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Thread: battery door
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wankel_dreams
Redlining
Posts: 293
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posted April 16, 2002 09:52 PM |
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battery door
I'm tired of switching batteries between my vehicles, and am thinking of getting the REPU its own battery. But i'd really hate if someone stole my new battery. Has anyone modified their battery door to lock? i wouldn't want any modifications to show from the outside. I'm thinking of drilling holes through the door latching tabs and putting a small padlock through.
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74 wankel panther
77 REPU
79 rx7
89 Vert
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repuguru
Redlining
Posts: 319
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posted April 17, 2002 05:31 AM |
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REPU's came with a little hasp that allows you to put a pad lock on the box. Unfortunatly they are usually one of the first things to rot off.
I don't think adding one to your box would look too bad if you kept the hasp up high.
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77' REPU plus a few spare parts
for it.
85' GSL-SE
83' GSL
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wankel_dreams
Redlining
Posts: 293
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posted April 17, 2002 10:35 AM |
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was the hasp on the exterior of the body? if so i don't think mine ever had one. the battery shelf itself has a good deal of corrosion, but the body sheetmetal is un rusted in that area.
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74 wankel panther
77 REPU
79 rx7
89 Vert
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jfaplanet
Redlining
Posts: 356
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posted April 17, 2002 12:12 PM |
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Battery door lock
Mr. Dreams, take a look at The Guru's home page and this page in peticular. http://www.geocities.com/repuguru/RT74test2.html
It has a good pic of the battery in the tray, with a lock.
Hope this helps, jfap
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74 REPU "Red"
74 REPU "Jethro" "TII"
74 RE-Courier vert
79 SA-SE(aka deathtrap)
79 SA-SE-FC (project
turbo)
http://home.bellsouth.net
/p/PWP-crgj
TN Forum:
http://tnrotary.10.forume
r.com/
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repuguru
Redlining
Posts: 319
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posted April 17, 2002 08:48 PM |
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I have always thougt about lifting the floor of the battery tray. So you don't see a battery. A battery made for an old VW would work. The are about half the height of normal batteries.
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77' REPU plus a few spare parts
for it.
85' GSL-SE
83' GSL
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wankel_dreams
Redlining
Posts: 293
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posted April 19, 2002 07:29 AM |
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I looked at that picture. My truck is mising all that hardware. I knew the bungi cord used to secure the battery wasn't OEM, but i just never really thougth about what was supposed to be there. I looked at everything yesterday and am still planning on drilling one of the tabs that holds the door closed to accept a padlock. I'll post pics when i get around to it.
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74 wankel panther
77 REPU
79 rx7
89 Vert
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repuguru
Redlining
Posts: 319
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posted April 20, 2002 06:16 AM |
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Bungee cord, coat hangers, plumbers tape, duct tape, all of these items do not make for a truly secure battery in a REPU. But I have seen them all.
Is your door still there? If it is them you have overcome one major obstacle. Most of those rotted off too..
Did you get your light yet Jeff?
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77' REPU plus a few spare parts
for it.
85' GSL-SE
83' GSL
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wankel_dreams
Redlining
Posts: 293
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posted April 20, 2002 12:04 PM |
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door
The door itself is there and in great shape. I'm guessing that the missing hardware was just lost over the years.
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74 wankel panther
77 REPU
79 rx7
89 Vert
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Jeff20B
Moderator
Posts: 661
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posted April 20, 2002 01:36 PM |
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I have an inner door that I got from a dead REPU to replace my missing door. My outer door is still there, but one of the hinges is broken. I have to use a rubber bungee-like cord to hold my battery in place.
I hope to one day rebuild my battery box and use the replacement inner door on new hinges etc. That would look nice.
I came up with a way to keep water out of my battery's cells. I lined the entire top of my battery caps with electrical tape and left two openings for excess acid to flow out if need be (you know, where the two drip places are; one per cap on a maintanence free battery). I previously had a battery that died because the cells became dilluted with water over the years. The battery lasted from '97 to '01 so I hope my new battery will last even longer now that the cells are protected. Why not try to prevent the drips from the bed you ask? Heh yeah right! Why not build some sort of roof between the battery and bed? Maybe when I rebuild my battery box.
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'74 REPU
'76 Cosmo
'77 MG Midget 13B
'81 RX-7
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rotarynews
Moderator
Too Many Rotary Websites
Posts: 206
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posted April 23, 2002 10:54 AM |
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battery
Like I posted in the parts wanted section, I'm going to ask my neighbor for advice in making a new design for the door and clasp. The stock one hangs down to the ground when taken apart, and if you forget to button the thing up when you are working on it, you bent the hell out of the clasp.
I think a trip to Home Depot will be in order after I decide what to do. I'll let you know the final results after I get the advice.
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repuguru
Redlining
Posts: 319
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posted April 24, 2002 05:21 AM |
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If Mazda had used battery trays under the batteries then most of us wouldn't be looking for rotted off parts.
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77' REPU plus a few spare parts
for it.
85' GSL-SE
83' GSL
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rotarynews
Moderator
Too Many Rotary Websites
Posts: 206
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posted April 24, 2002 09:30 AM |
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Battery tray
Or, if they had designed it not to hit the ground, the latch wouldn't have gotten bent up...
I was mulling replacing the battery with a motorcycle battery that'll go in the engine compartment, and maybe put a propane injection system in place of the battery tray...
It all depends on how some guys on the Forum say the injection works.(a week or two maybe) If it works well, I'll get it for my T2 conversion.
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repuguru
Redlining
Posts: 319
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posted April 24, 2002 08:58 PM |
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Courier
I bet that a structural battery tray for a Courier would sit under the hood like it was meant to be there?
I have always thought about how cool a tool box or something would be to have down there instead of the battery.
But I don't want my battery there so why would I in my right mind put a box of tools there?
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77' REPU plus a few spare parts
for it.
85' GSL-SE
83' GSL
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