Random Rants 76: Argh! Augh! Ahhh!

[aimeeandbeatles]

What is with her? Why doesn't she wreck her own things?

Oh, she does. She bought a windchine thingy at a craft fair. I told her she shouldn't put it so close to the closet door because it might get knocked down. She told me to shut up. Guess what happened a few days later?

She bought you a donut but complained when you ate it?

Can't win either way.

She sometimes buys stuff that I can't eat because of the hazard of choking. I tell her to return it, but instead she throws it out while screaming about how ungrateful I am.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

811 wasn't much help. I have a headache now.

 

[Synobun]

I'm not sure if they can do it in Nova Scotia, but here in BC walk-in clinic doctors can give you referrals to specialists if you have a known diagnosis and you no longer have a GP/can't see your GP.

 

[MaryKB]

I'm so sorry! I really hate when that happens, I had similar experiences when I'd call the suicide support hotline, like I'd accomplish nothing and be no better off.

I'm glad you at least called and tried. Can you get an appointment at your local clinic?

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I'll look into getting an appointment at the walk-in clinic. Yes, I know how screwy that sentence is.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

So, my truck wouldn't start. No click, nothin', seemed like the battery was dead. Hooked up a jump, didn't start, still nothin', but when I got out and explained to my benefactor that they needed to rev a little bit to give me some juice I hopped in and started right up. Drove home, which should be enough to charge up, shut it off, start it up, seems fine. Did I leave the door unlatched so the interior light ran it down? Hmmmm.

Next morning, it won't start. Nothin'. Hook up battery charger and it says battery is down. Get a bit of charge, still nothin'. How come it isn't even trying? It has to have some charge by now? While later it fires right up. Seems like it couldn't have gotten from so dead it wouldn't even growl to starting right up that fast... WTF?

It's fine for a few days.

Then one day it's just dead again. Hook up charger. Look out window not all that much later, green light on charger says full charge. Truck starts. No way that was long enough to charge battery. Lift battery lead to check alternator, truck keeps running so alternator is okay. Drive around a bit to put a good charge on the battery, park and disconnect it. Next day I hook it up, nothin'. Hook up charger and it is charging. Takes a long time to go green. Truck starts. That battery didn't hold a charge! Run down and get new battery. Put in new battery. Truck won't start.

By now I'm well aware that all these symptoms are pointing to bad starter, but the way the problem comes and goes is saying no. Starters burn up, and that's the end of them. But, crap, what else is there to do? Pull the starter. Take it to shop. Tests good. Pull out alternator even though I can't think of any way it can be bad and get it shop tested too. Good.

Put alternator and starter back in truck. It won't start, but I can hear the starter motor whine. The solenoid didn't pick up. There is NO WAY for the starter motor to whine and the solenoid not pick up that is outside the starter. There is NO WAY that starter is good. Bench test be damned.

But, I WATCHED the bench test.

Don't care, that starter is no good. Rain. Won't get under there and pull that starter. Go get new starter anyway.

Better weather. Turn key. No whine from the starter. Nothin'. Did I not really hear that before? Try again. Still nothin'. I do not want to crawl under there and pull out a perfectly good starter, again.

Screw it.

Pull starter. I'll do my own bench test right here. Jumper cables. Starter works.

I DO NOT CARE. That starter is not going back in that truck unless it can sprout legs and crawl in there on its own.

Put in new starter. Truck starts. Repeatedly.

If it were not for the $35 core charge, this <.> starter would be getting carved with a cutting torch like a <.> christmas turkey..

Man I hope that <.> truck is fixed.

 

[Cutlass]

Day out in the snow, new boots wet through.

 

[rah]

Hey Tim, maybe your battery is damaged (since I'm assuming you've cleaned the posts and the cable clamps)

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Hey Tim, maybe your battery is damaged (since I'm assuming you've cleaned the posts and the cable clamps)

Replacing the battery was somewhere around line two. In retrospect I'm not sure I needed to, but the day I pulled the cable when it certainly should have had a full charge and the next day when I hooked it up it not only wouldn't start the truck but when I hooked up the charger it said charging...it had to be at least weak.

After ranting about it here and elsewhere, and calming down a little bit, I've arrived at the purely speculative bad control relay in the old starter. It worked for the bench test and for my street test, but outside the truck the starter is laying on it's side, or upside down or whatever so that relay might be having less of a fight to get closed or something. I never bench or street tested it with it sitting upright...or at least I didn't pay attention to whether it was sitting upright in their rig and I was just holding it down with my foot in the street so odds are it wasn't upright anyway.

On the one hand, take out old starter, put in new starter, truck starts fine repeatedly seems pretty conclusive and I'm inclined to just celebrate and call it a day. But I'm really irritated that I trusted that first bench test.

 

[Birdjaguar]

But I'm really irritated that I trusted that first bench test.

Good intentions with bad results?

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Can we call a bad starter motor in a bench test getting a pass a "good result"? I think an invalid result is bad, even if it is desirable.

 

[Birdjaguar]

As I see it, your intentions for getting the starter bench tested were good (to help you solve your truck problem), but the results did not help in the process of getting your truck running (bad results).

 

[Timsup2nothin]

As I see it, your intentions for getting the starter bench tested were good (to help you solve your truck problem), but the results did not help in the process of getting your truck running (bad results).

Maybe. Being totally honest my intentions might have been to save the cost of buying a new starter, hoping that if the starter was good I'd be motivated and have some profound idea. Looking back the fact is that by the time I took the starter out the first time I had so much evidence that I should have said "bench test be damned, that starter is bad." So my intentions might have made the bench test give me the result I thought that I wanted, even though it was inaccurate.

 

[Synobun]

My illness has transitioned into a standard-fare cold. I'm fortunate that if I prop up my head while laying down it's not so bad, but the second I'm upright it feels like I've set off a time bomb inside my sinuses. I can remedy a sore throat with hot chocolate and Fisherman's Friend, nausea with a more grazing-style diet, and the headaches with Alka Seltzer and lemonade, but I've yet to encounter a remedy (that works) for this.

I have no work at the moment so I'm at least free from the stress of deadline hell, but consistently losing 10-14 days of productivity and progress again and again is really cramping my style.

Granted, I still have more access to productive activities and days than I did for 3+ years in their entirety, but what can I say? I'm a very greedy person.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

My illness has transitioned into a standard-fare cold. I'm fortunate that if I prop up my head while laying down it's not so bad, but the second I'm upright it feels like I've set off a time bomb inside my sinuses. I can remedy a sore throat with hot chocolate and Fisherman's Friend, nausea with a more grazing-style diet, and the headaches with Alka Seltzer and lemonade, but I've yet to encounter a remedy (that works) for this.

I have no work at the moment so I'm at least free from the stress of deadline hell, but consistently losing 10-14 days of productivity and progress again and again is really cramping my style.

Granted, I still have more access to productive activities and days than I did for 3+ years in their entirety, but what can I say? I'm a very greedy person.

Chicken soup, or some kind of broth. It's a hot liquid and gives you a bit of nourishment.

It's gotten to the point now for me, that when I have a cold I get won ton soup from my favorite Chinese restaurant. Lots of beef broth, I love the won tons, and they put broccoli in the soup.

I'll look into getting an appointment at the walk-in clinic. Yes, I know how screwy that sentence is.

The way things are now, it's a valid thing to make an appointment at a walk-in place. That's how it works best at the lab here; you get in much faster with an appointment. As for clinics, my dad has no official family doctor, but I contacted the doctor who treated him at one of the walk-in clinics and asked if he would be my dad's doctor. He said yes, so that's how I got around the problem of most doctors in town not taking on new patients.

 

[Ajidica]

Got to experience Fun With Comcast late last night.

I was about to go to bed (about 11:30) when I quick checked my email and saw I got an email from Comcast saying they are processing my service cancellation. I definitely did not submit a service cancellation notice, so I got on their online help chat. It was determined my service was cancelled because of an unpaid bill, which was impossible as I had the bill right in front of me and that it wasn't due until the 20th. I ended up getting the person to cancel the cancellation (that I never asked for).
Ended up getting a call during work from Comcast inquiring if I would like to sign up for a new service with them as I cancelled my old one. I was tempted to be super snarky with the guy, but decided it wasn't his fault Comcast is terrible so I just patiently explained no service is being cancelled and he went away.

 

[Takhisis]

If I were you I'd just double-check that your service isn't being cancelled anyway.

 

[Ajidica]

Well, I still have internet, and the notice I got yesterday say that it was going to be cancelled at midnight of the 12th, so, I guess it has been un-cancelled.

 

[Broken_Erika]

Well, I still have internet, and the notice I got yesterday say that it was going to be cancelled at midnight of the 12th, so, I guess it has been un-cancelled.

Unless it was cancelled, you're still asleep and all this is just a dream.

 

[Lemon Merchant]

One of my three monitors just gave up the ghost, and I find out that the warranty was up two days ago.