Do you need to have a pit crew to do driver ED? Probably not, but a CAA membership might not be a bad idea. If your mechanic sets up shop at the track, you have a leg up as well. Here's my story for the first DE of the year at Mosport.
I had been looking forward to the event all winter. I was involved in a project that was taking every second of my free time, so I needed a break. At the track, the first session went OK. At the start of the second, I noticed that the O2 sensor light was glowing slightly. On this car, it was recommended that the O2 sensor be changed out every 50k, and the light taps into the odometer. Initially I thought, OK, I’ll have to reset it. As a bulb test, it also goes on when the alternator light goes on. So I looked down, sure enough, the alternator light was glowing dimly as well. I went out onto the track, but after one lap, common sense got the better of me and I thought I better check it out. As a favour, Markus, the registrar checked the alternator output. Zilch. Now what? How do I get home? So I wandered around for a while, looking for a
spare alternator. I had visions, Top Gear style, where one of the other participants would magically make one appear. In racing, the participants might have spares, but not for DE.
Someone suggested I get a battery charger from the local Canadian Tire, and continue in the event. "Don't worry - have fun!", he said. So with my last bit of charge, I drove to the Bowmanville CTC, and bought a charger. And some insurance - a new battery ! At the track, I found an outlet, and charged the battery for one hour. On the track, the one hour charge lasted 5 minutes. At first, the tach started swinging wildly. By the time I got back to the battery charger, the engine was starting to miss. I knew I had to head home. I charged for one hour, and started for Toronto. This charge lasted 20 minutes. I installed my insurance, and was on my way. Heading down the 401, I felt smug. I had avoided the tow truck hook. All of a sudden, there was a “braaaak” noise like a hammer drill on steroids, and the cockpit filled with smoke. I pulled over. On the 911, the alternator is in a terrible spot, inside the cooling fan. If the alternator bearings go, so will the fan and fan housing. I popped the lid. There was no contact visible. I got back in the car, and restarted. No noise! I pulled back on the 401 and continued. The smugness was gone. I was now driving down the road with the feeling of dread that only someone driving a wounded car in the middle of nowhere can have. The noise came back a few times. Each time I shut down the engine and restarted. Each time the noise would disappear for a while, and finally I pulled into my driveway.
The next morning, I felt bad that I had spent $310 for 25 minutes of track time. But on the other hand, it was a beautiful day, and proceeded to do some gardening, which due to my 'project' I had badly neglected. I also pulled the alternator. The rear bearing support had disintegrated, and there had been some minor rotor-stator contact. Done in by a 5 cent piece of plastic. I got a rebuilt from one of our advertisers for a really good price.
I installed the new alternator, only to make a grim discovery.There were tiny bits of beige plastic everywhere around the distributor. I had tried to save time, by not removing the distributor, and the fan housing clamp. I had accidentally bumped the distributor and broken the sensor wire connector. Done in by another 5 cent piece of plastic. So back to the parts guy, and ordered a new wire ($80+). I restarted the engine last night, with one week to go before the 2nd DE.
Let's see how that one goes.