Friday, April 13, 2007
Fun with the car
Today has been a bit crazy car-wise. This morning as I was just about to drive Milja to school, the car refused to start. It didn't even try - not even one of those nearly-shudder type noises. Just silence. Luckily Heikki was just leaving to work at the same time so he took her instead.
Minna phoned road side assistance and a guy came with a jump start kit and we managed to get the car running after three tries. I took it for a drive to Hout Bay with India to try and charge the battery, and Minna and I decided that I should take the car to a garage to see what the problem is. I took it to the Caltex in Hout Bay, and the guys there were sure they had to fill the battery up some more. They looked like they knew what they were doing - I certainly didn't have a clue - but it might have turned out that they ruined the battery.
I continued driving and went to the shop to get the food shopping. When I returned to the car with India and tried to start it, nothing. The same silent treatment. So I was stranded at Spar with India and four bags of shopping for about 40 minutes while we waited for the same guy to come and jump start the car again. He came and it just didn't work at all. Minna and Andrew showed up to pick up the shopping and they tried, but still nothing.
The guy suggested that I go back to the garage to ask what they had put in the battery. We drove there in his pick-up "bakkie" and asked the petrol attendant what he had put in and he swore that it was "battery water" but neither of us returned convinced.
Eventually Minna phoned a garage and one of the mechanics came and put in another battery and the car started immediately. We are getting a replacement battery on Monday and are loaning one over the weekend.
My guess is that the attendant at the garage didn't have a clue what he was doing and used something other to fill up the battery, which caused it to malfunction. In which case, it was down to me that the battery broke. Another option is that the battery is dead and just needed replacing. My third theory is that if I'd driven a bit longer then the battery might have recharged longer and been OK. We never will find out, I guess, but with a new battery coming on Monday, the car should perform fine for a while.
Minna phoned road side assistance and a guy came with a jump start kit and we managed to get the car running after three tries. I took it for a drive to Hout Bay with India to try and charge the battery, and Minna and I decided that I should take the car to a garage to see what the problem is. I took it to the Caltex in Hout Bay, and the guys there were sure they had to fill the battery up some more. They looked like they knew what they were doing - I certainly didn't have a clue - but it might have turned out that they ruined the battery.
I continued driving and went to the shop to get the food shopping. When I returned to the car with India and tried to start it, nothing. The same silent treatment. So I was stranded at Spar with India and four bags of shopping for about 40 minutes while we waited for the same guy to come and jump start the car again. He came and it just didn't work at all. Minna and Andrew showed up to pick up the shopping and they tried, but still nothing.
The guy suggested that I go back to the garage to ask what they had put in the battery. We drove there in his pick-up "bakkie" and asked the petrol attendant what he had put in and he swore that it was "battery water" but neither of us returned convinced.
Eventually Minna phoned a garage and one of the mechanics came and put in another battery and the car started immediately. We are getting a replacement battery on Monday and are loaning one over the weekend.
My guess is that the attendant at the garage didn't have a clue what he was doing and used something other to fill up the battery, which caused it to malfunction. In which case, it was down to me that the battery broke. Another option is that the battery is dead and just needed replacing. My third theory is that if I'd driven a bit longer then the battery might have recharged longer and been OK. We never will find out, I guess, but with a new battery coming on Monday, the car should perform fine for a while.
Dan | 
13:21 
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