I got my Christmas lights…

[kwren]

Yes, I got my Christmas lights… The day after Christmas!

Driving south on 167 after taking my wife to work my ABS warning light came on. I immediately checked to see if I had brakes, I did! The light went out quickly. A mile or so later I am off the freeway and headed to Costco to get some stuff. Sitting in a row of traffic, I noticed had NO power steering. While I was sitting there waiting for the traffic to move, Power steering returned. Not sure about that one. Engine was running all the time.

I always drive with everything on…The radio, the headlights on bright; the heater-air-conditioned turned on and set to 71.

Washington state, windshield wipers usually on. Today with snow all over the place, rear defrost, heated mirrors turned on. Next my Christmas tree lights pretty much all came on.

I turned everything off except the engine and then all the Christmas tree lights all went off. .

I was a few blocks from Costco and pulled in there and parked. It was cold, we actually have snow all over the place, and rainy of course. I left the engine running, raised the hood and got the dc voltmeter out of the trunk and hooked it up to the battery. I set it up under the hood with the hood open and peering through the windshield with the motor running I could read the digital information.

With nothing on but engine running, my voltage output was about 12 Volts- not enough. I started turning things on one at a time and carefully monitored the Voltage output. With each additional accessory the voltage kept dropping and finally got down to 8 volts with all the accessories back on.

Increasing the rpm did not bring it back up.

I turned the engine off and tried to restart it. The battery was dead.

It was getting about the middle of the afternoon and my wife works 30 miles away till midnight. I am always the way she gets home. I have no help and no one to call on to get me out of this mess.

My alternator has a lifetime guarantee. I can get a replacement about 20 miles away, but my car won’t start or run.

My battery is Costco and has a 3 year guarantee and is in warranty.. I am at Costco!

I go in and buy another battery, install it in the rain, return the old one and now I am on my way to get an alternator. 20 miles later with NO accessories on, I get there and still have enough juice in the battery to get me home. Another 12 miles and I am home replacing the alternator. Unheated garage, but timing it right the heat from the engine kept me just right!

After replacing the alternator, the car started right up. If it hadn’t, I had time to put a charger on it.

Things could not have worked out better! I could have been in a heap of trouble if that happened even a block away from Costco. I could call AAA but that wouldn't get my new battery, my replacement alternator, and get me home to put it together to pick up my wife miles away at midnight.

Isn’t Gods timing fantastic. That is why in many of my posts, I say “We Pray a lot”

Take care,
Keith