Ahh.....The Difference a Screw Makes....

First, get your mind out of the gutter!!

Second, here is the Taming of the Screw....(yes a poor play on Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew and actually nothing like that tale but whatever....)

A few months ago, okay many months ago, I noticed that my wonderful little, 8 year old Honda CRV had the back door ajar light on. I got out confirmed that both the door and window were tightly closed. I opened and slammed shut multiple times....yep closed. However, the light was still on. I think to myself "hmm, that is odd but it is probably just a glitch in the wiring. I'll get it looked at eventually."

A couple of days later I notice that my external key lock button has stopped working as well and intermittently the locking button on the inside has stopped working. So I think again "hmm, there is REALLY something wrong with the wiring." About this time The Queen noticed the flashing door ajar during our carpools and that each time the light on the dash would flash, the door light that would normally just come on when the door is open would also illuminate and then go out. So, just to be on the safe side that the battery wouldn't go dead, I turned the big light off and said to myself "yep, need to get that addressed."

Christmas came and went and I got a new job and made the decision that I was going to purchase a new car in the next couple of months. Well, actually, I'd made the decision that I wanted to get a new car before Thanksgiving and had mentioned that I'd be getting rid of my baby when I did, but not until some time after the first of the year. My sister or BIL mentioned to his sister and husband (also big fans of Hondas) that I was thinking about divesting myself from my vehicle. They offered to buy it from me for their daughter in college, when ever it is that I make the decision to get rid of the baby. I thought it was/is a great idea and swore to myself that before I turned the keys over to them I would have this whole electrical issue looked at.

Well, this afternoon I was running some errands and chunking stuff in the back of the car. I went to shut the door and heard this odd "thunk" and the door wouldn't catch. I think "oh great, now what.... I can't drive this baby with the back door flapping in the breeze..." so I try to shut it again a couple of times (because I think if it didn't work the first time or the second time or the third time eventually slamming the door it will actually catch... I'm a firm believer that I'm crazy because I really do continue to do the same things over and over again expecting a different outcome...but that is for another time).

After I determine that slamming the door just isn't going to work I start poking around at the locking mechanism to see if maybe it has gotten stuck in some way...nope. So then I look to the jam of the door and realize that the hook catch part is falling off...in fact one screw is completely off and the other was barely attached. So, I got them both screwed back in (thanks to my key to the castle).... lo and behold.... the door shut AND the door ajar light no longer was on. I got home and tightened up the screws and bing bang snap crackle pop.... the door now shuts and I think my "electrical" issues has been addressed!!

(And don't worry, I'm still going to have the car totally checked out from stem to stern before I sell it to my BIL's sister.....)

Another Car Experience

The Queen and I had the privilege of learning something new about my car yesterday. For those of you who don't recall, a couple of years ago we got to experience changing a flat (see Book Your Next Adventure at the House of Dodds). Yesterday it was the opportunity to learn how to jump a dead battery....

Normally, the Queen and I carpool together, but that didn't happen yesterday and it was probably a good thing. I wrapped my day up with a text to her saying "I'll pick you up in the morning at 7, I'm outta here" (or something of that nature). I knew that she was still at the office as she had things to take care of.

I head out to my car and using the remote, I unlock the doors. I get in, lock the doors, put the key in the ignition, turn and get.....silence. No clicking, no nothing. I think "hmm, this is odd. Lights are off. Car is in park. I wonder what is going on." So, I turn the key again and still nothing. I immediately grab my phone and text The Queen. Here is the exchange:

ABBA "What time are you leaving because my car is dead..."
Queen "Oh no! in just a minute."
ABBA "Can you come to the garage?"
Queen "Want a ride or what do you need?"
ABBA "I don't know. I think maybe a jump..."
Queen "You have cables?"
ABBA "I'll need to get it to the garage because it is really dead... I can't even get the locks to work"

I have to manually unlock the door and climb over the back seat to dig my jumper cables out of the back. I also pop the hood and look pitiful while waiting for The Queen to drive around. (I even try and call a couple of the guys that I work with but only get their voice mails.) Soon, the Queen arrives and she calls the King so that we have instructions on how to apply the cables. We both know that if you do it wrong then you could blow up the battery or something, and we really didn't want that to occur. We get the cables on, and she starts her car. About this time a guy starts walking in our direction. (Mind you, there have been any number of folks leaving the office walking right past us in the parking garage, completely ignoring us. In fact there was one guy parked next to me before the Queen showed up who got in his car and drove off as I'm standing there with my hood up, cables in hand....really, dude? You can't even offer to see if I need some assistance? What happened to Southern chivalry?)

The guy that did come offer to help was very nice. He confirmed that we did have the cables on correctly, made a comment about the corrosion that was on my battery, and said that it should be okay to try and start my car. After a couple little sputters, she did come back to life. He was nice enough to get a volt reader out of his truck to confirm that it was just the battery and that I didn't need to get a new alternator or anything like that.

The Queen followed me to the Goodyear place to make certain that I got there okay. They replaced my battery and thus far it seems to be good to go. However, there are a couple of things that are a little strange:

• I stopped to fill up with gas after replacing the battery. I had just under 1/4 of a tank. It is a 14 gallon tank. The gas light typically comes on at about the 12 gallon mark, and it hadn't come on yet. However, when I was filling it up the auto-shutoff thing on the pump never did kick in and I finally stopped it at about 13.5 gallons.
• My radio requires some code be put in before it will work again, so I'm in search of this "code" and the instructions for deactivating the anti-theft device.
• My driver's window used to go all the way down or up with a push of the button (meaning I didn't have to actually hold the button) that isn't working anymore.
• Maybe it is time to start thinking about a new car....

Some other interesting little tid bits:
I don't think I've ever had that battery replaced, which means that it lasted for a good 9 years.
I recently purchased a new form of jumper cable that you just plug into what used to be the cigarette lighter and is now the car outlet of both cars and jump the battery that way instead of with cables....however, that is still sitting in a box on my dresser.

I wonder what will be next to go on my baby.....

So I'm A Little Late

Sorry, I'm a little late in getting my post up today, but it has been a bit hectic.

First, I need to send a big THANKS! to Sara, my blonde, Aggie, Aries friend. Love the car-pooling. Not only do we lesson our Carbon Footprint (see me talking all Green and California-like) but we also get to enjoy the pleasure of one another's company in the morning. And, I have to say that talking to somebody else in the car is SO much nicer than conversing with myself; I tend to be a bit of a bitch!!

Second, I'd like to send her another thanks for going and picking up lunch for me. You Rock!! I LOVE Wahoo Tacos!! Although I don't actually like their tacos, per se.

Third, well, I don't really have a third. I have to apologize to Sara regarding NOT riding home with her, but she has to stick around for that blankety-blank Ops Excellence meeting and I'd rather go take a walk with Vanessa.

Okay, I have more that I'd like to talk about, but don't really have the energy at the moment and I have to go to another fun AND exciting training session.