[DeTomaso] definition of insanity disproven...

[Christopher Kimball]

After all my frustration with trying to start the car with no spark evident, after dinner this evening I figured, "What the heck.  I've proven I'm insane before; why not try to start the car again, since I tried numerous times a few hours ago with absolutely no luck."

I'll bet you can guess what happened next.  The car started immediately and idled perfectly.

I try very hard not to use foul language, but if anything drives me to stamp my feet and yell something I shouldn't--this will be it!

So, lets analyze the problem:

1) car runs fine after I fix a loose terminal.

2) I solder a number of terminals to make sure they are secure

3) upon completion of soldering the terminals, the car won't start--no spark

4) I walk away, have dinner, and two hours later it starts

The only thing I can think of is that while I was working on the soldering, the garage door was open and it got quite chilly in the garage.  The temperature outside was probably 40 or so, and it was pouring rain.  When I went in for dinner, I closed the garage door and since our garage is heated, the temperature in the garage gradually increased to probably 65 degrees or so.

What I think I'll do now is open the garage doors again so it will get cold again, then see if the car starts.

Man, this is infuriating.  Thanks for letting me lay down on your collective couches and tell you my problems...

Sincerely,

Chris