The Chariots of DOOM

[King Bob]

I used Dollar to get an AAA discount. Since it was right away, the only choices were Dollar and Hertz, and Hertz was more $. Christina has a credit card, so it FINALLY worked. We're renting one for a Tahoe weekend at coming up, and I'll see if Enterprise is on the AAA list.

[Drunk Monk]

Today starts with a call to AAA to get a jump start. When Stacy's mom passed away earlier this year, Tara inherited her PT Cruiser, which is now stored at my mom's house. It's a cute car, in reasonably good shape, but it needs to be run to keep the battery charged and I neglected it over the last few weeks. Honestly, I've been annoyed by the chore because I had to do the same weekly chore for my mom's old toyota. We eventually gave that away to a family friend, who is now one of Stacy's regular clients and still drives it. I was so relieved when we got rid of it, and now we have another. Tara has put off doing the transfer and now the car has a dead battery so I cannot get the odometer reading needed for the transfer form. So AAA to the rescue again.

Once again AAA is the boss.

Running the pt for an hour now to recharge the battery, which is how long the AAA guy recommended. The engine runs a bit unevenly - there’s an odd intermittent click. But otherwise it seems ok. 

The battery is 2024 and the AAA guy said that if it happens again, don’t tell the AAA responder that the car was inherited (only AAA installed batteries are under warranty, which I didn’t know). He’s getting a 5 star review.

[King Bob]

I recommend a backup battery that has a set of jumper cables. I've got one but have never used it. We just wanted a backup battery for our electronics in case of a power outage, but it came with the jumper cables.

I think I still have my old plug in battery charger (for a car battery). You can jump start with it as well. If I can find it, you can have it.

[Drunk Monk]

My dad had one of those chargers but I gave it away to one of our workmen. I don’t know if it still worked. I’m thinking of investing in one. I turned the PT around so the engine faces the street which will make it easier to jump if I get lax again. I watched the AAA guy jump it - to access the battery I must unclip and air filter, but that looked easy enough. It’s got a tightly packed engine, like some Japanese cars, which makes the battery inaccessible. They topped making these cars like a decade and a half ago. It’s cute but it drives like a golf cart.

If you’re looking to get rid of that charger, I’d be happy to take it.

[thatguy]

I got one for the cycle after getting stuck once. They can be remarkably small. Mine has a connector to plug in the battery cables. Also has a light, USB-A port and a tiny compass!

--tg

[Drunk Monk]

I see chargers range in price from $30 to $500. Any recommendations on model? I do not need a compass in the stock.

[thatguy]

I see chargers range in price from $30 to $500. Any recommendations on model? I do not need a compass in the stock.

I have the tacklife t8 pro. I can't remember what I paid for it. I thought it was just over $100, but I gought it online a couple of years ago and I can't find the invoice...

--tg

[King Bob]

Try Wirecutter for a recommendation

[Drunk Monk]

Darth has issues. The brakes wobble horribly. Big O says the brakes are still firm but I’m thinking of replacing them. Then there’s this groan. It started small - though it was something lower in the glove compartment - and has been getting increasingly worse. The car still performs well but the grown is unnerving. A friend heard it and thought it might be a loose belt because it reminded her of something she experienced. It’s an intermittent noise - can’t pin it to revving, braking, ac, nothing. Also the oil light flickers on but that’s mostly on hills.

[Drunk Monk]

I am an automotive idiot. Darth was low on oil. 

I was going by the oil light & meter, but the meter is based on mileage, not what's actually happening in the oil tank, and Darth is 9 now, ridden hard, so a lot of the warning lights don't work anymore. I have gotten out of the habit of checking the dipstick, relying solely on the dash panel. 

In the days of my youth, I changed my own oil. But I stopped that long ago. 

I am grateful that it was an easy problem to solve and that it didn't get worse due to my negligence.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

I am an automotive idiot. Darth was low on oil. 

I was going by the oil light & meter, but the meter is based on mileage, not what's actually happening in the oil tank, and Darth is 9 now, ridden hard, so a lot of the warning lights don't work anymore. I have gotten out of the habit of checking the dipstick, relying solely on the dash panel. 

In the days of my youth, I changed my own oil. But I stopped that long ago. 

I am grateful that it was an easy problem to solve and that it didn't get worse due to my negligence.

Phew!