When I was done digging out my car I was exhausted and I just decided to go back to the lake and camp there. The idea was to wash myself off and set up the hammock and lay low for the rest of the day.
But as I pulled up one of the warning lights on the dashboard came on. Service Battery Charging System Failure. Not what you want to see when you’re in the middle of the forest.
I figured that the battery voltage was low after my battle with the mud pit so I decided to drive it around a bit more and see if it would charge. No luck. Not even the house battery would charge via the alternator. So the alternator seemed to be the issue.
It was kind of late so I decided that I would stay the night. As long as I didn’t draw any more power from the battery I would be able to get the car started in the AM.
But we ain’t done yet. We have a flat tire now. So no relaxation for me. It’s about 7 o’clock and I know I have maybe an hour and change of good sunlight. I had to get moving on changing the tire because I couldn’t wait until morning.
The tire change went off without any issues. Thankfully there was enough level ground by the lake to get the job done safely. I finished up right before the sun was setting. I made some dinner and went to sleep almost right away. I was exhausted.
I got up in the morning and the battery still had a fair amount of juice. I fished for a bit at the lake and I got back on the road at about 10:30 or so. I had a little over an hour drive back into town and I figured I had enough in the battery to get me back.
I got over the pass all good and was making my way down the mountain. I got most of the way down and maybe was a mile out from the main paved road when the electricity in the car when completely out. All the gauges stopped working. Even the speedometer wasn’t registering any speed.
Was I frightened? Yes. But I was able to stay calm and think through what I needed to do. I stayed on the inside of the switchbacks. My thought process was if the brakes give out then I will just run my car into the wall and live to tell the tall. Scary but true. Sorry Mom.
I was able to get to the paved road and that’s where the car gave out completely. Couldn’t even give the engine any gas. I got very lucky because if I had got caught even a mile or so up the road I would have been in a really bad spot.