The Joys of Batteries

There are all sorts of things we tend to take for granted in life. We often just flip the switch and expect the lights to come on. We turn the key and the car just starts. We hit the button and the radio comes on. In fact, if one of these things doesn't happen as expected, we will often continue doing the appropriate action just hoping that the thing not working the first time was just a fluke of some sort. When Jacalyn's car's starter went out for the last time (about a year ago, I think), I can't even count how many times I turned the key, hoping that it would start just one more time.

Then there are the things we know we need to keep charged up, but sometimes forget to charge. Things like iPods and cellphones. I had three (3) batteries go out on me Tuesday night. My first gen iPod nano has been having trouble making a charge last for the past few months. When it was new it would last about 14 hours on a charge. Now it will only last about 6 hours, and that's if I can keep it warm, which is tricky since I keep it in my pocket while riding to work. I usually have a USB charger in my backpack so I can charge it at work, but I forgot to take it with me, so I was stuck with a dead iPod early in the night.

Next up was my cellphone battery. I knew the battery was getting low already, but it died on me while I was talking to Jacalyn on break that night. She thought I had hung up on her, but fortunately I was in the office so I could use their phone to finish talking.

Finally, on my last break of the night, while I was heading for the break area, I realized that I had left my grip heaters turned on. I have them wired directly to the battery because it was easier to do it that way. On the downside, if I forget to turn them off they drain the battery. This was the second time I have done it. I did it once back in February or March, back when I first got them, and now again, one of the first times I have used them since last winter... Oops. When I put the key in and turned it, instead of the dash lighting up and the fuel pump priming, I was greeted by nothing. Absolutely nothing. I killed it so dead that the speedometer and odometers all reset to kilometers. Fortunately we have a battery charger at work, so I just pulled the bike inside and hooked it up for the last two hours of the night. I also know how to get everything back into miles now, since I had to do that back in February/March...

Anyway, that was my brief experience with excitement Tuesday night. I hope my next brush with excitement is less problematic.