Casper the haunted van
Casper the haunted van is still up to mischief. The wipers still go on when I use the turn signal especially when we make left hand turns. Door locks lock and unlock merrily while I drive along. He’s developed a new talent now, when I hit the button to unlock him, he will unlock all the locks except the drivers side door lock. When I stick the key in to unlock it, he then pops the button up before I turn the key.
Casper likes to flatten his tires slowly so I always carry a portable air compressor to keep them inflated. The garage can’t find any leaks. When I took my trip to visit my Aunties and Cousins I told him he had to behave and he did for the most part. He didn’t clown around with the locks or the wipers the whole trip. Although, I did have to re-inflate the tires before we came home.
Posted on September 5, 2009, in Misc and tagged Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing. Bookmark the permalink. 8 Comments.
Doggonedmysteries 
Sounds like my Blazer, it’s always something with it, throws “check engine” light & when our tech puts the scanner on it, the scanner says nothing is wrong, it jumps, it won’t start sometimes, I swear it’s my mother reminding me she is still around since it was hers & I got it as part of her estate.
Casper behaves for the most part. At least he doesn’t strand me regularly as my old Colt Vista van did. My mother got so upset at that van that she bought me Casper’s predecessor, Baby. Baby ran like a dream until the day she died in heavy work traffic, at a light, on a hill, in the dead of winter…
Have you tire guy check your wheels. If they’re alloys, they sometimes become porous, and air leaks out that way. Usually it can be fixed by apply a sealant to the facing (the area under the tire) of the rim.
If they’re steel rims, they may have minor dents, dings, or pitting (or maybe even dirt) along the bead face (where the tire presses against the rim) that’s preventing a thorougly air-tight seal.
Another possible source is the valve stems. They sometimes become cracked and brittle and leak.
The wipers and door lock problems are caused by intermittent shorts in the wiring. In the case of the wipers, it’s in the steering column. When you use your turn signal, current is being passed to the wipers bypassing the switch. For the door locks, it could be anywhere in the wiring, but I suspect it’s most likely to be found around where the wiring for the locks leaves the body and enters the driver’s door.
Both are going to be a _______ (rhymes with hitch) to track down. If you can find someone who specializes in automotive electrical systems, you’ll have a better chance of getting to the root of the problem and fixing it.
Thanks Dave, I knew you’d have the ‘real’ answers. We were told about the wheels and when we have the extra $$ sitting around they will be taken care of but for now my little air compressor works just fine. As for the electrical problems, I can live with them. They sort of give Casper some personality.
You can check (and maybe fix) the door lock gremlin yourself. Open the driver’s door and look for a black plastic or rubber sort of tube shaped thingie running from the front of the door to the body. If you can peel or slide back or open this covering tube, examine the wires inside for one(s) with insulation missing, cracked, or cut. If you find one, wrap a turn or two of electrical tape around the bad spot and put the tube back the way it was.
Me?! 😉 Maybe you could come down for a visit. LOL!
Yes, you. It’s not rocket surgery or brain science. It’s just look carefully and fix.
And here I thought I was giving you a good excuse for a road trip… 😉