Havin' a Yabba-Dabba-Doo Time
Patrick's headed to St. Paul for the weekend, which is actually kind of a big deal, because 12 hours ago, his car was dead! It is pretty nuts!
After having dinner with our buddy David last night, I started driving us home. Patrick's car is automatic, but sometimes stalls out. No big deal: put it in park, remove & reinsert the key, and it starts right back up. But a block later, it stalls out again. And this time, it's completely locked up. The key will turn, but won't come out of the ignition. The car won't shift out of park. And when the key is turned to start, nothing: no grinding, no kickover noises, not even a click. I can't get the hood open because the hood-open lever isn't actually connected to anything. Well dang! At least the electrics are working, so I can have the hazards on and see what I'm doing in the car.
Patrick retrieves David, whose magic touch gets the key out of the ignition and the shifter into neutral. His powers falter when he can't get the hood open either. Patrick's about to call AAA when I remember the nearby CarX: 1 long block and 5 short blocks away, with 2 major streets to cross. With the doors open like wings and the hazards flashing merrily, we start pushing. I'm walking next to the driver's door, steering like a drunk with one hand on the wheel. Accepting that the car had to die at some point, we make a list of the positives:
1. It's a clear, warm evening in September, not a Madison winter night with many inches of snow and stupidly cold wind.
2. The roads in the neighborhood are mostly flat. We can push the car up to running speed, and also stop it easily.
3. We can get most of the way to the CarX on quiet side streets with no traffic.
4. We are in a safe neighborhood.
5. Everything else on the car is still working: lights, brakes, steering.
6. None of us have early-morning meetings or other commitments.
7. He'd wanted to have the car inspected for problems anyway.
8. It is actually pretty funny to be walking a car around like you're a goddamn Flintstones character, stopping what little traffic you see!
Partway there, we're joined by two young guys, who were hanging around outside their place and kindly offered to help. Crossing the major streets was tough, as the traffic lights had gone to late-night flashing. Once we had a long enough break in the traffic, we'd run the car across the street, with Patrick warning the other drivers through wild interpretive dance. Having successfully navigated a harrowing left turn onto the last major street, the five of us Flintstone the car into the CarX parking lot and note their opening hours.
Patrick was supposed to drive up to St. Paul with a friend, who doesn't have a car and really wants to see her long-distance fiance. So we looked up rideshares, buses, and train options. The car was also being a sneaky bitch; the mechanic called to say it had started right up with no problems. All the diagnostic revealed was some worn-out spark plugs, so anything else contributing to the nonstarting is still a mystery. But hey, easy fix! The car is now ready to go, and driving much more smoothly. Here's hoping it starts up reliably from now on!
After having dinner with our buddy David last night, I started driving us home. Patrick's car is automatic, but sometimes stalls out. No big deal: put it in park, remove & reinsert the key, and it starts right back up. But a block later, it stalls out again. And this time, it's completely locked up. The key will turn, but won't come out of the ignition. The car won't shift out of park. And when the key is turned to start, nothing: no grinding, no kickover noises, not even a click. I can't get the hood open because the hood-open lever isn't actually connected to anything. Well dang! At least the electrics are working, so I can have the hazards on and see what I'm doing in the car.
Patrick retrieves David, whose magic touch gets the key out of the ignition and the shifter into neutral. His powers falter when he can't get the hood open either. Patrick's about to call AAA when I remember the nearby CarX: 1 long block and 5 short blocks away, with 2 major streets to cross. With the doors open like wings and the hazards flashing merrily, we start pushing. I'm walking next to the driver's door, steering like a drunk with one hand on the wheel. Accepting that the car had to die at some point, we make a list of the positives:
1. It's a clear, warm evening in September, not a Madison winter night with many inches of snow and stupidly cold wind.
2. The roads in the neighborhood are mostly flat. We can push the car up to running speed, and also stop it easily.
3. We can get most of the way to the CarX on quiet side streets with no traffic.
4. We are in a safe neighborhood.
5. Everything else on the car is still working: lights, brakes, steering.
6. None of us have early-morning meetings or other commitments.
7. He'd wanted to have the car inspected for problems anyway.
8. It is actually pretty funny to be walking a car around like you're a goddamn Flintstones character, stopping what little traffic you see!
Partway there, we're joined by two young guys, who were hanging around outside their place and kindly offered to help. Crossing the major streets was tough, as the traffic lights had gone to late-night flashing. Once we had a long enough break in the traffic, we'd run the car across the street, with Patrick warning the other drivers through wild interpretive dance. Having successfully navigated a harrowing left turn onto the last major street, the five of us Flintstone the car into the CarX parking lot and note their opening hours.
Patrick was supposed to drive up to St. Paul with a friend, who doesn't have a car and really wants to see her long-distance fiance. So we looked up rideshares, buses, and train options. The car was also being a sneaky bitch; the mechanic called to say it had started right up with no problems. All the diagnostic revealed was some worn-out spark plugs, so anything else contributing to the nonstarting is still a mystery. But hey, easy fix! The car is now ready to go, and driving much more smoothly. Here's hoping it starts up reliably from now on!