After a night on the Las Vegas strip, morning seemed to come earlier than normal. As we made our way out of town our minds wondered about what lay in wait for us during the 6hr journey north. Fortunately, our minds didn’t have to wonder too long. About the time we were coming down into the Amargosa Valley we noticed that the van radio turned off and the indicators in the dash started turning on and off on their own. Then all of a sudden it happened. The engine shut off and the dash lit up like a Christmas tree. The van had died.
Coasting down the road, we were lucky enough to be able to roll into the parking lot of the Area 51 Alien Center and Fuel station. There I spent the better part of the next hour unloading the van, exposing the battery systems and testing the electrical, trying to locate the culprit. We were able to jump start the van but it would only run for a few minutes and then it would die again. The radio would come on and off, the door locks would lock and unlock the warning buzzer would chime and then stop. Mind you it was still doing this all on its own. I swore the van was possessed at this point. We disconnected the battery under the hood and the house batteries under the bench, removing all power from the vehicle. There we sat for the better part of 20 minutes. Full of anxiousness in the middle of nowhere hoping for a miracle. After a while we reconnected the batteries and were surprised to see that the dome lights came on bright and the door chime was dinging away. Even more so, it was like the Red Sea had parted when we turned the key and the van rumbled to life all on its own and kept on running. Was this Devine intervention or did it have something to do with the Aliens at Area 51? We let the van run for a bit and went inside the Alien center to check out this strange place. Might as well since we were there. Unfortunately I didn’t remember to take photos of the inside but let’s just say it’s an interesting place to say the least.
Making our way back to the van we were relieved to see that it was still running. We cycled the key a couple times and it started like a champ every time. Not ones to look a gift horse in the mouth, we hauled butt north and tested our fate. After all, we either break down in the middle of nowhere or we stay in the middle of nowhere (where we were) and wait for it to break down. I chose forward progress, since the outcome was basically going to be the same if it did happen. Wouldn’t you know it, fate was on our side and we made it all the way to Fernley, NV without so much as a hiccup.
Waking up the next morning I couldn’t help but wonder about the van and our trip the prior day. So, I grabbed the keys, turned the ignition and nothing happened but a click. So I grabbed our trusty jump pack and once again the van rumbled to life. A quick check with my multimeter and I figured out that the charging system wasn’t doing anything. Pulling the air box and serpentine belt off it was pretty clear as to why. The shaft on the alternator had an 1/8” of play and it made an unmistakable growl when you spun it around. The alternator my friends had gone the way of the dodo. A few runs to the parts store and 20 min of wrench time at the campground and we were back in business.
We spent the next couple of days at the campground searching for a rental home and taking care of life maintenance things. By the end of the week we were moving into a house and getting settled in. Good thing too because that weekend we were hit by a blizzard. I guess we made it just in time, talk about perfect timing…
