The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Lemons Tech → Kill switch markings
Rules say, "the switch should be clearly marked by a three-inch or larger lightning-bolt symbol"
It doesn't specify a fancy sticker - so do we need to pay pegasus $10 (OK, I'm rounding up, including shipping), or can we just use some red and blue sharpies on our white car to replicate the lightning bolt sticker in ink?
a spray painted yellow lightning bolt, or some contrasting color to your body color, that anyone running up to the car can clearly tell is for the power is best. And the words KILL SWITCH with the direction to turn off the car is handy too. i want to help the guy or gal that comes to save my ass know where the switch is as quickly as possible.
I've always just painted it on in bright red and never had a problem.
I've always just painted it on in bright red and never had a problem.
So you're saying that somebody else on your team has more style than you...
wrappedinbacon wrote:I've always just painted it on in bright red and never had a problem.
So you're saying that somebody else on your team has more style than you...
Unfortunately, no. That was me too. I'd forgotten about that...
We didn't have rules at that race!
Rattle can and sharpie here.
-Matt
I swear I am not making this up.
My theory is that tech inspectors always must find something wrong with your car the first time through. It makes them feel like they are doing their job right. Some even seem to get a smug, self-satisfied feeling of superiority from that attitude, although I wouldn't tar all tech inspectors with that brush. I'm pretty sure that if God Almighty prepped your race car, tech would still find something just not quite right. The tape on the taillights overlaps too much or not enough or both, something like that.
Once in tech, I had a tech inspector straight-faced ask me if "on" meant that the switch was "on" and the car was off and "off" meant that the switch was off and the car was on, or if it was vice-versa. Because, he elaborated, it's important for a corner worker to know which way to flip the switch if the car goes off track and upside down.
I think I kind of gave him a dumb stare, trying not to express verbally the thoughts that I was having about the negative aspects of his family lineage and the method of cranial-anal extraction he should perform upon himself, before his partner in crime came over and said "If he's upside down, they'll just flip the switch, they aren't going to bother to read the instructions. "Oh" said the first dude, and then he walked away.
This may or may not have been at a Lemons event in the last year.
All names have been changed to protect the innocent.
his partner in crime came over and said "If he's upside down, they'll just flip the switch, they aren't going to bother to read the instructions.
Yeah, really! On a kill switch the guy has a 50/50 shot of getting it right (which direction he flips it) and if he gets it wrong it will take less that 1 second for him to get it right.
Even with no markings (on/off) a kill switch is almost* idiot proof to operate.
*They keep making better idiots so nothing is ever idiot proof really.
I got sneaky and found a photo of the proper kill switch sticker online and printed it out with my color printer and taped it on the car.
I got sneaky and found a photo of the proper kill switch sticker online and printed it out with my color printer and taped it on the car.
I did the same, but one worse. I used MS Paint to erase the watermark of the online seller. It's not that I wanted to take business away from the seller, I just didn't want to spend $7 shipping for a $2 sticker. That and I forgot about it until it was too late to order it.
It's not that I wanted to take business away from the seller, I just didn't want to spend $7 shipping for a $2 sticker.
Ditto. But there was no watermark on the one I found.
I swear I am not making this up.
My theory is that tech inspectors always must find something wrong with your car the first time through. It makes them feel like they are doing their job right. Some even seem to get a smug, self-satisfied feeling of superiority from that attitude, although I wouldn't tar all tech inspectors with that brush. I'm pretty sure that if God Almighty prepped your race car, tech would still find something just not quite right. The tape on the taillights overlaps too much or not enough or both, something like that.
The frightening thing about this is it applies equally to design reviewers in nuclear plant engineering departments. Ask me how I know...
And it applies equally to Air Force QA inspectors. All you can do is shut up and color.
The frightening thing about this is it applies equally to design reviewers in nuclear plant engineering departments. Ask me how I know...
I'm pretty sure I don't really want to know. But curiosity is killing me...
I used red racers tape and an exacto to make my own lightning bolt.
On the tech inspectors note, its interesting to see cars on their 2nd or 3rd race that haven't seen any changes finding "new" problems in tech.
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