Van & A Bug Zapper

I finally got a chance to work on the van last weekend so I could try to get rid of the nasty surge it had develeoped. At first, I thought it was the EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) valve or the throttle position sensor, so they were both replaced. Nope, that didn't fix it, so next I installed new spark plug wires, platinum plugs (Champions, my favorite flavor) and an ignition module. After I replaced everything, the van seemed to be running better and it had finally stopped surging. Unfortunately though, when I was driving the van home from work tonight on the Courtney Campbell Causeway, the van became real sluggish and seemed to be having difficulty climbing the big bridge. The darn thing slowed down so much that a semi tractor-trailer almost rear-ended me... going UP the hill...

I was really worried about this sudden development because Luann had promised her parents that they could drive the van when they fly in tonight, and now it was broken. Well, long story short, I found out that the clamp that holds the distributor had worked its way loose (I swear I didn't touch it), so now the ignition timing was so bad, it was a miracle that the thing was still running. So, after adjusting the timing and tightening up the distributor, it runs better than it ever has since I brought it home. Whew! One more problem solved...

As for the bug zapper, at the urging of Dave Brun, I bought a big one from Harbor Freight

with the thought of using it around the yard and house to take care of the mosquitos that have been buzzing around lately. Well, while I was working on the van, Luann started swinging the thing around while pushing the power button and it made a loud SNAP! Turns out it's putting out 1500 volts and it instantly fries the 'skeeter' when the bug touches it. It was real funny when Luann was standing next to the van with the zapper fired up and looking for skeeters to swing it at, when suddenly, 'POP'! A mosquito that was trying to get Luann flew right into the zapper. Ok, now that was funny. After that happened, we must have spent a good 20 minutes walking around the yard looking for more prey, sometimes discovering that we got one, only by the snapping sound...

Thanks for the suggestion Dave, this is going to keep us entertained for some time to come.