Cars.
I don't understand them.
I use words like "thingy," "what-cha-ma-call-it," and "dohicky."
Conversation on the phone with my husband as I was driving to work:
Me: "Oh crap...what just happened! One of those warning light thingies just flashed on and my car is doing some kind of jerky thing"
Hubby: "What does the light look like?"
Me: "uhhh...I have no idea"
Hubby: "Well, what is going on with your car right now"
Me: "It seems to be ok now, but when that light turned on it jerked me forward a few times and then stopped. Should I pull over?"
Hubby: "Yes, pull over... Ok, what does that light look like..."
Me: "There is no shape in the known world that I can describe to you what this looks like. It is kind of rectangle with a lot of different other pieces on it..."
Hubby: "Does it look like an engine?"
Me: "I don't know, maybe, I have no idea what an engine looks like. I'm going to get out the manual to find out which light that is and what it means."
Now, do you think there would be an easy category in the back of the manual for warning symbols and what they mean. NO! It took me probably 10 minutes to just find a place in the book to tell me that yes, the symbol was the "check engine" light. Seriously...why can they just have the words "CHECK ENGINE" or even the word "CHECK" under the picture to help me figure it out.
We finally figuring out that the car would be fine to get to school and then we could try to figure out what was going on. Once I got to school, I received numerous offers of help. Have I mentioned that I work with some of the most kind hearted, wonderful people?!? The mechanic teacher came down on his planning period, and with a very handy tool provided by my Principal's husband, we (ha...I mean HE) was able to figure out that the problem was with the crankshaft position sensor.
The what???
Crankshaft position sensor.
That means NOTHING to me.
Is the car ok to drive?
Is this fix going to be expensive??
(In case you have missed the last few previous posts now is NOT a good time to have expensive car trouble...we're building a house AND having a baby...I repeat...NOT a good time for an expensive car problem)
(PLUS...we JUST had some expensive car work done not even a month ago. Brakes, timing belt, tires, oil, water pump, the works...this should NOT be happening!)
Turns out the problem with the crankshaft position sensor SHOULD have been something that was either looked at or replaced when the timing belt was changed...3 weeks ago. So, in a very polite but firm voice that meant business my husband called the repair shop that did the work and told them what was going. They said to get the car in right away and they would have a look at it.
Hubby took the afternoon off work (he hasn't been feeling well, so he was planning on going home early to get some rest anyway before the fiasco with the car happened) and came to the school to pick up the car and take it in to the shop. I followed him in with the truck, dropped him off at the house, and returned to work in time for my last class.
The end result...the problem was with the crankshaft thingy and the shop fixed it at not cost to us because that should have been done 3 weeks ago.
Thank goodness for honest mechanics!
After a very long and humbling day I am proud to say that I have learned a few things with this adventure.
1. My coworkers are AWESOME!
2. The car has a very important part called a crankshaft position sensor.
3. These little mishaps are really hilarious when everything is all said and done. (It helps that we don't have to pay for the repair...I'm sure the story would not be near that funny if it came with a big price tag)
And probably the most important thing I learned today...
4. That funny looking symbol is actually the shape of an engine.
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