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Tuesday, June 23, 2015

One foot outside my comfort zone.

Since the critters on the LLF are in destructo mode, I have been placed outside of my comfort zone more than a few times.  There are many things that I willingly throw myself into, but car repair and anything electronic are two areas I dasn't go.  Until now.  While I do not (and will not) learn to repair my car, I am a hands-down expert at picking up on a worn wheel bearing.  I can tell you through nuanced grindings, about how long you have before you must get thee to the mechanic or else.

As I stared at, then tried to ignore my broken fence charger placed strategically upon the dining room table (where I could not totally ignore it), I toyed with just replacing it with a new one - until I looked up the price.  Then, again, aren't I the one all preachy about fixing rather than throwing out - throwing 'away' to the non-away?  Yes, I am.

Over the weekend, I took a deep breath and decided to fix the charger myself.  Frankly, it took longer to find the right tools than to actually fix it.  After I parted it from its back board, I searched around the perimeter and located four teeny-tiny screws that looked like they needed a hex key the size of a darning needle.  Dang.  I have two sets of hex keys, but none were small enough.  I ignored it again for a day, then rummaged through my junk drawer and came up with a teeny-tiny screw driver.  While I was leery about how useful it would be, I also put on my reading glasses to take a look at the screws.  Hi ho.  There were little screwdriver grooves in it.  Honestly, sometimes I am my own worst enemy.
The cable on the right had been
yoinked out by the bad sheep.
Close up of the circuit board and
white oblong thingy.  I knew you just HAD
to see it.
I got the cover off and carefully put the screws in an empty spice jar, screwing on the lid tightly.  The cats have been particularly horrid lately.  I fed the cable back through the side and located the two connections I thought were right.  But wait.  There was no + or -.  No sign of positive or negative.  Dang squared.  Since one connection was to the circuit board, and one went to an oblong white thingy (technical term), how was one to tell what was positive or negative?  I figured (technically speaking) that the positive should go to the circuit board since that seemed to be the business end of the process and the ground should go to the white thingy.  I connected them, walked it over to my kitchen island, cleared the deck, stood a respectful distance from the charger, plugged it in and ran.  Woot!  It did NOT blow up, it worked!  I gingerly unplugged it and replaced the cover and backboard.  Then I hotfooted it outside and mounted it on the pole and plugged it in (from a respectful distance - I do not trust electronics that I work on).  It still worked!  Yes!

I will move the reprobates to the slope once I have the time to stay and watch them.  I need to nip this destructo stuff in the bud, if at all possible.  In the meantime, I had inherited a battery-run charger that was in need of new connectors and a new battery.  That was pretty straightforward.  I now have a charged Nugget run (wasn't Norman surprised....) and the sheep will be able to 'free' graze soon. 

I have been eyeing the ceiling fan in my bedroom.  It hasn't worked since I moved in.  Hey - how hard can it be?  Snort.

17 comments:

Unknown said...

LOL! We fix all kinds of things too. Be warned- ceiling fans can be heavy, so have someone help you if possible :)

jaz@octoberfarm said...

you have just done more electrical repair than i have ever attempted!

MrsDuncanMahogany said...

Well done. I would have wrung my hands and called someone that would have sent my pocketbook into the depths of despair.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Ha ha ha! Go for it! You ventured into an area I have not yet. Hubby does all the techno fixing ups around here. I guess I better start watching him and learning by this side.

Mama Pea said...

I am in awe of your talent and ability to not shock yourself into the next county. Seriously, I give you many points for attempting the charger fix in the first place.

When we bought this place, tore it down to the studs and started over, we had to put in all new wiring, of course. We approached the job with respect and a wiring for dummies book in hand (and did have it checked and approved by a professional), but I must admit working with electricity has always scared the bejeezus out of me. I kept asking hubby, "Are you sure we're doing this correctly?" I always hated his reply of, "I think so." That wasn't the confidence builder I wanted to hear.

Would having that ceiling fan operational really make your life better? Wouldn't you rather sit in your chair and knit for a few hours?

Sandy Livesay said...

Susan,

Great job at fixing your fence charger. I think you could do your fan by yourself, just make sure to pull the power before messing with wires and stuff.
The fan should be on a swivel type ball/ hook once you pull the base off. I would do some research on your fan before pulling it totally down. We had an old ceiling fan installed by our landlord before we moved in. It started on fire, we put the fire out and had to change the fan.

Carolyn said...

You are amazing. I, like you, avoid anything mechanical or electrical. I blame most of it on the fact that my boyfriends and their friends were all mechanics and I was SICK of looking at / listening to mechanical stuff. The fact that I could also give them any car and have them fix it was also nice. I hope that I can hide my total disinterest / aversion to the mechanical / electrical arts from Rhiannon as I hope that she would one day be adventurous enough to at least be mildly interested in such things....or able to fix the ceiling fan in her home.

The Dancing Donkey said...

Ceiling fans are much easier than fence chargers:)

Susan said...

Nancy - Yes, I have visions of everything crashing down on me. I may have to have help with that project.

Susan said...

Jaz - Scary, ain't it?

Susan said...

Mrs DM - That is what really motivates me - the electrician's bill. I sure don' t do this out of my misplaced sense of adventure!

Susan said...

Kristina - Sometimes, ignorance IS bliss!

Susan said...

Mama Pea - Well, I figured I had a 50/50 chance that I wouldn't give myself a permanent permanent. I would never tackle a whole house. Ever. I'd have to live by candle light.

Susan said...

Sandy - Good grief! I have nightmares about starting electrical fires. That's why I haven't tackled the few things that need to be done in the house.

Susan said...

Carolyn - I was very interested in all that stuff when I was little. But my father, bless him, was very patronizing about it - telling me that my husband would take care of those things when I was old enough. So, just when am I old enough??

Susan said...

DD - I sure hope you're right... :)

Fiona said...

Fabulous! I think the lack of markings is to intimidate us, but approaching things warily is the best way and now I have digital I take photos of anything I try to fix before I take it apart!