A mechanic I am not.
When I was growing up my dad thought it was very important for me to know the basics about working on a car. Together we would change the oil and filter, replace the brakes, swap out the bearings, add distilled water to the battery, change the plugs, and so on. When I got my first car this came in very handy. When something happened on my Volkswagen bug I learned to do some very creative things to get it working again.
I remember one time I was about 5 miles for the house the throttle cable broke (goes for the gas pedal to the engine to control your speed). It took me about 30 seconds to figure out I could adjust the idle speed up by turning a screw, which would feed more gas to the engine. I wouldn’t be able to adjust my speed, but by using my gears and my brakes I was able to get the car home in a matter of minutes. I was proud of that.
Yesterday I commented that I had a problem with the electrical system in the truck. Vanessa and I carpooled to work and the truck stayed at home. After dinner I called AAA to give me a jumpstart thinking that the battery was dead. When the guy arrived I mentioned that I have never had this happen with a battery before. I had replaced the battery about 6 months ago and it was supposed to be a really good battery. Plus, when I was leaving for work in the morning the power worked fine until I tried to start it. The starter kicked in and turned over once, then everything went dead. No lights, no sounds, no display. It’s like the power cut off all at once.
The tow truck driver took a look at my battery, grabbed a pair of pliers, turned the bolt that holds the connections on to the battery about a ½ turn, and told me to try to start it. It worked. Duh! I guess the connections came loose over the last couple of months. When the engine tried to start in the morning it shook it just enough to loose contact. I had looked at the connections earlier, but I didn’t try to tighten them since they looked okay. So, the truck is back in business. I felt a little dumb, but that’s what AAA is for.
I remember one time I was about 5 miles for the house the throttle cable broke (goes for the gas pedal to the engine to control your speed). It took me about 30 seconds to figure out I could adjust the idle speed up by turning a screw, which would feed more gas to the engine. I wouldn’t be able to adjust my speed, but by using my gears and my brakes I was able to get the car home in a matter of minutes. I was proud of that.
Yesterday I commented that I had a problem with the electrical system in the truck. Vanessa and I carpooled to work and the truck stayed at home. After dinner I called AAA to give me a jumpstart thinking that the battery was dead. When the guy arrived I mentioned that I have never had this happen with a battery before. I had replaced the battery about 6 months ago and it was supposed to be a really good battery. Plus, when I was leaving for work in the morning the power worked fine until I tried to start it. The starter kicked in and turned over once, then everything went dead. No lights, no sounds, no display. It’s like the power cut off all at once.
The tow truck driver took a look at my battery, grabbed a pair of pliers, turned the bolt that holds the connections on to the battery about a ½ turn, and told me to try to start it. It worked. Duh! I guess the connections came loose over the last couple of months. When the engine tried to start in the morning it shook it just enough to loose contact. I had looked at the connections earlier, but I didn’t try to tighten them since they looked okay. So, the truck is back in business. I felt a little dumb, but that’s what AAA is for.
posted by Page at
8:21 AM
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