What have you fixed lately?

[mrmistoffelees]

Just finished cleaning and sealing the roof of the car and also cleaning the roof drains too

[Uncle Peter]

Just fitted a new ceiling spotlight in my office

The old halogen track light stopped working the other day. Quite an old one with an integral transformer running those 12v MR16 bulbs. Carbon everywhere and Primary winding on the transformer completely disintegrated. Nice!

[rhyds]

Just fitted a new dipped beam bulb to the passenger side of my new car (MK1 Focus)

I was dreading having to do this (my father had real trouble doing the job on our old focus 10 years ago) as the bulb is well recessed in to the lamp and there's no room behind it.

However thanks to the internet, I could look up the job in more detail, and "cheat" by simply unbolting the enitre headlamp assembly and doing the job that way. Much quicker!

[Osem]

Yes my wife has a Focus and I seem to recall reading that, on some models, doing this job is a real PITA. IIRC hers (2007) isn't one of the affected models and I believe it's a fairly simple job. Phew.

YouTube is great for finding videos on that sort of thing.

[rhyds]

The later MK2 focus (your wife's) is much easier (Ford must have had a few complaints!). Three Torx screws on the top of the headlamp unit is all that holds it in. Remove these, remove the unit and change the bulb.

[Osem]

With the help of some really good superglue, a pair of my wife's earphones (detached rubber earbud) and one of her trainers (a detached heel section).

[heero_yuy]

Going through the solar lanterns: 3 worked straight off so they're out in the sun. Two need some attention with the magic spray and their batteries are in the charger at the moment. There's one left that was gnawed by a fox (I think) last year and is looking very sorry for itself, it's battery compartment is also falling to bits so it'll be a superglue job I guess.

They must be at least 8 or 9 years old so they've held up well. Two batteries in each one and a big solar array (60mm x 60mm) which is all cell, no gaps, on the top unlike the rubbish on the market today.

Two of the solar rocks look beyond help, the electronics have corroded away and the solar arrays have gone misty.

[heero_yuy]

Managed to get one of the solar rocks up. The on/off switch was borked so I removed it and soldered the lines together. Cleaned up the battery compartment. Two batteries in the charger and out it goes.

[Uncle Peter]

Solar garden lights from B&M

Unscrewed and opened up the solar charger thingy and there were two really nasty looking AA NiCads inside:

One delivering 400mV and the other wasn't even electrically connected across the terminals

Popped in a couple of charged-up spares and all Bob's your auntie

[heero_yuy]

I noticed on the most recent 3 solar rocks that I bouight that the AA cell was only 300mahr, they used to be 600. Price pressure I guess. I put in some higher capacity ones anyway.

It's often the battery compartment that corrodes and does them in.

[Uncle Peter]

Originally Posted by heero_yuy

I noticed on the most recent 3 solar rocks that I bouight that the AA cell was only 300mahr, they used to be 600. Price pressure I guess. I put in some higher capacity ones anyway.

It's often the battery compartment that corrodes and does them in.

The AA's in that light unit I just sorted out were 800mAH but I don't actually think they were real batteries, just filled with sand or whatever else they find on the ground where they're made

[Taf]

I replace the standard batteries with tagged cells that I solder in. I also spray WD40 or silicon spray inside the sleeves of the LEDs to rustproof them.

I have repaired my 8' potting table/ pot store and repainted.

[mrmistoffelees]

Two cisco firewalls that were having a vrrp hissy fit

[Tinky]

Painted the garden shed with 5 year wood preservative.

[Osem]

The trellis on our back fence and Osem Jnr's favourite shoes.