What's messing with your Groove?

[Ominous Gamer]

Let's hope you actually did get it sorted. Usually flooding a running engine (or one you try to run) means replacing the engine.

Those are rather extreme cases of people being stupid or parts failing. It is possible to throw or bend a rod when you flood the engine since the water can't compress, but that takes a lot of bad luck or a lot of attempts to start it back up without drying it out.

Far as I can tell all 4 chambers seemed to be working, so I don't have broken rods. I'm hoping that the check engine light is on because one of the O2 sensors or something similiar is wet/ruined. Once I got it jumped the engine purred like normal for that minute or so before I shut it down again. Don't want to run it to much till I get the oil done.

[Catgrrl]

OG, do you still have a Saturn? When I had mine I had to replace an O2 sensor twice. That may be the issue. I'd get someone to read the check engine code. My local Autozone does it for free, maybe try them if you have them in your area?

Tried Hulu Plus this week so I could watch the TV series Once Upon A Time (don't judge me). Why the hell do they charge 8 bucks a month but there are more commercials than the free version? Thankfully I finished the season before my one week free trial was up and I cancelled. I don't mind an ad or two, but 5 ad breaks for a paid subscription is a little overboard.

[Ominous Gamer]

Yeah, its the 2007 Saturn Ion 3 2.4L. I'm hoping its that or one of the sensors related to the oil pressure from all the water. After the oil change I was planning to hit up autozone for a free reading and I'll attempt to clear the code if its just a sensor. if it comes back I'll know I wasn't as lucky as I was hoping.

[Catgrrl]

Mine was a 1997 Saturn Sc2. One of my coworkers had a late '90s SL1 and we had the same exact problems: O2 sensors failing, went through two alternators, several tensioner (or serpentine) belts. I still really liked the car despite those quirks. My dad liked it so much that when we bought the 4Runner I gave it to him.

[Ominous Gamer]

My Seasonic PSU died the other day. I've tested it with a paperclip, tried it in a second computer...nothing. But a backup PSU I have works everywhere the Seasonic wont. The PSU is dead dead dead.

Which is depressing, because this is supposed to be a top of the line brand, and it barely lasted 6 months out of 5 years. RMA isn't exactly easy either. Their website fails to read my S/N, so after typing all my information into a webpage I had to retype it into a support email. Seasonic knows about this error, their support site tells you after the error, that after you get that exact error to email the details to their support address.

Not to mention that this thing weighs the same as a small cat, and now I have to pay for shipping to California so they can in turn send me a refurb model.

I won't be returning to Seasonic anytime soon.

[Loki]

Work. Far too much work, all due at the same time. I'm doing finance hours without getting paid a finance salary.

[Ominous Gamer]

Car started on the first try tonight, hadn't touched it since I got the water out of the engine the other night. Serious pep problems the first couple of blocks towards the mechanic, but they were gone by the time I got there. Brandy said I was blowing a lot of "smoke" for the same distance. Hoping that after its oil change tomorrow morning I can post a recap in the happy thread.

Best part so far...no warning or check engine lights the whole trip to the mechanic!

[Illusions]

My PC's battery backup is making a high pitched, cyclical, squealing noise. It is not purposefully doing this. Best way to imagine it as if a cricket got stuck in a loop playing a single, just barely in hearing range, high pitched note. Its annoying, but I need the backup operable. I don't know if it can be fixed by replacing the battery, or if I need to replace the whole unit. Googling the problem doesn't turn up anything useful yet, because most of the results are about units purposefully alerting their users to something, not a general high pitched noise due to age or mechanical wear, or something else.

[Ominous Gamer]

Have you tested the capacity of the UPS? Mine used to make that noise when it was attempting to charge.

[Dreadnaught]

My PC's battery backup is making a high pitched, cyclical, squealing noise. It is not purposefully doing this. Best way to imagine it as if a cricket got stuck in a loop playing a single, just barely in hearing range, high pitched note. Its annoying, but I need the backup operable. I don't know if it can be fixed by replacing the battery, or if I need to replace the whole unit. Googling the problem doesn't turn up anything useful yet, because most of the results are about units purposefully alerting their users to something, not a general high pitched noise due to age or mechanical wear, or something else.

Does it happen if you put the regular battery in? It could be a loose capacitor in the charging unit, or the backup battery somehow inhibiting dem dar electrons in the charger.

[Illusions]

Have you tested the capacity of the UPS? Mine used to make that noise when it was attempting to charge.

Load is only around 20 - 22% according to the front display, w/ it supporting about 175 watts also. It is five years old though. Its reporting that it still has 100% battery capacity left, and is fully charged.

Does it happen if you put the regular battery in? It could be a loose capacitor in the charging unit, or the backup battery somehow inhibiting dem dar electrons in the charger.

What?

[Dreadnaught]

I've heard two justifications for those kinds of noises-

1) Capacitors vibrate. Some vibrate enough to produce audible noises. We usually don't hear it because it's on the edge of most adult's hearing range and the capacitors are glued onto whatever cheap electronics board is inside the charging unit. Heat and vibrations loosen that glue over time, which can lead to the noises that we sometimes hear on these kinds of devices.

2) Transformers or any other voltage choke can lead to those kinds of noises. The battery itself may be causing the choke (which is why I'm wondering if you hear the noise when charging a different battery). EG some of my cellphone chargers make that noise when I plug them in, before I even connect the charger to my phone.

[Illusions]

I ask "What?" because it doesn't seem like you are familiar with computer battery backups, aka a UPS. It only has one battery. I don't have other batteries to charge. Its only battery is being reported by the unit to be 100% fully charged and have full remaining capacity.

[Khendraja'aro]

I've heard two justifications for those kinds of noises-

1) Capacitors vibrate. Some vibrate enough to produce audible noises. We usually don't hear it because it's on the edge of most adult's hearing range and the capacitors are glued onto whatever cheap electronics board is inside the charging unit. Heat and vibrations loosen that glue over time, which can lead to the noises that we sometimes hear on these kinds of devices.

2) Transformers or any other voltage choke can lead to those kinds of noises. The battery itself may be causing the choke (which is why I'm wondering if you hear the noise when charging a different battery). EG some of my cellphone chargers make that noise when I plug them in, before I even connect the charger to my phone.

It's not capacitors which can vibrate, it's electromagnetic coils.

[Loki]

http://news.yahoo.com/neighbor-ny-ra...145431554.html I don't get the point of a judicial system that refuses to permanently lock up someone who's a significant threat to society and keeps on convicting heinous crimes each time he's let out.

[Dreadnaught]

I ask "What?" because it doesn't seem like you are familiar with computer battery backups, aka a UPS. It only has one battery. I don't have other batteries to charge. Its only battery is being reported by the unit to be 100% fully charged and have full remaining capacity.

I'm not, I was just picturing something like what I see with people who have backups for their phones (in which an extra battery sits in a cradle).

It's not capacitors which can vibrate, it's electromagnetic coils.

They don't vibrate at all, ever? News to me. But this is an area you seem to have more expertise in. My limited hands-on stuff is with mechanical things, not electronic.

[Illusions]

So a UPS update. Late yesterday the sound disappeared and was replaced with one of the fans running continuously even when it wasn't supplying power to anything. It was loud enough that I had originally thought I'd left my computer on. Turned it off, disconnected everything, and left it unplugged over night. Plug it in this morning and it reports the battery is 100% drained, and it won't take a charge. Time for a new one I guess.

[Ominous Gamer]

Called it!

[Illusions]

Called it!

I think I underestimated its age though, as its probably closer to at least 6 years old. Probably going to just get the newer APC model version of it.

[Hazir]

Damn, the wind blew open a separation sheet I had hanging accross my living room to keep out the dust of the work going on in the kitchen. Literally everything is covered in a thin layer of fine dust. Including me, and the first day I can expect to have warm water again at home is saturday. I won't be able to shower untill tomorrow morning at the gym.

[Illusions]

I won't be able to shower untill tomorrow morning at the gym.

You can shower without warm water, although its not a fun experience in any sort of way. I found this out when the water heater here broke and we were without it for a week.

As for broken things, I've replaced my old APC UPS with one from CyberPower. Charging it now, hopefully it works well.

[DecoyMilk]

Walking up the stairs, I slipped and broke my toe. Idiot.

[Aimless]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/20...fail-standards

[GGT]

The US electoral process being held hostage by a dysfunctional political process.

[GGT]

My beloved cat Guini (Lady Guinivere ) has some scabby black growths on her chin. At first I thought they were claw injuries (because her sister cat Isabel leans on the Alpha female warrior side). Then I thought maybe they were self-inflicted itching/scratching wounds. Now I'm worried they're some type of cancerous condition, because they don't really follow any fight-injury or itch-scratch scab pattern. I've been procrastinating taking her to the vet for a while now. But I know she needs to be seen and evaluated. I just can't handle the thought of bad news for my special furry friend.

[Loki]

It could be a million different things, and hopefully it's not that. But whatever it is, it might get worse if the vet doesn't treat it.

[Flixy]

hope your cat is okay!

In a monumental.combination of stupidity and bad luck, not only did I miss my train, there's also works on the rails making the journey almost an hour longer, so I definitely won't be making the film festival I'm supposed to be at. Now I don't expect to win there, but I am the one designated to go on the podium and collect the prize if we do.

[Wraith]

Global Bacon Shortage Unavoidable

This is what the Mayans were warning us about!

[Flixy]

I poured hot water in a glass to make tea, and the bottom cracked clean off. Right next to my laptop but luckily it held together okayish.

And it was a Jamie Oliver glass!

[Timbuk2]

Tsk.

I've grown to respect Mr Oliver too. He used to annoy the shit out of me in the first few years he was around. Irritating, ingratiating Essex-boy nonce.

But in the intervening years I've come to like and admire him, what he has come to stand for and what he does. Bought a number of his books, and his restaurants are yum.

I guess I'll avoid his ... glassware.