Car Troubles

I started the at the new office on Monday. I had to go drop off the truck at my old office and say goodbye to everyone before reporting at the Building Group. Janna and the boys followed me over and brought me back home. I spent last weekend getting the Honda Accord ready to go.

Unfortunately the electrical problems it was having before have gotten worse. I didn't have to worry about the problems when I had the truck, but now that the Honda is my primary form of transportation, it is a glaring mess. I replaced everything that I knew was part of the problem, but now other problems have surfaced. My battery is being drained by a grounded wire somewhere, so when I wake up it is dead and when I need to drive it during the day it isn't strong enough to start or even turn over the engine.

Thanks to Walmart's great warranty I replaced the 3 month old battery to eliminate the mechanic blaming the battery. I took it in to Ralph Schomp Honda yesterday and they are supposed to do a diagnostic on it and hopefully find the problem fast. All of the other shops I called wanted to start at square 1 and charge $90/hour til they find the problem. This place said they would do an electrical diagnostic for about $50, so I went with them. I felt better too, knowing they are a Honda-specific shop. I advised them to disconnect the battery until they could work on it since it was a brand new battery, but they didn't listen. I am hoping it is a quick fix-simple solution and not drain the bank account. I requested that they call me before charging me a small fortune.

As a result, I had to get the old '78 Dodge Van up to speed. I warrantied its battery also at Walmart and put air in the tire with the slow leak. It started up like the Ferrari that it is and is ready to drive. On a side note, when warrantying a battery at Walmart go to a one without an Auto Department desk. That way they cannot test your battery to see if it still has a charge. They just warranty it and send you on your way. This saved me a lot of hassle and discussion.

I believe nothing gets me more stressed than car problems.