I can’t say that I am a very mechanical person, it takes me a while to figure things out under the hood and most of the time, I still get it wrong! About a couple of months ago, I was having dinner with my parents in SS2 and when we were about to adjourn from the location, my dad’s Myvi couldn’t start. The usual suspect would be the battery and in order for us to prove that hypothesis, I drove about looking for a place that sells jumper cables.
Now it was already 9.45pm at night and I was really figuring out where in the world I could get a set of jumper cables. Lo and behold, the Petronas station located in Damansara Jaya did sell jumper cables in their Mesra shop and after a quick pit stop at the ATM, I was good to go with a brand new pair of jumper cables.
By the time I arrived back, the sensible thing I did was try to manoeuvre my car such that I could face my dad’s car. After attempting a billion-point turn and gotten my car nicely parked facing my dad’s Myvi, only did I realise that the damn car battery was located in my car’s boot. So yes, I am not that mechanically inclined.
So, yesterday while having a brisk drive up Genting, one of the cars in our convoy had a flat battery (we guessed it was probably due to the huge speakers he had installed in his car). Being one of the few in the group to have a set of jumper cables (I was too lazy to remove them), I drove down to where the guy’s car was (at the usual bus stop under the cable car station) and assisted him in giving his car battery a little charge.
This time having the embarrassing experience in my mind, I reversed nicely to the front of the car and proceed to connect the cables only to shock myself as I accidentally touched the two points together.
I have seen mechanics at work and the one thing I always asked them if they had a series of guides or any info sheet and the answer I normally get is that it is all in their heads or they are just working on trial and error. That scares the hell out of me. I am a process kind of guy and I like having guides and quick info sheets or video tutorials.
That is why I was extremely impressed by this animated infographic which was created by Jacob O Neal about how an engine works.
Mind you, this is just one of the many info graphics explaining the various components of the car. Check out the rest at his website.
*This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Autofreaks.Net
