Stupidest day ever....
May. 6th, 2011 10:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
milktreeI'm sure that my chosen subject unfairly maligns all the *really* stupid days out there, but today was one of the stupidest days I've had in a long time.
It started OK, I went to punch holes in paper. The weather was fabulous, and it was fun.
But then the stupid started.
My car, which I've had for less than three full tanks of fuel, wouldn't start. It wouldn't even turn over. It was like the starter relay or clutch interlock wasn't working properly. Tapping on the starter solenoid didn't help. It wasn't the battery, everything else worked fine, and a jump didn't change the symptom(s).
Luckily, a guy I've instructed with before showed up and let me use is AAA card, so I got a "free" tow to one of my favorite garages.
I call a bunch of people and find one who can come and pick me (and my array of hole punching equipment) up and drive me home.
Big nuisance, I need a car tomorrow to punch more holes, and get to my parents' house.
Luckily, my friend Josh is still in California, and I have a key to his car, so I can ride to his house, swap a bike for a car, and have four wheels until I get mine back from LFCG.
I get to Josh's house and... the car's battery is dead.
But wait! I remember having this problem before, so some time in the past I left a charger at his house to solve this exact problem! Yay... but ... the charger doesn't work. Is it dead? No blinky lights. Feh.. now what?
Ok, get the jumper cables from the trunk and run the bike hooked up to the car for a .... long enough, and that'll probably get me enough to start the car.
But no... foiled again! The trunk lock is busted, and the only way to open it is with the remote on the key or the button in the glove box... both of which are... (wait for it) electric.
So, I can't even get a jump unless someone has their own cables. Even if that problem was solved the car was in the garage, so I had to push the car out of the garage, up the driveway, so the cables would reach.
To make matters worse, I'd left my cell phone at home, so I had limited access to phone numbers, so I could only call people who's numbers I could remember. Josh's internet (or his computer) also didn't work, so I couldn't send email.
After going through a couple nearby phone numbers from memory I arrange a jump start to come rescue me.
While he's on his way over, I fiddle with the key to the trunk, and manage to get it open, which means I can get the jumper cables, which means I can charge the car's battery off the bike! The bike doesn't have nearly enough zots to start the car, but it can charge it.... slowly. I give up on that 'cuz I realize my rescuer will almost certainly be there before the car can start on its own, and bikes really aren't good at idling for long periods, they overheat without airflow eventually.
When I got home I tested the charger, and it seems to work. The lights light as they should. That's when I remember that the "charger", isn't. It's a float charger, trickle charge, or battery maintainer. It can't charge a completely dead battery. If it doesn't see a voltage, it won't try to charge.
This all wouldn't be such a pain or feel like such a betrayal if I'd had my new car for three years instead of three weeks.
Now I'm home, drinking G&T, and remembering how little booze it takes to get me tipsy.
It started OK, I went to punch holes in paper. The weather was fabulous, and it was fun.
But then the stupid started.
My car, which I've had for less than three full tanks of fuel, wouldn't start. It wouldn't even turn over. It was like the starter relay or clutch interlock wasn't working properly. Tapping on the starter solenoid didn't help. It wasn't the battery, everything else worked fine, and a jump didn't change the symptom(s).
Luckily, a guy I've instructed with before showed up and let me use is AAA card, so I got a "free" tow to one of my favorite garages.
I call a bunch of people and find one who can come and pick me (and my array of hole punching equipment) up and drive me home.
Big nuisance, I need a car tomorrow to punch more holes, and get to my parents' house.
Luckily, my friend Josh is still in California, and I have a key to his car, so I can ride to his house, swap a bike for a car, and have four wheels until I get mine back from LFCG.
I get to Josh's house and... the car's battery is dead.
But wait! I remember having this problem before, so some time in the past I left a charger at his house to solve this exact problem! Yay... but ... the charger doesn't work. Is it dead? No blinky lights. Feh.. now what?
Ok, get the jumper cables from the trunk and run the bike hooked up to the car for a .... long enough, and that'll probably get me enough to start the car.
But no... foiled again! The trunk lock is busted, and the only way to open it is with the remote on the key or the button in the glove box... both of which are... (wait for it) electric.
So, I can't even get a jump unless someone has their own cables. Even if that problem was solved the car was in the garage, so I had to push the car out of the garage, up the driveway, so the cables would reach.
To make matters worse, I'd left my cell phone at home, so I had limited access to phone numbers, so I could only call people who's numbers I could remember. Josh's internet (or his computer) also didn't work, so I couldn't send email.
After going through a couple nearby phone numbers from memory I arrange a jump start to come rescue me.
While he's on his way over, I fiddle with the key to the trunk, and manage to get it open, which means I can get the jumper cables, which means I can charge the car's battery off the bike! The bike doesn't have nearly enough zots to start the car, but it can charge it.... slowly. I give up on that 'cuz I realize my rescuer will almost certainly be there before the car can start on its own, and bikes really aren't good at idling for long periods, they overheat without airflow eventually.
When I got home I tested the charger, and it seems to work. The lights light as they should. That's when I remember that the "charger", isn't. It's a float charger, trickle charge, or battery maintainer. It can't charge a completely dead battery. If it doesn't see a voltage, it won't try to charge.
This all wouldn't be such a pain or feel like such a betrayal if I'd had my new car for three years instead of three weeks.
Now I'm home, drinking G&T, and remembering how little booze it takes to get me tipsy.
