The Breakdown

[kwjones]

Ok...two cups down, I think I'll need at least a pot of coffee today.

Yesterday my wife was supposed to pick up something from the auto store for her brother so he can replace it on his van, but she forgot. So I was digging out my old CD player and amp from my old car and thinking about installing it in my current car, but I need a new wiring harness for it. After several hours of my brother in law badgering my wife about forgetting the part he pre paid, she asked me if I wanted to go to the store with them and that they were leaving at that moment, so I said, sure why not.

We climb into the '94 Suburban and try to race down there before they closed. We left 45 minutes before they closed and we live about 50 minutes away, so my wife was driving like Mario. Now this is a pretty big truck, so I was watching the gas level as she was driving, and it wasn't too bad, about a quarter of a tank. As we start getting close to the parking lot the truck starts hesitating. We make the left into the parking lot and the engine dies in the middle of the road and cars are coming up fast. We make it into the parking lot, but the engine keeps stopping. Jimmy got his part and we go to leave. Any time it tried shifting from 1st to 2nd gear, the engine would die. It died in the middle of the intersection 3 times and we eventually drifted into a parking lot across the street from the mall where my wife works.

My brother in law was a mechanic at a Ford dealership so my wife keeps asking him what's wrong with it and he keeps saying he didn't know. He finally gets out and pops the hood, everything looks good, no leaking fluids. He gets in and starts driving it around the parking lot in circles with the hood up and the driver's side door open and it's not giving him any problems. We figured it liked him better so we got in and told him to drive home. As soon as we get out of the parking lot the engine dies again, but Jimmy got it started.

We turned right to head towards RURAL Route 1 to go home. It started hesitating again, but Jimmy punches the gas and keeps it going....until we start going uphill to merge onto the main road. We're on the shoulder with the hazard lights on and the truck ain't goin nowhere anytime soon. My wife immediately starts asking questions in a voice that is several times louder than her normal speaking voice. I think she may have borrowed a few of Tim's choice words from his Bronco incedent.

From where we were I could see the last stop lights in town, but they're pretty small. This would be the emergency situation that everyone buys a cell phone for. This would also be the same day that I left my cell phone in my car when I got home from work, and my wife left hers plugged into the charger in the kitchen. Several choice words were said by all parties mentioned above at the point that this little fact was made known.

So, are only option is that one of us had to walk back into town and call AAA and my father in law so we could get the truck towed and go home. My wife decided that she was going to walk back to the mall and go to the security office to make the proper phone calls since she had the AAA card. I wasn't about to let her walk in the dark on the side of a busy road by herself, so I went with her.

We eventually had to cross the road because we ran out of shoulder to walk on. We get across the street and at this time, she tells me to go on ahead of her and make the calls and she would be there a few minutes after me. I don't know if it's from being in the military, but I have this thing about leaving friends and family stranded in an emergency situation, but after a minute of arguing along the side of the road, she convinced me that the faster we called AAA the faster we'd get home and that she would only be about 2 minutes behind me. So against my better judgment I went the rest of the way by myself.

I get to the mall and walk into the security office and explained who I was and started calling AAA, it's now 10pm and they said it could be up to 2 hours before the tow truck arrived. My wife walked in just as I was hanging up. Since she left her office keys at home, security unlocked the management office for us and she called her father with instructions to come get us and bring the cell phones with him. When she told him that the truck broke down, he turned into Bill Cosby's father and immediately forgot Stacey's name and started addressing her as Jesus Christ. Ten minutes after she got off the phone with her father, we abandoned the nicely air conditioned office for the curb outside the mall in front of Old Navy. At least it wasn't super hot or raining.

If you're still reading this far, you may remember that I said we lived about 50 minutes from the mall. 35 minutes after my wife called her father to come get us, he pulls into the parking lot...in his Ford Ranger. Just call him Dale. So, my wife and I cram ourselves into the pickup and head back up the road to Jimmy and the broken down Suburban. If you've ever watched Courage the Cowardly Dog on the Cartoon Network, I'm 100% convinced that they modeled the old man Eustice off of my father in law...actions, speech, looks, the whole nine yards. So we pull up behind the Suburban and get out. Now, I've always known that my wife's family is insane, but after several minutes of my father in law yelling several choice words and pointing fingers as to why the truck broke down, it just confirmed it. Orange County Choppers has nothing on my father and brother in law.

The tow truck finally arrived at 11:50 pm. Only 5 and a half hours before I have to get up for work, yippee. So my wife and father in law take off in the pick up, while Jimmy and I cram ourselves into the tow truck. Do you have any idea how hard the seats are in those things? After 5 minutes I was convinced the my butt had fallen off and that the road wasn't even paved. We finally got the Suburban towed the mechanic's shop and dropped it off at 1:00 am, now only 4 and a half hours before I had to get up for work. We finally crawled into bed at 1:30. Four hours to go.

Have you ever been so tired that you couldn't sleep, or you were afraid that if you did fall asleep, that you wouldn't wake up on time, so you don't sleep very well? Yeah...after 4 hours of tossing and turning the alarm went off.

I guess we'll find out later today what's wrong with the truck. But, at least Jimmy got the part he needed for his van. I on the other hand, still don't know anything about the wiring harness for my car stero. I just want to go back to bed.

Kevin

[tims]

MAn i am sorry that happened, sure hope it ain't the gas sending unit..
and you can barrow any of my special words anytime

[Phishnoob]

I would check the gas tank vent as well. If it clogs it will create a vacuum.

Also for your CD player PM me if you need a harness rigged up right. The right way to do it is with a soldering station and heat shrink and you can just plug it on in.

Good luck with your rig.

[kwjones]

Well, the amp is no problem...RCA pre-outs from the CD deck, the remote wire from the CD deck, ground and hot.

It's been several years since I've installed a car stereo, and I've forgoten the color codes for the speaker wires on my Pioneer deck. The only wires that are labeled are the battery, remote, and the ignition accessory. So I couldn't tell you if the Black w/ grey stripe is front left, front right, etc... It's an older deck and I think it has a 12 or 16 pin harness (Can't remember it was a rough night), but when my last car was totaled and I took the stereo out I cut some of the wires pretty short and figure I just need to get a new harness for it.

While I was sitting in the parking lot this morning waiting for my train, I figured out how to pop out the panel where my factory stereo and dashboard clock is. It looks like 4 screws and the stereo slides right out. The car is an '01 Toyota Corrola, any ideas what their speaker wire coloring system is, or do they have a wiring harness already installed? I'm going to need a pretty long remote wire to get to the amp under the driver's seat.

No update on the truck yet. My brother in law thinks it's either the fuel pump or the computer. I voted for a messed up fuel guage and an empty gas tank. So we'll see what happens.

Kevin

[kwjones]

OK...this website is very helpfull...

http://www.installdr.com/

And http://home.comcast.net/~customcarst...reference.html

I think I'm set, now to find a wiring harness...

Kevin

[PufferFan]

Hi Everyone, I'm Kevin's wife.

Anyway, you wanted an update well ya got one! Just talked to Jim, the guy at the shop was a little peeved since we didn't have an "appointment". Well DUH!

Anyway, he said he would try to look at it but unfortunately didn't have the machine needed in order to find out what it is. Meanwhile, my father is screaming a few choice words about living in a hick town and that the, bleeping bleeps don't have a bleeping bleepity clue about what the bleep they are bleeping doing. (All of that was going on in the background mind you while Jim was trying to talk to me on the phone.)

*Sigh* well, that is the lastest and greatest installment.

BTW Hun, the truck is an '88 not '94.

And you aren't the only one who is tired! I'm suffering with a migrane here at work and to poke everyone's eyes...IN, everytime this dang phone rings. And it's only 3pm.

I'm sure Kev will keep y'all posted on the continuing saga.

Nice to meet y'all.

Stacey

[tims]

Welcome aboard the TRT stacey, glad to meet you.. sorry it was this way

[PufferFan]

Thanks VM Tims. I've lurked around every now and then. Didn't post much of anything since my hubby answers all my questions...lol.

I would love for us to have a reef, but to be honest, I'm very partial to fish. Puffers have a special place in my heart, but I'm more of a fish addict than corals and inverts.

Thanks again for the welcome and I would have preferred much better circumstances too! And as for my insanefamily (thanks HUNNY ) well they do make for really good water cooler stories. I always said we could make a fortune if they made a reality show with my family. I think it's annoying and everyone else thinks we are hilarious. Go figure.

Regards,

Stacey

[kwjones]

After reading the post again, I started thinking about what I had said and realized how utterly stupid I can really be sometimes. I said some pretty insensitive things in my original post that painted my wife in a negative light, and for that I apologize.

Kevin

[tims]

You did

we must have missed them.. besides if she puts up with you she gota be a hellva gal!


any word yet?

[SouthernReefer]

did you check the fuel filter????

[manderson0805]

if the filter was that clogged, it would surely need a pump. Being a low pressure system, I believe they run at 9-11 PSI, a fuel pump would be a long shot, but always possible, especially if it has high mileage. If the ECM or ignition system was at fault, I can't see it running in 1st gear. My across the country guess would be a fuel pump. PS, I hope they'd add a couple gallons at the shop it was towed to....just to make sure the fuel tank isn't empty.

[Doug1]

Welcome Stacy, we like Kevin and if you can put up with him you gotta be OK, BTW swim tanks are kewl, we cater to all Addicts
Hopefully its not an intank fuel pump and all the screens and filters, a repair on a 92 bowtie cost me $350 and it wasnt even my truck

[cath]

Whew, Kevin! What a nightmare for all of you I'm plum worn out from reading it. And scared for you both, too.

and welcome, Stacy!

[kwjones]

I'd say my wife is pretty smart, with the exception of putting up with me. She's the horse/bulldog expert and tells the vet when he's wrong about something. And she does a really good job of keeping me in line, although she has her doubts about letting me out in public.

Nothing new on the truck. The shop didn't have time to look at it yesterday, but should go over it today.