A little humor to make the prayer request more memorable.
Our car still needs expert help from someone who understands automotive wiring and electronics. Near as we can tell, it’s some kind of electrical short. We did replace bad parts with tested good parts, but now that’s done, we seem to have uncovered something I can’t fix by myself. Granted, if this thing sits there too much longer, I’ll probably manage to save up enough to have it towed to the dealer and pay whatever outrageous charges they list for fixing it. Even if that comes out to $500, we’ll still be money ahead on the market value of this thing, not to mention it’s a really nice car that I like.
Back as late as the 1970s model cars, I could still read the wiring diagrams. Even better, they were generally accurate. It seems to me that during the 1980s the drawings changed and notations became unfathomably complex. They also started lying. More than once I worked on something and the official wiring diagram was not even close. And with legally mandated safety features, it has gotten really complicated. So I am no longer able to chase wiring issues. Not only do I fail, but I tend to leave smoking craters.
This reminds me of the Anarchist Cookbook. You can find free copies on the Net. If all you have in mind are some scary pranks, it’s a pretty good resource. If you try to do some of the more serious stuff, you’ll get hurt or killed. The book is terrorist bait, loaded with inaccurate instructions for the really nasty stuff, and the mistakes are designed intentionally to harm you.
Every car manufacturer that I have examined on this issue is using the same MO. All of them do their darnedest to force you into a dealer for relatively minor stuff. So it does no good to think about buying something you think you might be able to work on, especially American made since about 1974. This question is no longer a consideration when selecting a new or used vehicle. Just like every inkjet printer, it’s designed to sucker you in and milk you for everything you’ve got.
Volvo makes cars I really like, but they have been particularly rude about this repair stuff. There was a time you could order an accurate wiring diagram on a CD from some website. Volvo bought them out and closed the business. Now you can find some pirated stuff that is loaded with inaccuracies. The net result is that what you can order online is likely to be wholly useless.
But I am undeterred. I’ll keep trying to locate someone willing to help us for less than the dealer’s charges. So far, people claiming they want to help turned out to be clouds without rain. No, I don’t think evil of them. People are people. I’m seeking God’s provision in whatever form it takes.
