Seems like it’s always something. A couple of days ago it rained especially hard, so I went upstairs and peeked under the eave to see if the roof was leaking. You see, I had a new roof installed three years ago, and it leaked. The roofer who installed it refused to come back and fix the leak. So I paid another roofer to fix the leak, and I thought it was fixed. But when I looked under the eave I saw it was leaking again in the very same place it had leaked before. Oy.
Just last month my Jeep developed a problem. It would start but it wouldn’t keep running. I guessed (correctly) that the problem was the Idle Air Controller (IAC). I borrowed a set of hex keys (Allen wrenches – the brand name Allen was stamped into them) from my friend Butch and removed the IAC. I cleaned it and re-installed it, but that didn’t help. So I trekked around to the AutoZone store for a new IAC. I trekked back home, installed it, and it fixed the problem. That was three weeks ago.
This morning I went to my garage, got into my Jeep, put the key into the ignition, and turned the key to start the engine. BANG!!! Blue smoke poured from under the hood. I got out, raised the hood, and saw the problem immediately. The battery had exploded. You don’t have to be a mechanic to know a battery shouldn’t look like this. (I disconnected the battery cables before I took the picture – the explosion didn’t blow them off, in case you were wondering.)
What a mess. Battery acid was all over the front of the engine and dripping onto the cement floor of the garage. I used a box of baking soda – all I had – dissolved into a gallon of water to neutralize the acid. This time I asked Butch to drive me to AutoZone for a new battery. I was not about to lug an automobile battery back to my house. I got the battery, installed it, and the Jeep started right up. I have transportation once more. It’s a good feeling.
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