My favorite: (on-topic, but not computer-related)
Car starter motor is really weak, finally just won't turn
over. Lights dim and all when I turn the key. OK, $65 new battery.
Same symptom. Sigh. Well, battery was old anyway. Must be the
starter motor. $75 new starter motor, and some time under the hood.
Same symptom.
Drat! Now who knows what's broken? Start tracing power
wiring, to see what other boxes are in between....after a few minutes
of this, the positive lead from the battery *comes off in my hand*,
leaving the clamp still attached to the battery post.
Doh.
Put cable back into its little cable-side clamp, tighten down
the nuts, problem solved.
The *real* "Doh" is how I managed to change out the battery
and still not notice the loose cable!
----
Then there was the sticktiony hard drive I was trying to get
to spin up one last time by wobbling (about the spin axis) as it
tried to start up, and grabbed by some part that was live. Got maybe
a 12V shock on my finger, fried some part of the drive and that was
the end of that data.
----
Can I count grounding one of the print-head lines on an
inkjet printer with a multi-meter probe and blowing the fuse on the
power brick, or is that just SOP? Hate it when I do that.
--
- Mark
210-522-6025, page 888-733-0967
Received on Thu Jul 01 2004 - 09:25:20 BST