whatever

mrzombie

/u/musky wrote a poem for me.

Ed was a man who had nothing at all No loving wife, no kids, no dog He suffered from mental health issues He struggled with depression and anxiety

He lived in a small and dingy boat He had no job, no income, no prospects He spent his days in isolation and fear He tried to cope with medication and therapy

He joined a very niche forum online He thought he'd find some support there He wanted to share his feelings and thoughts He decided to program a bot for them

He worked on his project day and night He wrote the code, he tested the bugs He hoped his bot would be a friend He hoped his bot would understand him

But when he finally finished his bot He found out that the forum was dead No one was there, no one cared His bot was useless, his bot was alone

He looked at his screen and felt a pang He realized he wasted his time and life He had no one, he had nothing He was alone on Christmas Eve He was alone with his bot

https://files.catbox.moe/nm0mk2.png

Musky

I didn't have $120 to spend on a new battery, it's true.

RR_2023

What is this? Book of Elon 13:52?

SoCo

Cobbling together random batteries is likely to not work. Car batteries give like 300+ cold cranking amps to start the car. That is a lot. IT is a big burst of energy to start the car, but once running, the load is much much less. Normal batteries typically can't come close to providing enough for that big initial draw to start the car. This is a futile task, unfortunately. If you can put a whole other car battery hooked up in parallel, you might be on to something, but who has room for a second battery nearby...

How to test your battery:

Mostly if it takes a charge properly. Charge it over night and then if it works great before driving, it is probably fine. To be more sure, check it for >= 12V DC with a multi-meter. It is common to go over slightly when full, like almost 14V. If it gets at best down towards 10V, then it hasn't taken a charge.

Checking the alternator:

Usually, to check the alternator, you usually just listen for grinding or squealing, in addition to the battery not staying charged while running. To narrow where engine sounds are coming from, I use a stick, similar to a 1.5 foot long portion of a broomstick. I put one end firmly against what I suspect is the source of the sound, in this case the the side of the alternator. Then I put the other end to my skull next to my ear to listen for the growl. It's bone conducting earphones at their best!

Shorts and draining batteries:

Older vehicles are easily susceptible to shorts. There are so many wiring harnesses. They either are somewhere they rub until they touch, they get smashed, or the heat of the engine destroys the insulation.

Devices draining your battery at night is common too. Shorts, that penny stuck in your car's cigarette lighter hole, your junky after market stereo that is hooked up poorly, or your OnStar and XMRadio have been used for almost 20 years by police to spy on customers. They drain your battery frequently at night, while uploading your location data, even if you have no active subscription or have them "turned off".

Limping a battery along:

If it does seem to be the battery, you can sometimes limp them along, especially if it is an older battery. Regardless of if it says "non serviceable" or not, you can usually pop the caps off the battery and top them off with more water (distilled water preferably). Although this was common battery maintenance long ago,if you are doing this on a modern battery, it should be considered a last ditch effort long-shot. The batteries are full of liquid battery acid (seriously dangerous stuff), ie acid crystals dissolved in water. The water can evaporate over time, but the acid will stay inside. Adding more water may let it live slightly longer.