HICK CHECKED THE ENGINE LIGHT ON T-HOE!
I know, right? The planets must be aligned, because while I was down in my dark basement lair, Hick took it upon himself to get his Check Engine Checker, and go find out what in the Not-Heaven ailed T-Hoe. He even wrote it down, so there would be no confusion. Well. Mainly so there would be no need to repeat his efforts, probably.
Looks like Hick had the same penmanship teacher as Mrs. Cranky! Pardon me while I brag on my Sweet Baboo, because it looks like Hick won the penmanship medal. Don't tell little Rhoda Penmark, 'kay?
You can plainly (?) see that T-Hoe had a problem with his Pedal Position Sensor, and that his #7 Cylinder was misfiring. Of course Hick fixed these problems. You wanna know how?
HE RESET THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT!
Uh huh. Hick did nothing to impart some sense into the Pedal Position Sensor, and did nothing to fire up ol' Cylinder #7. Don't act all surprised.
I'd been telling Hick for months that sometimes T-Hoe won't get-up-and-go. Like on the hill heading into town, by Hick's Storage Unit Store. And also that sometimes, T-Hoe would rev up like I was trying to do a burnout, when I was just putting the same pressure to the pedal, not even trying to smash it to the metal. Like he would jump into overdrive for no reason. In addition, T-Hoe sometimes "coughed." Or "putt-putted." As my mom might have put it, the engine was "missing."
I have no idea if either of those problems can be attributed to the issues illuminated by the Check Engine Checker. But I am secure in the knowledge that these problems will arise again. Hick seems to know what he needs to fix the #7 Cylinder. He has no idea what the Pedal Position Sensor needs. "Could have just been the cold weather making it act up."
Anyhoo... here's the thing. This checking of T-Hoe's Check Engine light cost me $174.66. No, Hick did not give me an itemized bill for his time and rental of his Check Engine Checker. What do you think he is, some money-grubbing opportunist who'd charge his own wife for a second-hand lava lamp to give their son for his birthday?
Nope. While Hick was checking my engine light, he had to have the power on. When he finished, and got in T-Hoe to start him up and see if the Check Engine light was now off... he discovered that
T-HOE'S BATTERY WAS DEAD!
Yeah. So he had to jump T-Hoe using A-Cad (who, as you may recall, has no visible battery, but only two connector points for battery-jumping), and drive to town for a new battery.
I guess that's the new battery he has been telling me T-Hoe needed for several months now.
It is one thing to find out what is wrong and totally another to do anything about it. If it was me, her, today, I wouldn't fix it either. It only got up to -6F and you don't want to touch bare metal with bare fingers when it's that chilly.
ReplyDeleteWell, that's definitely a good reason for not doing anything about it! I think we were in the mid-teens temps when Hick didn't fix it. That's practically a heat wave!
DeletePossibly it was battery trouble all along? I do think it's a bit cheeky of him to charge you for the battery when he rakes in enough from his sales and has been putting off getting the new battery for so long. He probably wouldn't even have felt guilty if T-Hoe had died somewhere and you were stranded.
ReplyDeleteMaybe. According to Hick's ears, which are his own Battery Checker, he's said for a while it sounded like the battery was going bad. I couldn't hear any difference myself, upon starting T-Hoe.
DeleteHe wouldn't have felt guilty, but he might have felt pity for me. No way would he have accepted any blame.
Uhm, tell Hick he can take the car to Auto Zone where they do that check engine thing for free and can reset your codes. However a dead battery is a dead battery.
ReplyDeleteWait! You mean there was no reason for Hick to build that Freight Container Garage and put a car lift in it, with the excuse that he could fix our cars himself? He won't be happy that you revealed that secret!
DeleteThat sounds like the best idea!!
DeleteHick would rather lay under T-Hoe in the yard, in the mud, and take that engine apart bolt by bolt than ever take it to Auto Zone! Auto Zone is for PARTS ONLY, and that is just routine things like The Pony's tire air checker thingy, or windshield wiper replacements if you're on the road.
DeleteHmmm...perhaps the light only comes on when the engine hick-ups and resetting it will work for now, but I suspect there may be another hick-up in your future.
ReplyDeleteHoly Cow!! I had no idea a battery cost that much. Last one I got was around $60...that may have been a while ago.
Yeah. We have been talking about a replacement for T-Hoe. Only 117,000 miles on a 2008, but he's aging as fast as we are!
DeleteThe battery for A-Cad a couple months ago was $134, I think. I saw the receipt, so Hick's not scamming me on these two purchases.
New cars today should easy get 150,000 miles, especially those with a big engine, but my 1950's mindset still gets queasy at around 100,000. I also change oil after 3000 miles...Mrs. C say's not until at least 6,000 miles, I know she is right, but there is still that 1950's training.
DeleteHick was chatting with another hanger-on, I presume, at Mick the Mechanic's shop. He mentioned how T-Hoe has been eating oil, and that the Check Engine Checker had said the #7 Cylinder is bad. Thus commenced a lengthy lecture from Hick about how that makes sense, because...
DeleteThe other guy said this happens to the Tahoe engine, that it rarely lasts over 150,000 miles, because it conserves itself in some kind of mode, and only the #1, #7, #2, #8 cylinders fire. So the others lose their seal, and suck oil.
It made sense to Hick. Then I said, "Can't you just fix that by replacing the #7 Cylinder?" And he laughed and said, "Yeah, if you rebuild the motor."
I'm never quite sure when he's being factual, or just funnin' with me.