Another weekend, another drive. Over the extended weekend (14th to 16th Aug), went for a drive to Wayanad. Odo stands at 26305kms now. Left out a few major places in and around Wayanad, so that I've reason to do a repeat trip some time!! Some pics are attached:
After a year and 8 months, my car gave trouble. Till date all the maintenance it has taken is the regular 6month's service. On the way to Wayanad, horn stopped working right after a stop was made to visit the Mysore Palace. Drove till Gundulpet without horn (it was tough), and when I stopped for a tea break, found that the 15A fuse for horn had blown. Replaced it with a spare I had and horn was... well honking.
Saturday went around sight seeing, honking all right. Sunday morning we start the return trip and the horn refuses to honk. Check the fuse, it’s blown again. This time I don't have any more 15A replacement fuses with me. Call up help line and get transferred to a Service Engineer who asks me not to replace the fuse and to get the car to an A**. The nearest I've (on my way of travel) is Mysore and I drive with no horn from Kalpetta to Mysore, a distance of ~140kms. It was an experience, which I don't want repeated.
Once I reach the A**, I wait for another 45mins, for a service engineer to turn up. He checks this and that, pulls a fuse out, puts a fuse in, checks battery, does this and that. And... smoke starts coming out of the dashboard!! For a minute, I think my car is going to go up in flames. Quick thinking and he removes the battery connection. Smoke stops. He looks pretty clueless and keeps connecting and disconnecting wires. In the end he says it’s the stereo, since I had got it done outside, and asks me if I've tools to remove the stereo. I had half a mind to ask him if I looked like a walking-talking radio shop, but replied negative and he found some tools from some where inside the workshop. Removed the stereo, and lo, the antennae wire is touching the metal casing. He wraps it in duct tape and tells me to get the whole wiring checked at my usual service center.
Oh, and since it was a sunday and the store was closed, they didn't have 15A fuses available. So, I'm currently running on blown fuses with a thin wire wrapped around the legs to give connection. Have to get some replacement fuses.