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But yeah, weirdest dang thing. No symptoms whatsoever. Car has been running fantastically. But as if to punish me for stopping at the best donut shop in the Silicon Valley*, the car refused to start. No, wait, even worse, there was NO POWER ANYWHERE! Dash lights intermittently flashed on. A guy noticing my plight offered me a jump (I conveniently had cables in car after leaving my jump box at home - which I stared at this morning for some damm reason.) No go. No nothing anywhere even with cables attached.
So, gave in, called AAA.
First guy arrived with a standard tow rig. Not gonna work, which is why I requested a flatbed. He was cool. Said he didn't want to dent my muffler. (Good for that, can't find an original S-Tune for anything reasonable!) Expedited a flatbed for me.
Whilst awaiting the flatbed, I kinda figured it had to be something simple and stupid like a power connection/fuse issue because of total lack of any power at all.
Ah, ha! My troubleshooting skills hold up to age!!
Auto Shop 101 Quiz: What is wrong with this picture?
Before it completely fell apart (above), I ran the jumper from negative post to a ground (strut bar adjuster) and voila, car started right up.
OK, inconvenient morning it was; but glad it's a simple and inexpensive fix!
* That would be Stan's Donuts on Homestead, Santa Clara.
Bigger question... what kind of donuts did you get???
Now I want some donuts.
Do you guys have Krispy Kreme on the West Coast?
Glazed raised and choco old fashioned for my lunch (real healthy, I know), a cinnamon roll to share with my wife as dessert (she likes the inner, I like the outer edges so we're totally a match for each other) and another glazed for her trip to work this morning.
Yep, we have Krappy Kreme here. You shoulda seen the lines when they opened their first facilities here 15-20 years ago. Hysteria, I tell you!
MicVerdict: They're OK, but a tad too sweet. Stan's is the best! Been around forever! First time I had one, I was like, "OK, this is dangerous for my fatazz...." Good thing I don't live that close by.
Kinda sad the AAA guy couldn't put in a new battery terminal or at least rig it up so you could drive home.
At least he had a nice truck with the bed that folded for lower vehicles.. Nicer then the truck i use..
On a side note i towed this awesome jdm honda the other day.. I kinda thought i wanted one till i thought about the insta death any accident would bring.
Those kei trucks are kinda awesome. A friend of mine has a 4wd with a 3d printed spacer lift on it. A lot of fun to drive around if you have a big property. Probably not so practical on the street if cars are passing you driving over 35mph.
Hah- not sure how I missed Mic's post, but this was a good one! Let's face it, our Z's are 20-year old cars and there are bound to be component and material failures at some point. I know Mic's cars are well maintained, but a corroded negative battery cable is something we might directly examine and it might not register as a potential failure, OR is something that looks absolutely fine until it isn't.
Hah- not sure how I missed Mic's post, but this was a good one! Let's face it, our Z's are 20-year old cars and there are bound to be component and material failures at some point. I know Mic's cars are well maintained, but a corroded negative battery cable is something we might directly examine and it might not register as a potential failure, OR is something that looks absolutely fine until it isn't.
It probably just broke off because he removed the negative terminal everytime he changed wheels.
Hah- not sure how I missed Mic's post, but this was a good one! Let's face it, our Z's are 20-year old cars and there are bound to be component and material failures at some point. I know Mic's cars are well maintained, but a corroded negative battery cable is something we might directly examine and it might not register as a potential failure, OR is something that looks absolutely fine until it isn't.
Originally Posted by dboyzalter
It probably just broke off because he removed the negative terminal everytime he changed wheels.
No wire can survive that abuse.
Thanks Mike. Now everyone knows my secrets to proper wheel swapping. Shee.....
But here's the thing. I haven't swapped wheels in at least a few years!
The tell on the battery cable was the electrical tape on it. I never noticed it before so I removed it to verify all was good. Soon as the tape was off, <plop> went the cable. Now that's a first for me. But hey, I've owned this car 10 years this month. Have only ever removed the cables to swap out the entire battery. This car was one of the first few hundred cars built and sold in the USDM (VIN -00391) so hey, 20 years old this month.
A First Ride For My Z
