Fear factor

The service engine soon light came on in our spare car. It's a Taurus. I like to drive it as it is red and sporty looking and gets better gas mileage than either of our other cars. I had stopped driving it when the light came on, until I could get it in to the mechanic for a check up. It has been sitting for a few weeks now. This morning was to be my appointment. No sleeping in today. I had to get up to take the car to the shop.



I did my usual morning putter. Unload the dishes from last night's wash. Change over a load of laundry, check my e-mails. After I had postponed as long as I could , I went out to the car. It didn't start. Dead battery. Called the husband to see if he could help. He was at work and its Thursday so probably a down day. That is when they take a machine off line for repairs and maintenance. He usually comes home late on those days. He tells me he will get to it later. I can hear voices in the background. I know he is busy. He hates this car anyway. It is not a performance vehicle. Not a car an engineer would drive.



He had made me buy the Jeep, which drives like a truck because he didn't like the Taurus. The Taurus is a 1997. He said after 5 years or 100,000 miles a car becomes untrustworthy. We still have 20,000 miles before we reach 100k. But the age thing may have some validity. We have replaced all the rubber plugs in the radiator as one had dried out and leaked.



Like everything else in our house, we are rough on cars. I think that is why he wanted a car more like a truck for me to drive. It might be more resilient to the wear and tear of our household.



Riley turns 15 in November. He will be learning to drive. This Taurus was to be his car. Nicely seasoned for a teen age driver. Bumps and dents wont be a factor. I will be sad if the car does not make the repair cost grade.



It could be that I just hadn't been driving it enough and that is why the battery is dead. Short trips around town may not be enough. It wants a road trip.



Meanwhile, I decide not to wait on my poor overworked husband. A dead car in the driveway will irritate me. I also don't like feeling like a helpless female who can't fend for herself.

The handle to open the hood on the Taurus broke off a few years ago. I had bought the car used on Craig's list for a great price. It had really low miles for its age. But little things were wrong. The back seat left window doesn't go down. The hood handle wire needs to be pulled with pliers. turns out it doesn't really need pliers. You can grab a little wire firmly with your fingers and pull. A light click informs you the hood is released, even though you don't see it pop up visually.

I found this out after tinkering with the wire for about 20 minutes. I went around to the hood and ran my fingers along the seam until I found a spot I could slip my fingers in and lift the hood open. Now I knew I was on a roll. Once the hood was open I knew I could use the charger cables and try to start the battery with the jeep.

I have a bag in the car that the cables are stored in. The outside of the bag in big bold letters says "HELP". You turn the bag over and the instructions are right there to follow on how to hook up the cable to batteries to jump start the car. Follow the instructions and I'll be just fine.

I move the jeep into position. Then spend 10 minutes trying to find the button or pull to open the jeep's hood. It is a sleek pull, flush with the wall panel and the same color, down at my feet. Now both hoods are open. The package says to start with the good battery first. There is a plastic square box in the jeep with a lid on it. I figure out how to pry the lid off, but inside I find the computer chips. Its the wrong box. Not the battery at all. I look around and see the battery tucked below another plastic cover. In raised writing I see where it says to remove this piece to reach the battery. OK, now I have both batteries exposed. Now for the cable hook up.

I know this is dangerous. Batteries can explode. You are supposed to do it in a specific order. I follow the directions. Then start both cars in the right order. The Taurus starts on the first try and the service engine soon light comes on immediately. The instructions say to remove the cables in reverse order.

I let the cars run for a little while I unload the dishwasher. Then I think maybe I should not leave the cars unsupervised in case something does go wrong. I race back outside but both cars are still doing fine. I undo the cables and throw everything into the back seat of the Taurus. Just in case I don't make it all the way to the shop. I turn off the jeep and shut the hoods.

The drive to the mechanic is uneventful. I am antsy at every red light worried the problem could be the alternator. Every delay could lead to me getting stuck. But I make it. I leave the car running while I check in. They can move it easier if it is still running. Our town is so small, the battery still doesn't have much of a charge in it.

Now it is not my problem anymore.I have handed it off to the mechanics. I told the shop to call and let me know what they find. If it is not too expensive we might still repair the car for Riley. They gave me a lift home. I was really proud of myself to solve this dead car issue with no outside help. I didn't even ask the neighbor to come stand by for moral support.

A friend told me once that it is the fear factor that prevents us from doing things. Most of the time it is not rocket science. But having sawed off my fingers once, I am much more careful and cautious with what I undertake.

Now, on my day off, I am tidying up the house. One problem with letting the boys see themselves off to school in the morning by themselves, is the mess left behind. I have to decide if an hour of extra sleep is worth an hour of clean up at the other end. If I get up with the boys, they help me. Gathering dishes and things from around the house. Putting things in their proper place goes fast with help, but I do love that extra hour of sleep. There will always be chores.