Stupid Is as Stupid Does

[46Ply]

I think that's a line Forest Gump used.

Anyway, couldn't figure out why my car wouldn't start.  Thought sure I had it flooded, but it never did fire!

Left it sit a while, tried it again, same thing.  Finally opened the hood and I had left all the plug wires off when I cleaned and gapped the plugs, about a week ago.

 

Not sure what the moral of this story is, except if you start a job, you need to finish it.!!     

[Plymouthy Adams]

you would be surprised at the many times stuff this simple just seems to happen...you are prime candidate for a check list prior to start of a job..OR list what you disconnected and working back up the list from the bottom as you go back together checking off items completed..many are compulsive list makers...can save your bacon..especially when you have items that are first just nutted up then later torqued..get that check torque value in wiring..

[Oldguy48]

Thanks for "fessing up" to your goof. I suspect a lot of the forum members here have done something similar, and probably "ain't sayin".  Plymouthy offers good advice about a check-list. Might save you another embarrassing moment.

 

Wayne

[desoto1939]

DO not feel bad.  I had pulled the distributor on my 39 Desoto to replace the breaker plate assembly. HAd the blocked marked with a reference point and also on the body of the Dizzy for the rotor.

 

All set to go. put the dizzy back in and it felt that it had hit the slot in the oil pump. locked down the dizzy and connected the Vacuum Advance. Got into the car and it would not fire up at all.

 

HAd the help of a friend. Pulled the cap off the dizzy I was then in the car cranking the engine we noticed that the rotor was not moving.

 

First thought was a broken dizzy shaft.

 

Loosened the hold down nut on the dizzy. Found out that the slot end was not all the way into the oil put slot. I had hit the slot on an angle and it felt as if it was in the slot.

 

reset the dissy into the slot tried to fire it up again and still nothing.  I was now out by 180 degrees. Reset it again in the correct orientation and it fired right up.

 

So moral is Stupid is as Stupid Does..  The simple thing will get you all the time.

 

But it was a good learning experience for me. DUH and was scratching my head a lot on this one.

 

Rich Hartung

desoto1939@aol.com

[Merle Coggins]

Everyone does bone headed moves at times, like forgetting to put the rotor back on after adjusting the points and wondering why it won't start. Then finding the rotor still sitting on the fender.

[austinsailor]

Like forgetting to put the plug back in when changing the oil? Put 5 ate in, look down at the ground, seeing lots of oil in the dirt - and you have no more? 5 miles from town?

[windsor8]

We've all pulled tricks like that if we hadn't we wouldn't be doing anything.

[pflaming]

When out of oil five miles from town, look fora parked car. Drain and use his oil then return and give him new oil. Oh yes, place his oil plug where he can find it with a note!

[Plymouthy Adams]

pflaming, on 25 Feb 2016 - 8:47 PM, said:

When out of oil five miles from town, look fora parked car. Drain and use his oil then return and give him new oil. Oh yes, place his oil plug where he can find it with a note!

 theft by taking..

[pflaming]

In the Midwest it's called "neighboring". Chickens, eggs, and wives are not included. LOL

[46Ply]

Okay, if confession is good for the soul....

About 35 years ago, give or take, I had a 72 Mercedes that wouldn't start.  Don't remember why I thought it was the starter motor, but at any rate I proceeded to take it out.  And what a pain it was.  One of those tight places where the wrench would turn about 20 degrees at a time, and that bolt had a lot of threads on it!

Finally got it out, checked out and re-installed.  Car still wouldn't start.

So, eventually, after about three days of fooling with it, I put the shift selector back in the Park mode, and she fired right up!

[Niel Hoback]

1963 and I have 55 Buick. Parked in a less than friendly neighborhood, car won't start. Acts like dead battery, but all the lights and radio work. The starter switch is on the carb, activated by stepping on the gas, but nothing happened. I disassembled and reassembled it three times before putting the shift lever in park. Started right up.

[pflaming]

When I rebuilt my truck the first time, I removed, repaired, and replaced the fuel tank. I drove the truck for a time off an aux tank. When the driving got serious I went to fill the tank. As the station pump was going, I suddenly noticed lots of gasoline coming from under the truck, so quickly turned off the pump then investigation revealed I had not replaced the sleave from the filler pipe to the tank.

The station attendant was quickly there with a large sack of fuel absorbant. We pushed the truck way off to he side, opened the doors and let it vent for several hours. Curiously enough a stray cat followed me home! My grand daughter claimed the cat for her own!!!

Edited February 26, 2016 by pflaming

[dpollo]

Yup !   I put five litres of fresh oil in but neglected to drain the old oil out.

 

           I wasn't born dumb, I have to work at it !

[Eneto-55]

I had a 72 Dodge Coronet that had a buzzer in it that drove me crazy.  (I think it was for the seat belt, not sure anymore.)  So I pulled the buzzer out.  Some months later it was coming time for the yearly safety inspection, and the horn is a required piece of equipment to get a pass on the inspection.  It didn't work.  I finally pulled the steering wheel off, and when I followed the wires down the column, I ened up at a plug with nothing on it.  A light came on in my noggin, and I got the buzzer out of the glove box and put it back on.  Now I had both the buzz and the horn again.  Now-a-days a person probably couldn't go long enough w/o needing the horn that you could forget about removing the buzzer (which was also a relay), but back in those days, and there in Oklahoma, we hardly ever needed a horn.

Edited August 6 by Eneto-55
spelling error

[Frank Elder]

My very first C body 1969 440 New Yorker sedan had a marginal dizzy in it so I decided to put in a brand new one from Napa, got everything wired up new plugs new wires new dizzy........no go. tried everything spun the motor to tdc, traced my plug wires, tried 180 out.....had a hot spark plenty of fuel and air. !@#$%^RTY$^&*%HBVFY((*&^ the air was blue as only a salty dog can make it!

I'm not stooopid this stuff is old hat for me, so back in goes the old dizzy....click...VVVVVRRRROOOMMM she roars too life.!@#$%^&*@#$%^& again.

 

I am Stumped.

 

When I turned around to chunk the new dizzy back in it's box and return it something jumped out at me....the box said 383 on it, I had ordered the wrong dizzy....it was too short to reach the slot...it never spun, didn't move a lick.

 

Kinda hard to start them that way......

[kented]

That's like the time I tried to start my BMW and nothing. Got out my volt meter and was checking all over and then forget I had a swipe immobilizer. :|

[pflaming]

Frank, gotta remember, if it ain't broke, don't fix it or fix it until it is broken.

[Frank Elder]

Intermittent Paul, it left me stranded several times...lotsa play and one stripped screw hole.

[soth122003]

Sounds like me when I changed the oil on mp P-15. No problems until I changed the oil filter. Pulled the old one out and dropped a new one in put the cap back on went to the parts store for something or the other. Autozone was only a couple miles away, but by the time I got there my oil pressure was reading about 10 psi. I had forgot to make sure the filter cap seal was centered. I had blown about 3 quarts all over the side of the engine and the road to get there. Needless to say, a lot of these mistakes are self correcting by the feeling of stupid you get when you realize what you did.

 

Joe

[Niel Hoback]

I'm not sure about that. I keep doing stupid stuff and yet I'm not self-correcting.

[soth122003]

I know what you mean Niel. But the question you have to ask is, are repeating the same mistake or is each one a new level of dumb mistakes?

 

Joe

[46Ply]

Then there was the morning I went into the garage, got in my car, fired it up and backed through the garage door.  Forgot to open it!

I didn't actually go clear through it, but we had to replace to panels on a four panel door.

[Don Coatney]

Then there was the time when I was about 9-10 years old when I was playing drive drive drive in my mothers 1948 Buick parked in the garage. These Buicks had a push on the gas pedal starter. So the key was on, car in reverse, push the gas pedal, car was in reverse. The garage had one of those swing out to lift hardware options. The road was about 3 feet away from the closed garage door. Engine started, garage door sprang open, and I was in the middle of the road. Somehow I was able to drive the car back into the garage. Door had no damage and I never got caught.

[Frank Elder]

Then there was the time when I was about 9-10 years old when I was playing drive drive drive in my mothers 1948 Buick parked in the garage. These Buicks had a push on the gas pedal starter. So the key was on, car in reverse, push the gas pedal, car was in reverse. The garage had one of those swing out to lift hardware options. The road was about 3 feet away from the closed garage door. Engine started, garage door sprang open, and I was in the middle of the road. Somehow I was able to drive the car back into the garage. Door had no damage and I never got caught.

Yeah, yeah, but you already five foot three and a half weighing in at a Buck fifty.............sporting some smokes hid in your sock....lol.