Had fun the other night

broken_suave · 18-09-2009, 12:25 PM

So Monday afternoon we were in the Kedron area, we had to take one of our pet rats to the vet and have him put down (yes, pet rats, dont start). So after that we were a little down. The car was parked at a friends place.

We got in the car to go home, tried to start it and: "Rr-Rr-Rr-ticktickticktick" Hmmm.. OK, turn radio and lights off, try again: "Rr-Rr-ticktick-Rr-tickticktick" Right, check the fluid levels in the battery. About level with the plate, so not too bad, but could use a top up. Got some distilled water from our friend, filled the cells and went inside for a cuppa.

After waiting for a bit, went out and tried again..... with no success. Our friend said she might have some jumper leads somewhere. She found them and brought her commodore around. Hooked up the leads but within a minute, there was a burning smell. Before I could try and start my car, the wisps of smoke coming from the clips got my attention, tried to unhook them, but the leads melted off the clips. Closer inspection revealed the problem, 270Amp load limit... the fine copper core just melted. Hmmm no good.

One of her neighbours offered to help, brought around his Hilux surf and his leads. Hooked it up and gave it a bit of a rev. Gave it a minute, and tried to start mine, but nothing. Just the futile tick of the solenoid. Then he said he'd hook it up to the dual battery setup. tried that, still nothing, just more futile ticking.

So we gave up, by now it was about 7:30 at night. He was nice enough to offer me a lift to the Kmart in Toombul (which I wasnt aware was open till 9). Got a battery (for $145, ouch, just paid $90 in vet bills) and got back to the car. At which point I find that the battery, which was the only one vaguely suitable, was about an inch taller than the old one, with the terminals in a slightly different location. But by then I was too frustrated, I MADE it fit.

The crowning moment, was when I turned the key and the car burst effortlessly into life. A sigh of relief. Drove back home to Wynnum, got some take away, which I enjoyed with a beer.

I hate cars sometimes.

**DJM83** · 18-09-2009, 12:56 PM

Yeah ive been through that mate, but not to the extent of yours. Had mine go flat at the BP at Northlakes made a call to RACQ they arrived in 10 mins new battery ($150) and away i went

broken_suave · 18-09-2009, 01:30 PM

Yeah, next time, I wont let my RACQ membership lapse....

Mr Hardware · 18-09-2009, 01:32 PM

yeah, RACQ membership is king. I remember one time i did a clutch in my old corolla, the fact that 10k towing was free saw the membership pay for itself.

blueoval · 18-09-2009, 02:08 PM

glad it was only the battery and nothing more serious.

Sometimes, I have felt like you did, but it all goes away once the car goes back to normal.

Ringo · 18-09-2009, 02:52 PM

Batteries a twice as expesive as they used to be because the price of lead has gone up so much since the beginning of the decade.

Dauphin · 18-09-2009, 02:54 PM

Sorry to hear about your pet, I have also had rats, mice and guinea pigs. Tamed rats are great, don't deserve the bad rep they have. I had a friend who trained his to do things on command.

I was out with the AU guys back in July and my battery gave in after several starts of no problem that day. I put it down to a short drive we did and the battery being almost dead, so it didn't get enough charge that time to see it through for the next start. Luckily they were able to jump me on the spot and I got a new battery the next week and it's all back to normal.

**DJM83** · 18-09-2009, 03:01 PM

Lucky we love our AU's

:

broken_suave · 18-09-2009, 03:05 PM

Yeah I cop a lot for having rats sometimes. Jim, the little guy who had to be put to sleep, was nearly 4 years old. Which, for anyone who knows anything about rats, knows is a damn good run, considering 2 years is a generally accepted average lifespan. We've been able to train some of ours. One of them used to walk around on his hind legs.

As for the battery, I knew it needed replacing, but it had been performing perfectly for at least a week before hand, so I thought I'd hold off for a while.

**Peuty** · 18-09-2009, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by broken_suave

Yeah, next time, I wont let my RACQ membership lapse....

You can actually call up and renew it over the phone so they can send a service provider out then and there.