| One thing that I have noticed during our | | | | been asleep for that lesson some years ago. I |
| eighteen months in America is this everything | | | | probed at the various pastel colored wires, |
| is an uphill battle. Everything is hard to | | | | while staring at the Multimeter and wondering |
| figure out, from completing your two | | | | what the displayed numbers represented. To |
| hundred-page tax return; to understanding | | | | make sure the Multimeter worked I stuck both |
| what Southerners are actually saying when | | | | probes into a plug and it showed 118V. I |
| they speak. Trying to figure out why so many | | | | figured that either I had gotten lucky for |
| All-American companies have more foreigners | | | | not getting shocked to death, or the |
| answering their help desk telephones then | | | | Multimeter was almost indestructible and |
| Americans (or people who could conduct a | | | | idiot proof. I also have no doubt that the |
| partial conversation in English for that | | | | Multimeter's warrantee is officially null and |
| matter) is another matter for serious study | | | | void now.After staring at the furnace for a |
| and debate. The fate of the entire universe | | | | good twenty minutes I decided to tighten all |
| lies within the battles fought to get the | | | | the screws in the hope that a loose one would |
| answers to these questions.Now don't get me | | | | be the root cause of the problem. But still |
| wrong here, I don't expect life to be easy by | | | | nothing happened, and to make matters worse |
| any means or standards. I just genuinely feel | | | | the machine was now completely dead and |
| that I should not be fighting some of these | | | | nothing worked at all. Then, in a stroke of |
| battles; they deserve to be fought by people | | | | genius I figured out that I needed to go back |
| who live in a tropical paradise or by Dobbie | | | | downstairs and replace the thermostat cover |
| your House Elf. The Queen of England does not | | | | and actually turn the heater on. I did this |
| wash windows, Gandhi did not bath, and Le | | | | and found that still nothing worked. I broke |
| Perdu (that's me) does not do Thai massages, | | | | out into a cold sweat and started having |
| carpeting, deep-sea fishing or American | | | | visions of writing a very large bank check |
| Football. I don't give refunds or do car | | | | out to a heater technician. Then I remembered |
| washes either.My newest battle came to an end | | | | that there is a safety switch on the front of |
| last night and I figured that some of you | | | | the furnace unit that requires the covering |
| might get a kick out of my toils.I recently | | | | panels to be mounted before the unit will |
| discovered that although the Air Conditioner | | | | turn on. I mounted it, which caused the |
| unit and blowers work, the furnace in my | | | | machinery to spring to life and start cold |
| thirty six year old house was broken. I found | | | | blowing air all over me.I stood their |
| this out when I turned the heater on and | | | | grinning like a triumphant idiot and had an |
| received a house full of room temperature | | | | intense sense of partial success, especially |
| air. This is not very useful on a cold night. | | | | now that it was functioning at least as badly |
| With winter coming along I figured that I | | | | as it was before I started fiddling with |
| should attempt to fix it myself before | | | | it.Throughout this drama I was on the phone |
| shelling out some of my hard earned cash to | | | | talking to a friend named Richard, who lives |
| pay a handyman to fix it for me. A friend | | | | in the UK, where it was 2AM. He is an |
| provided some advice as to how to trouble | | | | electrician and he was trying to guide me |
| shoot the problem, and depending on the | | | | through the saga of figuring out whether the |
| results he gave some possible solutions. | | | | heater had electricity going to it or not. |
| Since the weather has still been good lately | | | | The fact that it is a gas unit that heats air |
| I have been putting this task off, but last | | | | and not water or oil had him completely |
| night I decided to put some time aside to | | | | stumped. In reality he was useless when it |
| "fiddle" with it.What an ordeal.The first | | | | came to fixing the furnace but the |
| thing I did was remove the thermostat (which | | | | conversation was most welcome.Please click |
| is downstairs) cover and then followed the | | | | the link to read the rest of this comical |
| heating and setup instructions provided on | | | | incident involving a gas furnace on a cold |
| the back of the cover to the tee. No decent | | | | winters night.Le Perdu is a contributing |
| results (or heat) were forthcoming, so I went | | | | author on a growing site dedicated to random |
| upstairs and removed the heaters front panels | | | | reading, obscure articles, and some rather |
| so I could check the current flowing through | | | | 'out there' opinions. We dare to be |
| various wires with a Multimeter. It is worth | | | | different, and we are always looking for |
| mentioning here that I have absolutely NO | | | | articles and authors. |
| idea how to use a Multimeter, I must have | | | | |