The Frickin' Van and variable resistance
We got the van back late yesterday. My mechanic did the best he could, but sometimes the best just isn't good enough, and I think this is one of those times. He installed a new fuel pump -- a major undertaking that required removing the gas tank to install. And on my vehicle, the hardware itself was north of $600 -- it's an entire assembly, apparently, not just a simple part. After the labor to install it, the bill came up just shy of $1000 -- effectively cleaning out my bank account.
The new pump is making an unhappy noise, and what's worse, the fuel gauge is messed up -- it now reads that the tank is permanently full.
Although it's no good to see more gas in the tank than is actually there for obvious reasons, I don't expect that fixing that gauge is going to be a major issue. All fuel gauges operate on the same basic principle -- they're calibrated rheostats, or variable resistors: They measure resistance to ground.
The fact that the gauge is pegged tells me that it's getting too much current, which means that somewhere along the line, one of the guys who worked on the van probably didn't reconnect the ground properly or something.
But the fuel pump makes a whining noise, and that is more of an issue. It's enough that you can hear it over the stereo, and it's unsettling. Also, it's a noise that wasn't there before. And therefore it's unacceptable. You pay almost $700 for something, you expect that it's going to work right.
This won't do, especially since Bonnie and I plan a trip to Florida next month which we'll be driving for. So I'll have to bring it back to the mechanic in the next couple of days for another looksee.
I was planning on bringing it back to him soon anyway, since we needed to get the heater/ac fan fixed -- it only blows on high (another variable resistance problem -- gee, is there a theme here?) -- so I guess I'll try to kill two birds with one stone.
All this makes me desperately wish we lived somewhere that public transportation was a possibility and car ownership was an option, not a necessity.
Comments
I hate unexpected car repairs, especially those that aren't done *well*, for that amount of money.
However, the real reason I'm posting is to let you know that you really ought to veer east when you hit VA and crash at our house for a day (or two?) It'd save you some money, and the food's not bad either. :)
Posted by: Suz | March 24, 2006 07:25 PM