Ode to the DMB
November 16, 2008I write briefly today to bless my world-famous father… Douglas MacArthur Burns. Yet again the wisdom that drips from him has saved my bacon…. or enough money to buy a bunch of it.
A long time ago, in Palmdale, Ca… near the intersection of 10th st west and palmdale blvd, my dad gave me his systematic first moves with any car having a starting problem. Step #1- check the battery terminals. Step #2 Go get a hammer or excessively large screw driver and beat the heck out of something called a solenoid (pronounced like sil-o-noid). Steps from that point on were either lost in time, my memory or my fathers slight issue with mumbling…. but alas … enough was given.
So, this weekend, before removing the starter off of my Isuzu rodeo, i proceeded to get under there and whip the crud out of my solenoid. Wouldnt you know it….. It worked!
So, this one goes out to you dad. Thanks for the man-training and the sparing of my wallet. I love you.
Love you too Scott, glad I could be of help.
I have learned from Scott Burns that sometimes when you think there may be a problem with your solenoid, it can also be because your truck is just out of gas. So another tip is to check that before you buy a new solenoid and install it. You would think someone would know when they’re out of gas, but sometimes they don’t…