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Dismounted
Aug. 9th, 2006 01:09 amA couple nights ago, while stretched out and getting some writing done, I look over at my sweet girl at the other end of the couch and ask if she'd like to do something silly and go to GenCon for a day this weekend. Sure, she says, and I start making some plans.
I don't require a lot of sleep, and in fact, perform poorly on anything close to the recommended 8 hours a night. I plan to leave here around 4 Saturday morning and drive to Indy, getting to registration as close to the 7 a.m. opening as I can manage.
It was all going so well, until tonight. Spykeetom and I were heading to Lancaster to recover her own car, when the Engineless Wonder's battery warning light comes on. Then goes off. And flickers. Repeat ad nauseum. I turn around and head us back to Lexington. I call Dad. Symptoms are described. Potential causes are discussed. At worst, the alternator, installed less than a month ago, is failing. Just as likely, the serpentine belt is going. As this may well be the factory-installed belt on a 1992 Mustang with 170K on the clock, the belt needs replacing anyway. In Park, at idle, the warning light illuminates. Throttle up past 1200rpm, and the light goes off. The voltmeter remains constant, no matter what. Headlights are bright, roof raises and lowers, as do the windows. I have another theory that I'm going to test tomorrow - the battery terminals have a lot of corrosion, and one of the Diet Cokes that Elalyr left in the fridge here may be sacrificed to clean that off.
Wish me luck, folks.
I don't require a lot of sleep, and in fact, perform poorly on anything close to the recommended 8 hours a night. I plan to leave here around 4 Saturday morning and drive to Indy, getting to registration as close to the 7 a.m. opening as I can manage.
It was all going so well, until tonight. Spykeetom and I were heading to Lancaster to recover her own car, when the Engineless Wonder's battery warning light comes on. Then goes off. And flickers. Repeat ad nauseum. I turn around and head us back to Lexington. I call Dad. Symptoms are described. Potential causes are discussed. At worst, the alternator, installed less than a month ago, is failing. Just as likely, the serpentine belt is going. As this may well be the factory-installed belt on a 1992 Mustang with 170K on the clock, the belt needs replacing anyway. In Park, at idle, the warning light illuminates. Throttle up past 1200rpm, and the light goes off. The voltmeter remains constant, no matter what. Headlights are bright, roof raises and lowers, as do the windows. I have another theory that I'm going to test tomorrow - the battery terminals have a lot of corrosion, and one of the Diet Cokes that Elalyr left in the fridge here may be sacrificed to clean that off.
Wish me luck, folks.