You can take the boy out of Wisconsin
Dec. 21st, 2021 09:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
offcntrSunday night Holiday Market, 6:45 pm. I've finished boxing up the pots, and am halfway through loading them into the van, when JJ comes out of the office and shouts, "Does anyone have jumper cables?" "I do," I say, right behind her.
Seems Amanda's car won't start. I ask if she can wait until I've finished loading up; she's fine with that. So I pull across the parking lot and park nose-to-nose with her 2015 Acura, pop the hood and get the flashlight out of the glove box and cables from behind the seat. Hook 'em up, red to red, black to ground. Right away, I notice a big swath of crystals running across the top of her battery, not a good sign. She admits she inherited the car from her aunt, and it's still got its original battery.
Since she's never done this before, I have to explain. Get in your car. Wait for me to gun my engine, and then try to start yours.
First try, the headlights come on, and I get out to hear her motor running. Disconnect the jumpers, warn her not to stop until she's home, and see about getting a new battery in the morning. Close my hood and drive home, secure in the knowledge that my Wisconsin winter credentials are fully up to date.
Seems Amanda's car won't start. I ask if she can wait until I've finished loading up; she's fine with that. So I pull across the parking lot and park nose-to-nose with her 2015 Acura, pop the hood and get the flashlight out of the glove box and cables from behind the seat. Hook 'em up, red to red, black to ground. Right away, I notice a big swath of crystals running across the top of her battery, not a good sign. She admits she inherited the car from her aunt, and it's still got its original battery.
Since she's never done this before, I have to explain. Get in your car. Wait for me to gun my engine, and then try to start yours.
First try, the headlights come on, and I get out to hear her motor running. Disconnect the jumpers, warn her not to stop until she's home, and see about getting a new battery in the morning. Close my hood and drive home, secure in the knowledge that my Wisconsin winter credentials are fully up to date.
no subject
Date: 2021-12-22 11:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-12-23 05:08 pm (UTC)My jumper cables came in the the trunk of my first car, a '75 Dodge Dart 3-speed I bought from my grandfather, colored (I learned when I arrived in Oregon) Forest Service green. It also came with a plug-in block heater, so I never had any trouble starting the thing all the winters in Wisconsin.