Saturday Saga-Episode 1...The Van

My van...on the tow truck

First, let's just start by acknowledging that's a HORRIBLE picture.  And now that we've done that, on to the saga.

In Sept. of 2017, I had my battery of my 2006 Kia Sedona replaced.  Then, we found out that oil was leaking ALL over the engine...like I had to have the engine cleaned before they could even find the leak.  It turned out to be my valve cover gaskets, and so those had to be replaced.  THEN, in Dec. of 2017, the alternator died too...turns out they don't like having oil dripping all over them.  If you are playing along at home, that was all somewhere in the neighborhood of "make one mortgage payment on a really nice, new house" or "flat out buy a completely 'new to me cluncker'" to replace the current van...but we repaired it anyway. Because, well, the devil you know is better than the devil you don't, right?

Well then in the summer of 2018 the water pump control module died and my car seriously overheated.  I replaced THAT, and then it was still overheating.  Turns out when it overheated the first time, it fried a wire that connects the module, and so that was working intermittently, which meant that sometimes the water pump still wasn't getting power.  That took several trips to multiple shops, and finally the amazing skills of my friend's husband to fix, so dd another $600 for that whole repair process, and you will see that late 2017 to mid 2018 was a pretty costly time.

Fast forward to a month ago.  I went in to FS for an oil change and my state inspection, and they said "you have oil ALL over your engine (sensing a theme here?)".  They cleaned the engine ($110), put dye in it, and sure enough, when I went back, it was the valve cover gaskets that were leaking again...on the alternator.  SOOO, I had to go back to the original shop that did the work (Pep Boys) and would you believe they couldn't find the leak?  They even added MORE dye, and I had to go back in AGAIN, but they still couldn't find the leak.  ARGH!!!!

Also during this time, I had been having weird electrical problems.  They began right after FS's shop cleaned my engine, and I was afraid they created a loose connecting when they used the pressure washing to clean the oil.  My headlights were flickering (but my dash lights were fine), my "brake" and "battery" warning lights came on together (the google says that's a sign of power failure), and it was running a little rough.  I had them run an electrical diagnostic when they checked for the oil leak, but my battery and alternator tested fine.

Then, one day last week, I went to pick TJ up from college.  That morning my "check engine" light had come on, but I've learned that's usually just an error code, and not a "your car is about to blow up" situation, so I figured my husband would pull the code that night.  Well, as I was pulling into the CC to pick up TJ, the battery and brake warning lights came on again...and then ALL the warning lights started coming on. 

If you've been driving for any decent length of time, you know that means you car is about to die.  The alternator is shot, and you aren't going anywhere.  Sooo, I pulled into a parking space and turned off the car.  And I began debating what to do.  Do I call my husband?  Do I call a tow truck?  Do I try to drive it, if it will start?  In the end, I called my husband and he encouraged me to try to take it up the road to FS (about a 10 minute drive).  Surprisingly, it started, and we made it there just fine.

They had my car the next day, and confirmed it WAS the alternator.  Turns out it was initially powering just fine, but something inside it was not keeping the charge as you drove, so that's why it would be okay, and then not okay.  Of course, the alternator was initially replaced by Pep Boys, so I had to take it there as it was under warranty.  So LATE that Thursday night, after a whole day of co-op and volleyball and Physics, my husband came and picked up TJ, SG, and I and we headed to get my car from FS and drive it to Pep Boys.  Luckily, there is a Pep Boys 1.2 miles from the FS...unluckily, by car completely died literally 2 minutes out of FS, before we had even reached the main road.  SIGH.  So add an hour wait for a tow (did I mention none of us had eaten?), and we finally got my car dropped off around 8:30 after having been out of the house since 7:30 that morning. 

Luckily, THAT Pep Boys quickly diagnosed the alternator AND found the oil leak without my even mentioning it AND cut me some deals on these repairs that I was having to "re-repair".  It took 2 days to get the work done, but it got fixed.  Oh, and the check engine light? You won't believe it, but it was the code for the water pump control module!  It seems to be working fine now, so we are all hoping that was just because of the intermittent power issues. 

And then we get to THIS Thursday night, literally a week after the alternator died.  I'm at Bible study to pick TJ up, and my battery completely dies!  One of his friends and the man who runs the Bible study jumped my car, and a check at Advanced Auto today says the battery is just fine. NO idea what happened there...maybe it's just that cars and technology hate me.

I'm starting to feel like a "new to me" car might be a good idea, lol.  I think I was without my car more than I had my car in February, and I'm meant to take 10 trip in it at the end of the month.  Please pray!