Car/battery/oil finally Froze :(

[T.C.]

This has been the funniest thread I've read in a very long while! I'm from Canada and the temperatures you guys are bringing batteries into the house, starting vehicles at night...etc. Whoo boy!

Here's how to survive cold weather and vehicles:

1. Understand that winter brings cold weather and plan ahead.
2. Get your car "winterized" have the antifreeze adjusted to whatever you need for your region mine is good to -45C, get multi viscosity oil 5W-30 comes to mind and is actually ok year round, have the battery load tested...if it fails get a new one.
3. If your vehicle doesn't have a block heater, have one installed. They have magnetic ones that you can crawl under and stick on the oil pan but climbing around under a vehicle in those temps doesn't sound like fun to me.k
4. It's a myth that warming your battery helps, trust me I used to sell batteries. A trickle charger will keep a battery charged up overnight if it's on the weak side. Clean battery cables ensure proper charging. If your cable is green and crusty even into the rubber coating....replace it.
5. Plug in your car overnight and it'll start in the morning!

The area I live at is around 4100'-4200' elevation. We practice exactly what you stated, if you don't, it's awful cold out there jumpin' your rig or replacing a battery. I've seen it -35 to -40 here occasionally....it really sucks.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

The area I live at is around 4100'-4200' elevation. We practice exactly what you stated, if you don't, it's awful cold out there jumpin' your rig or replacing a battery. I've seen it -35 to -40 here occasionally....it really sucks.

I've lived in so pretty cold areas in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Colorado, Ohio, Missouri and your correct, if you don't winterize your car your going to be stranded somewhere cold and frozen sooner or later.

 

[SusanMN]

Yeah Jeff. I once call a tow truck for a jump the day after a big blizzard. Got the car started, tow truck left and then I discovered I wasn’t going anywhere because the car tires were frozen into slush turned concrete. Called for another tow truck and got winched out of the ice. Drove 20 miles across town, shut the car off and ten minutes later when I went to restart it the battery was dead. Third tow truck driver of the day told me when really cold batteries may not recharge themselves even when driven. So stay put, throw another shot in your coffee and wait for warmer weather.

 

[Msbeepbeep]

At this point your probably going to need another battery. Low charge and very cold temps do them in quickly. Best of luck.

Maybe you can get the tow driver to bring out a charged battery and switch it for ya.

Monday is the magic day! Temps above 32!
....now if i can just find that drain hose that disconnected its self and is buried under a foot & a half of frozen snow! .....wonder if i can build a small bonfire on snow, maybe quicken the process.
At this point "extreme measures", sound good!


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[T.C.]

. Agreed! Every 3000 miles. The cheapest thing that you can do to make sure your engine doesn't wear out is change your oil.

Like Andy Granatelli used to say: "Pay me now or pay me later."

 

[boogeyman]

Lots of things can be done for this little problem. Run a winter oil (thinner) instead of a summer oil. Install a block heater/inline heater and plug it in on the really cold nights. Plug in even an electric blanket on low over the motor will do the trick as it will keep the worse off.
Winter sucks and it really sucks when the temps get low woke up this morning to -28C with a windcill of -35C so it's cold. Our capital has cancelled our 150 celebrations tonight as it's too dangerous having folks out celebrating on mass in this cold. Though they'll still do the fireworks/laser show, doesn't matter how cold it gets folks love fireworks.

Can vouch for the block heaters!! Not hard to do, just pry out one of the soft plugs and tap it in. A guy I worked with up in Denver turned me on to them. He lived in Whitehorse AK and had three hanging out of his grill. Told me it would hit 50+ below and his truck would start right up! He used to make fun of us, we'd be bundled up in three layers and he'd be working in shirt sleeves! Guess being part Indian with a little "Eskanoe " mixed in helped.

 

[jeff of pa]

At this point your probably going to need another battery. Low charge and very cold temps do them in quickly. Best of luck.

Maybe you can get the tow driver to bring out a charged battery and switch it for ya.

Monday is the magic day! Temps above 32!
....now if i can just find that drain hose that disconnected its self and is buried under a foot & a half of frozen snow! .....wonder if i can build a small bonfire on snow, maybe quicken the process.
At this point "extreme measures", sound good!


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Last time I expected a Triple A driver to try & Jump my Vehicle,
that particular one said They don't do that.
They just Haul the Vehicle to a Service Station.
No biggie, the times they have tried Jumping vehicles for me,
They never used Cables.

They just brought Jumper Boxes, which imo are the Biggest Scams out there.
Had one, never worked when I needed it to.

To properly Jump a Battery you needed a Vehicle that is Running Properly & pushing
a Charge Forward Through Cables, to jump any Vehicle I ever had .
sometimes it took 10 Minutes of the Jumping vehicle Running to push enough charge.

No jumper box Ever started one of my Vehicles. Ever.
Maybe if the battery had just been Low & not dead they could pretend they work .

also Had a Double Battery once.Sears Diehard! Had an emergency reserve switch on it to a Back-up Charge. like this. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1989-08-20/travel/8901050963_1_gnb-cold-cranking-battery
Worked every time I would test the Back up. But didn't work the day the Main battery died.
Another scam.

Side Mount Batteries are also harder to Jump.
there was always a Better connection with the old top mount types.
Now it's just a pain.

 

[RTR]

Good morning Vietnam !...Its 9 degrees....Enough of this

 

[jeff of pa]

Good morning Vietnam !...Its 9 degrees....Enough of this

feels like minus 7 here

 

[RTR]

feels like minus 7 here


View attachment 1534547

 

[pepperj]

Last day of these temps for a week.

But what is this FAIR about there's nothing fair about this weather temps.

 

[randywa]

The cold will also make bad, loose, or green fuzzy electrical connections (especially ground cables) show up. On my truck, some genius runs 20/50 oil year round and has removed the choke and choke horn from the carb. It gets a little cool sitting out there playing with the throttle for 15 minutes so it will idle. But since the motor has 11:1 compression I run a high torque mini starter. It's more likely to toss a rod than not spin the motor.

 

[jeff of pa]

[h=3]New Hampshire's Mt. Washington wind chill of 100 degrees below zero[/h]
New Hampshire's Mt. Washington bracing for a wind chill of 100 degrees below zero - LA Times

 

[pepperj]

New Hampshire's Mt. Washington wind chill of 100 degrees below zero


New Hampshire's Mt. Washington bracing for a wind chill of 100 degrees below zero - LA Times

Time to go skiingOne of my best holidays was up at a ski resort. Sat in front of the big windows on comfy coaches all day and read a book while watching the folks go up and down the slopes.

 

[nomad 11]

ok heres a new brainstorm for ya. or you must be content being stranded until it warms up this spring. get all bundled up and wander over to the closest neighbors house and knock on the door it will help if you have a tear running down you cheek and a sniffling nose and shivering . when Harreit or George whoever opens the say would it be possible to borrow a long extension cord or you portable battery pack or maybe give me a jump start. and then say i'll repay you i promise. and then when its 100 degrees next summer surprise them. \you bring some ice cold brewskees over there. hoo haa fun,fun,fun

 

[Limitool]

Last time I expected a Triple A driver to try & Jump my Vehicle,
that particular one said They don't do that.
They just Haul the Vehicle to a Service Station.
No biggie, the times they have tried Jumping vehicles for me,
They never used Cables.

They just brought Jumper Boxes, which imo are the Biggest Scams out there.
Had one, never worked when I needed it to.

To properly Jump a Battery you needed a Vehicle that is Running Properly & pushing
a Charge Forward Through Cables, to jump any Vehicle I ever had .
sometimes it took 10 Minutes of the Jumping vehicle Running to push enough charge.

No jumper box Ever started one of my Vehicles. Ever.
Maybe if the battery had just been Low & not dead they could pretend they work .

also Had a Double Battery once.Sears Diehard! Had an emergency reserve switch on it to a Back-up Charge. like this. If Battery Fails, Flip This Switch - tribunedigital-chicagotribune
Worked every time I would test the Back up. But didn't work the day the Main battery died.
Another scam.

Side Mount Batteries are also harder to Jump.
there was always a Better connection with the old top mount types.
Now it's just a pain.

Only hook up the positive to your battery when trying to jump a "side mount" battery. Grab almost anything else except the negative size of battery thereafter. Maybe a hood latch upper or lower or anything near the moter away from the fan blades. When connecting rub the hell out of the connection and go for it. That's what I have done all my life. But a "cheap" extension cord can be had from a spool of wire.

 

[T.C.]

Last year at this time, we had -13 with about a foot and a half of snow on the ground. This year our low was +22 with bare ground. We are having what is known as a "false Spring." We're gonna pay for this nice weather come Spring.

 

[fuzzy535]

[h=3]New Hampshire's Mt. Washington wind chill of 100 degrees below zero[/h]
New Hampshire's Mt. Washington bracing for a wind chill of 100 degrees below zero - LA Times

so a west coast paper is reporting about an east coast event with the weather.....odd.....i could see the boston globe reporting it...
on a side note it got up to 25 here today, first time i could go out without my longjohns on! going into the 30's then 50's by thursday! going to be a mess!!

 

[jeff of pa]

Called the Garage this Morning to make sure He would be expecting AAA.
He offered to run out and Jump it.

Unfortunately he brought a Booster & no Jumper cables.

As expected the Booster didn't have the Boost needed.

So he transferred his Battery to My car to start it.

WOOHOO !


That's Exhaust Fumes


Told him to Order me a New Battery Anyway. just for peace of mind.
should be able to get it installed this afternoon,
when I go out to Square Up.

If it starts that is.
I still need to go back out & shut it off at some point

 

[Red James Cash]

The price here for a garage to come jump your car is 85 bucks,that is INSANE.