Philip Robert

Everything was going really well on this trip. My mileage was better than expected, I was under budget a little bit, and I was making great time. Visiting new friends in Carlsbad, NM, seeing new countryside, and relaxing with my cousins Peter and Sharon Lebeau in Gilbert, Az near Phoenix. I was looking forward to completing the next leg of my trip to San Diego where I would turn North to head towards Oregon.

The leg to San Diego began well enough. I was traveling the back road through Maricopa to Gila Bend and Interstate 8 which would take me all the way to the coast. About six miles out a warning flag popped up. My turn signal wasn’t working. It was just a lane change, but I noticed that the blinker wasn’t blinking. Then my tachometer failed, the needle dropped to zero, but I could still hear the engine running at about 3000 rpm. When I stopped at the next intersection my engine stalled out, and I had to use the emergency jump battery to get started again. Crap! This had happened before. About a year and a half ago the same sort of things started happening. HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM! My alternator had failed.

Just down the road I pulled into an auto parts store to find out where I could have this problem fixed. Maricopa is the kind of place that rolls up the sidewalks at six in the evening and on Sundays. Even though the parts store was open, there wasn’t anyplace that could make the necessary repairs. As long as the engine was running it seemed to keep on running. If I didn’t run the radio, A/C, or any other electrical devices the battery light stayed off. It was a risk, but I decided to try to make it to Gila Bend forty miles away. At worst I’d end up on the side of the road waiting for Peter to make a forty mile drive to pick me up.

Everything was going well until it began to rain. Not just a little winter drizzle, this was a desert downpour. Turning on the lights and wipers immediately brought up a very bright battery light. Oops! maybe I can drive through this without lights and windshield wipers. Traffic was light on the road so I decided to risk it. For the next sixteen miles I drove through heavy rain without lights and only hitting the wipers every few minutes. Somehow I made it into Gila Bend where a Napa Auto service center looked like they were open. They were only open to repair tires. Everything that the mechanic needed to take care of my alternator problem was locked up until Monday morning.

One of the things that I’m searching for is adventure. This certainly qualifies. Heading down the interstate stopping for fuel in Yuma. The engine started up without using the emergency battery so I headed down the road again to San Diego. As long as I was rolling, I could keep rolling. The miles slipped away under the tires. Approaching the Border Patrol checkpoint just east of San Diego I became worried. Traffic backed up to about 5 mph. This slow speed put me in danger of stalling out. The next ten minutes was a dance of shifting to neutral and revving the engine. Please Please Pleeeeease Jesus let me get through the check point with out stalling.

My prayers were answered and I rolled safely into San Diego without further incident.

I passed by a PepBoys Auto on the way to my friend’s house. PepBoys in Baton Rouge had originally replaced the alternator a year and a half ago. Searching through the glove box, (which should really be called a receipt box) I found my PepBoys receipt and discovered a limited lifetime warranty on the alternator.

Thank you Lord for little blessings. PepBoys changed out my alternator for free.

It is now Thursday, and the alternator has blown again. There’s another problem. There is a heavy oil leak somewhere near the alternator and the leaking oil has blown into the alternator causing it to fail. Fortunately I delayed heading up to Los Angeles because now I can have the guys at PepBoys repair the oil leak and the alternator.

This one will probably cost me something.