Sometimes Problems Aren't As Problematic As They Seem

Over a year ago, when I got Ginny (my German car), I noticed that many of the gadgets were in odd places--at least compared to what you might find in an American vehicle.  For example, the window controls: instead of being on the door, they are where my armrest and automatic shifter are. And instead of reading "A/C," the cars' air button reads "EC." And all the gadgets on my window wiper and blinker knobs are backwards, and the dials on my dash are in some foreign scale. So it was quite an adjustment to get used to (and still is).

As it happens, all summer long I thought my car was just "out of a/c" (as though the solution was as simple as adding fuel or something).

Maybe there was a problem with a hose somewhere. Or maybe a fuse was out. For all I knew, there could even be some kind of separate battery just for the a/c. That's how little I know about cars and their complex functions.  "Or maybe," Sam suggested, "you just need some freon!"

Well, it's not like I'm the kind of person that thinks I'm going to die without a/c. And whether I'm just being lazy, cheap, or just plain silly, it wouldn't hurt my feelings if we didn't fix the problem. I mean, it's definitely nice to have the a/c, but it's a luxury that I don't mind living without (in my car! AC in the house is completely different). Of course, should I use the car more than once or twice a week, I might have a different opinion. :)

But because Sam always wants the best for me and because he just couldn't imagine me driving around in this crazy heat with no a/c, he had me purchase this thing called A/CPro (NOT CHEAP!); and so I did.

Now, typically, I'm not one to read directions.

"LET ME GUESS: STEP 2, ADD SAND."

But because cars and mechanics aren't my strongest subject, I really needed a starting point and some guidance on how to use the stuff--I'd think something like this really deserves some attention given to instructions. So I began with the directions and found that, not only is there a service port that you're supposed to hook the end of the hose to, there's a service port that you "must NOT" hook it up to--or explosion could be your result. I stopped. Perhaps I shouldn't be messing with this... See, it's no wonder I skip the directions. They just make things even MORE confusing. I was to hook the hose up to some low side service port. Obviously, they didn't write these instructions with me in mind. "Low side?" Okay.....? "Low" in regards to what? Do I need to crawl under the car? Just where do I find this port? Next to the compressor. What's that? Google came in handy, but YouTube was even more helpful--they have some pretty cool DIY videos on there (I may just start doing my own car maintenance from now on with the aid of YouTube tutorials! BAH!).

 

So after finding the right service port and checking the pressure, the gauge told me that all was good and I didn't need to add the ACPro after all. All the effort I'd put into learning about this service port and system...and it wasn't the problem?

Yeah, just a little disappointing. If it wasn't something a little ACPro could fix...it had to be something major!

A couple days later, I drove Sam up to the shop to pick up his bike. On our way, windows down, heat closing in on us, Sam said, "well let's at least turn the vent on!" So instead of pushing the EC button, he pushed one of the others.

This is what the controls look like. Go figure, right!?

We noticed the air suddenly turned cool...then cold....


Who would have thought to look up what EC really means? Yeah. It means "economy." Which of course, does NOT mean AC! Oh, if only I were a blond--what a good cover I'd have! There's always someone or something else to pin things like this on, but alas, in this case, I'm afraid I'm just a true dunce. And while I feel a little (...okay, A LOT) silly about the whole thing, I've just gotta laugh and be thankful that the poblem wasn't as problematic as I thought!