I aced my assessment yesterday, so I can continue to fool around in the computing system, creating havoc wherever I go. I hate the pressure, because if you don't pass the test, they take your security away and you can't do part of the job. No pressure or anything!
When I got back from the test, there was an e-mail from Mes A. telling me that the Mercedes had blown up in the parking lot where she works. Since none of them are mechanically competent, I didn't know what to expect. I figured it must have thrown a rod or something terrible.
So when I got off work, I went down with N. to look at the car. Much to my relief, there was no large puddle of fluids under the car. Furthermore, when I grabbed the fan belt and reefed on it I could turn the engine over by hand, so it wasn't frozen or anything. N. got in the car and turned the key and nothing happened, so I started tracing wires, and it turned out that the hot wire from the key had fallen against the exhaust manifold and the insulation melted off, causing a dead short. They had also somehow lost the needle valve out of the carburetor so it was leaking gas. When they turned the key over, gas + spark= exposion.
So I did a quick fix on the wire, scrounged a screw, put it back together, and we drive it home. Took less than an hour. Unfortunately it is not driveable until I can scrounge up a needle valve for the carburetor, Or mabe barely driveable. I tried to get it running and retime it last night, but with the needle valve missing, I cant keep it running long enough to get the timing light on it.
Geuss I know what I'll be doing after work tonight.
5 comments:
Gotta love that German engineering. You have way more patience than I have. I stopped working on cars when I could no longer step into the engine comparment. About 1970, I think.
That's why I buy old cars. I can still work on them because everything is pretty straightforward.
Congrats of acing the assessment! I have to take a test every two years or else I don't get a certain "security clearance" to do my job. Ugh....I get nervous every time I take the damn thing!
And even though you have to work on the car, it must be a big relief that it's nothing MAJOR, right?
ENormous relief. I figured I would see a rod sticking out of the side of the block or something. A few nickle and dime parts are no big deal.
Greets to the webmaster of this wonderful site! Keep up the good work. Thanks.
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