RANT: My car won’t start!

[Bayou]

I was worried enough about driving on the ice but my car won’t even start this morning. Is it possible something is frozen under the hood?? I’m no mechanic so triple A is on the way. *Sigh*

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[homedk]

So sorry to hear that!

I’m guessing it may be your battery. One of the local TV news channels recently reported that very low temperatures may ruin batteries.

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[JoB]

how old is your battery?

and is your gas tank full?

and do you use good gas because the water in the cheap stuff freezes and can keep the car from starting.

let me know if triple a doesn’t sort you out. i have to go out soon.

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[Bayou]

We’ve only had the car since June so the battery is not that old. The gas tank is full of Costco gas at the moment.

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[Bayou]

And JoB, sent you a PM.

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[Sue]

Extreme cold can make the oil thicken, which makes it harder to start, as well as (I believe) doing something to the chemical composition in the battery which makes it much less efficient. It’ll probably be fine when it warms up, although I know that doesn’t help you NOW. This is why in extreme cold climates (like where my brother lives in northern Wisconsin) that they have warmers attached to their engines and they plug the cars in at night in winter to keep them warm. And yes, JoB is right about water possibly freezing in the gas as well, especially if low. We used to put “dry gas” in the tank (a type of alcohol) in winter to prevent that. Good luck getting it started though – I know how frustrating it can be as I’ve been there.

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[JoB]

a new battery shouldn’t be freezing up… so if you have a newer battery causing you those kinds of problems, it’s probably a good idea to have the charging system checked out.

unless. of course.. you left a light on:)

i had a car with an engine warmer when i was in minnesota. bought it in bimidji where they are standard:)

as for ice crystals in the gas… i just fill with premium if i know the weather is going to be really cold since the higher octane usually takes care of the problem.

remember when we had carburetors and you kept a can of high octane in the trunk to spray in the carburetor to start it? now that was fun…

The kid’s father dangled his cigarette too close once.. luckily all he got was good fright (i was happily married to him at the time) but it was a pretty spectacular fireball ;~>

Engines arent’ the same any more… Now i look under the hood and wonder where i check the oil:)

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[Bayou]

It was indeed the battery but as JoB suggested, I will be having the dealership check out the charging system to make sure there is not a larger issue.

I drove all the way to work freaking out because an unknown light came on the dash. Come to find out, it was my tire pressure, which is of course going to decrease in this cold weather.

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[clark5080]

What is it doing? Is it turning over at all and not just firing or completely dead?

Jim

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[Bayou]

It was turning over but not cranking. I had triple A come out and give me a boost and it seems fine now. I think it’s about time to go crank her for a warm up though.

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