Jun 04

Charging trouble

Well, the battery problem appears to be a charging problem. Earlier today I put in a “known-good” battery and it worked fine. But while driving home tonight with the headlights on I noticed the thing was discharging. When I got home, I left the truck on the street while I moved the minivan out of the driveway. I stopped the truck since it was rather late and the truck is not exactly what you’d call ‘quiet.’ It wouldn’t restart. Battery nearly completely dead. So a booster-start to get it in the driveway and I’ll deal with it in the morning. But it’s pretty obvious to me that the problem is with the charging system and not the battery itself. Aaaarrrggghhh!

Jun 03

Battery issue?

Stopped for a few minutes at the library on the way home. When I came out, the truck barely started. The battery was weak and it cranked very slowly. Don’t know if the problem is the old battery (that was not properly off-season stored) or the charging system. Will have to investigate further…

Jun 03

Tire issue?

Stopped at Discount Tire to have them check the tire pressures and top them off. They refused to touch the tires because they are “too old,” even though they are not showing any significant wear, signs of dry rot, etc.

They were happy to put together an “out-the-door” price for four new tires, however.

Jun 03

Got it out and fired it up

Fired up the truck for the first time since Dad’s “last ride.”  It started pretty good; ran a little rough at first. Removed boxes of stuff I had stored in the bed. I put on the new vanity plates, got it fueled up and took it for a little ride to “blow the carbon out” of the carb.

Will clean it up a little in preparation for the “car show” (really just a cruise night) tomorrow evening at Sophia’s.