Attention, all S2000 owners! Are you blasting your VTEC today? Or are you like me, trembling before the “Ghost of 2021” and listening to the hollow clicking sound in your garage? This is the reality.
As I mentioned in my previous post, my beloved AP1 had become a giant, yellow paperweight. The cause was clear: a completely dead battery after four years of hard labor. For a VTEC lover, leaving this untreated is equivalent to spiritual death.
But I have a powerful ally. A “Current Super GT Mechanic” who granted me a gospel: “Just go with ACDelco for now.” Based on that overwhelming professional logic, I made my decision: a capacity upgrade to the AMS60B24L. Of course, I bought it on Amazon.
This is the complete record of that replacement… No, it’s a record of a “lonely battle of a salaryman dad, wriggling in the gaps of a massive apartment complex system.”
■ The Decisive Battle: Friday Midnight (Technically Saturday Early Morning)
Why call a simple battery change a “battle”? It stems from the environment of the apartment complex where I live.
My S2000’s home is a “mechanical multilevel parking lot.” During the day, residents come and go constantly, and the pallets move up, down, left, and right. Opening a toolbox and clattering around with a battery in such a place is pure madness. “Oh, Mr. Burishabu, what on earth are you doing?” My sensitive heart cannot withstand the cold stares of neighbors.
Furthermore, the car’s ECU requires about 10 minutes of idling for learning after a power disconnect. Letting an exhaust note roar in a residential area for 10 minutes during the day… that’s practically an act of terrorism.
Therefore, I had only one logical conclusion:
“Execute the mission in total silence, late at night, when everyone is asleep.”
This is the only way.
■ The Eve: A Lonely Dinner and the “Gahaha” Strategy
The night before the battle. I sent my wife and kids to her parents’ house (a plan I carefully orchestrated for this very day) and gained absolute freedom. A slightly expensive beer from the convenience store and a lonely dinner.
“Gahaha! This comedian is hilarious!”
Laughing alone, I went to bed early. Why? Because I had to wake up at 3:00 AM. Building up strength before the fight—this is how a professional competes.
■ 3:00 AM: The Ghost of the Mechanical Parking Lot
Beep, beep, beep…
3:00 AM. The alarm rings. The world is still asleep. I quietly get up, change into my work clothes, grab my toolbox, and head to the parking lot without making a sound.
The entire complex is wrapped in silence. The only sounds are distant trucks and my own footsteps. It feels like a scene from a spy movie. But in reality, I’m just a weirdo changing a battery in the middle of the night.
I call the parking pallet. “Rumble, rumble…” The mechanical noise echoes eerily in the midnight garage. My heart rate rises. “If someone sees me, will I be reported as a suspicious person?” Fighting that fear, I stood before my S2000.
■ Operation Start: The Yellow Sanctuary Lit by the Lamp
I turn on the work light. My yellow sanctuary emerges from the darkness. The F20C engine. And sitting beside it, the Ghost of 2021 (the old battery).
First, removing the old ghost. Disconnect the negative, then the positive. It’s been a while since my last DIY. Lifting the heavy battery… “Ugh… so heavy.” Careful not to blow out my back. Removal complete. A gaping hole appeared in the engine room.
There, I enshrined the brand-new ACDelco AMS60B24L. A forbidden capacity upgrade from the stock B19 size to B24. Fitting perfectly in the tray, it possesses a lean muscular beauty, like a fighter who successfully made weight.
Connect the positive, then the negative. Secure it tightly with the stay. Now, the preparations for the electrical “resurrection” are complete.
■ ECU Learning: The Midnight Roar and My Prayer
Now, the real show begins. ECU learning time. I turn the key. “Vroom, vroom… BARK!!”
Started on the first try! The Ghost of 2021 vanished instantly with the roar of the F20C. No time for emotion. The 10-minute idling begins. The S2000’s exhaust note echoes through the midnight parking lot.
“Please, don’t let anyone wake up…”
I kept praying. What if the janitor comes? What if an early-rising neighbor goes for a walk? Fighting that terror, I stared at the water temperature gauge. 10 minutes. It felt longer than the birth of the universe. The temperature stabilized, and the idle settled. Learning complete.
■ The Taste of Freedom
Turn off the engine, pack up the tools. A shot of the old battery and my car. This old ACDelco Premium Gold was my comrade-in-arms that freed me from the curse of the jump-starter life.
Mission accomplished. 4:00 AM. The sky is starting to turn grey. In the empty garage, I quietly gave a fist pump.
We aren’t single anymore. We don’t have a single second to waste on a dead battery.
The early morning when the family is asleep, or those miraculous few hours of freedom. The moment you turn the key and hear that “click” of despair, your weekend is over. I never want to repeat that tragedy again.
Now, where did I head with my awakened partner? That record… is for the next post.
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