Mud, and car problems

~ beetleypete

After some films and music posts as a diversion, I’m afraid it is back to woeful tales about the weather, and problems with technology. In other words, situation normal, in the world of beetleypete.

I am struggling to remember a (recent) year when the Winter dragged on for so long. OK, 1963 was a nightmare, but I was only 11 years old then. Since I last wore my shorts in October, it has been month after month of cold, rain, and even heavy snow for a time.More than six months of what feels like an endless Winter, confirmed by heavy rain all last night, and a foggy cold morning to wake up to today.

Walking Ollie in thick mud has been the subject of quite a few posts recently, and today was no exception. It is actually hard to keep upright once again, as I slip and slide trying to keep up with my dog. This wasn’t helped today, when he spotted a small Muntjac deer over on Hoe Rough, and took off after it excitedly. I had no chance of keeping Ollie in sight, let alone managing to follow him closely enough to make sure he was safe. Those small deer are not much bigger than him, but they are tough, and have tusks and antlers too. If Ollie managed to corner the frightened animal, he could have been injured.

But I could make little progress in the heavy mud he was skipping over, and it took me almost fifteen minutes to find him. He was hot and panting, but had obviously not managed to come into contact with the deer. So instead, he jumped into the muddy river to cool down, plunging into deep water up to his chin. Once he emerged, I had more than had enough, and began the slow stomp home, in mud-covered boots.

Yesterday, I had planned to go on my usual trip to the supermarket. But after starting my car, I was unable to get the gear selector out of Park. (It’s an automatic gearbox) No amount of fiddling around would seem to shift it, so I had to take Julie’s smaller car instead. On the way, I popped into the local car dealership where my car is maintained, and explained the problem. They don’t send people out, they told me. Nor do they arrange to collect cars on a trailer, to bring them in for repair. If I could get it into them, they could put it on their diagnostic scanner, and try to find the problem. I told them that if I could have got it there, then it would have been outside for them to examine, but they didn’t get the irony.

Last night, we contacted a friend of a friend who is a mechanic. He sent some advice by text. We also looked online, to discover many other owners with a similar issue, as well as some videos showing how it might be fixed. Many of these cars have a small opening into which you insert a screwdriver, to ‘reset’ the micro-switch that tells the gear selector to come out of Park. Mine being a so-called ‘Sport’ model, it doesn’t have that of course. More research revealed the electrical intricacies of a system that relies on lots of information to tell the six-speed gearbox when to change. This ranges from a connection to the rear brake lights to tell the car it is slowing down, to something on the rev counter that informs the gearbox to change up. I was past the limit of my car DIY skills, that was for sure.

I resorted to ‘fiddling about’ this afternoon. Turning switches on and off, and applying and reapplying the brakes. Still no joy. Then I remembered the ‘Sport Mode’ switch on the console. This changes the gearbox ratios, to give a sportier feel when driving, including stiffening the suspension. I never bother with this function usually, but tried switching it on and off anyway. Eureka! The gear selector freed out of park, and I was able to move it normally. Of course, I have no idea if this will provide a permanent fix, or if it will just stick in Park again tomorrow. So, it is booked in for that diagnostic scan next week, the earliest they could do it.

What happened to hitting things with a hammer?

58 thoughts on “Mud, and car problems”

  2. My very first car was an automatic, Pete. I had so much trouble with it not starting that I never had another automatic car until 2 years ago. My current car is an Audi and I haven’t had any trouble with it. It is to dangerous in South Africa to risk driving a car that might give any sort of trouble.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I have had automatics and manuals of all sorts over the decades, Robbie. I much prefer not to have to bother with a clutch, but when autos go wrong, the problems are much worse! 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  4. Oh goodness what a pain in the arse that sounds like with your car. Sometimes I am quite glad I can’t drive! I am also sick of winter now. I normally don’t mind cold weather but this is interminable and I am so ready for a change.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. 🙂 These days, I think the ‘answer’ to technological problems has switched from ‘hit it with a hammer’ to ‘turn it off and back on again’. It’s amazing how often that simple little trick will work! The difficulty with cars is deciding *what* to turn off and on again!

    I’m sorry your garage wouldn’t turn out for you. We had the opposite happen when we were in Somerset. We’d been regular users of a certain garage for ten years or so when a friend had an accident on her way to visit us. She phoned asking if I knew of any garages who would be willing to tow her car in for repairs and I gave her the number of said garage (it being the only one I knew). Their initial answer was that they didn’t do tows any more, especially from 15 miles away, but then they asked who had recommended them and she gave my husband’s name. Thereupon, they came immediately and picked both her and the car up and brought them back to the town where we live. Also, having first warned her that it might be a write-off, they fixed her car in time for her to travel back home a few days later. We were amazed and have happily recommended them to friends ever since.

    As for the weather, like Eddie, we’ve have warm sunshine and 20-22C for most of the past week, after snow for most of March. Hence spring is happening at a rate of knots. New flowers/buds/blossom are appearing every day and the grassy hillsides, which have been straw-coloured (or white) since we came last summer are now turning a beautiful green 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. Have you ever considered walking Ollie on a leash? 🙂 As for car troubles, I hear you. What a bunch or morons. I’m guessing not a lot of competition to let business go wanting and you’re a long term customer too. Hmph! Still all good now. My thing is a passenger door won’t open from the inside. The door is unlocked, the handle turns but not all the way. So I have to get out and open from the outside. Makes me chivalrous.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I can normally keep Ollie in sight, close enough to call him back if need be. He goes on a lead near the road, and I let him off when we get inside the nature reserve gate. But he gets so excited by deer (and squirrels), I think he would strangle himself if I kept him on his lead. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Many thanks to Tom for his sound advice. Much appreciated.
      As it stands, it is working, at least tonight.
      It goes in next week for a diagnostic scan, ($70) just in case…
      Best wishes, Pete. 🙂 x

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  11. Sorry you had a vexing day. It must be a Northern Hemisphere winter–my mom in Illinois outside of Chicago has kept me abreast of the constant barrage of storms and cold. Our east coast has been inundated with snow storm on top of snow storm. Seems like England is having a hard winter, for sure. With your car, they are frustrating things. I’m glad you had some relief and were able to drive it after freeing up the automatic gear.
    Tomorrow I hope is sunny and dry!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks, Cindy. I am genuinely feeling your positivity, which is welcome.
      (OK, I have seen the weather forecast. More rain and fog…)
      I will try to imagine your version instead. 🙂
      Best wishes as always, Pete. x

      Like

      Reply

  12. Good news about the car, thankfully the Lada is built on 1980s tech and the hammer still works 🙂
    Having had snow at the start of the month I’m please to say we are now in the middle of what you would consider summer, I caught the sun yesterday and had to use after sun lotion! The impassable road is a joy to drive on now after the tractors flattened it off and the sun dried it to a hard surface.
    Look on the bright side, it can only get better 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  14. I came close to hitting the dang car with a hammer when i couldn’t get my keys out at the store. I know how frustrating cars can be – almost as bad as computers!
    I sure would have loved to see you in the mud trying to run after Ollie. That HAD to be an Abbott and Costello moment!! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  15. Sometimes our car wont turn over the engine when the key is inserted into the ignition. It has something to do with the steering wheel and if we mess with the steering wheel long enough the whole thing frees up and proceeds as normal.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  18. Same here with the weather, it seems the whole Northern Hemisphere is in the same boat, (or ark!). I’m so sick of it now. I am lucky that my car is old enough to be able to be fixed with a hammer, and I picked it up from the garage this evening and paid £10 for them having knocked a rusty plate away from the brake disc.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  19. The long, long days of winter that last into spring are no fun. Our winter was pretty mild here but spring is turning out to be mostly rain with stormy weather expected again this week. So I feel your pain, though thankfully I don’t have a dog to walk in the mud! Interesting thing about cars and trucks. Recently the emergency brake on my husband’s truck refused to let go. He’s a mechanic but nothing he tried would make it release. Fortunately we have AAA and they do towing for free. (Do they have something like that in England?) When the guy came, he fiddled and cajoled and jiggled and got it released without a tow. But then you wonder, when will it happen again, in a less convenient location? So I understand your car frustration too! Maybe go back to reviewing movies and music? Hoping you have less mud in your future! 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. We have many similar companies in the UK. We are members of one, Green Flag. But we are only allowed three attendances a year, (it is part of a premium bank account package) and have already had two. So, we try to avoid having to call them out until we have no other option. I was very pleased this happened at home, and not in a shop car park, miles away. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  20. The weather is much the same here, Pete. Yesterday, it turned all spring-like and was still lovely in the evening when I went out for a walk but the ground is still sodden. I can’t believe we’re almost half way through April and it’s still winter.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  21. I was reminded of Han Solo slamming his fist on the Millennium Falcon’s console… I had to look up muntjac deer on Wikipedia. I’d never heard of such a creature. It might be interesting if you wrote an article about the species, which is apparently spreading rapidly throughout the British Isles.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Those deer are a Victorian import, David. Becoming something of a pest over the southern half of the UK. Many of them are killed by being hit by cars around here, and also hunted for their meat. (Shot, not chased by cars. 🙂 )
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  22. The joy of rural living with a strong accent on mud! As to your car problem, a hit with a hammer (rubber) works miracles to fix electrical problems, not just with cars. Another thing you may want to try is to disconnect the cables from the battery and reconnect. Often times a relay (now digital) will be re-activated. Best wishes! Peter

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks for the tip, Peter.
      But if I disconnect the battery, I will have to try to work out how to reset the digital computer all over again. 🙂 🙂 Ah, the wonders of technology…
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      1. You solved the problem, Pete! Well done! The advice Peter gave i also would give. Whatever uses electricity these days, sometimes need a restart (normally after a longer rest). Most time its a problem with built in low cost capacitors, but its a tribute to the so named obolescence. Michael

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  23. Good Morning Pete:
    I am tempted to ask if your island had been moved to the Pacific North Wet. but then we do get the occasional sunny day (yesterday, for example) in our wet half of the year. As for hitting things with hammers, the switch to plastic some decades obviated that as a fix-it strategy and the hammer became a means of destruction.
    Warmest regards, Theo

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

All comments welcome

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.