Ken Bondy - 10-19-2004 at 07:20 AM
The problem appeared to be batteries, or so we hoped. That was certainly the least offensive of all the possible things it could be. The Hummer has
a 12-volt electrical system but it needs two 12-volt batteries connected in parallel to provide enough amperage to start the big 6.5 liter diesel
engine. The batteries had died suddenly several years ago, but that time it was in my garage at home. Spare batteries had appeared on one of my many
pre-trip checklists, but had obviously never made it to the top. This was our fourth Baja trip in the Hummer and everything had functioned perfectly
on the previous three. I simply didn?t consider batteries to be a potential problem. That will change in the future.
We carried a 2000 watt Honda generator with DC battery charging capacity and we got it out and tried charging the batteries. We had been shut down
for about 45 minutes, and the generator was purring away pumping electrons into the batteries, when a vehicle approached from the north. Turned out
to be two American men headed for one of the many homes which had been built on the Alfonsina?s beach. They stopped and immediately offered
assistance. We gladly took them up on that and tried a jump with the long jumper cables we carried. This proved unsuccessful; their single battery
just couldn?t put out enough current to turn over the big Hummer?s engine. They had room for one additional passenger and I accepted their offer to
haul me into Rancho Grande where they knew a mechanic was in residence. Jess and Jim remained with Big Red.
Rancho Grande is an interesting place. At the intersection of the main graded road to Laguna Chapala and the side road leading to Alfonsina?s, it has
a market, mechanic shop, satellite phone, and an about-to-be-completed Pemex station. The proprietor of the facility is a big good-humored friendly
fellow by the name of Rafael. Rafael speaks pretty good English and through a combination of my pitiful Spanish and his much better English, I
explained my predicament. He asked me to wait for him to finish a few chores, and then he would drive us back to the Hummer in his F-150 and try to
jump-start us. That failing, he said he would tow us back where his mechanics would try to find the problem.
After a short wait Rafael and I headed out in his truck back to the stranded Hummer. He carried a small charger unit; however it failed to turn over
the Hummer engine, even with a cable-jump to his truck battery. So he hauled out the strap, hooked it up to the back of his truck and the front of
mine, and towed us back to Rancho Grande. We got some interesting looks and lots of chuckles as we passed through the military checkpoint just north
of the market.
Rafael?s mechanics crawled all over the Hummer engine compartment checking connections and looking for problems. They finally diagnosed the problem
as we had originally hoped - one or two dead or damaged batteries. With a fascinating combination of a large 110v rolling charger unit, Rafael?s
smaller portable charging unit, and a jump to Rafael?s truck, the Hummer engine finally got enough juice to turn over and we were running again, but
only until we shut down. Rafael said he would order new batteries for us from San Quintin and they would arrive by truck in ?maybe one to five days?.
We drove the Hummer the short distance over to Alfonsina?s, carefully selected a parking place at the rear of the building where we could back in for
easier access to the engine, and shut down knowing we would be unable to start up again until new batteries arrived.
After a long and eventually stressful day, we met Alfonsina?s manager Antonio, checked into our rooms, welcomed the evening with cold Pacificos,
admired the beauty of Gonzaga Bay, and settled in to an undetermined stay.
continued
David K - 10-19-2004 at 07:30 AM
I can hardly think of any place I would rather be stranded! Antonio's hospitality and Irma's cooking... the best of Baja! That beautiful beach is
quite addicting as well!
synch - 10-28-2004 at 12:50 PM
The benefit of a manual transmission and a vehicle that can be pushed to start it comes to mind...