RockAuto.com is proud to now carry Husky Liners products! Founded in 1988 and based in Kansas, Husky Liners designs and manufactures all their parts in the USA. Husky Liners makes custom-fit Floor Mats, Cargo Area Mats, Mud Flaps, under-seat Storage Boxes, Truck Bed Side Rail Protectors and other quality products designed to extend the life and usefulness of your vehicle - inside and out!

Available in a variety of styles (Classic, Heavy Duty, Mogo Luxury, Weatherbeater) and colors (Black, Gray, Tan), Husky Liners Floor Mats and Cargo Area Mats are an easy upgrade to protect your vehicle's interior without sacrificing style. With their FormFit Design process, every mat is perfectly formed to the detailed contours of your specific vehicle, and their Stay-Put Cleats will keep your mats from shifting around.

From Mud Flaps for a 1995 Toyota 4Runner, to a Cargo Area Mat for a 2007 Ford Expedition, to an under-seat Storage Box for the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, to front and rear Floor Mats for a 2019 Volkswagen Jetta, you can find Husky Liners products for your specific car or truck under the "Interior", "Body", and "Accessories" categories, all at the reliably low prices you expect from RockAuto.com.

KYB, an OE supplier of shocks and struts to new vehicle manufacturers worldwide, is currently offering a rebate on select Shocks, Struts, and Strut / Coil Spring / Mount Assemblies. Now through June 30th, 2020, buy four qualifying KYB products, and receive a pre-paid MasterCard for up to $75! KYB ride control products are vehicle specific and designed to restore or improve upon the original ride quality of the vehicle. Find KYB parts for your car, SUV or truck under the "Suspension" category in the RockAuto catalog. Watch for stars indicating rebates are available.

See KYB rebate details and learn about other current manufacturer rebates on RockAuto's Promotions & Rebates page.

ChryslerForum.com is an online community for Chrysler owners and enthusiasts. While this forum has discussions mainly about "modern" Chryslers (300, Pacifica, Sebring, PT Cruiser, etc.), you will also find active threads about past models like the LHS, Cirrus and even the K-Car!

If you are the administrator or member of a forum and you would like to see your website featured in an upcoming newsletter and receive a discount code to share with your members, contact marketing@rockauto.com.

A new battery in my Ford Ranger would completely discharge following a few days of the truck not being driven. With a good battery, and an alternator that tested fine, I thought the problem had to be a short somewhere in the wiring. So, I got out my ohmmeter and started pulling fuses while watching for a change on the meter's display. After testing all the fuses and relays in the engine compartment and not discovering a problem, I moved on to the interior fuse panel. All the fuses tested without the slightest change in the ohmmeter reading.

That night, I was tossing and turning and thinking that if it takes two or three days to discharge the battery then it has to be a very small short. And, it would be difficult for me to see such a small fluctuation on the ohmmeter while glancing between the fuse panel and the meter. The next day, I asked my wife to keep a laser focus on the meter while I pulled fuses. After a half-day of her staring at the meter, no short was found.

Later that evening, I reached for my phone and realized I had left it in the truck. As I walked up to the truck in the dark garage, I saw the glove compartment door outlined in bright light. The switch that turns off the glove compartment light was broken, allowing the light in the glove compartment to stay on continuously and drain the battery!

Problem solved and lesson learned. Completely check for the obvious first. I had checked the dome light, door switches and trailer light hook-up but overlooked the light in the glove compartment.

Glen in Tennessee

Tell us about your most infamous auto repair blunder or unconventional fix. Use your woe to help others avoid similar mistakes or share off-the-wall solutions that worked (at least for a while!). Please email your story to flamur@rockauto.com. Include your mailing address and if you would like a RockAuto T-Shirt (please let us know your shirt size) or Hat if we publish your story. See the T-Shirts and Hats under Tools & Universal Parts in the RockAuto catalog. The story will be credited using only your first name and your vague geographic location (state, province, country, continent, etc.) so you can remain semi-anonymous!

Where did the Ferrari prancing horse logo originate?

A. It was a painting of a Lipizzaner horse by Enzo Ferrari's first wife, Alenka, a Slovenian. The Lipizzaner breed originated in Slovenia.

B. It was a drawing of Ribot, the most famous racehorse Enzo Ferrari ever owned. Ribot retired undefeated after winning 16 races in three countries.

C. It was the emblem painted on the side of the plane flown by Italy's top World War I fighter ace, Count Francesco Baracca.

Answer below

(AH) rating printed on label

With people staying home, some former daily-drivers are not being driven at all. Households that used to drive two or more cars each day may now just be occasionally driving one. The car that is easiest to get out of the driveway is driven while the other car(s) just sits. Around my neighborhood, I have noticed many newer cars have sat parallel-parked on the roadsides for weeks. Unfortunately, the batteries in many of those vehicles are going to be dead the next time the owners push their start buttons.

Car batteries typically have amp hour (AH) ratings printed on their labels. A higher AH number means the battery takes longer to discharge when the engine/alternator is off. The AH number is most relevant to predicting how fast the battery will drain if loads such as headlights are left on for relatively short periods of time. A 50 AH battery might be able to provide ~5 amps of current for ~10 hours, but that does not necessarily mean it can or can't provide 0.050 amps (50 mA) of current for 1,000 hours (42 days). Time, temperature and many other factors influence battery performance. Regardless, if a car's computers, clocks, etc. steadily draw ~50 mA while the vehicle sits for a month and a half, then the battery probably will not have enough charge left to spin the starter and start the engine.

Leaving a modern "smart" battery charger hooked up to a parked vehicle's battery would of course prevent dead battery problems. RockAuto even has a solar battery charger that can keep the battery charged while a vehicle is parked out at the curb. However, if the car has already been sitting for weeks and the battery is dead, then there are more things to think about:

Solar and Smart Battery Chargers & Memory Saver

• Jump starting a newer vehicle loaded with sensitive electronics is always a bit risky. Jump starting a vehicle with a completely dead battery means even with the alternator generating its maximum output, the battery still may not be charged enough to start the engine again, especially after just a drive around town.
• A solar battery charger or another relatively low output charger designed primarily to maintain a battery's charge may not even allow itself to turn on if connected to a completely dead battery.
• Most modern smart battery chargers are designed to work while the vehicle's battery cables are left hooked up to the battery. The charger limits its output so as not to damage alternator diodes. However, to charge a battery that has been dead for days or weeks, the charger may need its maximum output to dissolve any sulfate barrier that has built up and completely recharge the battery. Disconnecting the battery cables from a dead battery sometimes helps the smart charger perform better.
• Plugging in a Memory Saver before disconnecting the battery cables can help save computer memory, assuming the battery still had enough lingering charge to maintain any memory in the first place. Vehicles with completely dead batteries may initially run, shift or otherwise drive differently until the computers finish a relearning process. Check the vehicle's owners manual for any specific instructions on what to do before and/or after a new battery is installed or a completely dead battery is recharged.

Let us hope our daily-drivers will be back daily-driving soon! Do not forget to remind those neighbors to check the air pressure in their tires too...

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

To read more of Toms articles, click this link and choose from story titles on the Newsletter Archives page.

This 1983 Hurst/Olds 15th Anniversary is my late grandfather's car that I obtained from his estate. Growing up, this car always meant so much to me. I remember being a wee lad in the backseat not even tall enough to see out of the back windows! Ever since my first ride in it, I have dreamt of taking this beautiful car to local car shows and sharing it with the world. Every now and then I can hear my grandpa's voice telling me to "Drive it like it's meant to be driven!"

Thank you RockAuto for having the parts I need to keep this rare car running. Everything from ignition components, brake pads & shoes, drums, rotors, ball joints, brake hoses, coolant hoses, thermostat and this list goes on.

Kyle in Indiana (RockAuto customer for over two years)

Share Your Hard Work
Do you purchase parts from RockAuto? If so, RockAuto would like to give you the opportunity to have your car or truck possibly featured in one (or occasionally more) of our publications such as the monthly newsletter, collector magnets, RockAuto social media or other commercial use. New, old, import, domestic, daily driver, trailer queen, classic, antique, we want to see them all! Please email flamur@RockAuto.com with the vehicle history, interesting details, your favorite images (tips for taking pictures of your car) and what parts from RockAuto you have used.

Where did the Ferrari prancing horse logo originate?

A. It was a painting of a Lipizzaner horse by Enzo Ferrari's first wife, Alenka, a Slovenian. The Lipizzaner breed originated in Slovenia.

B. It was a drawing of Ribot, the most famous racehorse Enzo Ferrari ever owned. Ribot retired undefeated after winning 16 races in three countries.

Answer: C. It was the emblem painted on the side of the plane flown by Italy's top World War I fighter ace, Count Francesco Baracca.

Count Francesco Baracca and Ferrari Logo

Back up to trivia question