Late this afternoon, I decided it was time to replace my car battery that has been on the fritz for several weeks. I needed to use the portable battery pack that my brother lent me all week just to start the car every time. There was an audible struggle on the ignition and it would have been a matter of time when it even became un-jumpable.
So I get my tools, 10mm ratchet, wrench, battery pack, gloves, and some paper towels. Jumped the car and we’re off to Autozone of Kendall Park 9 miles away. Oh, yea the gas light is also on and due to fancy car data, I see on the dashboard that I have 60 miles of range left. No sweat… that should be plenty of gas… right? I try to ignore the orange light and put it out of my mind.
I get to Autozone and stride into the store. “I require a battery! the 51R AGM Platinum please!”.
Oh…. we’re out of stock on that.
What. I had checked the website earlier in the day.
Let me call the other stores nearby – let’s try East Brunswick.
Sure that sounds good.
No luck.
Another store?
Ok… Hillsborough has 1. We can have them ship it here by tomorrow if you’d like.
Well, it’s 10 miles away, I’ll just go pick it up
And away I go. I get in the car and punch in the gps and notice my phone battery is now at 30%. And the car wouldn’t start again. After another jump while holding my breath, I just kept thinking, “ok, it’s fine, just 10 miles and we’ll be good. Then we get gas”
About halfway there, GPS tells me to make a right and there’s an officer with road blocks. So I make the left, wondering how many miles will be added on this detour. (car range is <50 now). Luckily it doesn’t seem to be too big of a detour.
Another few miles later, I see lots of flashing lights on the side of the road. Two fire trucks and about 3 cop cars are on the curb. Maybe there was a burst waterline? I patiently wait my turn to pass but that orange gas light keeps staring back at me.
Finally, we are at Hillsborough Autozone and a grumpy old dude brings me my battery. I get outside, put on the gloves and get to work taking the old battery out. I make quick mental notes to make sure I know where everything goes once I get the new battery in. It was a success as I remembered that securing the battery was really important. The last thing you want to happen was to hit a speedbump and have your battery bounce around, maybe come off while the car’s moving.
I was rather proud of how un-shakey the battery actually was. I go to turn the ignition. Annnnnnd. Nothing.
I couldn’t believe it. I went to look at it again. Then I turned the key. Still nothing. Ok, maybe I have a lemon of a battery, I go back inside to ask the old dude if the battery is supposed to be charged, straight from the shelf and he says yes.
Fine. Back to the car to turn the key and same thing. Nothing. I still have my battery booster. I give it a whirl. Still nothing. I text my brother and he says it should start working, he has no idea why it wouldn’t.
I start to feel panic. I was cold and tired. And very frustrated. Finally I resort to calling my wife for help. I ask her to call AAA and come pick me up. I know she doesn’t sound happy about it but she’s a trooper (and the best).
Then I sit and wait in the car again. My phone battery is now 10%. I take my receipt out of my pocket. Well, if I have a lemon battery, I might as well go get a refund now. I go back into the store and I tell the old dude and a younger kid my dilemma. They said they have a battery pack they can try to jump it. Sure, let’s do it.
The kid comes out with a slightly larger battery pack and hook it up. Didn’t work. The kid then says, “hang on, one of these nuts is kinda loose, do you have a 10mm ratchet?”
Yup! I go grab it and he starts to tighten all the nuts near the battery. He gets to the terminals and turns. And turns and turns. It was waaaaay too loose. He tells me to give it another try.
EUREKA! The car starts. I thank the kid profusely as he quickly runs indoors because it is really cold.
I text and call my wife to cancel the AAA! I was ecstatic. On the way home, I stop to get gas. I don’t bother turning the car off. I was so done with starting the car again.
When I get home exhausted, I thank my wife for her help.
While I had mostly kept my cool through this entire process, I definitely felt the emotional toll it has taken on me. So be kind to yourself and others when they are faced with difficult situations. They might not show it, but there is always a toll.