80 amp fuse update

XS11E wrote:

> For me, it was changing oil and forgetting to replace the drain plug.
> I replaced the filter, poured in the first quart and noticed the puddle
> spreading out from beneath the car.
>
> I knew instantly what I'd done and can't even begin to describe how
> stupid I felt....

I drained the antifreeze one time and drove off without filling the
radiator when I was 16 or 17.
Oops, that may be #1 for me as far as non life-threatening stupidity.

That van heated up very quickly. The engine was a 1982 Ford 300 C.U.
straight six and it seemed to run fine after that, but I did not have it
for that much longer either.

What exactly will that do to an engine/cooling system anyway? It was not
driven far, but that can not have been good.

Pat

I was changing the spark plugs (probably for the first time on my own) on my
first car and snapped one off and then realized that I had been turning it
the wrong way! I had (an adult) neighbor who was a diesel mechanic (iirc)
and I had to go over and ask for assistance. Of course, I just told him that
I was trying to get it out when it snapped off! He was kind enough to help
me and NOT to say anything that made me feel any more stupid than I already
did UNTIL after he completed the job! Then he just looked me in the eye and
said 'you were turning it the wrong way, weren't you?' I couldn't lie or
deny it, he knew! I like to think that he said something like 'everybody
does something like that one time' but, I can't say for sure on that ;-)

Oops,
cd

I have a funny motorcycle one; first bike, occasionally overheated and would
stop running until it cooled off a bit. One day on the way to work, it died
and I coasted to a stop cussing up a storm. My (non car/motorcycle) brother
happened by and stopped to see what the problem was. I rattled of the
problem between expletives and he just blurts out ' do you have gas?'

Well, I don't know if he could tell I was lieing but, I blurted back 'of
course I have gas! You think I'm stupid?' I told him I'd let it cool a bit
and it would start right up. He left and I let him get out of sight before I
flipped the petcock over to reserve and fired it up! :-)

Chris
99BBB

Chris D'Agnolo wrote:
>
> I have a funny motorcycle one; first bike, occasionally overheated and
> would stop running until it cooled off a bit. One day on the way to
> work, it died and I coasted to a stop cussing up a storm. My (non
> car/motorcycle) brother happened by and stopped to see what the problem
> was. I rattled of the problem between expletives and he just blurts out
> ' do you have gas?'
>
> Well, I don't know if he could tell I was lieing but, I blurted back 'of
> course I have gas! You think I'm stupid?' I told him I'd let it cool a
> bit and it would start right up. He left and I let him get out of sight
> before I flipped the petcock over to reserve and fired it up! :-)
>
> Chris
> 99BBB


That's funny, and sounds like my kind of cover-up, though this was
really not my blown fuse this time.

No dumb motorcycle stories, though if I had owned one and survived it I
would have a few, no doubt. Knowing myself, I would probably not make it
even one year without a serious bike wreck.

Maybe in an area with less traffic, I dunno, but I am dangerous enough
on a bicycle.
The ability to go well over 100 mph on two wheels, and to get there so
quickly while sharing the road with inept drivers in their huge
vehicles, would scare the **** out of me, maybe literally.

Pat

Chris D'Agnolo wrote:
> I was changing the spark plugs (probably for the first time on my
> own) on my first car and snapped one off and then realized that I had
> been turning it the wrong way! I had (an adult) neighbor who was a
> diesel mechanic (iirc) and I had to go over and ask for assistance.
> Of course, I just told him that I was trying to get it out when it
> snapped off! He was kind enough to help me and NOT to say anything
> that made me feel any more stupid than I already did UNTIL after he
> completed the job! Then he just looked me in the eye and said 'you
> were turning it the wrong way, weren't you?' I couldn't lie or deny
> it, he knew! I like to think that he said something like 'everybody
> does something like that one time' but, I can't say for sure on that
> ;-)
> Oops,
> cd

Of the posts so far I'm still dumbest, but I may be able to top myself
twice. In high school I had two cars a '56 Dodge Coronet for about a year
and then a '57 Chrysler Windsor I took to college. I don't remember which
car it was, but the upholstery was all torn up. I was driving slowly down
my street with a cigarette in my mouth. It dropped between my legs and
disappeared into the upholstery. I couldn't fish it out and it started to
burn. I had to get home quick and dump a bucket of water into the seat to
put out the fire. A few days later, with the seat still wet and a plastic
cover on it so I could drive, I was driving in about the same spot, rolled
my window down a bit and flicked my cigarette out the window. It hit the
top of the window, hung there for a moment and then dropped straight down,
coming to rest outside the car against the window on the top of the door. I
thought to dislodge it by rolling the window back up. Unfortunately, I
cranked the wrong way and the window when down, sucking the burning
cigarette into the door. A bit later, black smoke started coming out as
insulation or something started burning. Back home, got the bucket.......

Frank Berger wrote:

> Of the posts so far I'm still dumbest, but I may be able to top myself
> twice. In high school I had two cars a '56 Dodge Coronet for about a year
> and then a '57 Chrysler Windsor I took to college. I don't remember which
> car it was, but the upholstery was all torn up. I was driving slowly down
> my street with a cigarette in my mouth. It dropped between my legs and
> disappeared into the upholstery. I couldn't fish it out and it started to
> burn. I had to get home quick and dump a bucket of water into the seat to
> put out the fire. A few days later, with the seat still wet and a plastic
> cover on it so I could drive, I was driving in about the same spot, rolled
> my window down a bit and flicked my cigarette out the window. It hit the
> top of the window, hung there for a moment and then dropped straight down,
> coming to rest outside the car against the window on the top of the door. I
> thought to dislodge it by rolling the window back up. Unfortunately, I
> cranked the wrong way and the window when down, sucking the burning
> cigarette into the door. A bit later, black smoke started coming out as
> insulation or something started burning. Back home, got the bucket.......

We are only two months in, but I already nominate this one for best
r.a.m.m.m. post of 2010!

Nothing coming out of my computer has had me laughing so much in a long
time. That reminds me a lot of my parents. :-)

Pat

On 2010-02-10, Chris D'Agnolo > wrote:

> Well, I don't know if he could tell I was lieing but, I
> blurted back 'of course I have gas! You think I'm stupid?' I
> told him I'd let it cool a bit and it would start right up. He
> left and I let him get out of sight before I flipped the
> petcock over to reserve and fired it up! :-)

At least the petcock wasn't already _on_ reserve when you
reached down to flip it to reserve. My last two motorcycles
have had fuel gauges, so that hasn't happened to me for a long
time.

--
Grant Edwards grante Yow! Inside, I'm already
at SOBBING!
visi.com

pws wrote:
> Frank Berger wrote:
>
>> Of the posts so far I'm still dumbest, but I may be able to top
>> myself twice. In high school I had two cars a '56 Dodge Coronet for
>> about a year and then a '57 Chrysler Windsor I took to college. I
>> don't remember which car it was, but the upholstery was all torn up.
>> I was driving slowly down my street with a cigarette in my mouth. It
>> dropped between my legs and disappeared into the upholstery. I
>> couldn't fish it out and it started to burn. I had to get home
>> quick and dump a bucket of water into the seat to put out the fire. A few
>> days later, with the seat still wet and a plastic cover on it
>> so I could drive, I was driving in about the same spot, rolled my
>> window down a bit and flicked my cigarette out the window. It hit
>> the top of the window, hung there for a moment and then dropped
>> straight down, coming to rest outside the car against the window on
>> the top of the door. I thought to dislodge it by rolling the window
>> back up. Unfortunately, I cranked the wrong way and the window when
>> down, sucking the burning cigarette into the door. A bit later,
>> black smoke started coming out as insulation or something started
>> burning. Back home, got the bucket.......
>
> We are only two months in, but I already nominate this one for best
> r.a.m.m.m. post of 2010!
>
> Nothing coming out of my computer has had me laughing so much in a
> long time. That reminds me a lot of my parents. :-)
>
> Pat

Glad you enyoyed it. To add to my legacy - I'm in Israel visiting my
daughter & family. Earlier today I was pushing a stroller with a box of
books in it down a hill, lost my balance and fell forward. My football
training kicked in and I tucked and rolled and popped up without a scratch.
Not bad for a 62 year old.

Grant Edwards > wrote:

> At least the petcock wasn't already _on_ reserve when you
> reached down to flip it to reserve. My last two motorcycles
> have had fuel gauges, so that hasn't happened to me for a long
> time.

I never trusted the fuel guage on my bikes, I always reset the trip
meter when I filled up and used that as a gas guage. I now do the same
on my cars.




--
XS11E, Killing all posts from Google Groups
The Usenet Improvement Project:
http://twovoyagers.com/improve-usenet.org/

pws > wrote:

> No dumb motorcycle stories, though if I had owned one and survived
> it I would have a few, no doubt. Knowing myself, I would probably
> not make it even one year without a serious bike wreck.

I'm a pretty aggressive driver but I've made it over 300,000 miles on
motorcycles w/o any major wrecks.... One minor one I do recall is
riding into San Diego on a MotoGuzzi and needing gas. I got off the
freeway, pulled into a station, stopped and fell over! The Goose had
fairly high foot pegs and my leg had gone completely to sleep, I did
put my foot down but it couldn't hold any weight.....

BTW, that trip was where I set a World Land Speed Record, 85MPH past a
CHIP officer on I-8 nearing downtown San Diego during the 55mph days
w/o a ticket!

I needed gas (see above), was in the middle lane watching for an exit
when I heard a honk, looked to my left and saw I was passing the CHIP
<GULP>.

He pointed to his speedometer, I rolled off the gas and we both went on
our way, me a 54 mph, you better believe it!

--
XS11E, Killing all posts from Google Groups
The Usenet Improvement Project:
http://twovoyagers.com/improve-usenet.org/