And the Verdict Is...

...corroded battery cables!

It's one of those "mixed feelings" diagnoses. On the one hand you feel stupid that you didn't just clean them while you were taking apart the battery thing to begin with. On the other hand, you're glad it was only a $75 repair bill.

Of course, the $75 tow bill isn't pretty.

Drama Day

See my sexy man
working on our van?
The car it wouldn't start,
So he took it all apart.

Actually, what really happened is that when Ben and I got in the van the morning to take him to work, we turned the key and nothing happened. This isn't the first time this has occurred this week, either. It was deader than dead Sunday morning, too. Both times, not even a click when you turn the ignition. No clock, no interior lights, nothing. I had changed the front blinker lights the night before, so I worried perhaps it was something I did, maybe it was the rain the night before... who knew? But Dexter came and jumped it for us with his diesel-powered monster truck and we let it run for about 20 minutes before turning it off, and it took us everywhere we needed to go without incident for the past 3 days.

Until this morning.

We had another rainstorm last night. Maybe that was it, I don't know. But this time calling Dexter wasn't an option and we figured we could handle this ourselves. We could get the battery out, take it around the corner to Auto Zone, have it charged and tested, and if necessary buy a new one and stick it in. Not an easy task, really.

Here's a picture of our battery:

So where is it, you might wonder? What you see on top there is the fuse relay box. It must first be unscrewed. There's just one bolt, so you wouldn't think this is hard. But that would be assuming too much. After turning it for about 5-10 minutes trying to figure out WHY it wasn't going anywhere, Ben had the brilliant idea to try turning it to the right instead of the left. (Haven't these people ever heard of righty-tighty-lefty-loosy?) Success. The fuse relay box is sitting on top of this bar that is also bolted onto the car and ALSO has to be be removed. Then, one you have removed the bar, you have to hold the convoluted tangle of hoses out of the way that are attached to the fuse box while someone else finagles the ratchet in there to unscrew the battery from the car. Then you have to pull the battery THROUGH the convoluted tangle of hoses to get it out.

After we got the battery out, I strapped it onto the back of my trusty bike and rode around the corner to Auto Zone. It only fell off once on the way. They tested it at Auto Zone and told me the news. The battery was good. Fully charged. Not the problem. They did clean the connections for me just in case. So I strapped it onto my bike again and came home. It only fell off once on the way back. Ben and I got it back into the car and everything put back together. Just in case, we tried to start the car. Success!

So we called my neighbor to see if she'd help with Connor while I drove Ben to work and then took the car to the mechanic. Yes, she would. We get Connor settled, the girls locked in, and Ben and I get in the van to take him to work. But we decide to switch his keys for mine so we can leave mine with the mechanic. Oops. Now the car won't start again. Not even a click.

So now we are stuck with this...
...to get the car to the shop. Fortunately, Kevin (our ward's stay-at-home dad) was also willing and able to take Ben to work. For which we are very, very grateful.

Keep in mind that all this drama (which took a total of over 3 hours) is taking place after 2 consecutive nights of VERY interrupted sleep for me due to children (mostly Connor who is teething) and on the very day my dear "Aunt Sally" came for a visit for the first time in TWO YEARS.

So once Ben got off to work and the car got towed, I did the only reasonable thing I could think of: I ate leftover brownies for breakfast.