Today I went jobhunting, handing out about a dozen resumes to different auto shops in attempt to sweep their floors and pickup their parts for minimum wage.
The car had been running pretty nicely all afternoon, despite stop-and-go traffic, repeatedly having to floor it to make left-hand turns, and turning it off and on in less than 10 minute intervals.
I parked at a large Active green + Ross, where I asked if they were hiring, and they said no, but they'd take my resume anyway. I go back to my car, which is right out front, almost directly in front of the main desk, and the interior lights don't come on when I open the door. Uh oh... I put the key in, turn it, click. No gauge action, no warning lights, no weaksauce startermotor groans, and definetely no burbly dual exhaust. The car is 100% dead electrically. The battery is an exide made in december 08, so it's got to be electrical.
At this point, I'm starting to sweat, with images of either towing or repair bills that I really, really cannot afford (hence my job hunt). The car is totally non-responsive, and I can't really narrow it down in my mind much beyond "wiring".
I pop the hood, and spend about 5 minutes tugging and chasing every electrical wire that looks like it could possibly short out or cause the whole car to go dead. I find absolutely nothing that looks out of order, other than a couple minor things which have been there for ages and that look the same as when I last saw them.
I go into the trunk, haul out my tool kit, and disconnect the positive battery cable. Tapping it on the terminal, it sparks, and the battery seems visually to be allright, so I'm pretty sure at this point that I'm dealing with wiring, somewhere, anywhere. I follow the positive battery cable along to some sort of power distribution...thingy. I have no clue what it's purpose is, other than splitting up the power. It's on the passenger firewall, about 5 inches from the battery, is small and black, and has a copper bolt that the positve cable attatches to, with other wires on the bolt going every which way. On a whim, with no other ideas, I undo the nut, and take off each wire on that copper bolt, cleaning the connectors with my shirt as I go.
None of the connectors seemed dirty enough to not be getting power, but I re-attatch them all, reconnect the positive cable to the battery, and get back in the car with no real logic or confidence telling my that I did anything to fix anything. The interior lights all come on as the door opens. I put the key in, and it roars to life. I get out of the car, trying to hide my look of disbelief from the managers who had been watching the whole time through the window, and packed up my tools like I knew it would work all along. Closed the hood, and drove away after giving what is probably the best un-intentional job interview in the history of the world.
So, that was my day. Hopefully I get a job out of it. Anyone have any idea why what I did might have worked? I'm clueless.
The car had been running pretty nicely all afternoon, despite stop-and-go traffic, repeatedly having to floor it to make left-hand turns, and turning it off and on in less than 10 minute intervals.
I parked at a large Active green + Ross, where I asked if they were hiring, and they said no, but they'd take my resume anyway. I go back to my car, which is right out front, almost directly in front of the main desk, and the interior lights don't come on when I open the door. Uh oh... I put the key in, turn it, click. No gauge action, no warning lights, no weaksauce startermotor groans, and definetely no burbly dual exhaust. The car is 100% dead electrically. The battery is an exide made in december 08, so it's got to be electrical.
At this point, I'm starting to sweat, with images of either towing or repair bills that I really, really cannot afford (hence my job hunt). The car is totally non-responsive, and I can't really narrow it down in my mind much beyond "wiring".
I pop the hood, and spend about 5 minutes tugging and chasing every electrical wire that looks like it could possibly short out or cause the whole car to go dead. I find absolutely nothing that looks out of order, other than a couple minor things which have been there for ages and that look the same as when I last saw them.
I go into the trunk, haul out my tool kit, and disconnect the positive battery cable. Tapping it on the terminal, it sparks, and the battery seems visually to be allright, so I'm pretty sure at this point that I'm dealing with wiring, somewhere, anywhere. I follow the positive battery cable along to some sort of power distribution...thingy. I have no clue what it's purpose is, other than splitting up the power. It's on the passenger firewall, about 5 inches from the battery, is small and black, and has a copper bolt that the positve cable attatches to, with other wires on the bolt going every which way. On a whim, with no other ideas, I undo the nut, and take off each wire on that copper bolt, cleaning the connectors with my shirt as I go.
None of the connectors seemed dirty enough to not be getting power, but I re-attatch them all, reconnect the positive cable to the battery, and get back in the car with no real logic or confidence telling my that I did anything to fix anything. The interior lights all come on as the door opens. I put the key in, and it roars to life. I get out of the car, trying to hide my look of disbelief from the managers who had been watching the whole time through the window, and packed up my tools like I knew it would work all along. Closed the hood, and drove away after giving what is probably the best un-intentional job interview in the history of the world.
So, that was my day. Hopefully I get a job out of it. Anyone have any idea why what I did might have worked? I'm clueless.
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