Back in the Saddle Again

Got the Jeep back today...they said it was just the battery. That's the first time ever in 15 years of driving that I've had a battery go bad. Wife was a little pissed that we spent almost $200 between the tow, the diagnostic, and the battery. The way I see it, it's better to have had the diag done so that, on the chance it wasn't just the battery, it doesn't leave her stranded. But that's my perspective.

Just My Luck...

This has been a shitty week for the radioman's vehicles. First off, on Thursday while I was returning home, my normal back-and-forth-to-work beater had a flat tire. No spare, and no jack. Fucking lovely. Was stuck on the side of the road for about 45 minutes waiting on a tow truck. Luckily, Houston has a program called "Safe Clear", and they towed me from where I was to the nearest tire shop, which was less than a mile away. For free...well it's free for me, the tow company charges the city $50. Got the tire changed ($70) and continued on my way. Now, mind you, Thursday and Friday I had gotten up at 3am to do some stuff at work before night shift left and Thursday I got home at my usual time (6:30pm). Makes for a long day.

Today, my wife's grocery-getter and critter-wagon(Jeep Liberty) decided to go tits-up too. Luckily we were in a parking lot, not on the freeway. Turned the key and got jack shit. Not even interior lights. And no, I didn't leave the lights on. Some nice lady that was parked in front of us tried to give us a jump, but it wouldn't stay running. Hmmm...could it be the alternator? There's usually signs, leading up to the point where it dies (radio gets real fuzzy, lights get dim, other accessories are sluggish/quit working). I saw nothing up to the point where it quit working. I figure it's the alternator or the voltage regulator. Since it was Sunday, of course the warranty company wasn't open so I have to leave it where it's at and get it towed in the morning. There's a Jeep dealer right next to where my wife works, so I'll just have it towed there. Let's just see how much I gotta shell out this time and whether or not the extended warranty I bought when we got the vehicle covers it.

Goes to prove the old saying, "If it's got tits or tires, there's going to be trouble."