Kitchen Man said:
On 8 Sep 2005 13:16:00 -0700, "Sam the Bam" <
[email protected]>
wrote:
Kindly remember that you said that! ;-) I recommend you pursue some
web sites in search of tips for proper care of batteries and starters.
Unsaid in your post is any indication of how the battery or the
starter may have been misused in the recent and not-so-recent past.
Such information is helpful when troubleshooting.
Batteries can go dead for no apparent reason. I check the electrolyte on my
battery every few weeks (it's very rare that the level is ever below normal)
and I don't leave the starter motor whining away if the car won't start - if
it hasn't started within a couple of seconds, it's not going to: let the
engine rest for a few moments and try again. And being a diesel it starts
first time every time (*) so it's rare to need a burst of more than a second
or so on the starter motor.
Even with these sensible precautions, I had a perfectly good battery go bad
on me the other year. I'd given my girlfriend a lift to the dentist and sat
and waited for ages for her to come out. I didn't have any electrics (radio,
blower, lights etc) turned on. The battery had started the car fine that
morning - and every previous morning. But when I came to set off again, the
battery was absolutely dead: it would barely light the ignition light, let
alone turn the engine over. In an older car, I'd have push-started the car
(the advantage of having a manual gearbox!) but that's strongly discouraged
in cars with fuel injection and/or catalytic converters. What made it even
more frustrating was that I was parked right outside a car-spares shop, but
She Who Must Be Obeyed told me that I was an idiot to simply replace the
battery without first of all calling out the RAC (breakdown recovery). The
RAC man took a long time to get there, by which time SWMBO was getting very
irate and telling me how late I was going to make her for work. When the RAC
man did arrive, he did a few tests and quickly established what I've
suspected all along and was prepared to take a chance on - the battery was
buggered. Two minutes later I'd bought a new battery, already fully charged,
the man had fitted it and I was on my way. I resisted the urge to say "I
told you so" - but I'm afraid I did think it!
(*) Except when the fuel pump fails - as it did on Wednesday. Engine turning
over at full speed but absolutely nothing from the engine - not a splutter
or a cough. £200 that's going to cost me in parts and the technician's time
to diagnose the fault. Grrr! Still, it happened only about 200 yards from
home so I was close enough to go home to wait for the garage man to arrive.
And as luck would have it, all except one of the customers that I was due to
visit were within walking or cycling distance of home: not often that things
work out that well for me!