http://www.flickr.com/photos/leeputmanjr/5978958052/in/photostreamDriving from Chicago to Nashville, The Great White Wagon performed fantastically on the way to Freak Out in July. It was terribly hot & humid, and I was worried about the heat affecting things, so I was very glad to be traveling with friends. We had an uneventful trip, with only one minor heart-palpitation-inducing moment when the wagon wouldn?t start. We?d stopped for gas, and it turned out that I?d left the headlights on, AND the radiator fan was still running when I tried to re-start. Once I waited for the fan to quit & I turned off the lights, it fired up just fine.
At the event, it ran wonderfully, all weekend. I?d loaded ?er down with a pop-up awning, folding camp table, oscillating fan, generator, two coolers of beer, and several crates of booze, blender, mixers, and music apparatus. We had quite a party for several nights, and as I handed out frozen margaritas & cold beer, I told everyone to vote for my car as ?Most Challenged?. That?s always a fun award, and I felt it was nicely ?tongue-in-cheek? for a car that?d driven & performed so well! It was a great weekend, I enjoyed catching up with old friends & meeting new ones. It was over too quickly, and Sunday after the raffle breakfast I was hurriedly packing my final items so that I could once again travel under the same security blanket of having friends on the road with me.
Tom Bara, Bob Grasch, and both their wives were my traveling companions. Bob & Tom were both trailering, so we?d all joked that if someone crapped out, we could put the non-functional car on a trailer & drive the other. It?s always good to have a plan ?B?.
Bob had left his truck & trailer rig at his Father In Law?s house, about 90 miles from Nashville. As we pulled into the nice farm there, I put the wagon under a shade tree, as I?d not had time to do a full fluid check before leaving. I wasn?t worried, per-se, but I like to quiet the voices inside my head whenever I can. So, I popped the hood and checked the oil, water, and brake fluids. Ready to check the auto-trans, I hop in the car to turn it back on ? and she wouldn?t start.
No click.
No sound whatsoever. Just the normal pre-start warning lights?and?nothing else.
Bob & Tom were awesome, and immediately jumped in with both feet. Bob had recently experienced a similar issue on his X 1/9, and in short order we were tracing what seemed to be a bad ?brown wire fix?. We?d been distracted by a potentially bad battery ground, but after removing the steering column covers, we found old evidence of a badly burnt brown wire connector, and a not-so-great-looking crimped bypass-connector. We clipped & stripped the bypass-connector, and twisted the fresh wires together, and the car started just fine! As a quick double-check, I turned her off & restarted a few times in a row; and each one was flawless. With only an hour or so wasted, we hit the road feeling like we?d easily licked the issue. I was glad to be traveling with such handy friends, and even happier that the wagon was again running so well. We pushed northwards, back home towards Illinois.
Just before Noon we rolled into another rural gas stop, thinking we?d stop just up the road for a decent lunch near Louisville. I came running out of the gas station carrying some ice & diet soda to quickly catch Bob & Tom as they pulled out ? but the wagon was again dead. No click. Just the warning lights.
After Bob & Tom circled back for me, we decided to just push the wagon a few yards to a parking spot & we all went for a not-so-great lunch at the local DQ. An hour later we came back to it ? and it started fine! We immediately had two thoughts: 1) Don?t EVER turn it off! 2) Maybe the starter was getting too hot & the brown wire issue was a red herring?
It ran just fine, and at our next gas stop, just south of Indianapolis, I VERY nervously gassed it up with the engine running. Although the radiator fan kicked on, the car was showing maxed-out temp as I pulled onto the highway. It took a VERY long time to cool down, and it never got back to ?normal? operating temps. Around the time I was noticing that it should have been back to normal, I was noticing other odd stuff. No turn signals, and the gas gauge didn?t seem to be reading anymore.
The engine was running GREAT, just like always, and it had absolutely ZERO issues with the trans, brakes, or steering. However, in that indefinable way that we all know, I could tell that the car was ?off?, somehow. As it got dark, I was worried about adding my high-draw headlights into the mix, but I had little choice. Carefully counting down the miles to home, I knew I had one more gas stop to contend with, and worries about potential traffic getting through I-80 in Gary Indiana. I knew the exact mile marker where Hagerty?s 150 miles of free towing would get me home.
At our last gas stop in northern Indiana, the car was indicating higher than normal engine temp as I rolled-in, so I was running around like a highly caffeinated NASCAR pit-crew to get out of there quickly. Fluid check, trans check, clean the windshield, and no time to pee! Back out on the road, clouds were rolling overhead, and I prayed I?d not need my wipers. Text Messages from my co-travelers told me I had no brake lights. I pushed on, with all my senses on high alert for any hint of burning engine oil, or super-heated antifreeze. My sweaty hands were slippery on my Nardi steering wheel, but the miles continued to count down.
Traffic in Gary was thick, but it didn?t slow us down. We made the 294 split, and Bob peeled off. Tom stuck with me until his exit near Naperville, and although I was nervous, the darn wagon just kept running nice & strong. About 5 miles after Tom exited, an 18 wheeler in front of me blew a tire. The explosion scared the daylights out of me, but the huge piece of re-tread that came flailing towards me was downright terrifying. It miraculously flipped over the top of the wagon without touching, but the car behind me caught it in the teeth. I couldn?t pull over to check on that car, because I knew I would overheat and/or risk another no-start situation. Grimly, I pushed-on to finish my last 40 miles before midnight.
As I exited the highway for my neighborhood, I was glad to see light traffic, as I knew I had no brake lights & I didn?t want to make it all that way just to get rear-ended 3 miles from home! The engine, trans & brakes all continued to work flawlessly, but as I backed into my driveway, I realized I had no reverse lights. I shut ?er down, and thanked the Gods of Fiat Repairs for making it home while I listened to the ticking of the cooling engine. The wagon had made it home, under her own power, and considering all I?d been through, it felt like a HUGE victory, which certainly couldnt have happened without such great road-tripping-friends!
The next day, the wagon still wouldn?t start. With the ignition on, the alternator warning was on, but not the low oil warning light. No starter click. No gas gauge, no brake lights, no reverse lights. I checked the owner?s manual ? and it turned out that ALL of these items were on the same fuse!
Could it be that easy?
I found fuse #1, and replaced it.
No start.
No starter click. No gas gauge, no brake lights, no reverse lights?
Not knowing what else to check, I pushed the wagon into the garage, and realized that I had truly earned my ?Most Challenged? plaque.
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