Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Branches Eastern Canada Some Welcome Home....

So I return, happy as can be when I fire up the engine of a real car instead of that little 206. I'd been having some fun in a "pressurized Mondeo" (pictures later) but I was happy to have 6 cylinders instead of four for a change.

As usual, when I start the car, the alternator light flickers. I always hold my breath when I see that happen but it vanished. I nearly killed myself trying to drive on the left along Fasken Drive in Toronto, but after figuring out where I was I made onto the 400.

Just before Newmarket my tach dies and the ABS light comes on. Great, I'm thinking, there goes one of the VSS's. After a few more kilometers the car suddenly starts to cough and spit, then abruptly dies. I swing across three lanes of traffic and park it on the side.

My luck couldn't be worse as I neither have my mobile phone, nor is it connected anyway because I didn't know how long I'd be away. As fate would have it, no one would stop so after a good bit I look to the right and see a small office hidden behind the trees.

Right! I figure, and hop the fence. Now I can get help! But the office is locked and only through sheer good luck I caught someone leaving the building. While not happy at having to go back into the office, the lady at least let me use her phone.

After an hour wait a tow ruck arrives and drags my poor car up to Douglas Ford. Now my day started by having the Peugeot taken away with a totalled clutch (not me, the previous driver), then I had an 8 hours flight all the way up to Greenland and down to Toronto (I guess AT lost their ETOPS rating...) and now I'm being made to suffer in the heat of a stinky tow truck.

I'm not quite sure if it's my battery or the alternator, but one of the two is most likely toast.

So to make a long story short, does anyone know if they sell dry-cell batteries here? I mean something like the Dyna-batt or a Stinger Gel-cell battery...?

ha ha ha...

Just kidding .. I feel your pain.. though I would get a red top battery (I'm assuming your talking about a car battery) you can get them now through Crappy Tire..

Welcome back!

Welcome back. I just myself an Optima Red Top cause it's going in the trunk, since there isn't going to be any room up front for a battery.

I as well feel your pain. It seems like every week I have something else to fix on my car. For example, about an hour and a half ago I just finished fixing an exhaust leak, bleexing my cooked brakes and replacing my 2 shot front strut mounts.

Hey welcome home Dana. Sorry bout your luck. My story may make you feel better about yours considering my car currently is doing 0-60 in about 45seconds :rolleyes: heres a link.

SOunds like you're having lots of fun too. I had plugged cats on my first car, and the cats on the Contour have already been replaced once by Ford. Definitely a power killer.

On the plus side I now have a new battery (turns out it was shot) and a little customer loyalty now has me getting trade pricing. wooohooo!

Oh, and I have a new IMRC on order, so soon there will be no more CEL on my car, and I will once again revel in low-end torque. For now though, I'm a little miffed at spending all this money, but I guess I might as well get this car running right again while I have some.

Sounds good. Glad to hear it was only a battery. As per the the IMRC. So glad I have vacuum lines for mine on the 95