April 27th

I started the day on the roof, washing the solar panels for the first time in as long as I can remember - so, at least 4 days.

I played a little Warcraft while it warmed up a bit, then I went out and installed the latest attempt at cruise control in the Van.  It's the GoWesty kit, which I got for 15% off with their Earth Day coupon.  It comes with a microswitch for the brake pedal (rather than just running off the brake light switch - so I can disconnect it without the brake light coming on) and a proper Vehicle Speed Sensor that runs off the speedo, rather than the magnet sensor the other systems used.  It's still the same Rostra setup I last tried, but the fact that they're selling it for the Van rather than it being universal seems hopeful.

I was playing under the front of the van, installing the cable when Vic came in, and she helped me finish it all off.  I went for a drive, and... nothing.  As there was no sign of life, I figured it was probably a wiring issue - my first guess was the brake switch, but that seemed OK.

After dinner, we went out into the garage and ran through the troubleshooting tests.  Brake switch... check.  Controller switch... check.  At this point we rolled it down the driveway, and while I could see Vic braking at the bottom, there's nothing coming from that marvellous VSS that runs off the speedo.  Oh, for pity's sake.  I can't even hack it to use the old magnet sensor, as I've taken that off...