I knew it was going to happen sooner or later.
I haven’t done much lately; I’ve just been driving her here and there. But over the past year, I’ve noticed a few times that when I turned the key, she wouldn’t start. I had power everywhere – radio and lights work—just no start. Turn the key off, and the starter will kick in.
But not this time. I had just backed the bus out of the garage until the rest of the family came out to jump in, and she would turn over. I tried it again – no luck; I tried for another 10 minutes and nothing. I have yet to have time with Hurricane Irene bearing down on the SouthEast coast, cutting grass and everyday family responsibilities to check on the situation. But my first thought was that the ignition switch was going out.
I had replaced it a few months after I purchased the bus and pulled the steering column, painted everything, fixed the horn, etc. It was a real pain changing out the switch, and I had heard rumors that other bus owners had to replace the new cheap-made switches.
I didn’t want to have to go through that again.
Fast forward to yesterday, and my son and I were headed to the beach for beach combing after the hurricane (in my other vehicle). And it dawned on me–he had asked me about a specific sound whenever I had tried to start it that day. I told him that it was the fuel pump.
HEY, wait a minute; if we heard the fuel pump (which we did), it is not the ignition switch, so it must be the starter solenoid or the starter.
So, a sigh of relief comes over me. I’ll keep you posted on the progress.