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I work on cars all the time and I enjoy it right up to the point when you are no longer doing it for fun, but rather out of need.

Today I noticed that my Samurai was having some issues starting, acting like it had a dying battery. That pissed me off because it’s got a new Optima Redtop and I had the alternator tested just a few weeks ago. So everything should be good.

I pulled into my parking spot at work and shut the engine off and I thought I would make sure it would start again. Nope. Needless to say I was pissed. Car wouldn’t start, I was already late for work (not that really mattered) and it was raining.

I popped the hood and took a quick look around, jiggled some wires and tried to start it again, but to no avail. Not much I could do at the moment so I locked everything down and headed into work.

First think I did when I got into work was call into the knowledge database (Dad) to see what he thought. He thought the same as I, no power equals either a dead battery or a short somewhere. Both were not exciting propositions, but I was hoping for the former just for ease.

As I sat at work contemplating the problem my thoughts turned to a problem I had had before I left for a trip to the Arizona Strip several weeks ago. There had been some corrosion on the back side of the weather pack coming off the batteries accessory wire. The first opportunity that I could take a break at work I headed out into the soaking parking lot and popped the hood on the Samurai again.

So there I am, hood up, rain pouring down in the middle of the parking lot and I’m rooting around the engine compartment for wires. I had several guys look at me oddly as they drove by, of course none of them stopping to offer help.

After the offending weather pack was located I found that the corrosion and eaten away at the wire heading into it. I pulled the tool box out and clipped the weather pack off and stripped the wire down. Then I reconnected everything for a quick fix and sure enough, it started right up. Sweet. I closed everything up and headed back into work still within my 15 minute break limit.

You may be asking why I would want to post such a tale up. I remember as a kid seeing people working on cars in parking lots all the time. My Dad and I have replaced a clutch in a hotel parking lot. You don’t see that anymore.

That is for several reasons, but paramount is that vehicles are too complex now, which I have complained about before, and the gear head lifestyle is dying as a result. Fathers and son’s no longer bond over working on cars. People never learn how to change a tire, let alone diagnosis wiring problems. It’s sad.

So I posted this little tale as an example of ‘When Men Were Men’ and not afraid to get their hands dirty and stand in the rain just to get their car back on the road. I feel privileged that I was blessed with a father who thought it was important enough to teach me that I can fix practically anything myself.