Call me grease monkey
I learned how to change a car battery today!
I went to get my hair done this morning, and then stopped at the grocery store on the way home. I loaded my groceries into the trunk, got in the car, and turned the key in the ignition. Nothing. I tried a couple more times. Still nothing. I tried to unlock the door so I could take a look under the hood. The automatic locks wouldn't even work. Fortunately, I know how to work them manually. :)
I got out, looked under the hood, and with all of my vast auto mechanic experience, I couldn't see anything obviously wrong, but I did note that the battery had a lot of corrosion around the terminals. I've had the car for just over five years now and never changed the battery, so I assumed that was the problem.
So, I had a trunk full of groceries wilting in the 95 degree heat, and I was stuck. Luckily, I was able to reach my dad on his cell phone. He and my mom were at an all-day choir practice at their church, but my mom left to come and get me and my groceries and take us home, and then she returned to her choir practice.
After it was over, they both drove back to my place and we went back to my car and removed the battery, then went to Sears to get a new one. I would have just had the car towed and let a mechanic change the battery, but it was too late in the day and no one is open on Sunday, so I wouldn't have had my car back in time for work on Monday. So, we took the new battery back to my car and installed it ourselves (well, mostly my dad installed it, but I helped). Of course, the new battery had the terminals on the opposite side from where they'd been on the old battery, and the positive connector would not reach -- not even close. After much struggling and a bit of help from a mechanic who just happened to be exiting the grocery store and noticed our predicament, however, we managed to get the job done and the car started right up on the first try. Whew!!
Not exactly the way I'd planned to spend my day, but I learned a valuable skill and got to spend some quality time with my parents, who I took out to dinner after the job was done.
Incidentally, Hondas rock. Aside from one flat tire a couple of years ago, this is the first trouble I've ever had with this car, and it was inevitable. I think five years and a couple of months is actually a pretty impressive amount of time for a battery to last.
I went to get my hair done this morning, and then stopped at the grocery store on the way home. I loaded my groceries into the trunk, got in the car, and turned the key in the ignition. Nothing. I tried a couple more times. Still nothing. I tried to unlock the door so I could take a look under the hood. The automatic locks wouldn't even work. Fortunately, I know how to work them manually. :)
I got out, looked under the hood, and with all of my vast auto mechanic experience, I couldn't see anything obviously wrong, but I did note that the battery had a lot of corrosion around the terminals. I've had the car for just over five years now and never changed the battery, so I assumed that was the problem.
So, I had a trunk full of groceries wilting in the 95 degree heat, and I was stuck. Luckily, I was able to reach my dad on his cell phone. He and my mom were at an all-day choir practice at their church, but my mom left to come and get me and my groceries and take us home, and then she returned to her choir practice.
After it was over, they both drove back to my place and we went back to my car and removed the battery, then went to Sears to get a new one. I would have just had the car towed and let a mechanic change the battery, but it was too late in the day and no one is open on Sunday, so I wouldn't have had my car back in time for work on Monday. So, we took the new battery back to my car and installed it ourselves (well, mostly my dad installed it, but I helped). Of course, the new battery had the terminals on the opposite side from where they'd been on the old battery, and the positive connector would not reach -- not even close. After much struggling and a bit of help from a mechanic who just happened to be exiting the grocery store and noticed our predicament, however, we managed to get the job done and the car started right up on the first try. Whew!!
Not exactly the way I'd planned to spend my day, but I learned a valuable skill and got to spend some quality time with my parents, who I took out to dinner after the job was done.
Incidentally, Hondas rock. Aside from one flat tire a couple of years ago, this is the first trouble I've ever had with this car, and it was inevitable. I think five years and a couple of months is actually a pretty impressive amount of time for a battery to last.
posted by Catherine at 12:00 AM
2 Comments:
go girl!
you did great!!!
when my battery died this past winter, i did do the girlie thing and called a mechanic friend who changed it for me ...
Ha! In the middle of winter in your part of the continent, I would have done the same thing! Heck, I would have left it to a mechanic this weekend, too, if it hadn't happened so late on Saturday. But it is nice to know I can change a car battery if I ever need to do so again. :)
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