Automotive/Expert Profile

Expertise

The challenges I most enjoy are thoughtful technical questions of a trouble-shooting nature in both electrical, power electronic and mechanical systems, mainly automotive but also machine control and small-machine PLC applications. Please note, however, that I am NOT a walking shop manual for every car in existence! While I have been described by colleagues and students as having an encyclopedic knowledge of automotive and transportation equipment in general, I do NOT have a collection of shop manuals and detailed specifications for every vehicle in existence! What I DO have is a good collection of literature and hands-on experience with 1950s to 1980's Ford products (plus a developing database of information and practice with the Mercedes diesel cars), along with an engineering perspective and the ability to design and implement custom control, electrical and mechanical subsystems for vehicles. For that reason, I am happy to make my thoughts and efforts available to those who are similarly making a point of learning about their vehicles. In regard to manuals and specifications, your automotive parts shop, automotive parts houses and, often, the public library are good resources for these. I also have a good track record for trouble-shooting and solving emissions problems in older carbureted vehicles. Doing the latter requires that one has the interest and makes the effort to learn how combustion systems are intended to work and can appreciate how the various systems and settings interrelate - there are no short cuts nor "quick fixes" here; this is a job definitely doing properly and with one's eyes open, as the payoff is not only an honest pass of an emissions test, but an engine which will perform with its intended power, economy and reliability!

Experience in the area

A key skill in my work and hobby pursuits both is STRATEGIC TROUBLESHOOTING. As well as being a Power and Driveline resource on the Edsel Owners' Club "E-Team" for several years, I am a senior instructor in Electrical Engineering Technology at a leading Canadian polytechnic, my area being Electrical Power and Industrial Control, development and delivery of courses in electrical and electronics design and manufacturing, and in AutoCAD and related CAD/CAE software. Hobby-wise, I have 30-plus years of experience in auto restoration, mostly in electrical and mechanical systems. Ongoing projects include a 1959 Edsel Corsair and my 1978 Ford E250 custom class-B motorhome conversion. My vehicles become engineering test beds for electrical and mechanical upgrades as promising ideas present themselves. This often includes the design and production of circuit boards to restore or enhance features for which no OEM replacement parts are obtainable, or where better operating specifications or reliability can be had via current concepts. Regarding the E250 motorhome conversion, I designed and continue to revise a custom power distribution system, managed in recent years by a Programmable Controller (PLC); this has made many revisions as easy as uploading new firmware as I develop it. Similar design and rework is underway on a sixties-vintage travel trailer, also PLC managed. The Moeller Electric "Easy Relay" mini-PLCs offer a wealth of control and monitoring options for such projects, among them "smart" energy management and charging automation to avoid the sulfation-induced early failure that often befalls deep-cycle batteries used in RV and other auxiliary power applications. My current project is the ongoing care and restoration of my daily-driver Mercedes 300CD turbo-Diesel, a car which I find to be a pleasure upon which to work, owing to its structural integrity and the - mostly - logical access of its parts and systems for adjustment, maintenance and repair.

Organizations

IEEE - senior member ... past WCC Student Activities SME - senior member ... past chair, greater Vancouver chapter chair 318 Edsel Owners' Club - have served in various capacities on chapter executive during earlier years

Education/Credentials

Degree in Physics, UBC

Awards and Honors

Certificates of appreciation from both IEEE and SME for work in student and chapter activities

What do you still hope to achieve/learn in this field?

Continued learning ... One must be a lifelong student to fully engage the mind and embrace life!