Hi all,


Today was very exciting! I had a lot of fun, and learned some very important lessons. I learned that my visiting German professor lives behind my Grandmother, and I also learned that you should drive with the windows open (even when it is the coldest it has been in 20 years).

In short, (ha ha) fuse the headlamp circuit. I had thought about it when the last headlamp switch melted and started to smoke, but quickly forgot once I rewired a generic replacement and all was well (for a time).

It has taken hours to calm down enough to sit, let alone write anything of any consequence. I can tell you that imbibing select inebriants helps quite a bit. Anyway, back to the story.

Flames were pouring out from under the dashboard as I activated my right turn signal indicator to alert drivers that I was about to exit the roadway. This along with my frantic cursing helped other drivers to casually go about their nightly business without delay. I knew something was amiss when the cab started to smell like a microwave dinner on the ‘‘Whole Chicken’’ setting.

My Uncle taught me to leave the battery cables loose for safety. Sure, I’ve had the occasional issue with the click, no start, wiggle the cable, la la la... It makes it much easier though to change batteries in a pinch. But I never thought that I’d really be in a situation that I’d need the cables loose.

As the flames spread along the vintage plastic wire loom, I made my exit. Grabbing the hood pull and fire extinguisher on the way out, I removed the safety pin in the same motion as I reached for the hood catch lever.

The firelight made a nice impression on my expectation of the evening to follow, and it went pretty well after spraying a couple of pounds of flame retardant dust all over the inside of the Volvo.

Don’t feel too sorry for me, my spare is a 1999 V70 R. I don’t expect any pity anyway, because I should have fused the headlamps the first time.


Goatman