Long story short, on 2nd day of planned trip to Vermont and then west to Rochester & Niagara Falls, we stop off at a tourist souvenir place called "The Big Moose Deli & Country Store" on Route 7 in Hoosick, NY, about 34 somewhat bumpy and grumpy miles up from Albany/Troy.
Wife & Granddaughter buy postcards, gee-gaws and gim-cracks as suggested, and we hop back in MH. Turn key. Silence. Not golden, just silence.
Wiping a feverish brow, I try again. Nada. Not a click, not a whir, not a thing. Memories of two starters being replaced in prior Chevy 454 engined-vehicles come flooding back....
Call GSRA. They can get a mobile mechanic to me, but I have to pay his return miles ($35) plus parts & labor ($95 p/h). So my GSRA only pays for his diagnostics...? Tell them to hold on.
Calls to various support staff give options such as 'bang on the starter' (done that...) to "shove a screwdriver up between the solenoid contacts and see if you can jump it" (not a wise move in the gathering gloom, and at my age...) to "take out the ignition switch and see if you can jump across the terminals" (also, not really my cup of tea.)
I decide to wait until morning to seek live, professional help at the tire & alignment shop next door. At 9:01, I was there, explained problem, they said they'd send a guy over as soon as he was free.
9:10, guy came over.
"Didja bang on it?"
"Yeah"
"Got plenty of juice?"
"Yeah"
"Didja jiggle the gear shift, maybe it's not fully in Park."
Headslap. Gear shift jiggled. Key turned. Varroooom!
The late 80s vintage P-30s (and perhaps others) have the Park/Neutral safety switch that prohibits engaging the starter in any other gear mounted on the steering column. Over the years, it simply got a little out of adjustment, and unless the gear lever is perfectly positioned over the "P" or the "N", no juice gets to the starter...
No harm, no foul, we lost about 18 hours of the trip, but it was a nerve-wracking time. Luckily, we were safe in a parking lot of the place, off the road, and not in anyone's way. But it was still a pain in the butt, and I got nervous about driving another 150 miles up in to Vermont and having something as bad, or worse, happen where I'd be even FARTHER from civilization. So we decided that since the DW had a business conference in Rochester on Tuesday, discretion was the better part of valor, and we turned around and headed back down bumpy and grumpy Route 7 into Troy and then out the Thruway towards Rochester and the Canandaigua KOA. They managed to shove us into a big tent spot for a couple of days, and on Monday we got our reserved spot.
Word to the wise - Jiggle the Gearshift....
If you're ever in Hoosick, NY, and need tire work done, the Hoosick Tire place on Route 7 is
highly recommended. Just don't park in the Big Moose Country Deli lot...
Always remember, you're a unique individual. Just like the other 7 billion people on the planet...
