Replacing a Car Battery

This happened in the early afternoon of the last Saturday.
I replaced my car's battery with help of three nice guys.
Originally I planned to replace it by myself.
The idea is
"I will learn by doing it by myself and I will gain confidence" .

But my neighbors were really nice, they came to help me.
Well, here I would like to write about how they helped me and the problem solving skill they used.

Mr. A

• He helped me removing the old battery.
• He advised me to disconnect the battery from the car when I don't drive for long.
  He told me that it will extend the battery's life.
• He gave me a ride to go to an auto parts shop.
• He paid the new battery for me. (I forgot to bring my wallet! Of course, I paid back)He paid the new battery for me. (I forgot to bring my wallet! Of course, I paid back)

His help was huge. But I can't find what kind of problem solving technique he used.


Mr. A and I got the new battery, but we had difficulty putting it in the hood. There was a part for stablizing the battery at one point. This had two poles with a hook on one side. Our problem was where to hook it. When we face this problem, Mr. B came.

Mr. B

• At first, he asked me "Do you have a repair manual?"
  Wow! A very basic strategy that I totally forgot. Indeed, I had the repair manual.
  I would call this strategy as "READ INSTRUCTION!"
  Unfortunately, this didn't solve our issue because the part had a different shape from the picture in the manual.
• He checked how the battery is set in Mr. A's car. Another basic strategy: "COMPARE".
  I must be brainless at this time. How could I not come up with this idea!
  Unfortunately this didn't work out, too. The part used in Mr. A's car was different from mine.

Mr. C

• He came after Mr. B. I had met him before. We played a baseball with kids one time before the summer break. But only once if I remember correctly.
• One thing he did was to "OBSERVE" the space that the battery must be installed. He removed the battery and the pad under the battery, then he took a close look inside. He didn't solve the problem at first, but he did find the holes to hook the poles at the second observation.
• He brought his own tool kit. I had mine, but it was a mini set. His tool kit was substantial.
  I thought that I should "EQUIP" better.

Anyway they helped me a lot, not only about replacing the battery, but also about teaching PS skills.
The only PS skill I unconsciously applied is "RIGHT TIMING"
If I decided to replace the battery on weekday or in the evening, I probably didn't get any help.