January 2014 NewsletterOFFICERS:President: Wayne Bane 724.594.7482 dbane3413@comcast.net

Vice President: Peter Sarkis 412.310.1589 sarkis2004@comcast.net

Secretary: Mary Beth Meyer 412.747.0769 mbmeyer321@hotmail.com

Treasurer: Jerry Longstreth 412.466.9091 gll1231@msn.comVisit: www.pittbirds.org

The Pitt Birds welcomeMary Beth Meyer to theposition of Secretary,effective January 1, 2014

The Pitt Birds welcomeWayne Bane to the positionof President, effectiveJanuary 1, 2014.

NOMINATION OF OFFICERS

The Pitt Birds thank BettyMacek for her ten years ofservice as Secretary.

The Pitt Birds thankCarol Vivaldi for herfourteen years ofservice as Historian.

The Pitt Birds welcome Richand Ann Augustine to theposition of Historian, effectiveJanuary 1, 2014.

The Pitt Birds thank BobMacek for his twelve yearsof service as President.

Peter Sarkis will continue in the position as Vice President

Jerry Longstreth will continue in the position as Treasurer

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Holiday Dinner: Saturday, January 18, 2014Forty-two Pitt Birds members celebrated their holiday dinner atPeter’s Place Restaurant. The hors d’oeuvres, dinner anddessert were delicious. After dinner Bob Macek introduced the2014 officers:

President: Wayne Bane

Vice President: Peter Sarkis

Secretary: Mary Beth Meyer

Treasurer: Jerry Longstreth

Historians: Rich and Ann Augustine

RECENT EVENTS:After the introductions, Peter Sarkis, on behalf of the Pitt Birds,thanked Bob Macek for his twelve years of service as clubpresident. Bob listened to a short roast about his experiencesas president and then Pete presented him with a Thunderbirdpocket watch for time and effort well served. Betty Macek wasacknowledged and thanked for her ten years of service as clubsecretary. Carol Vivaldi who has been the club historian for thepast fourteen years was acknowledged and thanked for herservices. Both were presented with bouquets of flowers.After the formal ceremonies, members participated in a livelygift exchange and everyone went home with a new gift. Fun,family, and friends appeared to be the theme of this enjoyableevening. Our thanks go out to Bob and Betty Macek fororganizing and hosting the dinner.

Holiday Dinner: Saturday, January 18, 2014

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Bob and Betty Macek Wayne Bane, Carol Vivaldi, Pete Sarkis

Wayne Bane and Bob Macek exchanging gifts Fred and Nancy Antill showing off their gifts

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. UPCOMING INTERNATIONAL EVENTS:Mocking Bird Run VIMay 2-4, 2014 Oakridge, TNVisit: www.ctci.org/events.php

VTCI – Vintage Thunderbird Club International ConventionMay 28-31, 2014 New Orleans, LAVisit: www.vintagethunderbirdclub.net/events.htm

TBN – Thunderbirdnest “Bluegrass Cruising”June 11-15, 2014 Lexington, KYVisit: www.thunderbirdnest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38941

CTCI – Classic Thunderbird Club International ConventionJuly 1-6, 2014 Springfield/Branson, MOVisit: www.ctci.org/events.php

UPCOMING EVENTS:Winter Meeting: Thursday, February 6, 2014The Pitt Birds will meet at 6:30 PM at Kings Restaurant whichis located at the intersection of I-79 and Route 910.GPS: 105 VIP Drive, Wexford, PA 15090.We will discuss and finalize ideas for the 2014 adventures.Please bring your suggestions to the meeting or contactWayne Bane at 724.594.7482 or Jerry Longstreth at412.466.9091.

Phipps Conservatory: Sunday, February 16, 2014The Pitt Birds will meet at 12:00 noon and tour the PhippsConservatory in Schenley Park. Following the tour we willhave lunch at the Schenley Park Café and Visitor Center whichis adjacent to the Conservatory.GPS: 700 Frank Curto Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15213. If youhave any questions, call Barbara Longstreth at 412.466.9091.

Atlantic City Classic Auto Auction and Car Show:Saturday, March 1, 2014

Bill Snyder is running a bus trip to Atlantic City. The bus willleave from Robinson Township and Monroeville at 1:00-1:30AM Saturday morning, arrive in Atlantic City at 9:00 AM, leaveAtlantic City at 7:30 PM, and return to Pittsburgh at 2:00 AMSunday morning. If you are interested, please contact BillSnyder at 412.848.7080.

Mardi Gras Celebration:TUESDAY, 7:00 PM, March 4, 2014

The Pitt Birds will be celebrating Mardi Gras at the R E Club inSharpsburg. Club member, Ron Hopkinson, the club’s discjockey will play the oldies. Costumes and Beads are availableand encouraged.GPS: 65 7th Street, Sharpsburg, PA 15215.

MEMBERSHIP:Current Membership: 64 Member Families

Wishing a rapid recovery to:

Barry Henderson

Karen Sarkis

Jon Strebeck

TREASURY:Current Balance as of January 1, 2014: $3,699.59

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FOR SALE: 2004 Thunderbird:Rare Vintage Mint Green with optional Whisper White InteriorAccents. All options including removable hardtop with boot.10,000 miles. $26,500. Contact Peter Sarkis. 412.310.1589

Golf Shirts: If you would like to purchase a Turquoise / Thunderbird blue golfshirt with the Pitt Birds logo, contact Wayne and Dolly Bane at:724.226.0788. The price is $30.00 ($32.00 for XXL).

Tee Shirts:With the Pitt Birds club logo are for sale for $15.00 each.Shipping and handling to your address is an additional $3.00.Limited supply remaining, sizes available; 6 large and 6 medium.Contact Carol Vivaldi at: 412.486.6009.

Wanted:1930 or 1931 Ford Roadster.Contact Frank Rybicki at: 724.842.6112

To advertise in the newsletter, please contact Jerry Longstrethat: gll1231@msn.com or 412.466.9091

2014 Dues Payment:If you have not paid your 2014 dues, your payment is due.Please make the dues payment of $20.00 to:

Pitt Birds1723 Pleasant AvenueWest Mifflin, PA 15122 2857

If you have paid your dues, you should have received a membership card in the mail.

Electrical Leaks Reprinted from CASCO newsletter, September 2013

Electrical leaks are an unwanted current flow and can occur due toworn or damage insulation, corroded connections or excessivedampness. This is nothing more annoying than jumping into yourThunderbird in full anticipation of an enjoyable drive and finding thebattery too low to start the car. If you think you have an electricalleak (or short) that is running down your battery here’s how to findit:1. Turn off everything that uses electricity.2. Remove the battery cable that goes to the starter solenoid from

the battery.3. Connect a multimeter set to measure DC volts between the

battery terminal and the cable. If it reads battery voltage there isleakage or a short.

4. Switch your meter to read DC amps (start on the highest range toprevent damage to the meter) and measure the current flow. Ifthe reading is 1 amp or more then quite likely there is somethingstill turned on. Any current flow between 1 amp and .01 amps isa major electrical leak. Less than .01 amps is a minor leak.

5. If a leak is detected, first clean the battery terminals, battery top,and battery cables, then one a time remove fuses anddisconnect wires until the current drops to zero. When it does,you’ve found the source of the leak.

How to Find a 12 Volt Wiring ShortBy Jonra Springs, eHow Contributor

1. Remove the positive terminal from the battery by loosening theterminal bolt with an adjustable wrench. Pull the cable away fromthe battery to prevent the terminal from making contact with thepositive post.

2. Refer to the wiring schematic for 12-volt electrical systems incars to find all the electrical wiring involved in the non-functioningdevice. Locate each of the physical wires in the car that areshown in the wiring diagram.

How to Find a 12 Volt Wiring Short (Continued) By Jonra Springs, eHow Contributor3. Set a multimeter to "ohms" to perform continuity tests on each

of the wires. Zero out the ohms scale on an analog multimeterby touching the leads together and setting the needle on zerowith the calibrating wheel or dial.

4. Touch one lead to one end of a wire and the other lead to theother end. Avoid touching the leads while taking a reading, asyour skin will affect the resistance being measured. Use longlead extension wires with alligator clip ends if necessary forreaching both ends of long wires.

5. Read the ohms values shown on the meter display. A readingreflected by any number shows a good wire. An infinitereading shows a short in the wire. Replace any wire thatproves to have a short with this test to restore service to theon-board appliance.

Troubleshoot an Electrical Drain on Early Thunderbirds Author Unknown

Remove the positive battery cable off and connect the testlight between the battery cable (you just took off) and the batterypost it came from. If the light shines you have a drain. If itdoesn't shine, your battery may have an internal short.

To troubleshoot the drain, disconnect the B wire from yourvoltage regulator. If the light goes off, put the B wire back on andlift the other two (generator) wires off your voltage regulator. If itstill stays on, your regulator is shorted to ground. Remove thevoltage regulator cover and inspect the relays, the normally opencontact on the far RH side may be stuck together, a coil may beshorted or the resistors may be bad.

If your light stays on when pulling the B wire off your regulator,put it back on and go to the starter solenoid. Disconnect thebattery wires from that post. All the wires to your dash, windows,seats and headlights start here. If the light goes off when you pullthe wires off the starter solenoid, follow the yellow wire. Makesure it isn't frayed and arcing anywhere. This wire has no fuse.

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Tracking Down the Suspect FuseBy: Tom Taylor, RockAuto.com

Tracking down the circuit that is draining the battery gets harder ifthe problem is intermittent. Current drains can often be found byunplugging connectors or removing fuses and then using anammeter or test light to bridge the disconnected electricalcontacts. There is current draining away if the test light turns on orthe ammeter gives an amp reading. However, disconnectingconnectors or pulling fuses might also sometimes only hinderdiagnosis by inadvertently making the problem temporarily goaway.

This is especially true for newer, computerized cars.Disconnecting power might reset the computer controlling aproblem circuit so that the problem temporarily disappears. Forexample, maybe a body computer is staying on forever because itis receiving a signal that a door is still ajar. Disconnecting power tothe computer or the door sensor might reset everything back tonormal until the next time the offending door is opened or someother trigger reactivates the problem. Disconnecting things candelay tracking down intermittent problems on cars from almost anyera. Diodes, capacitors, electromagnetic relays and other basicelectronic components with problems might be temporarily “reset”if their host part is unhooked from the vehicle’s positive and/orground connections.

Here is another method for troubleshooting battery drains. Insteadof unplugging stuff and using the ammeter function on your multi-meter, leave everything hooked up and use the multi-meter’svoltmeter function set to millivolts. Voltage (V) equals current (I)multiplied by resistance (R) or V=I x R. Everything, even the bestautomotive wire or fuse, has at least some tiny resistance. R isalways greater than zero. Therefore, any current (I) flowingthrough a fuse (with R resistance) will create a measurablevoltage (V) drop across the fuse.

Remember to set the multi-meter to millivolts. The fuse’sresistance is very small so the voltage across the fuse will besmall. Put the meter’s probes on the exposed ends of old styleglass fuses. Put the probes on the two exposed contact pointson the backs of blade fuses (see photo). If the measuredmillivolts are anything above zero, then current is passingthrough that fuse and the circuit protected by that fuse mightcontain the malfunctioning part that is draining the battery.

It might be normal for current to be traveling through somefuses even when the engine is off and the key is out of theignition. New cars often have systems that are designed to staypowered up for minutes or even hours after the car is turned off.Old cars may have clocks, alarms and other systems thatalways draw current but not enough to quickly drain the carbattery.

Comparing millivolt readings from known and unfamiliar fusescan help track down something abnormal. Let’s say the fuse forthe dome light circuit has four millivolts across it when the domelight is on. That means another circuit with a seven millivoltreading across its fuse would definitely drain the battery ifallowed to draw current indefinitely after the car is shut off.Continue to track down the problem by using the owner’smanual or service manual to find out what parts and systemsare on a suspect fuse’s circuit.

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