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tcepsaYesterday I drove down to Woodbridge to try to do some shopping. I did end up buying things, but not the ones that I had intended.
As I was driving around the Potomac Mills mall parking lots, looking at the various stores and trying to decide where I wanted to begin, my stereo went out. Then it came back for a split second, and then cut off again. It continued to do this for a few seconds, and I began to suspect that perhaps it had somehow gotten crosswired into my turn signal circuitry somehow. I didn't think it was too serious, though, so I just turned it off and kept going. In hindsight, that may have been the wrong choice.
Then I noticed that it was starting to idle funny--the rpms would get really low for a second, then come back up to speed, then drop again... Great. It seemed to be doing all right except when I had it idling, so I wasn't sure what was up with that. I was trying to figure out what the best course of action would be when it died, in front of the Shoppers Food Mart in the northwest corner of the mall area. It wouldn't restart. So I coasted it over to the grocery pick-up lane, turned my flashers on, and continued to ponder what my best course of action would be. First I needed to get it out of the pick-up lane. Then I needed to get it to a repair shop.
As it turns out, it had actually broken down in pretty much the best place possible; there was an Advance Auto Parts store right next to the supermarket. So I coasted it over into the parking lot and most of the way into a parking space (had to push the last few feet. Who would have thought that a car so small could still be so heavy? ;) I then attempted to restart it again and noticed that the lights on the dash were brighter, and my dinging system was back online (you know, the one that alerts you to when you've got the key in the ignition and the door is open). A-HA, a clue! Combined with the earlier symptoms (stereo dying, funny idle) I figured that a reasonable hypothesis would be that something was screwy with the electrical system.
I walked up to the Auto Parts store and explained the problem and they let me call the Chevy dealership and I found out that their service station had just closed and wouldn't re-open until Monday. After a few deep, more-or-less calming breaths, I asked the guy what other options I had. He told me that he could sell me a new battery and see if that would let the car start again, and then I could bring it up to the store and he'd check the alternator and starter--and if it didn't turn out the be them, he'd take the battery back for a full refund. Sounded good to me, so I bought the battery and lugged it back to the car.
Amusing sidenote: as I was changing the battery, at least two guys driving past asked me whether I'd be interested in having them fix up the dents and scratches--to quote one of them, "hey, you're making it run good, why don't you let me make it look good for you, too?" I did not say, as I struggled with frayed nerves and recalcitrant bolts under the sizzling afternoon sun, "Actually I'm just trying to make it run at all and I was planning on spending my money on fun things today but it looks like that plan is pretty much shot so I'm definitely not going to be giving any of it to you." (You see how I'm not punching him? I really think I've grown. ;)
I got the battery changed and turned the key, and the car started right up. Okay, step one has been completed with reasonable level of success! Drive the car up to the parts store and he does some tests on it. Diagnosis: My alternator has died. Again I asked what my options were. He said I could take it somewhere and have them give me a new one and replace it, or he could sell me a new one and then just pay for labor somewhere to have them replace it. I decided that since my original plans had been pretty much destroyed by that point and I didn't have anything better to do, I would go with Door Number Three. I got the replacement and the tools, drove the car over to the far side of the parking lot, picked up some beverages from the grocery store so I wouldn't get too dehydrated, popped the hood, and went to town.
A few hours, greasy hands, sore fingers, and one alternator later I was done. I wiped my hands off as best I could, packed everything up, and drove back to the parts store where I traded the old alternator back in and asked him to double check my work; I'd never done anything like that before (unless you count working on my bike, which to me is on a slightly less intense scale), so I figured a second opinion would be a very good thing to get. He said everything looked great and I should be good to go. The battery he gave me will power the car for eighty minutes on its own. After driving back home with it last night, I figure I've got about another forty-five minutes before I find out for sure whether I did it right ;)
But for now, I have to say that I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself ^_^
As I was driving around the Potomac Mills mall parking lots, looking at the various stores and trying to decide where I wanted to begin, my stereo went out. Then it came back for a split second, and then cut off again. It continued to do this for a few seconds, and I began to suspect that perhaps it had somehow gotten crosswired into my turn signal circuitry somehow. I didn't think it was too serious, though, so I just turned it off and kept going. In hindsight, that may have been the wrong choice.
Then I noticed that it was starting to idle funny--the rpms would get really low for a second, then come back up to speed, then drop again... Great. It seemed to be doing all right except when I had it idling, so I wasn't sure what was up with that. I was trying to figure out what the best course of action would be when it died, in front of the Shoppers Food Mart in the northwest corner of the mall area. It wouldn't restart. So I coasted it over to the grocery pick-up lane, turned my flashers on, and continued to ponder what my best course of action would be. First I needed to get it out of the pick-up lane. Then I needed to get it to a repair shop.
As it turns out, it had actually broken down in pretty much the best place possible; there was an Advance Auto Parts store right next to the supermarket. So I coasted it over into the parking lot and most of the way into a parking space (had to push the last few feet. Who would have thought that a car so small could still be so heavy? ;) I then attempted to restart it again and noticed that the lights on the dash were brighter, and my dinging system was back online (you know, the one that alerts you to when you've got the key in the ignition and the door is open). A-HA, a clue! Combined with the earlier symptoms (stereo dying, funny idle) I figured that a reasonable hypothesis would be that something was screwy with the electrical system.
I walked up to the Auto Parts store and explained the problem and they let me call the Chevy dealership and I found out that their service station had just closed and wouldn't re-open until Monday. After a few deep, more-or-less calming breaths, I asked the guy what other options I had. He told me that he could sell me a new battery and see if that would let the car start again, and then I could bring it up to the store and he'd check the alternator and starter--and if it didn't turn out the be them, he'd take the battery back for a full refund. Sounded good to me, so I bought the battery and lugged it back to the car.
Amusing sidenote: as I was changing the battery, at least two guys driving past asked me whether I'd be interested in having them fix up the dents and scratches--to quote one of them, "hey, you're making it run good, why don't you let me make it look good for you, too?" I did not say, as I struggled with frayed nerves and recalcitrant bolts under the sizzling afternoon sun, "Actually I'm just trying to make it run at all and I was planning on spending my money on fun things today but it looks like that plan is pretty much shot so I'm definitely not going to be giving any of it to you." (You see how I'm not punching him? I really think I've grown. ;)
I got the battery changed and turned the key, and the car started right up. Okay, step one has been completed with reasonable level of success! Drive the car up to the parts store and he does some tests on it. Diagnosis: My alternator has died. Again I asked what my options were. He said I could take it somewhere and have them give me a new one and replace it, or he could sell me a new one and then just pay for labor somewhere to have them replace it. I decided that since my original plans had been pretty much destroyed by that point and I didn't have anything better to do, I would go with Door Number Three. I got the replacement and the tools, drove the car over to the far side of the parking lot, picked up some beverages from the grocery store so I wouldn't get too dehydrated, popped the hood, and went to town.
A few hours, greasy hands, sore fingers, and one alternator later I was done. I wiped my hands off as best I could, packed everything up, and drove back to the parts store where I traded the old alternator back in and asked him to double check my work; I'd never done anything like that before (unless you count working on my bike, which to me is on a slightly less intense scale), so I figured a second opinion would be a very good thing to get. He said everything looked great and I should be good to go. The battery he gave me will power the car for eighty minutes on its own. After driving back home with it last night, I figure I've got about another forty-five minutes before I find out for sure whether I did it right ;)
But for now, I have to say that I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself ^_^
