What has become of us....

Tuesday evening, on the way home, the cars alternator started to get noisy. By the time I got home, nursing it. it sounded like someone was pouring garbage cans full of empty aluminium cans into the engine compartment!

Wednesday morning, I dropped LuckyL off at school, and carefully made my way to a friends workshop. He's an auto electrician, and looks after these things for me. I try to do business with the "little" guys, especially when I know them personally.

Anyhow, even though the red battery light on the dash board did not come on, the alternator was completely wrecked. Seems that once you can hear the bearings going, it's already too late.
It needed two new bearings, a stator, regulator, and one half of the housing was cracked. This proceeded to break when we had to tale a hammer to it to try and force the rotor out, as it was being held by the seized bearing.

Anyway, got it all fixed for ZAR750.00, and I left. Stopped off at the hairdresser for a quick cut, and went to the office. From there I hat to go to the infamous Vodaworld (Home of Vodacom) to collect GMans cellphone which was in for repairs (again).
Left there in 5. Then the strangest things started to happen. First, each time I used the brake, the radio cut out? Huh? Then, when I put the air con on (it's getting good n hot out here now) the motor started to lose power? It's an automatic, so the effect is very evident.

Turn the air con off, but turn the fan high. Same result. Turn off the radio, and the fan, and the air con, and we have some semblance of normal driving.

I worked out (in my head) that it had something to do with the alternator, and power supplied to all the motor cars systems. By the time I was half way home, I couldn't get the car over 30km/h!

I stopped under a bridge on the highway. Very nervous, as this is a definite ask for a high jacking! Got out quickly, popped the hood, and took a look in the general area of the alternator.
Wires!!! All of them just hanging there. The dumb fuck darkie that refitted the unit to the car never connected any of the wiring from the alternator back to its matching half on the car!

As the engine was seriously hot, I couldn't do anything immediately, so leaving the hood open, I popped the boot lid, and scrounged for any tools. i found a pair of pliers. Great! I can work with this. Called my bud, told him what the stat was, and he offered to off his darkie! After agreeing that he should do so slowly, he offered to come and give me a hand. I said it should be OK. Will call if I'm stuck.

So, I get the wired connected, and the plugs plugged into each other, and only one burn to the back of my knuckles. Get back into the car and .... nothing. The damn battery is dead. So I wait a while, thinking maybe, just maybe enough power will restore to turn the motor once, then it will start and the alternator can do what it does, and I can go home.

All this time hundreds of cars and trucks are flying past me. No one stops to offer any assistance. Once I saw that it was dead for real, I call my buddy, and he says he will send his wife to come and give me a jump start with her car. I wait next to the road, hood open, with the jumper leads clipped to the top of the hood so all drivers coming towards, and passing me can see them. You would think they would realise I need a jump start.

I'm a middle aged white male, dressed in a suit pants, white shirt and tie, good haircut, with a clean, middle of the road motor car. Who wouldn't want to stop and help? I'll tell you who - over 600 fucking people traveling between Pretoria and my home town, that's who!!!

Eventually, a Gauteng Government - Department of Community Safety car goes past. Next thing the guy is on his brakes, off the road, and backs up. Makes a quick turn on the road side and drives nose up to me. Asks if its a jump start I need. Yup. 30 seconds later my car was running. I told him I had been there over an hour, and he couldn't believe that no one would stop. Sez as soon as he saw the jumper leads on the hood he knew what I was needing! Go figure! 1 out of 600+! Needless to say he's a middle aged white male (Afrikaans speaking)!

Anyway, I drove home, called my friend to tell him to tell his wife never mind, and am relieved that
a) there is nothing else wrong with the car, and
b) I never got hijacked / mugged / robbed / murdered whilst standing next to the R28!

Salagatle!