February 1, 2013 / Posted in  Cars

My latest project for the X3 reverse involved switching all the turn signals out to LED lights. I upgraded the X3 reverse lights to LEDs as well, and wrote up the procedure to do it yourself below.

How to get at the lights inside the tailgate of your BMW X3

The biggest factor to accessing the X3 reverse and brake lights in the X3 tailgate is having the right tool. I highly recommend this trim tab removal tool I purchased on Amazon.com since there are close to a dozen plastic tabs you need to unsnap to access the tailgate lights. I purchased the tool, then opened the tailgate in my garage to a point that made it easy to access the gap between the outer tailgate and interior plastic cover.

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January 24, 2013 / Posted in  Technology

If your entertainment system is anything like mine, at least one of your devices can be networked. We have a Samsung LED TV with built in wireless, but we also have an older XBOX, a DirecTV HR34-700 receiver, and our Pioneer 1021K receiver. The last three devices only have ethernet network support by default, and there is no easy way to get a network cable to their location. You could spend upward of $75 just to add wireless support to one of these devices, but ideally it makes sense to plug all these devices into a wireless bridge that connects to your home’s Internet router. We have Uverse and DSL at our house, and I found it difficult to find an inexpensive wireless bridge solution that would play nice with our 2Wire 3600HGV. After digging further, I found a great solution to connect all three devices to my router via a wireless bridge, and it cost me only $20. If you are looking for a similar solution, you found the right article.

An ordinary WLAN router that’s been turned into a super router

Where do I start?

There are certainly inexpensive wireless bridges out there like these found on Amazon. But be careful, some of these won’t be compatible with your router, and others require you buy a pair of devices – one that plugs into your router via ethernet cable and the other you plug your devices into. That’s a lot of configuration headache, my approach requires you only buy one device and I can confirm it works with our Uverse 2Wire 3600 router.

The solution: Purchase an inexpensive WLAN (wireless) router that supports DD-WRT...

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December 12, 2012 / Posted in  Reviews

The Pioneer VSX 1021 K. It’s got a lot of technology built in, and a lot of functionality – but is it worth the $550 price tag? Let’s start peeling back the layers and find out.

First, our original VSX 1201 k was giving us a UE 33 error. We purchased from NewEgg using a coupon code from SlickDeals.net. The final price was good, but this was my first return to NewEgg so I wasn’t sure what to expect. My return was approved immediately and an RMA code was issued online automatically. Shipping to me both times was free, but I had to foot the return bill of roughly $18 to send it back. It was well worth it because the replacement model works fine and doesn’t show the UE33 error. This seems to be the only way to fix the UE33 error, because when I contacted Pioneer support, they indicated it would need professional service. The old receiver was also never keeping updates, whether I updated by USB or network connection. The replacement model already had the newest firmware installed, another good sign we could trust this replacement.

The only solution I found to the UE33 error was to return the unit for a replacement. Now almost a year later, I’ve had no issues

Installation and setup of the VSX 1021 K

We have a small living room with a standard 5...

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November 21, 2012 / Posted in  Cars

Recently I noticed a wiper fluid leak on the floor of my garage near the BMW X3.  Around that same time my windshield wiper fluid light came on as well.  It turned out I had a bad wiper fluid pump motor which was causing a leak. It was easy to repair and I took some photos and documented the repair procedure below. Update: And now there’s also a YouTube video.

The wiper fluid tank is easy to remove, a single screw at the top secures the tank (if standing in front of the vehicle)

Remove the screw and set it aside. Tilt the tank upward and you’ll notice plastic tabs on the tank secure it to the car, gently pull the tank free so you can tilt it out further. At this point, you might want to empty the wiper fluid from the tank, I used a cooler because it was close by and I could reuse the fluid and hose out the cooler afterwards. You don’t have to completely empty the tank, I emptied enough fluid to handle the tank more easily. Sit the tank back into the compartment but oriented so you can work on the motors which you should be able to see now. Be mindful not to disturb the wires or hoses just yet. You should see at least two motors attached to the tank, perhaps three. My car does not have the cold weather package which uses a pump and would go above the two other pumps. You can see the place it attaches in the photo above.

Evaluating the wiper fluid leak, tank, and motor:

At this point I could see fluid had been le...

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