Took a ride to CVS to pick up a prescription and afterwards, when I went to start my car, I heard that old familiar silence that should not be there. I SHOULD be hearing my starter turning my fly wheel to start my engine, but sadly that sound wasn't present. About a month ago I noticed that my battery looked awful, just full of corrosion, so I searched for my tool that cleans off terminals, however my search was terminal, so I put my jumper cables in my trunk and forgot about it. Out of sight, out of mind. Funny how you remember things with the right stimuli and todays stimuli was silence!
So I popped the hood and tried to remember my 35 years in the car business and how this sort of thing happened about everyday. No biggy. Although I suddenly felt alone with a broken down car and no one to call. One look at the battery and my answer was clear. All of the corrosion that I attempted to clean off, was back two fold. There was my problem. A light bulb lit over my head as I thought that the poor connection between the cable end and the terminal COULD be remedied with a better connection. I hoped that I could create a better connection by using the end of the jumpers as a clamp around the terminal. I put the jumper end on the terminal in question and suddenly felt like McGyver! I got back in the car and crossed my fingers as I turned the key and to my surprise, it started! I stuffed my 12' jumbers into a corner of the engine compartment and barely was able to close the hood. I drove home and pulled into my garage. I gave the key a test turn to see if it still started and silence again..............but I was home!
At this point of the story, I know everyone is dying to find out what I did next, but I'd like to take this time to acknowledge the mechanics of the world. What a crumby profession. My back is still screaming about the position it was forced to stand in when the various repairs were made and whatever your mechanic charges you is worth it, just because of the position that they have to stand in all day, doing their work.
Back to te job. I cut off the old cable end with a garden clipper and used a C-clamp to attach the amputee cable to the terminal and drove the car in question to Pep Boys and bought a cable end for $4. I then drove home and atteched the new cable end to the amputee cable creating a replacement. Then I simply connected the cable end to the old terminal and prayed. It worked! I might even buy a new battery tomorrow.
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