So, I spent the morning doing a variety of tasks, mostly spraying grapefruit juice over my keyboard, desk and monitor. Done that well…
…then we got on to swimming, had a very nice swim thankyou very much.
…and then we spent 20 minutes cleaning connectors around my indicator. See, car electrics work like this: the power wings it’s way from the battery all along little wires, through switches and to the object, in this case, a light bulb. Having got there, the car’s body is used as the other wire to get the electric back to the battery.
This is all fine and dandy when the car is brand spanking all shiny metal new. But when the car is 36 years old and the joints aren’t quite so good, and any bits where there were once connections are coated in a thin layer (at least) of rust, you find that the earth route attempts to go back via bits of rust and dirt. Which doesn’t work. And then interesting things start happening, because electricity is a determined force, and it’ll do it’s damnest to get back to the battery.
This is why you’ll quite often see older cars – before their MOTs at least – lighting up like a the Christmas Display at World’o’lights, blinking and flashing in a bizzare array of unhelpful indications. On my Minor this meant that the day after the MOT (thankfully, but bizzarely), the Right front indicator stopped working and instead the sidelight bulb when into epileptic fits of delight as it flashed manically.
So I spent the morning sanding and cleaning joints. Attempting to get a connection at least ‘good enough’ to tide me over. But no. After 20 minutes I found that despite my attempts and the appearance of shiny metal in a variety of places connections were not being made. So then I did what I should’ve done in the first place, I ran an earth wire back from the indicator unit to the earth point for the headlamps (apparently headlamps warrant an earth point whereas unimportant little orange lights which tell people where you’re going, do not).
I’ve also contacted A&E – the people I need to speak to are in tomorrow, renewed my MMOC membership – making my insurance valid (but hurting on the paying money stakes), rung Burwin to find that my bike engine is with Martin, or at least, with Martin’s house… Martin currently being on holiday. And ordered the new brake drum and shock absorber so I can spend a delightful afternoon (or morning) in the freezing cold doing my brakes and damper. Aren’t I just the lucky one :-)
Now I’m going to eat lunch and *if* I manage to leave early enough I’ll had my essay in :-)
