Quote:
Originally Posted by cfg83
Hello -
I'm in the dark side of old car ownership right now. My car is in the shop with an intermittent starter gremlin right now. It's either the ignition cylinder (where the key goes), the clutch sensor, or the starter motor, or a wire in-between. Because the problem is intermittent, I bring it in, the mechanic can't find the problem, and I take it home again.
My next step will probably be to install a starter button that bypasses the ignition switch and the clutch sensor.
It's actually not the money that is the problem, it's the hassle and time lost managing the problem. I am not a car person, so this is not something that is "fun" to dig into.
CarloSW2
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Have them install a bump starter of the type used for valve adjustments. Connects the battery to the starter and allows you to crank the engine remotely.
Then using some wire and a 12 volt light bulb, connect then in the starting circuit from ignition switch to the starter. When you get a no start condition the light will light up if you have current supplied. You can use the bump starter to start the engine, and the test circuit to find your bad connection.
These types of problems are why I either drive something very simple or fairly new.
I buy and rebuild salvage vehicles, close to 200 since 1973. My cost of driving was actually in the negative numbers for a considerable time, meaning I made money driving the ones I rebuilt, more than enough to pay for every penny of operating expense. I could even write the mileage off the profit since every car needed to be tested thoroughly before being sold. Generally that was 3000 miles on a fresh oil change, and it virtually eliminated any come backs from the buyers.
These days it looks like about 25 cents a mile for the car and much less for the bike which I bought for $800 with 1800 miles. Bike insurance is less than $100 per year, while the car is less than $400. 10 cents a mile for car fuel and 4.25 for the bike. Taxes on the car are a couple hundred a year and much less, probably about $20 per year on the bike. Overall the bike is probably about 8 cents a mile as long as I drive it enough. It will still be worth about what I paid for it if it runs and can be driven for the next 5-10 years.
regards
Mech