*click*click* ...*%%$$!!@#!

[attack_laurel]

To clarify:

My battery died Thursday morning.  I'm not sure how - there was no reason for it - the parking lights were left on (I have no recollection of this happening), and the battery drained.  Unfortunately, Miata batteries, once drained, stay dead.  I thought I had saved this one by judicious use of a trickle charger, but apparently, the

Comments

[attack_laurel]

Oh, yes. It's the size of a box of chocolates, and has about the same amount of residual power.

[attack_laurel]

Wierdly, they have an awesome maintenance record. Mine is a '97 (last of the old-school model), and the most expensive repairs on it have been when the roof was slashed (and then slashed again - but we didn't bother to replace the vinyl roof that time).

The only major thing to go wrong was the electrical, when the driver's side window stopped working. Considering that I have to roll it up and down a lot (ID check at Gate), it lasted pretty well - and I've only had to do it once.

The battery isn't massively pricey, and can be replaced by us (though I'll probably just make the dealership do it), and I have a mechanic for the oil changes, so I can't say anything about changing my own oil. In all other respects, it's an awesome car, and is super low on the "steal for parts" list, because everything is proprietary. Unlike the Ford Escort, which fits everything.

[thatpotteryguy]

Or the Chrysler Town and Country (much to my irritation)...

[kass_rants]

I'm sorry to hear about your trouble, darling. The planets are in retro-fuck today, obviously.

Do not fret about not sending me stuff yet. Between the printer breakdown, the laptop kefloozle, and the fact that UPS has been charging an account that we don't have anymore, if you send something to me now, I'd probably just set it on fire.

Just be glad it's not the early 90s when the damn things cost like $600!

(You can change the oil -- if your hands are small enough. Otherwise you burn yourself on the headers.)

[attack_laurel]

I read about your issues. Sadly, my computer is hamster-powered, so I can't help. >_<

[kass_rants]

No biggie. Lotsa geeks on LJ. They've pretty much diagnosed the problem and I have some solutions. None of them free, but the weekend's order were good.

Canon repairman is here now. It's not the jerk they usually send but the nice man who likes greyhounds. =)

A greyhound-powered computer? Nah. It'd run so fast you couldn't see it for five minutes and then be in "sleep mode" the rest of the day. ;)

[runolfr]

I've long had a battery-killing problem with my Honda. Fortunately, it doesn't have the "drain once, replace immediately" problem, and replacements aren't that difficult to find, anyway, but it's annoying.

Apparently someone decided that the Honda Del Sol required no "battery protection" features of any kind. You can leave your lights on, turn off the engine, remove the key, and get out, all without the least indication from the car that you're doing something you'll regret later.

A Honda Odyssey will chime if you turn the engine off while the lights are on. A Subaru will simply turn the lights off if you turn the car off completely. Many other cars will turn off their lights after a short delay.

A Del Sol apparently wants to strand you.

What were the designers thinking?

[perilousknits]

I had a Nissan truck like that. It ping-pinged at you any time the door was open, but there was no difference between "the door is open and the lights are still on" and "the door is open." So, I did run down my battery a lot. Often. Once a week at least. Then, I asked my mechanic to do some creative re-wiring of the ignition switch so that the lights turned off automatically when the ignition was turned off. That was so much better!

I'm afraid I'm one of those people who needs an idiot-proof car. I can drive one just fine, but as far as maintenance, and things like remembering to turn off the lights . . . I'm a disaster.