The joy of being stranded

[Medmech]

On this Thanksgiving holiday we are making the trek to my mothers house in Watertown, NY, not far into the journey the :check engine: light comes on. Big bubbles no troubles a faulty fuel cap cures the problem for the time being and after 600 miles of torrential downpours and heavy traffic I decelerate for an accident and the check engine light starts flashing, mpg drops to 4m per gallon and I have decision to make......fast. I said F- it I'm pushing on to a decent hotel to asses the situation only to find that the car is dieing at a rapid rate. I had the family in the car and instead of stopping at a lonely gas station outside of Syracuse NY I made a move for the closest hotel...one hour from destination.


So here I sit luckily the hotel has military rooms and we quickly settled in but to be honest its the first time I have had car trouble while on a long trip. Now I am deciding what to do, right now its leave the car here have GM tow the POS to the dealer and fix it and wait for mom to pick us up in the morning.

One thing I have learned about myself through maturity is: We are all safe and healthy and I have kept my cool. The Hotel is in BFE but the hotel manager was nice enough to give me a ride to the local beer store to help me out, I gave him a little tip that he refused but I stuck it back in his car while he wasn't looking and told him "something good is going to happen for you".

This is a useless post but the family is sleeping and safe and not on the side of the road......and Onstar...........F-you Onstar my call has not been answered for 3 hours.

There is more to this but I am traveling to see my mom who could not come home the TG because she has Soldiers to take care of while the F-heads at gm leave me on hold for hours until my battery died.



At least I'm not in Louisiana.

[CSchmidt]

Glad you are safe, warm, and in a position to make decisions on your terms. Best of luck and hope you get to where you are going.

Chuck

[WVOtoGO]

"We are all safe and healthy and I have kept my cool."

You said it all, right there.



Sorry to hear of your troubles. I'm sure it will all work out, and you and the family will look back one day and get a little chuckle out of it.

[kerry]

I've got a sailboat just west of you I could offer but you'd have to launch it to sail to Watertown.

[Medmech]

Thanks all, my favorite saying "The finest steel must first go through the hottest fire"

I'll add insult to injury thing later but when I bought the gas cap I thought about pulling a GL off the local MB lot because wifey and I hate the Trailblazer so much, I couldn't sell her at that point but with hindsight being perfect I don't think I would have an argument at this time. I was thinking about pulling one of those Soccerfan moves and get a new car.

What does burn my balls is we are traveling to Watertown to see my mom, who can't come home because there are a few soldiers whom are wounded and can't travel so she is hosting TG for them...how can I say no to that? A wounded car ain't *****.

WVO, I" honestly did think of you today because I did consider chartering a 172 but the weather has been so soupy that I think my VFR friends would laugh in my face.

[Medmech]

Originally Posted by kerry

I've got a sailboat just west of you I could offer but you'd have to launch it to sail to Watertown.

Really where? If you would take my mom sailing I'd be indebted to you for life.

That's a pretty good debt to hold in you pocket.

[Hatterasguy]

That sucks Jeff, at least your in a hotel, catch some sleep and everything will look better tomarrow.


Car trouble+long trip+family+rain+day before a holiday=6 pack time.

[Medmech]

I would also like to add.

You guys are the best, this is a great community!

[Medmech]

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

That sucks Jeff, at least your in a hotel, catch some sleep and everything will look better tomarrow.


Car trouble+long trip+family+rain+day before a holiday=6 pack time.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow, mom is picking us up and we are going to Ft. Drum-cook dinner-eat- and take the kids to the hospital to hang out with the wounded Soldiers...which I am proud because it is what THEY want to do!

Friday:
Get drunk with some old buddies.....HooAh!

I hope it takes a few days to fix the truck

[kerry]

Originally Posted by Howitzer

Really where? If you would take my mom sailing I'd be indebted to you for life.

That's a pretty good debt to hold in you pocket.

It's on Oak Orchard Creek at Point Breeze just west of Rochester. It hasn't been in the water in a few years so it would take a week of work to get it in the water.

[Hatterasguy]

Maybe it will take a few days to fix the truck, could work out in your favor!

[WVOtoGO]

Sounds like you have a great family there, Jeff. You should be quite proud.
Hats off to ya.

Have a great TG, and let us know how it all worked out.

Cheers -

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by Howitzer

I'm looking forward to tomorrow, mom is picking us up and we are going to Ft. Drum-cook dinner-eat- and take the kids to the hospital to hang out with the wounded Soldiers...which I am proud because it is what THEY want to do!

Friday:
Get drunk with some old buddies.....HooAh!

I hope it takes a few days to fix the truck

Reminds me of this exact day...........two years ago.

I was struggling to get the '87 from Raleigh to Virginia Beach for Thanksgiving. The oil consumption climbed from one quart every 100 miles to one quart every 20 miles and I knew that I was toast.

Had to turn it around and try to get it back to the mechanic in Raleigh. About 40 miles. It didn't make it.........too much oil.........

So, it was Greyhound for me that afternoon. Four hours to get to Petersburg and another hour to wait to be picked up. 90 minutes to get to the destination in VA.

Had to fly back to NY and return to get the M/B on another trip after the turbo was replaced.

..........breaking down on the road sucks.........my condolonces..........

[dieseldiehard]

The moral of the story is that if you keep your cool and you don't push yourself into a situation where you don't think clearly and people are more willing to help you, at least thats been my maturity lesson.
My trip to Hell was from CA to TX about 10 years ago in a 1979 diesel Mercedes wagon, my pride and joy. Its got a turbo engine conversion, plenty of power and lots of comfort and utility for a long trip, not the first I've taken in her.
Wake up Dec. 23 at 7 AM in West Texas where its 15 degrees. Engine starts up ok, we leave and go about 200 miles until time for fuel. After I fill her up, it won't turn over, no sound from the starter motor. Battery is good, I figure its a solenoid or the reverse switch.
push the car out of the filling station over to a parking place near a cafe in this a town with a population of maybe 1000. I searched a field and found a discarded 2X4, laid down on the cold cement and banged on the starter while my wife held the ign key until I was frozen, to no avail.
I called a local shop (the ONLY car repair shop in town!) and it was closed for the Christmas holiday.
The nearest MB dealer was in Ft. Worth, some 300 miles N and they were in the process of closing at noon (by 10:30 they were already partying in the background) so I hung up without asking if they had a starter motor in stock, I wasn't about to change a starter motor on that car as its a beastly job even in warm weather with a lift.

I finally called my insurance for a tow, they called back and said the nearest tow was 80 miles away and they dispatched it.
I was somewhere between desperation and disbelief when I realized I had a small bulb on a set of wires I made for troubleshooting and kept in the car. I yanked off a wire and connected it to the nice terminal that Mercedes placed for use of a hand held pushbutton that actuates the starter motor for servicing (great feature in adjusting valves if you are careful) Well, as soon as I touched the wires the starter spun right up, it was the neutral sense switch that was open circuit. I canceled the tow and got on my way.

I used this jumper wire starting routine the rest of the 2000+ mile trip, it might have looked odd for someone to raise the hood to start a "luxury car" but what the heck I am not proud at least I was able to cancel that tow! There on Christmas eve at least a 12 hour drive from my destination, man it would not have been fun to be broken down! It certainly turned out a memorable trip.

While at that cafe, several people asked if there was anything they could do to help, I was amazed at how strangers will come out of nowhere under some circumstances (well, they didn't show up when I was out of fuel one day earlier this month but I won't relate that story here)!
Good luck with the car, 4MPG is bad, if you have a fuel leak it could be a dangerous situation. GM credit is in trouble maybe they can't pay the Onstar staff this time of year? anyway Give em Hell! Send a FAX to HQ (look it up on Yahoo Finance) that usually gets someones attention - It did when I had a problem with stupid a UPS driver, he left a 2.5 Gallon oil container leaking into the UPS approved spill bag at my business
Soon I was getting calls from UPS all over the place (well, I did fib a little lie when I said I knew a senior manager at their HQ in Atlanta) they called me and asked me who I knew and I said Mr. Howell off the top of my head it must have been luck (hee heee!) they then sent the driver back out to pick up the item. Odd that they first refused to do that when I called the local UPS, they said once a package was delivered it was delivered and I would have to carry it back to their dock, or the shipper would have to send a call tag (the shipper was closed for the Christmas holiday) so you see, Holidays bring out the best and worst of things.
DDH

[Medmech]

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

Maybe it will take a few days to fix the truck, could work out in your favor!

They told me bar tipping is off limits but I'll make the best of it.