Categories: uncategorized
Date: 21 November 2007 12:58:09
After I posted yesterday's post I received another call from FW. She was about to leave work but had encountered a problem with the car.
She had arrived at work and parked behind the Drop In Centre, locked Magda and gone into work. At 2:30 she finished work and went to begin the journey home. That's where the problems started.
I received a call to say that Magda refused to start when she tried. It seems that FW had fallen foul of the curse of the MX-5. Unlike most other cars the MX-5 does not make a noise if you open the door with the side lights on; obviously you know if the headlights are on as they pop-up like frog's eyes. However some members of staff were helping her to jump start Magda with jump leads but had encountered a problem. Where is the battery?
Being a small, sporty beast Magda's battery is actually located in the boot. Then they couldn't work out which is the + and the - terminal. These are marked as such on the battery cover and not by coloured leads. Then I had another call to say that she still wouldn't start. I checked that she'd remebered to use the immobiliser button before turning the key - she had - which is the usual problem.
Another difficulty is that MX-5's have dry cell batteries and these can be problematic to jump start. If you need to recharge a dry cell then it needs a "trickle" charger and takes 3 days to do. So I wasn't that surprised that it didn't work. By this time it was passed 3 o'clock.
As this hadn't worked I told her to ring the RAC (Royal Automobile Club) as Magda is to precious to leave unattended in an open air public car park. After this I heard nothing more until I returned home.
Upon arriving home I discovered that the RAC had not got to her until 5 o'clock but had managed to get Magda started and FW was able to not only drive home but had the car ready for her to drive to and from college last night.
So for all those who commented:
1. No, you can't borrow Magda
2. How dare you insult my wife's ability to be trusted with my precious car. I had every faith in her ability to get her home undamaged - if only because she knows how I'd react if something serious happened.
As a result of all this I have decided that FW will own Magda from early next year and I'll buy a new car. I want another Mazda but FW thinks that we need a more sensible second car instead. Maybe the time is right to think about finally owning an Alfa or a SAAB. Either way I think that it maybe time to buy a diesel, what with the ever increasing cost of fuel.