Tuesday 7th February – Traffic, Work and Trouble

While I dreamt the whole night of snake attacks and was bitten all over by mozzies, I survived the night, even getting to enjoy watching glowing ants on my window as I fell asleep. They flashed their green bums on and off constantly, it was magical, I’d never seen them before.

I started my day with a shower since I was isolated and felt great afterwards. I drove out of the preserve and onto the highway heading west until I drove into highrises and multi-lane traffic in Naples. I found the Batteries+Bulbs place easily enough and went in, armed with my receipt from a previous screen fix. Right from the get-go, the manager wasn’t having any of it. When he turned my phone on, he told me I must have dropped the phone. When I assured him I had done no such thing, he was not going to listen. After a bit of back and forth with me trying to understand what could have caused the problem other than phone dropping, I just caved and agreed to pay for the screen repair. It’s not worth the effort, especially when he was convinced I was lying to him. His colleague spent forever putting information into the system befor he told me it would be ready in an hour.

I filled the time by doing a shop at Walmart, which would have to be the worst Walmart I have visited and not just because of the derelict clientele. They had the usual supermarket, but no fresh produce like normal, so I couldn’t get half the things I needed. I drove back to the phone shop and bought some fruit at the next door expensive supermarket, then went back to pick up my phone. They had it ready, but the manager was nowhere to be seen so I couldn’t ask anything about the repair. Everything seemed to work so I paid my money and left, happy to be done with it.

Since I was in such a big town, I figured this would be a good opportunity to install my new Ignition Control Module (ICM) which Tuuli had received in the mail for me. I found a Home Depot (equivalent of Bunnings in Australia) so I could get supplies as I worked. Luckily enough, right next to the Home Depot was an Auto Zone so if I needed automotive-specific stuff, I’d be ok there too. I parked in semi-shade and got to work. While it sounds like an easy switch, it was a lengthy procedure because the module is at the back of the engine bay so I had to take out the access tunnel from the inside, which meant removing the passenger seat and everything stashed behind it and cutting my battery ground cable to create a connection. This was an oversight when I’d originally installed the cable which prevented me removing the tunnel.

Faulty Ignition Control Module (ICM)

Everything went seamlessly and I was happy I didn’t have to take the back of the car apart to get to my electrical tools which are stashed away by the second battery since I didn’t, and still don’t, foresee using them very often. Of course, the whole thing was awkward and the heat made things all the more weary, but despite the tiny bolts that had never been moved, I was able to get everything off and put everything back together without issue.

When I started her up after the swap, the “Code 40” had disappeared, but the Service Engine Soon light is still on, I think because the ICM needs time to “learn”. I’ll re-assess after a few hundred miles, but at least she’s running ok, no worse than she was before.

Overheating and hungry, I left the carpark and the trolley retrieval man who’d been talking to me on and off about my adventures (he wanted me to take him with me) to find shade and perhaps a spot by the beach. More driving through traffic, I’m now convinced that Naples has the worst traffic lights in the world, not lining up for a good run at all. I was naïve to think I’d be able to park by the beach for lunch, Naples is the Miami of Florida’s west coast, demanding money for any piece of land occupied near the ocean. I found a parking lot with a tree and made me some lunch and relaxed watching a TV series episode.

When I picked up my phone to navigate towards camp, I noticed the screen flicker. I put it down to my imagination. Then, after I called the Cracker Barrel where I intended to camp, it continued flickering. Shit! I then called the Batteries+Bulbs guys and they predictably said to bring it back in and when I asked to speak to the manager, he refused to give any analysis, just to bring it in. When I hung up, the screen was going crazy, so I got my camera and took a video as proof.

Back at the store, I waited a few minutes for the manager to come out. I tried to reproduce the issue while I waited, but no luck. No “hello”, no “sorry for the hassle” when he came out, he just asked what was going on. I explained I couldn’t reproduce it, but showed him the video. I also explained that the home button was loose. “I guarantee you it’s not”, he said. He said he couldn’t do anything for me. “What?” I said. He said unless I could reproduce it, he wasn’t going to do anything. “What about the video?” “That could have been taken any time, two days ago.” I showed him the time stamp of the video and he still didn’t give a shit. At this point, I asked him to please stop it with this treatment, as if I was going out of my way to scam him. I also asked for the contact information of his boss. “I can, but that won’t make any difference”, he said. I asked him to please explain what could be the cause of this. Eventually he showed me my old screen and it had corrosion at the top part where the camera, proximity sensor and ear speaker are. Ok, well that’s probably what buggered up the screen in the first place. He then said the problem is probably not the screen, but one of the internal components, like the proximity sensor.

Right, I asked if they replace prox sensors and how much it would be. He got his colleague to look it up and after a while, they said they didn’t have any. As if I would get them to do the work anyway, I just wanted to know how much it would be for when I get it replaced elsewhere. With that information and a business card with his boss’ information on it, I left. Asking for the boss’ information was a bit of a bluff, but now that I had it, I decided I would complain. This is something I’ve never done before. Anyone who knows me will know that when I’m not happy about something, if there’s been an injustice, I will complain about it, but won’t go as far as to write an angry letter or try and get it fixed, but this time I was compelled. I called the boss from the car and he gave me a different reception. I just explained that I was insulted at the treatment I received and he firstly apologized, then gave me the treatment I’d have expected. When I explained the details of the phone failure, he said it sounds as if an internal component is to blame, all what the asshole could have told me if he didn’t act like a twat. He offered me to go to their nearby store, took my name and number and promised to investigate further. I am still undecided as to whether I’ll take the phone back in. I’ve figured out that when I left it in a hot car, it must have been close to something wet that caused the condensation and the original fault. The new fault only happens when the phone is hot, so I might be able to live with it and fix it later on if it becomes a proper issue.

That ordeal over, I tried not to let it affect me too much and drove north out of Naples, through rush hour traffic, but I focused on the music on the radio and ignored it as best I could, paying attention to the Astro to make sure I hadn’t created any new issues while I was fiddling. I parked illegally at a beach near Fort Meyers to watch the sunset. I was on for a swim, but the ocean breeze was so cool that I didn’t need to, though I did dip my feet in the water. The sands are whiter here, but the water not as clear. As the sun dipped below the horizon, Dad called so I got the lo-down of his thumb mishap and was grateful to hear all was well (or as well as it could be when someone fights a circular saw with their hand).

The Cracker Barrel had a quiet spot for me in a dark corner where I could go for an emergency pee if needed, but there is a bathroom in the restaurant that I could use and the campervan parked nearby makes me feel good about this camp. Tomorrow, I might be covering some miles to get out of this built-up version of Florida and try get back to some isolated beaches.