In which I determine that my car just hates Key West

[mathnerd]

It's becoming a running joke between a friend and I: Every trip I take to Key West has to be accompanied by some sort of mechanical problem. I recently took a slightly longer trip to the west coast of Florida and had no issues, so I was hoping the Key West curse might be broken. Nope. Not to be.

So, for background, here's some of the things that have gone wrong on recent trips:

-Major misfires days before planned trip. Replaced spark plugs, distributor cap, ignition rotor and ignition coil. Didn't replace the wires, as I'd just replaced them due to gnawing critter damage a few months prior.

-Same trip as above, going home, 10 miles out of town, car dies completely. Check it out, and discover the spark plug wires won't stay put. Had it towed back to friend's place. Replaced spark plug wires. Car ran fine with just new wires, so I drove it home.

-Days before another planned trip the brake light switch got stuck in the "on" position. In fixing that, I messed up something in the starting system. I know what's wrong, but I can't find it. The space under the dash is cramped and crowded. Can't find the relay I'm 99% certain is at fault. Rigged half the starting system by running a wire from the battery to the starter solenoid, which is then run into my car and wrapped around the gear shift, where I have to put the key in the "on" position and then touch the ends of the wires together. Still haven't gotten that fixed. Yes, I have a live wire loose in my car. Yes, I could do something about that. No, I'm probably not going to any time soon.

-Child who was instructed to put car back together and put the tools away failed to replace the radiator cap. Vapor lock formed keeping fluid from circulating, making for an interesting last hour of the trip. Car cooled down overnight, vapor lock cleared, I refilled the radiator and reservoir and drove home with no issues.

-Bicycle I was borrowing nearly lost a back wheel. (Same trip as above)

-Foot rest on 11 year old's wheelchair broke (day trip, different from all other trips)

-Friend's car ran out of gas. Finally it wasn't my car!

Then we get to today. I have to go into the lower keys to get my finger prints taken and have a background check done for a potential job. Why they can't use the recent background checks from my county, my state and the FBI, I have no idea, but they want one from that county, so I start making plans to head that direction again. I get things mostly settled and head to the grocery store. On the way home the car starts acting like it's misfiring again. Now, that engine tune up work I did was in OCTOBER. Why the fuck is it misfiring? I get it home, hook up the code reader and it flashes a bunch of codes that basically mean "unspecified misfire, all four cylinders" Huh? How? UGH! That particular combination of codes generally means distributor cap and ignition rotor, but wtf? They're only two months old! So, I pull the cap off. The metal contact points on the inside of the distributor cap are completely corroded! How the hell did that happen? That's seriously weird.

I give up. My car officially hates Key West.

[Kit-Ginevra]

It's the evil rays coming off Jester that do it... Your car hates him and is doing everything possible to say to you 'I'm not going there.PLEEASSE don't make me go near him'

[mathnerd]

Is that what it is?

Seeeeeeeee, Jester! I told you! Kit agrees!

[Jester]

Kit is wrong. You provided the examples to prove it.

-Bicycle I was borrowing nearly lost a back wheel. (Same trip as above)

-Friend's car ran out of gas. Finally it wasn't my car!

In the first case, the borrowed bike in question never touched your car. The wheel just started to come unglued and basically locked up while you were riding it.

In the second case, my truck never touched your car. It ran out of gas far earlier than it normally would have.

The problem is not your car. The problem is not me. The problem is YOU. For whatever reason, you are a curse to mechanical items. Accept it, and stop blaming Eddie and me.

[mathnerd]

As jester mentioned, my car is named Eddie. Actually, his name is Edwin, but we call him Eddie.

And Jester, it's Key West that's the problem, not me. Note that Eddie behaved perfectly for the drive to Cape Coral.

[Racket_Man]

OK I have the "cure" for the "curse"

Next time you go to Key West, you must dump at least a big ice cooler of SNOW on Jester. Then burn some sage and ask the question "Are you the lemon????"

[ADeMartino]

That particular combination of codes generally means distributor cap and ignition rotor, but wtf? They're only two months old! So, I pull the cap off. The metal contact points on the inside of the distributor cap are completely corroded! How the hell did that happen? That's seriously weird.

Possible weak/failing ignition coil or coil pack(s).

[Jester]

And Jester, it's Key West that's the problem, not me. Note that Eddie behaved perfectly for the drive to Cape Coral.

It's not Key West, and it's not Eddie. It's you. Because this shit only happens to you. Doesn't happen to me or anyone else I know in Key West on such a regular basis. It may be you IN Key West, or you AND Key West, but the common denominator in all of these mechanical failures is you.

And I don't think this is my being overly harsh here, since you yourself have told me that you seem to be cursed with mechanical things. Face it: it's not me, it's not the island, it's not your car. It's you, kiddo.

[mathnerd]

Possible weak/failing ignition coil or coil pack(s).

Possibly. My father is going to look at it sometime today. The coil was replaced back in October, so it could just be a bad part. Or, this is Florida. I could have some how gotten water up under the distributor cap.

It's not Key West, and it's not Eddie. It's you. Because this shit only happens to you. Doesn't happen to me or anyone else I know in Key West on such a regular basis. It may be you IN Key West, or you AND Key West, but the common denominator in all of these mechanical failures is you.

And I don't think this is my being overly harsh here, since you yourself have told me that you seem to be cursed with mechanical things. Face it: it's not me, it's not the island, it's not your car. It's you, kiddo.

I admit to nothing!

[mathnerd]

Reviving this thread to say that it really has to be Jester. Eddie just completed a ball busting 36 hour, 1500 mile drive with nary a peep of protest. His driver, on the other hand, is exhausted.

[wolfie]

Driving time or elapsed time? 1500 miles in 36 hours of actual driving time is no big deal. 36 hours elapsed time? Not the sort of thing I'd even try (car, of course - no log books). Would involve being "bear bait" for large parts of the trip.

[Kittish]

Driving time or elapsed time? 1500 miles in 36 hours of actual driving time is no big deal. 36 hours elapsed time? Not the sort of thing I'd even try (car, of course - no log books). Would involve being "bear bait" for large parts of the trip.

I dunno, considering the speed limits for cars across much of the nation are 70 and 75 mph for interstate freeways, depending on which ones she was using it's quite doable while remaining mostly legal. Granted, it wouldn't be very comfortable, but it's doable.

[Jester]

It was 36 elapsed hours. I know, as she was checking in with me. Crazy woman.

And she's wrong, it's not Key West, it's her.

[wolfie]

On my car, I get around 400 miles on a tank. Assuming starting with a full tank, that would mean 3 fuel stops. Also, I'd need to make a "bio break" at somewhere between 3 and 4 hours (in my truck, a tire check at no more than 3 hours would be mandatory, can be combined with a bio break) - non-truckers tend to need more "pit stops". All of this winds up being a stop on each even hundred miles, so a total of 7 stops. Some of these won't be quick stops (i.e. need at least one meal). When you take into account getting off the highway, finding someplace to park, getting back on the highway, finding an open pump, pumping fuel, going inside to pay, etc., that tends to chew up some of the elapsed time.

[Kittish]

At an average speed of 60 mph (reasonable for a car, a bit high for a truck), 1500 miles is 25 hours of straight driving time. This leaves 11 hours for stops of various sorts, including a 5-6 hour sleep break. I could do it easily, though at the far end I'd want to have a shower, a meal, and a bed, in that order.

And maybe it's not just one or the other that causes mechanical things to go all wonky for you when you go to Key West, mathnerd, maybe it's both of you in combination. Just a thought.