Totally unwilling to make HP dealers fat, I decided to cut the cable open to try and rewire it.

The cable has two cyclindrical layers.  The outer layer is like braided silver coloured wires while the inner layer is a bundle of insulated wires.  Take caution while exposing the wires.

1st, you need to get your hands on some normal electrical wiring.  Cut a length off from one and strip the insulation to expose the copper wires.

Wrap the exposed copper wires around the insulated 2nd layer, making sure that the wrapped copper wires encircle both ends of the braided 1st layer wires to ensure there is electrical connection.

Get some good quality insulation tapes, not the lousy ones in the previous post.  A good roll from 3M can cost in excess of RM40.  Wrap the vulcanized insulation tapes around the exposed cable area, tugging the tape with force.

WARNING: DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT EVER EVER EVER NEVER EVER SOLDER the copper wires to the braided wires.  I learnt it the hard way and that took me hours to rectify.

Almost done now.  The remaining issue is the possibility of snapping the newly wrapped joint again.  When that happens, I dont think I can save that RM290 anymore.

Ever wonder what use is an Ikea pencil besides to tulis tulis?

Yeap, use it as a splint.

Its a tad crude.  But it works and there is Rm290 saved.

My kereta’s kepala harimau hilang for a few months now.  Buta tanggal one rainy day.  Head over to any Brother’s outlet in your vicinity to get another Made-In-Taiwan/China/Bolehland spare for roughly RM15 per piece.

Pyring the emblem out is a straight forward process, just use a screwdriver.  The left over double sided tape on the bonet is a bitch though.

Use double sided FOAM tape.  Before taping the emblem on, remember to clean the residue tape left on the bonet using a blade and kerosene/polish.  Careful with the paint job though.

Celaka imitation product again is just THAT much smaller compared to the original (notice: the black marks).

Now, the belakang emblem needs a bit more effort to change.  Pop your boot and unfasten these 4 nuts using a spanar.

Basically you are removing your license plate lighting assembly.  Just in case the previous image doesn’t give a good view on where the nuts are, see above image.  While you are at it, give your car a good wipe after stripping it. =)

The back emblem has a screw holding it on.  Remove it and you know how to reasemble everything.

Anyway, tomorrow is dad’s birthday.  Like dad, like son huh?

PS: Sorry for the horrendous retouching of the number plates.  And my plate is not BOLT HOLE x4 =p

It’s the laptop adaptor cable and it looks like it was rolled over by a car of some sort.  Visited the nearby HP store to enquire on a replacement only to find it costs a whopping RM290.  Yeap, my jaw dropped when the fatso told me.

Again, I’m not ready to part with that amount so this is gonna be another “How To” thingy.

Step #1:

Get your hands on some electrical wiring tape or even better, insulation tapes which can be purchased from your trusted hardware shop or in my case, Home Fix in 1-Utama/ACE Hardware (Ikano/MidValley) for less than RM5.

Step #2 :

Make sure the power supply is off (nasty surprise if it “shorts”).

The two connecting parts of the wiring should be properly connected/wired.  If required cut it off and reconnect them.  In this case, the inner wiring looks different and I rather not chance cutting them to rewire.

Cut a length of insulation tape, around 2″-4″ depending on the subject’s diameter.  Tape the joint at an angle and make sure ia dililit dengan baik.

Yea, its fugly.  But for something MUCH less than RM 290, it will do for the time being.

ps:- on ebay the cable costs only USD 20-40.  yea, so SCREW you HP.

The most recent is my rear right tail lights (thank you palm tree-chai and my own bodohness).  Guess this is going to be my 1st of hopefully many better situation HOW TO.

Step #1:

Get a replacement tail light assembly from kereta potong/spare part shops/aftermarket shops whichever suits your tastes and budget.  Newer models/aftermarket assemblies may/may not be compatible with the electrical wiring set-up.

Step #2:

Open your boot and open the plastic cover shielding the electrical portion of the assembly.

Step #3:

With care, slowly remove the electrical board from the assembly.  Care not to break the fragile plastic clip-like thing that holds the board onto the assembly.

Step #4:

Using a suitable sized open end/ring spanar, loosen the three nuts holding the assembly to the body.

Remove the assembly from the body with/without brute force.

Replace the old assembly with the new unit.  In my case, the “Made in Taiwan” assembly came with rubber seal that was too thick.  Removing the original assembly seal and exchaning the thick seal with the old one seemed to work better.

Step #5:

Cautiously insert the electrical board with bulbs back into its position.  You dont want to break a few bulbs in the process.  Make sure the board sits properly.

Step #6:

Last but not least, test the assembly before and after finalizing the DIY.

THERE YOU GO!

Now, peculiar minded people such as myself would go get a good quality yet much lower priced imitation product.  Here are two setbacks of non original parts in this case.

Setback #1:

There is a 0.5cm gap at the top portion of the assembly.  Nothing serious as any water will then flow down out, avoiding electrical wiring.

Setback #2:

The new assembly seems to be a tad short on the right side.  Will have to take another look at this, perhaps could be the assembly is not seating correctly.  A quick check shows that imitation product is of a marginal difference in dimension.