Tuesday 14 July 2015

Me on Monday sorry Tuesday. - sick car

It was a weekend of good ideas thwarted, staying home knitting and unknitting and having to dry uniforms in the house because it is raining.

Mr M had a really good idea for one of the Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt pictures so on Saturday morning we set off, stopping for fuel and a bottle of water on the way. We were, to quote from The Blues Brothers "Heading north to put the word on the streets".
Well, perhaps not literally.
Anyhoooo, off we went. Along the A4042 heading for Abergavenny then onto the bypass. As we passed the turning that leads back into Abergavenny the car began to slow down and there was no vrooom when Mr M pressed the accelerator - sorry to get so technical - so we turned into the road that led back and kind of coasted into the first layby. We waited a few minutes then Mr M tried again but still no vrooom. I rang the AA and the very nice lady took the details and then said "the time is now 10.10am and the patrolman will be with you by 11.30am"
So we waited. We opened the back of the car and had a good sort out and then fixed the very back seat - it's a seven seat Kia Sedona and the back seat can be pushed forward to make more luggage space. Somehow it had got itself half pushed forward so it flopped about when we were travelling, very irritating.
We got back into our seats and waited.
We had a little snooze and then waited some more. Then the nice man rang me to make sure he knew where we were.
He arrived. turned the key, the car started but we knew that would happen. He pressed the accelerator and it vrooomed!!
They kept the engine running and stood by the open bonnet (Hood for my American  readers) and had what looked like a serious discussion. I was sitting in my seat working out how to strangle a car so I couldn't hear them.
He filled out the form, I signed it and off we went. By this time it was too late to go where we intended for the picture so we headed for Paige's Fish and Chips in Cwmbran and b****r me if the car didn't do exactly the same thing again. We decided to go have some lunch then get the thing home and talk to the garage on Monday.
brainstorming it with son and daughter and son-in-law later we decided that it has to be something to do with the cooling system because Mr M assured me that what it did by losing vrooom and allowing us to pootle along in first gear was something called "limp mode"
I know, it sounds kind of vaguely like we ought to snigger when we say it but it's not that sort of limp apparently, it is the lame kind of limp.
I have been informed by those who know these things that with electronic acceleration (and who knew we had such new fangled shi stuff in our car) if things get overheated then the vroom cuts out so it could be either the thermostat is not working or the water pump. Mr M has his fingers crossed for the thermostat
The rest of the weekend was quiet. I knitted and unknitted the same piece four times before I got it right and I did manage to get the uniforms for youngest son washed and dried.
The car goes to the garage on Wednesday and should be back on Thursday - Mr Ms shifts get in the way of collecting it any sooner and then who knows, perhaps we can try for that picture again. It will be worth it

That's me on Monday Tuesday 

2 comments:

helena said...

loving all your technical talk! how annoying to have to knit the same bit 4 times - hope it is out of limp mode now

Eileen T said...

I have car troubles as well, so I know how you feel! I don't have any vroom either. I feel we must have gone to the same school of motor mechanics as that's how I described it to the mechanic - luckily he is also a friend, so humoured me. I'm hoping to get the car back by Friday.