Digital Impulses

Corvette released from Champion: "The dome lights were left on"

So this afternoon around 1530 I drove over to Champion Chevrolet to pick up my Corvette from its 2nd visit to the dealer in 2008. Earlier in the afternoon I had gotten a voicemail on my cellphone, telling me that they had checked the car for power draws and had found nothing  drawing power or any electrical shorts.

Vanessa stated that they found that the battery had no cold cranking amps in it when tested so they replaced it (under warranty, of course) and said the car was fine after that.  Also, they found that the left and right turn signals were burned out and they replaced those (also under warranty).

Vanessa stated that the tech was postulating that the likely reason for the dead battery was that "The dome lights were left on".  Below is a copy of the invoice:

So, as I predicted, they kept the car for 48 hours and replaced the battery and bulbs, without diagnosing or finding the source of the electrical issues with the car.

And the beat goes on with this infernal car. Double *sigh*.

More Corvette trouble: Dead Battery (AGAIN)

Just came back from dropping the Corvette off at Champion Chevrolet for them to look at.  It has been sitting in my driveway for the past week, dead as a doornail, with a DEAD BATTERY.  Below is a scan of the work order that I got this morning:


My sister Isa was kind enough to bring me to the dealership and she just dropped me off a few moments ago.  I havr no hope whatsoever that they are actually going to fix the problem with the battery drain in the car.

No, the best that I can hope for is that they will keep it for a few days to make it seem like they are really troubleshooting it (meanwhile, they will replace the the turn signal light bulbs YET AGAIN) and then call me Wednesday or Thursday and tell me that they traced the drain to an electrical short of some kind.

I am DOOMED to a never-ending series of problems with this car until the glorious day when I can actually rid myself of it.  That day can never get here soon enough.

2002 Corvette: DEAD AGAIN

Oh yeah. 

DId i mention that my piece of shit Corvette has been completely disabled this week with a DEAD BATTERY??!??

AGAIN!!

The day can't come soon enough when I can rid myself of that  albatross.  I truly, truly hate that car.

Impossibly Busy Wednesday: Beyond Tired

Microsoft HHH Event
Attended the Microsoft Global Launch event entitled "Heroes Happen Here" for Windows Server 2008. Microsoft SQL Server 2008 & Microsoft Visual Studio 2008.

It was hot, crowded and bothersome.  The keynote speech was great with Tom Browkaw and Steve Ballmer sharing Keynoter duties and showing us a whole bunch of case study videos on the use of the new software.  Lines were 20 minutes long everywhere and I basically went just for the free software that I received for filling out a survey about the conference.

Visit to Rojas Inc for Purple Dell install
After the Microsoft event, I drove over to the factory to deliver the purple Dell to Bert.  We installed it and were strategizing about where to put it, when Miguel Insua from Insua Graphics showed up and took Bert away for like the next 30 minutes.

I got tired of waiting for Bert, so eventually I went outside told him I would just be going home.

Picking up the Corvette from Champion Chevrolet & Returning the Kia Rondo to Enterprise
After coming home from Rojas Inc., AJ and I went to pick up my Corvette from Champion Chevrolet ($261.00 in repairs this time around) and then drove over to Enterprise Rent-A-Car near LAX to return the Kia Rondo that I had rented the weekend before ($384 for 4 days).  All of that proceeded smoothly and we were home well before 1800.

Letter creation for Aldo:  Isa stops by to sign letter
I then fell into crazy letter creation mode, getting letters of support for Aldo ready to sign for Mom and for Isa.  Isa stopped by and signed Aldo's letter and I got Mom's letter worked out also.

Visit to Ritz Camera to look at lenses
Before heading over to Mom's I stopped by Ritz camera and looked at some lenses for my Nikon D40.  I am considering a 55mm to 200mm Telephoto lens that  retails for $249.00 plus tax and I also looked at a very nice Macro lens that retails for like $430.  I am pretty sure I will be picking up the 200mm Telephoto as soon as I learn more about what these lenses do.

Getting water for mom from Food 4 Less and a visit to Mom’s
Before stopping at Mom's for a visit, I stopped in at Food 4 Less and bought 3 cases of Spring! bottled water for her.  I then went home and AJ gave me a ride to her house where she signed Aldo's letter and we had a pleasant visit of watching TV and general overall chit-chat.

Corvette at Champion: 2nd trip in 2008

UN-FUCKING-BELEIVEABLE.

The miserable fucking Corvette woke up with a DEAD BATTERY.

AGAIN.

It was raining this morning and me and the wife had decided to switch cars to reduce the amount of time that the Corvette spends on the Freeway with problematic right back tire.  So I get in her truck and leave, headed to put gas in it and head to the bakery to pick up some pot luck food for work.

Cell rings and it's my wife, telling me to come back, because the Corvette is as DEAD AS A DOORNAIL.  She then calls me back just a few minutes later and states to me that she is going to take my son's car and that I should just head on to the Bakery.

So, I go to the bakery, get the food and head on in to work in her truck.  This afternoon after work, I call AAA from the house and have the car towed to Champion Chevrolet in Hawthorne FOR THE SECOND TIME IN 2008!

Behold:

It really feels like this car has turned into BLACK  HOLE of cash and I just don't see where it's going to get any better.  What an absolute fucking clusterfuck of a nightmare.

Jesus.

At least I told the people at Champion Chevrolet that I need:

• Electrical drain looked at
• Right back tire roaring noise looked at and diagnosed
• Both brackets on the sun visors fixed.

We'll see how much $$ they screw me for this time around.  I really and truly fear their call.

Corvette TOWED from mom's house

D-A-M-M-I-T!!!

I just now got back from my mom's house AFTER getting my car OUT of Bob Cass towing on Western Avenue in Gardena.

When I walked out of my mom's house towards my car, I was confronted with a sick, sinking feeling of utter disbelief as I stared at the Tacos Mexico parking lot where my car *was supposed to be parked* and WAS NOT.

I knew immediately what had happened and walked over to the no parking sign to get the phone number of the towing company that took may car.  I called them up and sure as shit, they had my car hostage and wanted $148.00 to get it back.

I made the necessary round of "I hate my life, this fucking sucks" calls to my mom, brother and wife and arranged for my wife to come and pick me up so that we could go get my car out of the tow yard.  Eventually she showed up and we found the place without any trouble:

So, there you are. 

My mom has lived at the same address for almost 12 years and I have been coming to visit her for the same amount of time.  Tonight, the bullet fell in the chamber and my high stakes ($148, anyways) Russian Roulette game of illegal parking blew up in my face.

I have no one to blame but myself.  Such is life on occasion, one surmises.

Corvette: Right Flat Tire fix

So, while I was at Vons buying bottled water, I was told by two separate people that the right rear tire on my car was really low.

Taking a look, I saw that indeed I was running on what was practically a flat tire.  Nothing for it but to head over to 'Baja Tires' on 120th and Inglewood Avenue to get the flat repaired.  When I got there, the guy took the tire off and inspected it.

He came back and pointed out to me that the tire had not one, but TWO punctures, with one of them being a large screw of some kind.  Below you can see the guy in the process of fixing the tire:

So, I had him pull the nail/screws and repair the tire.  He also advised me that the tire is pretty worn on the outside and should be replaced soon.

I need to get that air pressure sensor on the right back tire fixed as I believe this is what is causing the issues with the worn tire.  We'll see when I can get that done. 

No car at work: Cafeteria food for me

Due to the fiasco yesterday with my son's flat tire, we had to do a car scramble last night (since MY Corvette is *still* at Champion getting its electrical short looked at) and the wife ended up giving me a ride to work this morning.

So, I have no car at work today and as such, I just got back to my desk from walking to the campus cafeteria to have a mediocre cheeseburger and fries, washed down with a Starbucks Expresso DoubleShot that really hit the spot.

Later this afternoon, either the wife or the son will be stopping by here at work to give me a ride home, one hopes.  We'll see.

Yawn

Uneventful, quiet day at work today. 

This evening after work, I will be picking up my sister at work and giving her a ride home.  After that, I will be visiting my mom for a couple of hours and then coming home to read Duma Key for a while more before calling it quits for the night.

I did manage to purge a whole bunch of useless, old paperwork from a bunch of folders I had in my shoulder bag.  I can now start to work on filing the remaining papers and further my quest to getting organized this year.

Corvette Update
(Update @ 3:05 PM)
I just now got off the phone with Vanessa Martinez, my service adviser at Champion Chevrolet.  She states that they found a *loose connector* behind the radio and that ever since then, the car's electrical system is "functioning fine" according to her. 

She states that they will be taking the car for a final, long, 15 to 20 minute drive tomorrow morning for a final check to see if the car acts up again.  I expect a call from her tomorrow morning to give me status on the car.

The Air Dam
She then stated to me that the Air Dam for my Corvette is $325 to get it replaced.  I spoke to the wife and we will be going ahead with that repair.

Corvette @ Champion Chevrolet AGAIN

So.

This afternoon, as soon as I got home from work, I called the AAA and requested that a tow truck be dispatched to my house so I could get my Corvette over to Champion Chevrolet to have them looked at the latest electrical short nightmare detailed here. 

The tow truck was there in short order (a flatbed. Nice!) and the rather scary looking Hispanic tow truck driver immediately went to work on getting the 'Vette mounted on to his truck.  That took about 10 minutes while we pushed it out of the driveway and moved aside for people and trash trucks to get by.

Eventually, I made it over to Champion Chevrolet in Hawthorne and spoke with my service rep Vanessa Martinez, the very nice young lady who helped me the last time I was here.  After getting the car situated in the back parking lot and getting the tow truck driver on his way, I walked back to the office with Vanessa to do the work order on the car.

Here is a list of what I stated to her was wrong with the car:

• Would not start on the morning of Tues. 1/30/08.
• Attempting to start the car produced a metallic sounding "clack, clack".
• Turning the key caused a loud *buzzing* inside the car that sounded like an electrical short.
• While the buzzing was going on, the stereo displayed "ERR" in blue letters on the LCD.
• The instrumentation display had multiple lights on.
• The interior lights of the car were flashing rapidly like they were "shorting out".
• Pressing the "unlock" button on my key fob caused more *buzzing* inside BOTH doors and the locks would not fire, all you heard was a repeated "click, click" as if the locks were "stuck".
• My wife could here the *buzzing* standing outside, 2 feet away on the passenger side of the car.

That was the list regarding the electrical problems the car displayed that morning.  While she was writing it up, I noted to her that the instrument panel on the driver's side door is STILL DEAD and WENT DEAD just a few days after Champion stated they had fixed it the last time they had my car.

While there, I asked her to please replace the Air Dam underneath the Corvette, since it is hanging or broken off on the right side of the car.  Vanessa took all of this information down and stated to me that she would be calling me tomorrow afternoon around 1330, with an 'update' on the status of their investigation into what is wrong with my Corvette.

We'll see in what new and creative ways they decide to rape me this time.  This is going to be TERRIBLY EXPENSIVE, I suspect.  Bert is on the record as having NO HOPE WHATSOEVER that this dealership is going to fix the car.  He thinks they are going to just mess around and leave it so that I have to continue bringing it back over and over again.

What an absolute fucking nightmare.  God.