Vehicular Advice

By coincidence my son and I happened upon some women with a dead battery. They were trying to jump it but had hooked the jumper cables to something besides the donor vehicle battery.

I politely pretended not to notice that they were hooked up to the air conditioner rather than the battery, and just said “You look like you’ve got this, but if you need any help we’d be happy to assist.” No Mansplaining here!

They likewise were wise enough to admit that they didn’t know at all what they were doing, and to graciously accept the offered help. They were also hooked incorrectly on the receiver side, but it hardly mattered since there was no electricity coming from the donor.

I disassembled the battery connections and cleaned the corrosion that was all over them, then hooked my truck up and got her vehicle started in a few minutes. I enjoy the chance to help people, and they were grateful and kind. 

Anyway, probably here it’s preaching to the choir but always carry a toolbox and jumper cables. Know how to do simple roadside repairs. Even if you don’t have trouble yourself, you never know when you might meet someone in need. 

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

One of my great frustrations with my current pickup is that the owner's manual is useless for trouble-shooting and repairs. Anything more detailed than jumping the battery is "take to shop" and "take to shop." The other annoyance is that certain warning lights come one, and the unit tells you what is wrong only once, when you first start the truck. If you don't catch the alert, you are uncertain if work is needed now or at some point in the future.

I still miss my 2011 pickup, but it was totaled. (Please do not talk on the phone and drive. Thank you.)

LittleRed1

Grim said...

Mine is a 2011 Ford F-150, and I’m planning to keep it even past putting a new engine in it. The computer program (Forscan) has nevertheless proven to be a good investment.

raven said...

Nice of you to help before they turned the engine into a BBQ grill....! Good job.