I want to know the name of the genius who decided that the best security for a car is noise. That deafening, never-ending HONK - HONK - HONK - HONK that you can't turn off because the little piece of crap gizmo that's on your keyring has been pushed too many times and no longer works. I want his name. Give it to me.Have you ever, on any occasion, in any parking lot where one of these bastards are going off, seen anyone run to nab the suspect, wrestle them to the ground and call the police? Ever??? When was the last time you saw a local hero interviewed on the news about his heroic action of apprehending a car thief when he heard the security alarm blasting away? I don't know about you, but all I've witnessed is a lot of annoyed people shooting dirty looks at the flustered, embarrassed car owner.
Nettl's been having trouble with her car's security system for some time now. In fact, we named the car "Christine" because she definitely has a mind of her own. When we unlock the doors to get in, the horn goes off and if we keep the doors unlocked, they lock themselves while we're gone. In fact, the doors lock and unlock on their own for no apparent reason, whether the car's in motion or sitting in the garage.
I didn't get to bed until 3:30 this morning -- my own fault, I confess. I was sleeping really well, better than I have all week, when I was jolted awake at 7:30 by the HONK - HONK - HONK - HONK of the car alarm. It was poor Nettl just trying to go to work. Usually, after pressing the keyring gizmo for a few seconds, the honking stops, but this time it went on, and on, and on. Then it turned into a rapid HONK-HONK-HONK-HONK. As if that wasn't enough, the guy across the street, who was leaving for class, thought it was funny and honked his horn all the way past our house, around the corner and out to the street.
Asshat.
The honking finally stopped, but only because the battery shut down. A security feature, I suspect.
I told my flustered sweetie to take my car and I'd look into the problem today. I've done some web research that leads me to think it might be as simple as a fuse. That's what I'm hoping for anyway. Every other possibility is really expensive.
Ah, the little shit-things of life. How they enrich us!
When we lived in southern California, we used to say that car alarms were really earthquake alarms. Every once in a while every car alarm in the neighborhood would go off and we'd know there had been a slight earthquake which had been too small to really feel.
ReplyDeleteI remember when that happened while I was visiting you in Seattle.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in Ventura, a neighbor's car alarm system was set way too sensitively. Every time a vehicle that was heavier than a minivan went by, it went off. All day, every day. For weeks. Someone else on the street finally complained to the police. It stopped not long after that.
We had a car with a similar electrical issue and we had to change a few fuses on a regular basis, only this car did not have an alarm. The first time we noticed it was on a freezing winter morning, 4 to be exact, when the horn blared and would not stop. We had a carport then and it just reflected the sound for all of the neighbors to wake up. It was awful and the only way to stop it was to finally disconnect the battery.
ReplyDeleteThat makes me feel better about the prospect of this being a fuse issue. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThat must have been horrible for you!
Just disable the damn thing. Sounds more like a pain in the ass than a real asset.
ReplyDeleteProblem is, it's the whole electrical system, and not just the alarm. The automatic locks are involved as well as the CD player. I'm hopin that it is in the fuses.
ReplyDeleteCan't disable it. If we do, the car won't work. That's part of the security feature. That would be a crook's first inclination.
ReplyDeleteI'm just going to replace the fuses.
The neighbor who used to live across the street had a TALKING car alarm! It would constantly declare "You are too close! Back away!" Talk about creepy. Reminded me of KITT - the car on the Knight Rider tv series. The stupid thing would go off if a gust of wind hit the car. It was insane during a thunderstorm!
ReplyDeleteMachines!
Now I know what I have not been missing here in Vienna: Car alarms! I guess the street cars are not wired, or what. :-)
ReplyDeleteI hope you find the loose fuse, in the meantime, please extend my sympathy to your poor wife (and to yourself too *g*).
Merisi: Danke sehr for stopping by. Your blog is one of my very favorite reads! It's absolutely beautiful.
ReplyDeleteNettl and I will be moving to Wien in 2008 and we can't wait to be rid of our cars, gasoline, upkeep and insurance. Too much expense and too much trouble!
Servus!
Our electrical issue affected everything too, even the starter. I hope yours is the simple fuse problem. That one was a 92 Grand Am. We called it the Grand-ma and hated it. It cost us a fortune in some other mysterious, bullshit disorder. After K. turned 40, we donated it and got the Mini. I can tell you that one year earlier, we NEVER thought we'd be able to get out of the "please just get me to work" car to that one. I'm greedy, but I'm turning 40 and I won't get a new car. Seriously though, I'm very grateful for everything.
ReplyDeleteI sincerely hope your problems will be solved soon.
You're going to live in Wien in 2008? However are you going to get long term visas? Congratulations.
We can get residence visas as self-employed artists. It's not that difficult. All we have to prove is:
ReplyDelete1. We can support ourselves financially (approximately a minimum of $1200 per month, each).
2. We have health insurance that will cover us in Austria (around $45k each).
3. We've not been arrested within 30 days of application).
There are other requirements, but those are just passports, air tickets, etc.
That's awesome and something to look into, especially for an EU country. A lot of places, Canada included, I think, require something like 2 to 6 hundred thousand in available assets. The best to both of you.
ReplyDeleteI hate my neighbors car alarm so much I bolgged about it: http://shenamer.blogspot.com/2009/04/if-your-car-alarm-goes-off-one-more.html
ReplyDeleteOur electrical issue affected everything too, even the starter. I hope yours is the simple fuse problem. That one was a 92 Grand Am. We called it the Grand-ma and hated it. It cost us a fortune in some other mysterious, bullshit disorder. After K. turned 40, we donated it and got the Mini. I can tell you that one year earlier, we NEVER thought we'd be able to get out of the "please just get me to work" car to that one. I'm greedy, but I'm turning 40 and I won't get a new car. Seriously though, I'm very grateful for everything.
ReplyDeleteI sincerely hope your problems will be solved soon.
You're going to live in Wien in 2008? However are you going to get long term visas? Congratulations.