Herein lies an example of the life one has when one has to put together a puzzle of 1000 pieces, but one has only circa 300 pieces.
Last summer, I went to my mechanic, telling him that the motor vehicle seemed to start "rough" on some days. Not really "rough," but there was a noticeable difference, and I like to catch problems when they're still small problems.
Along the way, I mentioned that I was using ethanol-blended fuel, rather than regular gasoline, because it was being a very wet summer. I know ethanol-blended fuel is more appropriate for cold weather, but I had assumed it's also appropriate when the weather is really damp in warm weather, which it was.
He told me no, that wasn't so; ethanol-blended fuel is appropriate for cold weather only, never in the summer whether dry or wet. He told me to use regular gasoline, which I started doing. There were no further problems all summer long, no "rough" starts.
This autumn, when I had the mechanic "winterize" the vehicle, he noticed something.
It was one of those days when I was bone-weary tired of "listening" to people, and so the first part, the problem as he described it, I let slide right by me, so as to conserve my intellectual and physical energy to hear the second part, his proposal of a solution.
We deaf do that; we're very selective and evaluative and judgemental about what we're going to "hear;" it demands too much of our mental and physical strength to "hear" everything, or even half of everything.
So I missed the first part (the problem), but got the second part (the solution).
He told me to turn the key in the ignition until just before it actually starts the engine; i.e., to turn it until the lights on the dashboard come on, and no further. He said to have it there for 15, 20, or 25 seconds, and then to turn it off.....and then start the vehicle.
This worked, until last night.
Now, I am guessing here, and so don't take this as what he said, because I really don't know what he said, about the problem. I suspect he told me that the motor vehicle, if it sits "too long" (in this case, two days), the gasoline in the fuel line leading to the motor spills back down into the gasoline tank, meaning the fuel line has nothing but air when one first attempts to start the automobile.
And that this ignition thing, where one doesn't quite turn on the motor, compels fuel to come back up through the fuel line, and so that when one starts the vehicle, it starts.
Remember, I assume that's what he said.
Last night, when I did that thing, for the first time in several months, it didn't work.
As it was late Sunday night, there was no one around.
I walked halfway to town (town is about 8 miles from here), to the residence of the village curmudgeon, the junk-collector, who has the distinction of being the only illiterate individual in all of northeastern Nebraska. He's reasonably old, and has no teeth.
However, that does not detract from the stark fact that he knows stuff, probably all of it useful stuff. He's a great person to have around in an emergency or other time of need.
We came back here in his 1948 pick-up truck, and he tried to diagnose the problem; he said a great many things, but as it was dark, and I was tired, I caught none of it.
When we first started jump-starting the vehicle, it wouldn't work.
Then I had to go into the house to get something. While I was there, he got the vehicle started. For whatever reasons, it seemed (please notice the "seemed") to me that the motor vehicle was busting and popping and shaking more than it reasonably should, although it was humming along healthily by the time he disengaged the jump-starting cords.
He told me some more things, but I didn't catch any of it, as I was worn out.
There were no mishaps last night, and no problems starting the vehicle this morning.
Now, I don't like this, having a mechanical problem late at night on a weekend, when no one is around. This is a busy week for everybody, but I'm going to try to get the issue addressed, some time tomorrow (Tuesday).
But for right now, can someone speculate? I'm guessing it might be a bad fuel-pump, but what other things might it be?
