Cars and batteries

[marcros]

Got into the diesel for the first time this morning since I opened this thread, so 5 weeks.
I have been worrying about the cat as the exhaust was smelling.

Car locks opened ok but the engine would not turn over.
Son came up and we jump started it from his car. Being careful to distance!

Took it for a 20 mile drive along the dual carriageway. Kept to a low gear so it was revving between 3 & 4 k. Was careful with the brakes for the first few miles.
I needed to re code the radio/ sat nav but all seems to be good.

Anyone else had issues with the car being laid up?

Yep, same on both of ours. Both had batteries that were old on them, so I ended up having to buy new ones because they wouldn't hold any charge.

 

[stuartpaul]

Jumped in our Kia diesel yesterday and it started first time after 7 weeks. I hadn't even opened a door before that!

 

[Rorschach]

A tip that might help some.

Firstly, get a battery charger, they are not expensive and very useful.

Secondly, if you are unlikely to have someone around to give you a jump start (I am in this position often) do this. When your current battery is a few years old, but still working well, buy a new one. Fit the new one in the car but keep the old battery. Once a month or so put the old battery on a trickle charge and store it somewhere warm, ideally in the house or a warmish garage. The old battery will stay in reasonably good condition for several years like this and will jump start your car no problem at all. It's far better than any of those jump start/booster packs you can buy and cheaper too.
I do this rotation every 2-3 years (depending how bad the winter has been), new battery in the car, keep the old battery and get rid of the really old one , I only ever buy cheap batteries (from a reputable supplier though) and I haven't called out the breakdown service for years.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Another - always carry jump leads, even if you don't know what to do with them. Someone else will.
And another - put the negative lead to the engine block of the dead vehicle not the negative terminal of the battery.

 

[Richard_C]

Trickle charging with a modern charger should be fine as a preventative measure - before the battery goes as flat. Proper flat may be irrecoverable.

One thing to look at is the car alarm system. It's one of the things that can draw current very slowly but over a few weeks it matters. Read the handbook. On some cars there is a button to switch off the volumetric alarm - really designed for if you want to lock it with (say) a dog in it, and on some if you lock the car with the remote it sets the alarm, if you lock it mechanically with the key it doesn't. If you have a secure locked garage, then leaving the alarm or part of it switched off will help a bit.

I completely agree with leaving the handbrake off, and never wash the car and put it away immediately -a short run to dry the discs or they may get surface rust which 'sticks' the pads to the disc and in the worst case means a jack/wheel off job to get it moving.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Never wash the car? I agree with that. I've owned cars that haven't been washed from the day I bought them to the day they got scrapped. I clean them out when the rubbish stops the foot pedals going down.

 

[Nigel Burden]

Sound like my late brother. Buy a new car, never wash it and then complain that the lights are rubbish, only to be told that if he washed the mud off them they would work as they should.

As far as maintenance was concerned, :roll: wondered what the horrendous rattling was when he slammed it from forth to second. On checking the oil, oh carp, oil only just registering on the dip stick. His excuse was that it was not easy from a wheelchair. That car, a 1968 Morris 1000 did over 200000 miles.

Nigel.