Two quick Vehicle Updates

 For the longest time, Nightingale's minivan had a Check Engine Light (CEL) warning on the dashboard.  At first, it would come and go like most of those CEL messages but eventually, it became a prominent fixture.  So Nightingale ordered one of those code readers and we figured out the problem after a quick Google.  

It's incredible how robust Google and YouTube have become.  Twenty years ago YouTube wasn't a thing and web search engines were more like slot machines where if you were lucky, you'd get something you could use.  Remember Alta Visa?  Babel Fish?  Good Times.

This is a PITA to get to

Anyway, we ordered the part from Amazon and it finally arrived.  There was a good weekend to do this repair, which was a medium-to-high level of effort because of where the part is located.  Unfortunately, either my Father in Law turned the wrench too much, or the part was crappy because it broke.  We had to run to an AutoZone and get a standard part and do it again.  This one worked better.  In fact, had I realized AutoZone was an option, I might have got the part sooner....or not since it was $8 more. 

So now that light is gone.

My Element must have got jealous because the other day, I was going to run an errand when I found that the battery was dead.  This a common occurrence with my car because I don't drive it every day so if a light is left on, it drains the battery.  If I drove it every day, the battery would recharge enough, or I'd notice the light and shut it off.  

I tried using Nightingale car to recharge the battery and it was a no-go.  So I called Triple-A and then sent someone.  He tried to sell me a new battery but  I decided to go the let's see if you can recharge it route.  It worked and if everything is fine for the next few months, I'll consider this solved.  If it happens again, I have to decide if I want to buy a cheap $80 battery or a top-of-the-line one.