Tangled gas cap of doom
12-31-2003, 01:37 PM
#1
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Tangled gas cap of doom
I know I'm a klutz. Fine, I admit it.
A lot of the time I gas up, the tether on the gas cap gets tangled. Then the cap ends up dropping and banging the body of the car. The tether also coils up funny when I screw the cap back on.
I'm considering detaching it—either by cutting it or pulling the tehter's base off. I don't want to scratch the paint below the fuel door.
Anyone else expereince this? (Or maybe I'm the most ham-handed TSXer alive…)
Thoughts?
A lot of the time I gas up, the tether on the gas cap gets tangled. Then the cap ends up dropping and banging the body of the car. The tether also coils up funny when I screw the cap back on.
I'm considering detaching it—either by cutting it or pulling the tehter's base off. I don't want to scratch the paint below the fuel door.
Anyone else expereince this? (Or maybe I'm the most ham-handed TSXer alive…)
Thoughts?
12-31-2003, 01:55 PM
#2
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I hav'nt had any problems with it. I did noticed that it froze after I washed my car so when I was screwing it back on it slightly tangled but it was easiliy fixed.
Monday morning I left it attached to the fuel door with the door open after gassing up. As I was driving away a fellow motorist honked me down to inform me. It was a long Sunday night.
Monday morning I left it attached to the fuel door with the door open after gassing up. As I was driving away a fellow motorist honked me down to inform me. It was a long Sunday night.
12-31-2003, 04:19 PM
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It is definitely an issue, and I posted about this a few weeks ago.
I don't see that it would be a problem to just cut it (as long as you make sure there's no sharp loose end to give tetanus to you or some attendant....), but, I bet if you take a minute some time to take a deep breath and step back and "study" the situation, you won't have too much trouble getting the hang of it, as it is.
About the tether coiling up funny: Yeah, this seems to be almost a random thing, having nothing to do with how you put the cap on. And it can keep the cap from going on just right, which can lead to the "check engine" light coming on. As long as you hear those "clicks" when you put the cap on, you know it's OK.
I don't see that it would be a problem to just cut it (as long as you make sure there's no sharp loose end to give tetanus to you or some attendant....), but, I bet if you take a minute some time to take a deep breath and step back and "study" the situation, you won't have too much trouble getting the hang of it, as it is.
About the tether coiling up funny: Yeah, this seems to be almost a random thing, having nothing to do with how you put the cap on. And it can keep the cap from going on just right, which can lead to the "check engine" light coming on. As long as you hear those "clicks" when you put the cap on, you know it's OK.
12-31-2003, 07:24 PM
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Sounds like you've got too many twists in the tether which is causing the tangle. Sorta like when the phone cord gets mangled up. You can probably fix it by spinning the cap (when it's not installed) until the twists are gone.
When I unscrew the cap, I make sure the tether "ring" remains stationary (relative to the car) to prevent it from twisting. When the cap is unscrewed, I give it a 90 deg. CCW twist to mount the "ball" into the fuel door slot. I find that this really minimizes the motions and twists in the tether.
When I unscrew the cap, I make sure the tether "ring" remains stationary (relative to the car) to prevent it from twisting. When the cap is unscrewed, I give it a 90 deg. CCW twist to mount the "ball" into the fuel door slot. I find that this really minimizes the motions and twists in the tether.
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