Rafael Bobaru Blog

How to change headlight light bulb on a 2007 Saturn Aura.

admin — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 22:04:46 +0000

Remove the bolt underneath the headlight which is accessible from underneath the car. In order to remove and replace the light bulb you have to remove or at least move the headlight out of it’s socket.

Step 1: remove the plastic fasteners around the driver side wheel well. I found it easier to remove the wheel but you can just turn the wheel to the right and use a smaller screwdriver.

Step 2: Remove the plastic fasteners and bolts under the front bumper:

Step 3: Reach underneath the headlight and remove this bolt. A flashlight helps to see the bolt:

Step #4: remove the top headlight bolts:

Step #5: turn counter-clockwise to remove the light bulb from it’s socket. Put everything back in reverse order. Make sure the headlight is aligned with the top of the bumper and fender.

lawnmower troubleshoot, lawnmower dies.

Rafael — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 21:12:28 +0000

Check fuel level for too much fuel. Inside the gas fill opening there may be a tube about 1/4 inch lower than the gas fill hole lip. If fuel is above this line it may not allow the carburetor to suck gas. If you mow on a grade gas may cover the vacuum hole also.

Or, loosen the gas cap. If it runs non-stop you may need to change your gas cap.

Or, check out http://www.lawnmowerman.tv/Troubleshooting.asp

Forgot PowerMax Installer Passcode. How to reset powermax installer code.

admin — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 00:53:11 +0000

There is a simple way to reset the master code or installer code in the older Visonic Powermax security panels 2003-05.
NOTE: this does not reset the User Code, only the Installer (master) Code.

1. Unplug the panel from the A/C outlet.

2. Disconnect the backup battery. On the front, pry open the left-hand side front panel cover with a screwdriver. Use a philips screwdriver to remove the battery cover screw.

3. On the back side of the panel. Use a metal paper clip to short out the two solder joints (or jumper pins if equipped). While holding the paper clip over the pins, shorting out the pins, plug in the panel to A/C outlet to power up. Hold for about 15 seconds then unplug from A/C. Remove the paper clip.

4. Place the backup battery and covers back in the unit and plug in the A/C outlet. Go to the Installer Mode and enter code 9999.

MS Access 2010 .RecordSource = SELECT statement does not work.

admin — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 06:23:09 +0000

In earlier versions of MS Access you could set the Me.RecourSource property on a Form to a Table name or Query name or your own Select Statement.
Not in MS Access 2010. If you want to set it to a SELECT statement you have to use the FILTER property.

Example:

Me.Filter = “SELECT * FROM Customers WHERE CustomerName = ‘John’ ”
Me.FilterOn = True
Me.Refresh

Car oil vs Motorcycle oil – can I use car oil in my motorcycle?

admin — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 19:13:56 +0000

If you have a wet clutch – No.

I always used motorcycle oil and with the downturn in the economy and dealers charging $40+ for oil and filter (parts only), I decided to try car oil for $16 (4 qts). I have a wet clutch 1000cc V-twin sportbike. Everything seemed fine at first but on a more aggressive launch my clutch slipped and smelled really bad of burnt oil. I have owned motorcycles for 24 years and never had this happen with motorcycle oil.
So, for me that’s not ok. Still, wanted to save some money. I shopped around and found that you can buy motorcycle oil for the same price as car oil.
AutoZone and O’Reilly(Kragen) in my area sell 4-stroke motorcycle oil 10W-40 and 20W-50 for $3.99/qt AND my oil filter for $5.99. Combined that is a 50% savings over a dealer.

ASP.net color coded DropDownList or ComboBox.

Rafael — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 06:51:06 +0000

If you need to customize a dropdown list you can do so programatically by using the ‘Attributes’ setting of the object and specify a CSS style.

VB code example:

DropDownList1.Items.Add(“Choose Red”)
DropDownList1.Items(DropDownList1.Items.Count – 1).Value = “1″
DropDownList1.Items(DropDownList1.Items.Count – 1).Attributes.Add(“style”, “background-color:Red”)

NOTE: you can insert the 3 lines of code above inside a loop that reads the list item Text, Value and style color from a database table.

ASP.net detect mobile device, VB.

Rafael — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 01:15:23 +0000

<%
‘ NOTE: this example is for iPhone and Windows Phone 7 but you can add more devices as follows: Dim x As New Regex(“android|blackberry|nokia|etc…”).

Dim u As String = Request.ServerVariables(“HTTP_USER_AGENT”)

Dim iPhone As New Regex(“iphone”, RegexOptions.IgnoreCase)
Dim WP7 As New Regex(“windows phone”, RegexOptions.IgnoreCase)

If iPhone.IsMatch(u) Then
xScreenWidth = 960
xScreenFontSize = 70
ElseIf WP7.IsMatch(u) Then
xScreenWidth = 300
xScreenFontSize = 22

Else
Response.Redirect(“http://your_desktop_website.com“)
End If

Response.Write(“

”)
%>

<%
Response.Write(“

”)
%>

Computer slow to boot, slow during Windows install or repair?

Rafael — Thu, 26 May 2011 19:51:15 +0000

PROBLEM: if your computer takes a long time to start up or if you’re installing or repairing the operating system and it takes 5-10 minutes between screens – it could be that it’s looking for a Floppy drive and there is none.

SOLUTION: in the BIOS setup DISABLE FLOPPY drive. Start your computer, press the DEL or F2 or F12 key right away – a simple text based screen will appear and contain settings stored in the BIOS.

NOTES: some newer desktop and laptop computers don’t come with a Floppy drive anymore and the system is trying to Read from a non-existent device, until it times out in 5-10 minutes.