Mechanics have found weird things when trying to repair vehicles. Patriot Express Tire & Oil, based out of Plano, Texas, listed 13 weird things found in customers’ cars. This included a mattress stuck underneath the car, keys jammed into a tire, a popcorn bucket over the exhaust, and a cow bell tied to the car with a belt. Now, a man took to TikTok to find out why his Chevrolet truck is still running after he disconnected every possible energy source.
TikToker Stansfordshiflett (@stansfordshiflett) recently garnered over 4.2 million views as of publication when he asked his viewers for “someone to explain this” phenomenon to him.
Why won’t the truck turn off?
According to Standsfordshiflett, the Chevrolet truck had multiple parts turned off and disconnected before he started filming the TikTok.
“OK, can someone please [expletive] explain this to me?” he asked as he showed viewers the ignition and what was under the hood. “Keys are out, ignition is turned—it should be off. Battery disconnected—both negative and positive—the fuel pump relay has been pulled, and this thing is still running [expletive] strong.”
Viewers with experience working on cars tried to offer their best explanations, with most leaning toward the alternator as the source of power.
“Pull the intake pipe and cover the throttle body… [If] it doesn’t cut off call a priest….” one said.
“Its running off the alternator. you gotta short somewhere thats completing the circuit,” a second said.
“Pull the alternator cable if still running after call an exorcist I’ve been in the trade for over 20 years never seen that before,” another mechanic agreed.
“The alternator is running the car after the battery is disconnected. There is a secondary fuel relay switch, or an alternative source of power going to the fuel pump. the ignition is old and the key can be pulled out because the locking mechanism is broken,” a third added.
“Battery not being connected doesn’t really change anything they run off the alternator just fine. the ignition could be shorted somewhere but that fuel pump relay i have not a clue in the [expletive] world,” a fourth remarked.
“Fuel relay is pulled and it’s not a diesel….best guess there’s too much back pressure in the tank, open the gas tank and it’ll turn off,” a viewer said.
Gremlins in hiding in electronics
Though many mechanics and car-savvy viewers offered their two cents on how to get the Chevrolet truck to turn off, a lot of viewers were too entertained to offer any help.
“You are parked too close to a ford and got second hand electrical issues,” one quipped.
“First time ever hearing someone complain a car is running too well,” a second joked.
“Take the video down until you perfect this because the government will come after you for figuring out a way to run your car without gas or battery lol,” a third added.
“The car is running off humanities hope,” a viewer added.
Well, if he were to believe that his Chevrolet truck was possessed or running on magic, then it could be Gremlins hiding in the electrical systems. The idea of Gremlins hiding originated in WWII, when technology was making leaps and bounds. According to the lore, Gremlins would crawl into a plane’s machinery and destroy it.
@stansfordshiflett ♬ original sound – stansfordshiflett
It’s probably the alternator
Though he had removed the Chevy’s key from the ignition, disconnected the DieHard battery, and removed the fuel pump relay, the alternator could be generating electricity that was running the car.
According to Robert Street Auto, an alternator also generates electricity that will power a car’s systems. This is due to the alternator’s drive belt and a pulley, which “spins the internal components to generate energy.” The spinning then causes a magnetic field that produces voltage, and this voltage is then captured and dispersed throughout the car.
The Daily Dot reached out to Chevrolet via email and Standsfordshiflett via TikTok comment.
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