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Today was definitely not the best of days. While we were traveling, I took photos that I intended to work into this story, but for reasons that should become clear, I don't have time to add them.
This was the planned route for today: Elko, Nevada to Idaho Falls, Idaho. We did eventually make it, but it took more than twice as long as the projected time, and as I compose this, the minivan is stuck in place and will not start.
I worked from the hotel room from 5:30 AM to 9:30 AM. We checked out about 10 AM, and it looked like we would be able to get a good start to the day, even though we planned to run back one exit west to Raley's supermarket to get something we needed. However, when we got started, we got an unwelcome surprise: the air conditioning had stopped working.
We dealt with Raley's and then went to O'Reilly Auto Parts, where we got an A/C recharge kit and a couple of cans of refrigerant. The system tested empty, but it took a suspiciously small amount of coolant to return a normal charge. But there was still no cold air. Then we realized that the compressor wasn't running. After a stop at CVS to deal with another couple of items we needed, we tried the auto repair shop that worked on the Astro when it broke down here almost exactly four years ago. Unfortunately, they said they wouldn't be able to work on it today. We decided to give up on air conditioning and get moving, two hours later than planned.
It was a hot day, but not as hot as it might have been, and we could survive it. We set out for Wells, where we stopped to refuel and then head north on US-93. I'd never been over this road before. Lisa drove. I came up with a tentative plan to try and find a mechanic in Winnipeg that might be able to work on the minivan during NASFiC to get the A/C compressor working. Heck, we could conceivably leave it with them all the way through the Churchill trip, and surely that would be long enough to fix it.
Just south of Jackpot, Nevada, traffic came to a standstill. There had been a nasty accident between a motorcycle and an automobile, and the road was completely blocked. We were stuck there for more than an hour. Eventually, the State Police and the county sheriff's department were able to get one-way traffic going, and we eased on by the blockage, but now our cumulative delay was more than three hours. It escaped neither of us that had we been able to get out of Elko on time, we would have missed the accident delay as well.
We turned east on US-30, then I-84 to I-86 and north onto I-15. We did keep making regular stops for restroom breaks and cold drinks. Lisa and I were working out plans to go to WinCo Foods to buy food for breakfast tomorrow (the Candlewood Suites in which we're staying has a full kitchen; both Lisa and I would love to have a room like this during a Worldcon/NASFiC), when we decided to stop and refuel at the Flying J at the south end of Idaho Falls. Aside from the extra ten minutes of delay, this seemed routine. Lisa pulled up to the pump and stopped the car. The buzzer sounded to warn her that she'd left the headlights on, but she turned the lights off and all seemed routine. I refueled the minivan, we loaded up, and Lisa turned the key: Nothing.
When I say Nothing, I mean nothing at all. No attempted start. No sound of relays. And none of the lights or accessories in the minivan worked. Not the lightest minor light would turn on. It was if the battery was dead.
After considering the situation, we decided to try and get a tow to the hotel (which was only about six miles away) and work on things tomorrow morning. I called AAA and they dispatched a tow truck, but things were backed up so much that the truck would be coming from Pocatello and we could expect a two hour wait.
While we waited, Lisa tried to think of ways to diagnose the problem. It did not seem like this should be an alternator problem. Had it been, we would have had a red dash light long before the car died completely. Lisa, who deserves the title Mistress of Bodge, came up with a way to test the car battery. Using a piece of wire from a broken earplug and a spare bulb for the Astro's dashboard lights, she fashioned a battery tester. She confirmed that if we touched the wires one of her radio batteries, the light would come on. She took it to the car battery and touched the wires to the positive terminal and the frame of the car. The light came on, quite strongly! This means the battery has a full charge.
With that much power, the accessories should have worked even if the starter wouldn't. So it's got to be something else. More about this later.
The tow truck arrived early, which was fine by us. They towed us to the hotel and parked the Astro in the back of the hotel's parking lot. We checked in, and I ordered pizza just barely in time; in fact it was actually fifteen minutes too late (11:15 PM), but the Pizza Hut accommodated us, sending the order by DoorDash instead of their own delivery drivers, but at the same delivery charge, so it did not cost us any extra. Lisa and I unpacked our overnight luggage and we bought some various bits of groceries from the Candlewood "pantry." Pizza arrived and we felt a little bit better after eating.
Lisa got a bath and headed to bed. She has an idea about what's wrong, and if somehow the local Chevrolet dealership might be able to work on it right away and we're right, it might be easy to fix. Otherwise, we're in a very tough spot. Time is going to be tight on Saturday morning. I've set the alarm for early, and Lisa will go back to work on troubleshooting early in the morning. The dealership opens at 8 AM, and you can bet that we'll be on the phone with them then to see if there's any chance they could work on it.
I'm not sure that I'll have time tomorrow morning to write about the solution. If we have to move to one of the various plans B, C, or D, we may need to push on quickly to our next city. Some of the solutions are rather expensive, but I'm not prepared to declare defeat yet. Watch this space and cross your fingers for us.
This was the planned route for today: Elko, Nevada to Idaho Falls, Idaho. We did eventually make it, but it took more than twice as long as the projected time, and as I compose this, the minivan is stuck in place and will not start.
I worked from the hotel room from 5:30 AM to 9:30 AM. We checked out about 10 AM, and it looked like we would be able to get a good start to the day, even though we planned to run back one exit west to Raley's supermarket to get something we needed. However, when we got started, we got an unwelcome surprise: the air conditioning had stopped working.
We dealt with Raley's and then went to O'Reilly Auto Parts, where we got an A/C recharge kit and a couple of cans of refrigerant. The system tested empty, but it took a suspiciously small amount of coolant to return a normal charge. But there was still no cold air. Then we realized that the compressor wasn't running. After a stop at CVS to deal with another couple of items we needed, we tried the auto repair shop that worked on the Astro when it broke down here almost exactly four years ago. Unfortunately, they said they wouldn't be able to work on it today. We decided to give up on air conditioning and get moving, two hours later than planned.
It was a hot day, but not as hot as it might have been, and we could survive it. We set out for Wells, where we stopped to refuel and then head north on US-93. I'd never been over this road before. Lisa drove. I came up with a tentative plan to try and find a mechanic in Winnipeg that might be able to work on the minivan during NASFiC to get the A/C compressor working. Heck, we could conceivably leave it with them all the way through the Churchill trip, and surely that would be long enough to fix it.
Just south of Jackpot, Nevada, traffic came to a standstill. There had been a nasty accident between a motorcycle and an automobile, and the road was completely blocked. We were stuck there for more than an hour. Eventually, the State Police and the county sheriff's department were able to get one-way traffic going, and we eased on by the blockage, but now our cumulative delay was more than three hours. It escaped neither of us that had we been able to get out of Elko on time, we would have missed the accident delay as well.
We turned east on US-30, then I-84 to I-86 and north onto I-15. We did keep making regular stops for restroom breaks and cold drinks. Lisa and I were working out plans to go to WinCo Foods to buy food for breakfast tomorrow (the Candlewood Suites in which we're staying has a full kitchen; both Lisa and I would love to have a room like this during a Worldcon/NASFiC), when we decided to stop and refuel at the Flying J at the south end of Idaho Falls. Aside from the extra ten minutes of delay, this seemed routine. Lisa pulled up to the pump and stopped the car. The buzzer sounded to warn her that she'd left the headlights on, but she turned the lights off and all seemed routine. I refueled the minivan, we loaded up, and Lisa turned the key: Nothing.
When I say Nothing, I mean nothing at all. No attempted start. No sound of relays. And none of the lights or accessories in the minivan worked. Not the lightest minor light would turn on. It was if the battery was dead.
After considering the situation, we decided to try and get a tow to the hotel (which was only about six miles away) and work on things tomorrow morning. I called AAA and they dispatched a tow truck, but things were backed up so much that the truck would be coming from Pocatello and we could expect a two hour wait.
While we waited, Lisa tried to think of ways to diagnose the problem. It did not seem like this should be an alternator problem. Had it been, we would have had a red dash light long before the car died completely. Lisa, who deserves the title Mistress of Bodge, came up with a way to test the car battery. Using a piece of wire from a broken earplug and a spare bulb for the Astro's dashboard lights, she fashioned a battery tester. She confirmed that if we touched the wires one of her radio batteries, the light would come on. She took it to the car battery and touched the wires to the positive terminal and the frame of the car. The light came on, quite strongly! This means the battery has a full charge.
With that much power, the accessories should have worked even if the starter wouldn't. So it's got to be something else. More about this later.
The tow truck arrived early, which was fine by us. They towed us to the hotel and parked the Astro in the back of the hotel's parking lot. We checked in, and I ordered pizza just barely in time; in fact it was actually fifteen minutes too late (11:15 PM), but the Pizza Hut accommodated us, sending the order by DoorDash instead of their own delivery drivers, but at the same delivery charge, so it did not cost us any extra. Lisa and I unpacked our overnight luggage and we bought some various bits of groceries from the Candlewood "pantry." Pizza arrived and we felt a little bit better after eating.
Lisa got a bath and headed to bed. She has an idea about what's wrong, and if somehow the local Chevrolet dealership might be able to work on it right away and we're right, it might be easy to fix. Otherwise, we're in a very tough spot. Time is going to be tight on Saturday morning. I've set the alarm for early, and Lisa will go back to work on troubleshooting early in the morning. The dealership opens at 8 AM, and you can bet that we'll be on the phone with them then to see if there's any chance they could work on it.
I'm not sure that I'll have time tomorrow morning to write about the solution. If we have to move to one of the various plans B, C, or D, we may need to push on quickly to our next city. Some of the solutions are rather expensive, but I'm not prepared to declare defeat yet. Watch this space and cross your fingers for us.
