Getting a charge
Apr. 1st, 2021 03:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
offcntrI started up the van for the first time since Holiday Market on Tuesday, and the engine barely turned over. I'd noticed it starting a little hard last December, but as I still managed to get to and from the Park Blocks, I didn't worry too much. This time, though, it barely cranked, though it did eventually start.
No big deal, I figured, I'd pop the hood, see how old the battery was. Might be time for a new one, and Knechts is just down the street.
The hood wouldn't open.
This is sadly a normal thing with my poor Chevy Astro. At some point in the past, the plastic bracket that held the hood prop in place broke off, so the hood pinches it against the cable that releases the latch, and it doesn't want to let go. I tried levering it with a pry bar, but the only thing to lever against is the plastic grill, and I didn't want to break it. Left it overnight while I thought on the problem, and in the morning borrowed Denise's rubber mallet (for pounded paper) and waled on it a bit. After which, the pry bar popped it nicely, and it opened up for me.
Turns out the battery is only three years old. We bought it in Edmonds, the year we got stranded during load-out. So it shouldn't need replacing; maybe it just never got well-charged, in a year without long drives to road shows. I'd just put it on the charger.
If I hadn't needed the carport to sort pots, I'd have just charged it in place, but I didn't feel safe running the charger off 20 feet of extension cord, so I took the battery out. This was a challenge in itself, as the lock-down bolt was almost inaccessible behind the battery, needing a socket that didn't have an extender. I finally figured out that a square-end pry tool I'd picked up in the bike lane would fit the socket, allowing me to turn it by hand.
Once the battery was out, I faced a second challenge. This battery had screw-on only leads, flush to the face of the battery. My charger only has alligator clips.
I went through my hardware stash, looking for a couple of bolts to screw into the battery, but found nothing. Finally came up with a work-around: the clips are held against the battery with elastic ball bungees. I left it on the charger all day.
Meanwhile, I'd found some screw anchors and a hook that fit into the van frame, making a new hood prop holder, and shot some silicone lubricant into the hood clamp mechanism. Put it all back together at suppertime, and it started like a dream.
One more thing ready for Saturday Market.
No big deal, I figured, I'd pop the hood, see how old the battery was. Might be time for a new one, and Knechts is just down the street.
The hood wouldn't open.
This is sadly a normal thing with my poor Chevy Astro. At some point in the past, the plastic bracket that held the hood prop in place broke off, so the hood pinches it against the cable that releases the latch, and it doesn't want to let go. I tried levering it with a pry bar, but the only thing to lever against is the plastic grill, and I didn't want to break it. Left it overnight while I thought on the problem, and in the morning borrowed Denise's rubber mallet (for pounded paper) and waled on it a bit. After which, the pry bar popped it nicely, and it opened up for me.
Turns out the battery is only three years old. We bought it in Edmonds, the year we got stranded during load-out. So it shouldn't need replacing; maybe it just never got well-charged, in a year without long drives to road shows. I'd just put it on the charger.
If I hadn't needed the carport to sort pots, I'd have just charged it in place, but I didn't feel safe running the charger off 20 feet of extension cord, so I took the battery out. This was a challenge in itself, as the lock-down bolt was almost inaccessible behind the battery, needing a socket that didn't have an extender. I finally figured out that a square-end pry tool I'd picked up in the bike lane would fit the socket, allowing me to turn it by hand.
Once the battery was out, I faced a second challenge. This battery had screw-on only leads, flush to the face of the battery. My charger only has alligator clips.
I went through my hardware stash, looking for a couple of bolts to screw into the battery, but found nothing. Finally came up with a work-around: the clips are held against the battery with elastic ball bungees. I left it on the charger all day.
Meanwhile, I'd found some screw anchors and a hook that fit into the van frame, making a new hood prop holder, and shot some silicone lubricant into the hood clamp mechanism. Put it all back together at suppertime, and it started like a dream.
One more thing ready for Saturday Market.
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Date: 2021-04-01 11:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-04-02 02:41 am (UTC)