Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/124550
Bloody Knuckles getting his car started. Well, my first thought was that this guy must be crazy, especially if he read my postings on the troubles and travails I am having in getting my Little British Car (LBC) up and running again. If he had read my postings, he'd certainly know that I am no expert! Well, if he was dumb enough to ask me a question, I was just stupid enough to reply. It turns out that Charlie was having starting issues. Turning the key produced nothing but a click. Sounded like an easy enough problem and I told him to check the connections between the battery and the starter, clean the terminal posts and make sure that all everything was clean, tight, and grounded. A few hours later, he emails me again and says he did all that but the car still just "clicked." Well, that's got to be either the battery or starter, I wrote back. CHANGING LANES "Can't be," came the reply, "I've just replaced them both. In fact, I have replaced the starter/solenoid twice and had the battery checked at Sears, where I bought it." What was the problem, then and how was I to know? I am getting email messages asking me to diagnose an electrical issue and tell someone out in the ether how to fix it. I'm not sure I signed on for this cruise. But one thing is sure; I now know how Click & Clack, the Tappet Brothers, feel when they try to diagnose cars over the radio on 10 bloody knuckles 0513 cl.indd 2 Saturday mornings. This is harder than I ever thought it would be. I don't have the car in front of me. I don't know how competent the home mechanic/owner is. I don't know if he is doing what I tell him to do. In fact, I am not even sure what model MG he has parked in his garage. Well, a few more messages go back and forth and through my journal page and we are getting nowhere. This is starting to take up a lot of my time and I am running out of patience with this guy. He either has no ability or serious electrical issues. Finally, I decided to look him up in the registry section of the site to see what year and model MG he has. Maybe by doing that, I can be of better service. Guess what? It turns out that Charlie lives only about 5 miles from my house! So I look him up in the phone book and call him. Needless to say, he was surprised to hear from me but glad I called. We proceeded to continue the trouble shooting via phone, with both of us on speaker. I heard the audible "click" when he turned the key. I had him hit the horn just to make sure there was a good charge in the battery. It sounded strong. Next, with him scuttering over and under his MG, I could hear him as he cleaned, tightened and checked all the connections. Still, the car wouldn't start. "Charlie," I said, "The odds are May 2013 // WWW.CHANGINGLANESDIGITAL.COM 4/5/13 9:03 AM