The New Plan

Bill called from Japan, and we talked about cars. I would rather talk about other things, but the situation with the cars rules my life right now. He tells me that Ford starters are notorious for needing a fully-charged battery to turn over, and perhaps our 7-year old battery is less than optimum.

So my plan this morning is to pull the fuse box and check that first. If all the fuses are good, I'll sidle the van up to the Focus and see if I can jump-start it using the power of the running van engine. This will effectively "test" the Focus battery. If it doesn't start, then it really is something other than the battery. Or, it's the battery AND something else (these things usually come in twos and threes in my experience).

If nothing works to start the Focus, then I will check the van's fluids, air up the tires, and go over to Morristown to complete my test-driving of new cars--the manual transmission Vibe (I want to compare it to the automatic), the Hyundai Elantra Touring "Wagon," and the Dodge Caliber. Let's hope the van has a few more miles in her for her big finale.