Today I went out to fix my car. Tomorrow is my approximate birthday, and we'll have some sort of event, so I won't have time then. On March 2nd UCF unveils its Ford Escape plug-in hybrid and solar recharging station, and I want to bring Silent E. So this is my last chance.

I started trying to find the short by tracing the wires from the contactors all the way around to their origin. Since the car is low to the ground, and I'm 6'2", this is back-breaking labor. I kept at it for about an hour and a half, verifying with the multimeter that I was looking at the right wires.

Having found that the ignition wire was ground all the time, I went to the dashboard. In minutes I had ascertained the problem.

Blown fuse.

Yes, my car has been inoperative for 26 days because of a blown 15A fuse. I can't tell why it blew; holding the contactors closed should use far less current than the alternator and starter solenoid, the fuse's previous use. And acceleration shouldn't cause it to blow, either. Perhaps the traction pack shorted to the line somehow; that would do it, but it should also blow every other fuse in the car.

I had a spare, so I replaced the fuse and the contactors clicked together. Nathan wants me to test drive, but I can't do that today; it'll probably wait and get a real-world test.

I also discovered that the switch for my vacuum pump is bad. So I'll go to the parts store and pick up some spare fuses (just in case) and a new switch. At least the repair was cheap, and I had an extra car to use.