key in the "garage" position because I couldn't freely turn it completely to "Halt." Problems included lack of steering lock function and worse, the radio that a PO cut away the glove compartment to install and had to be manually shut down. I completely discharged the battery at least twice before remembering to always turn off the radio. And I never liked turning the thing on by reaching into the glove box, either.
Then I met Patrick of Midnight Motorsport. He commented to me in a casual manner that the key could be turned all the way to "Halt"; the cylinder was a bit stiff, that's all. So I played around with a tube of graphite and the key. Now it turns all the way off with the smoothness of a butter-filled doughnut, and the steering lock engages properly. I'd never even known that the locking mechanism on the wheel existed! Best of all, the damn radio shuts itelf off now, too. (And turns back on when I start the car.)