You Turn the Ignition

The car won’t start.  My wife’s come back in from the cold to mention this.  It’s cold out there, but it’s not the sort of cold that interferes with automobiles.  I don’t care much for the vehicle nor do I have much of any insight or interest into car diagnostics, but none of that matters much.  I feel a man’s guilt and begin throwing on long pants and a coat so I can go out see for myself. 

Indeed.  There’s an unpleasant sound when you turn the ignition. If it’s only a charge we need we’ll get off lightly.   But it isn’t the sound I remember from a dead battery.  This sounds more complicated.  Lots of warning lights flash, like a one-armed-bandit.  Too many to consider.  It’s clear the car won’t turn. 

The other night I notice a light stayed on even after we closed all the doors and fiddled with all the light switches.  Something like this must have wound down the charge.  But walking out from the driver’s seat I notice blotches on the driveway.  Here are some oil spots where something has clearly leaked on to the ground from underneath our car.  This is worrisome  If the car isn’t starting for some other reason this could all get rather expensive. 

In the U.S., you’d call triple-A.  There may be an ACA, but I haven’t heard of it and     neither my wife nor I belong to it.  She calls her brother.  She calls our nephew.  She tries a local station.  They will send someone over.  When he comes he’s in a simple car, not a tow-truck as it might be back home.  And he fiddles for a bit and charges the battery.   He also point out a simple reason why the oil is leaking.  I notice him and consider all the things he knows how to do, implicitly, which I do not. 

Tuesday 12/11/18