RockAuto is excited to announce the addition of R1 Concepts to our ever expanding selection of Rotor & Brake Pad Kits! Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, R1 Concepts is a leading manufacturer of award winning brake kits. With over 15 years of automotive brake knowledge, R1 Concepts has developed a comprehensive selection of Rotor & Brake Pad Kits for vehicles ranging from 1930-present.

Whether you are fueled by the adventure of off-roading, racing, or you need high quality, reliable parts for your daily driver, R1 has a brake kit that will fit your needs. Each kit includes:

• Black-plated, silver-plated, or GEO-Carbon coated drilled & slotted rotors for maximum pad bite, heat dissipation, and corrosion protection
  
• A set of high quality brake pads, with performance ranging from OEM equivalent, to super duty for off-roading and towing, to high performance for street driving and light track use
• Stainless steel hardware to reduce noise/vibration and prevent premature pad wear

You can find the R1 Concepts Rotor & Brake Pad Kits that fits your braking needs in the "Brake & Wheel Hub" category of the RockAuto catalog.

We regularly issue batches of new magnets in limited quantities so more customers get a chance to have their cars in the magnet limelight. We hope all customers have fun receiving the magnets with their orders and expanding their magnet collection!

Expect to see magnets from this new batch in your orders soon!

Share Your Hard Work

When I was in high school, I performed all the maintenance on my 1973 Chevy Camaro RS (I still have that same car 46 years later).

After an engine rebuild, I heard a squeaking noise coming from under the car whenever I released the clutch pedal. When the pedal was depressed, the squeaking went away. Immediately I suspected a bad throw out bearing and pulled the transmission out and replaced that bearing. After reinstalling the transmission and drivetrain, I took it for a test drive and the squeaky noise was still there!

I eventually gave up trying to figure out what was causing the noise and took it to a local mechanic. He put his foot against the exhaust pipe as I released the clutch, and the squeaking stopped! Boy did I feel like a dummy. An exhaust pipe rubbing on the frame was the source of the noise. Lesson learned: Check easy stuff before doing the harder stuff and do not be over confident you know what the problem is.

Fred in California

When installing electrical accessories (lights, winches, etc.) on newer vehicles, be careful not to make electrical connections so close to the battery terminals that you inadvertently bypass a Battery Current Sensor. The computer increases or decreases alternator output based on the amount of electrical current it sees being drawn through the Battery Current Sensor. When new electrical connections are made directly to the battery terminals, the current going to the new accessory is unseen by the computer, alternator output is kept low and the battery eventually goes dead.

See the Battery Current Sensor for your specific vehicle under "Electrical" in the RockAuto.com catalog. The repair manual (found under "Literature) or owners manual can also help determine if your vehicle's Battery Current Sensor is on the positive or negative side. Battery current sensors are most commonly part of the negative battery cable circuit. On those vehicles, grounding a new electrical accessory to the body or engine block rather than directly to the negative battery terminal is all it takes to avoid bypassing the Battery Current Sensor.

Typical Battery Current Sensors

The computer and its Battery Current Sensor also change how to use a multimeter to check alternator output. To maximize fuel economy, the computer may use the Battery Current Sensor signal to keep alternator output as low as possible. That means a multimeter's probes placed on the battery terminals may show less than 13 volts when the engine is idling. That low voltage does not mean the alternator is bad. It may just mean the computer has not increased alternator output because there is not enough current going through the Battery Current Sensor. Turn on the headlights, rear window defroster or some other significant electrical load. The computer will respond by increasing alternator output, and the multimeter will read ~14 volts at the battery terminals.

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

To read more of Tom's articles, click this link and choose from story titles on the Newsletter Archives page.