Using DD-WRT as a managed switch with VLAN trunk

Use old Linksys router as VLAN switch 

You can find lots of cheap Linksys E900, E1200, and E4200 at Goodwill that can be repurpose to use as mange network switches with VLAN trunk and tagged access ports.

You don't get much capability for the trouble but it's good enough for simple lab testing or adding some IOT devices with VLAN tag.  Here is what you will have after this procedure.

• 2 trunk ports
• 2 access ports with VLAN tag
• One remaining port for switch management
• Virtual WIFI with VLAN tag

The general procedures is:

• Flash DD-WRT firmware.
• E900/E1200 link.
• E1200 link.
• Setup the device as a basic managed  switch
• Add VLAN tag
• Tag 2 ports with VLAN

Ref:  DD-WRT Switched Ports settings

System Reset

Note that after any system reset using the reset button, the LAN ports do not work and access to the router is limited to WIFI only.  It will be completely open so you can connect using WiFi then do the steps below to activate LAN ports access.

• Connect via WIFI (it will be open)
• Reset admin password
• Go to Setup - Networking - Assign to Bridge - Add br0 to interface vlan1.
• Save then Apply Setting
• At this time, set the Local IP address to desired IP to work with local router.
• Optional setup main Wireless SSID and password, save and apply change.

Setup AP device as managed switch

Setup switch to work with a LAN router IP 192.168.10.1

• Connect via LAN port and login to AP
• Setup - Basic Setup
• WAN connection type:  Disabled
• Set router name
• Network Setup, Router IP
• Local address 192.168.10.11
• Gate way : 192.168.10.1
• Local DNS:  192.168.10.1
• Optional:  Assign WAN port to switch - set check box
• Setup NTP client, set server IP to the main router if it has NTP setup already
• Save Setting
• Setup - Advanced Routing - Operating Mode:  Router.
• Service - Services 
• Disable DNSMasq
• Enable Telnet
• Disable ttraff Daemon
• Setup - Networking
• Assign to bridge - add br0 to interface vlan2
• Security - Firewall:  Disable
• Set Filter Multicast
• Setup - Basic Setup
• Disable DHCP server
• Save and apply setting

Connect to main router, test to make sure can access AP from any connection from main router.

Add VLAN

Add VLAN and setup trunk ports

• Telnet in to box as root with admin password
• Create new vlan name
• nvram set vlan3hwname=et0
• nvram set vlan4hwname=et0
• nvram show | grep vlan.*hwname | sort
• nvram commit
• reboot
• Use web interface to create trunk on port 1,2 to vlan 3,4
• Save and apply settings
• Telnet to box and add vlan to trunk port
• nvram set vlan3ports="2 0t 1t 5*"
• nvram set vlan4ports="3 0t 1t 5*"
• nvram commit
• reboot

NVRAM configuration summary:

port0vlans=2 18 19 21

port1vlans=3 4 16 18 19 21

port2vlans=3 4 16 18 19 21

port3vlans=3 18 19 21

port4vlans=4 18 19 21

port5vlans=2 3 4 16

---------------------

vlan0ports=1 2 3 4 5*

vlan1ports=0 1 2 3 5*

vlan2ports=4 5

vlan3ports=2 0t 1t 5*

vlan4ports=3 0t 1t 5*

------------------------

Add virtual WiFi

Use wireless menu to add virtual WIFI to use with a VLAN

Create bridge to link virtual WiFi to VLAN

On E4200, need extra startup command to make WiFi with VLAN work.

• Use Administration - Command menu, enter these commands
• sleep 20
• stopservice nas
• wlconf eth1 down
• wlconf eth1 up
• wlconf eth2 down
• wlconf eth2 up
• startservice nas
• Save Startup 
• Management - reboot

Fiat 500e rear third (center) brake light failure

A while ago, my 500e started giving me random light related warning message then lately, the warning stayed permanent.

The exact error can be seen by using the menu button then scroll down to select "Stored warnings".  In my case, it showed error relating to third center brake light.  Note that the display panel must display "ready" to use this menu.  Press the right control button on the right steering column stalk as needed to cycle the display to this state.

Google search indicates that this is a common problem relating to wiring on Fiat 500 series.  However, in this case, it seems to be a manufacturing error.

A simple volt meter check showed that there is 12v pulse present when I pressed the brake pedal.  I removed the light and checked the individual LED and associated component (in circuit test) and they all seem to be normal.  At closer inspection, I found that the terminal was not soldered properly (actually not even soldered!).  The picture below is what mine was before repaired.

I have additional pictures of disassembling step taken after I repaired the unit.  You will need a needle nose pliers, standard Phillips screwdriver and a T-10 torx driver.

Remove the rear brake light housing.  Use a small prying tool to remove the screw cover then remove the two screws.  This piece has 2 additional snap pin holding it in place so it won't fall off after the screws are removed.  You will need to gently pull on the 2 ends to pop it out.

Use the needle nose pliers to remove the wire connector.

Use the Torx driver to remove the light.

Inspect the solder connection and remove the circuit board from the light housing to repair.  The plastic housing is soft so the board should pop out easily with some light prying.  Note that I did the solder repair already when this picture was taken.

After repair is done, just assemble in reverse and the warning light should go away.

Carrier Infinity broke again

I thought it would be a good idea to test the heating system before onset of winter.  I switched the thermostat setting from cooling to heating and cranked up the temperature.  I can hear the furnace started up then the fan then about a minute into the process, everything shutdown.  The thermostat was completely powered down - no light - nothing! :(

I cycle power the unit by turning off then on using the circuit breaker.  I tried again 3 times and all failed the same way.

I called Chas Roberts for service and a technician showed up about an hour later.  That is pretty fast! 

Anyway, the problem turned out to be a safety switch behind the plate before the furnace that get switched off when the fan started blowing.  When the plate is mounted properly, the switch is activated but in this case, the plate was coming lose for some reason and a bit of vibration in the furnace will trip it off!

The tech was very nice to show me all this and he added extra screw to secure the place in place then added extra tape out side for good measure.  Total cost:  $85.  Hmm... Another installation issue (?)

E60 Rear window regulator repair

It happened to me twice now, the car window that you use least break first!  In this case it's on my 545i right rear window.  It was a little cool outside so I lowered all windows to cool down the car and heard a crackle sound then the right rear window wouldn't come up any more. :-(

I couldn't find instruction on the web for my car model (E60) but I was able to piece together enough info to try on my own.  Below are the tools I used:

• I don't have plastic prying tools so I use several old credit cards, flat head screw drivers and paint scraper.  You will need them to pry open various snap-on fasteners.
• 10mm box wrench and socket to remove the window regulator bolts
• T30 Torx bit to remove the window mounting bolt
• Phillip head or bit screw driver
• Needle nose pliers
• Lithium grease to lubricate various parts of the window regulator
• I use power impact driver to help remove all the screw and bolts.  This is a hard enough job already so I'll take any help to make it easier.

Make sure the window is in down position then start with removing the door panel (click on image to enlarge):

• See this E39 video for reference.
• Remove the 2 small screw head vanity covers (caution:  they are fragile) then remove the screws.
• Remove the bottom light.  It will pop out from the rear.  Disconnect the wire.
• Use prying tools or a couple of old credit cards and flat head screw driver to pop out panel along 8 snap-in posts.  You will hear a pop when each is out.
• This part is tricky.  Pop out the top part of the panel slightly starting from the rear.  Hold the door handle, lift up and pull out to free the center clip then wiggle, fold up slightly then pull out the panel.  There are wiring connections on the back so don't pull out too far
• Disconnect all wire connectors.  Careful with the power window switch connector because it has a stubborn snap on holder for the wire harness.  I broke mine :( see picture below.

Remove the door lock cable and take out the door panel.  Note where the plastic clip hooked onto the door panel center frame.  At this time, it's on the door chassis center spring post but you will need to install this clip on the door panel as show below before assembling.

As mentioned above, remove the center plastic clip on the door chassis using a needle nose pliers to squeeze the spring post then pull it out.  Remove the sound proofing foam after that.  There is sticky gooey adhesive on its border so use a credit card or a dull steak knife to slice though but preserve it because you'll need to reuse it to stick the foam back.  If you need to replace the goo, I think it's 3M Windo-Weld.

Remove the inside rubber molding on bottom of window starting from the front.  Use the credit card with a paint scraper to do this (or use a proper plastic prying tool :)

Next, remove the plastic trim that wraps around the window frame.  This is tricky but easier to remove than assemble!  See this video of E39 for reference (it is simpler on on the E39 because it's in 2 pieces and you only have to remove the center part).

• Pry open the center part of the trim starting at the bottom then peel out toward the rear.
• Pry open the front bottom part of the trim then peel out to the top and back.
• The whole thing will just pop out once you get it started pass the upper front corner.

Next, remove the outside rubber trim around the window then remove the window glass as shown below.

• Remove the 3 screws holding the center trim plate
• Loosen the center metal trim plate and pull it out slightly
• Pull out the rubber trim starting from the rear bottom part
• Pull out the center metal trim plate
• Remove the glass mounting bolt (T30) then pull the glass up and out.  Store it in a safe place.

Next, remove the window regulator.  There are 3 10mm bolts holding it in place.

A new regulator on eBay costs about $60 to $100. Upon inspection, however, it was a plastic clip that broke and caused the cable to come loose so the window couldn't be raised.  Instead of replacing the plastic clip (it looks flimsy), I just wired the cable ends in place.

Replace the window regulator then assemble in reverse order.  Below are the reassembling notes:

• Don't install the center plastic clip on the door center post.  Instead, slide it on the center panel frame before install (see the 4th picture above).
• Remove the 4 steel clips from the inside bottom rubber moldings, install them on the door first then pop in the rubber moldings.  See picture below on how each clip should be on the door.

• The plastic trim that wraps around the window frame is hard to install.  The key is to start at the front top corner then work your way all around.  Use a soft credit card to help shim the corner onto frame.  Again, use a credit card to help push all the outside rubber molding edges into the wrapping plastic trim.  Use the other door as a guide to what it should look like.
• Don't forget to thread the bottom light's wire
• Don't forget to place the door lock post onto the panel before popping it on
• After connecting all the cables and wires, the door panel should just pop in easily.  Align the center plastic to the center door post and top clips then push in starting at the center then top rear to the front.

Resetting the power window:

• Raise the window to the top
• Press and hold for 15-30 seconds
• Release
• Lower the window to the bottom
• Press and hold for 15-30 seconds
• Release

I hope this instruction is helpful.  Please comment for correction.

Carrier Infinity installed

My 14 years old Carrier air conditioner compressor shorted out and Chas Roberts said it will cost close to $3K to replace it.  They recommended that I replace the entire system that will be more efficient and save me money every month in the hot AZ summer.  I went with their suggestion and get the most expensive Carrier system they have, the Carrier Infinity (about $8.5K! after rebate).

Compressor

Gas Furnace

Evaporator Coil

 

Thermostat

About a week after the install, the thermostat started to show "System Malfunction" message.  The tech told me to press and hold the "Advanced" setup button to see the error.  I did and it showed error 47 "No 230V to Unit".  I called the tech and it turned out that the wire connections was not installed tightly in the external breaker box (mounted next to the air conditioner compressor unit).  Hmm... bad installation?  Not a good omen!

A few week later I noted water running out of the overflow water tray.  I decided to go up to the attic and take this video:

I called Chas Roberts and they came out again with a 3 man crew.  It turned out that the water pan cracked from "bad installation" (again!) of the drain pipe.  They had to re-mounted the unit and replaced the pan.

Almost failed BMW 545i oil change :(

Well, instead of posting some new fix it article, I thought I should document my recent DIY failure.

Last weekend, I was itching to do "something" so I decided to change the oil on my old BMW 545i myself. It seemed simple enough. A while back, I had already got a pack of 2 filters from Ebay for 8$ each and I had also bought 8 quarts of synthetic oil last year when they were on sale at Checker for only $3.95 per quart. This project had been on the back burner for quite a while now.


My car has been out of the free service period so I've been taking it to an independent BMW service that charges around $70 per oil change, which is not bad at all.

Until I bought this car, I had always done my own oil service so I did feel a little uncomfortable letting others do it for me. Anyway, I thought I would get some hand-on experience and save some money doing it myself.

I did a quick skim of some BMW forums, checked the BMW TIS e-documents (bought from Ebay!) and it looked straight forward:

1. Remove the protected plate (the oil filter is on the bottom for the 545i engine)
   
2. Remove the filter drain plug
3. Drain oil
   
4. Remove the filter housing
   
5. Replace with new filter
6. Reinstall everything
7. Add oil

Well, what I neglected to read carefully is that there's a separate oil drain plug further back. Only 1 quart of old oil came out of the filter drain but I didn't notice this or it didn't click until latter after I had reassembled everything added 4 quarts of new oil to the engine!

Here is the real drain plug!

I was in a shocked and confused state and didn't think to search for the "real" drain plug. Instead, I ran out to the local part store and bought an oil extractor.

I used this to suck out 11 quarts of oil! It actually worked pretty good even though it was slow.

So eventually, all the old+new oil mixture was taken out and luckily, I have another 8 quarts of synthetic oil bought for my wife's car that could be used to refill the engine.

Phew! finally after $75 for the pump + $4*4 quarts of wasted oil +$5*8 quarts of oil + $8 filter + $12 of socket tools (for the drain plug), I completed the job for $151.

Oh well, it was not a total failure. I did completed the job and I now have the evacuation pump and the extra socket tools to use on another day.

By the way, I reset the oil service reminder using this link.

Replacing battery BL-8N on Nokia 7380

The Nokia 7380 is a fashion cell phone that is not very practical. The Battery is not removable by normal mean and it's very difficult to find in the US. You can try eBay or search web sites in Europe.

Tools required:
- An old credit card with one corner sharpened
- Some tacky tape to protect the surfaces while you work on the phone.

Before starting:
- Power down the phone.
- Remove SIM card.
- Cover all shiny parts of the phone with some tacky clear Scott tape to protect it while you work on it.
- Find an old credit card and sharpen one corner a little.


To the left is the 7380.

The back cover part (B-Cover) is only snapped in.

It can be popped out using the sharpened corner of an old credit card. Use it to get between the seam running along the B-Cover. A good point to start at is the Nokia logo tag. Push the credit card corner into seam of B-Cover part then run it up and down to separate it from the hooks inside. Be careful not to put too much pressure on B-Part or you will break it.






Here is the back cover partially opened.

Note the little metal hooks on the "C-Cover" part. These are the places to work the credit card corner in to pop the B-Cover out.  Note:  The bottom where the charger plug in has no hook but some spring snap points so try to work this part out first.








B-Cover part removed.
Note the hook receptacle and snap-in points that help secure it to the body.










Inside the B-Cover












With B-Cover removed, the battery can be gently pulled out. Watch out for the Flash part.










Here is the battery removed.













Replace with a new battery and assemble in reversed order.

Reference: where to find repair manual and parts.

Replacing BMW E60 Microfilter (cabin air filter)

The cabin micro-filter is normally replaced some time around every oil service. Once your car is out of the free maintenance period, you will have to do this yourself. This is easily done on the new BMW E60 (5 series) model. There are two filters and they are both located near the windshield under the hood.



Remove the filter covers. Each is held in place with a snap bar spring and a hex lock. Use a 13mm hex socket to unlock it with a half turn hand twist.


The passenger side cover has a hood switch that need to be disconnected first.












When replacing the filter, make sure you fit it snugly inside the housing. Here, the previous dealer service did a sloppy job fitting it so air leaks around the circled area.

Here is a good fitted filter.















Reassemble in reversed order.

Follow this link to reset the service interval. This is the most "difficult" part of this entire procedure!

Waterpik WP 360W disassembly

My Waterpik started to go down hill a few months ago but it was still usable. Now it's making horrible grinding noises that I just can't stand anymore. It's time for it to go under the knife...

As you can see, on the left is the fully assembled Waterpik. To begin the disassembly, remove the tip then detach the water reservoir from the main body.


Gently squeeze the reservoir cap and the top of the body to snap out the blue part.










The reservoir as shown separated from the body.













Remove the swivel cap using a flat head screw driver blade. It will pop out with a little prying all around.











Here is the end without the swivel cap.












Remove the two screws on the bottom of the body and slide the gut of this thing out.












Here is the gut separated from the body's shell!













I found out that the pump gear was just a little worn down and needed to have something that push it to the motor main gear. I added a little bit of tape and hot-glue to serve as a backing to the pump bracing arm. This will help push it against the motor main gear when assembled.


Here is the closeup of my fix! It works fine once assembled. Before assembly however, I put some Vaseline on the gears for extra lubricant and some on the motor housing and electrical area for extra insulation against moisture.