@2many2no@werehatrack Dang, when did that happen?
Been out of the battery industry a few years (and never looked back) but when I was more aware of the goings-on, I was a big fan of East Penn as they insisted on manufacturing in the US and seemed to have a much bigger focus on quality than the others.
@2many2no@Turken Johnson’s name vanished from all of the batteries on which I had previously seen it about 4 years ago. And since then, I haven’t had any last more than 3 years, even when they had a 3-year free replacement policy. And those are getting scarce. East Penn batteries are completely unknown down here in Texas.
@Kyeh@narfcake The closest I’ve ever come to a “new” car was a demo with 11,580 miles on the clock. Everything else has been used, most often very used.
@Kyeh I’ll end up with a full EV at some point, but currently, it wouldn’t make enough sense for me. A used Bolt EV would still take nearly 20 years to recoup in fuel savings. That’s still less time than a new Ford Maverick hybrid, however. At MSRP, it will take me nearly 100 years to recoup through fuel savings.
@werehatrack The lowest mileage car I’ve owned had 102k – then the AC compressor went out, so at 103k miles, I sold it for twice the price I paid.
@narfcake@werehatrack My 10-year-old car only has 13,550 miles on it as of today. I put that 500 on it just this summer, because I’ve been having to go back and forth across town to help out my elderly mother quite a bit.
@narfcake@werehatrack
THAT would be a interesting topic/question, how many vehicles have you owned and/or what’s the lowest milage? @Kyeh ONLY 3 vehicles ever, that’s impressive! WOW
@Kyeh@narfcake@werehatrack Most full electric vehicles have lower maintenance costs as there is no oil to change, no regular antifreeze changes and no transmission to service.
@andyw@Kyeh@werehatrack A cooling system still exists on EVs; it’s just that it’s for the motor(s), controller(s), inverter(s), and the battery pack(s) instead of an engine. Extended life coolants exist, so 5+ years and 100k+ mile intervals are common. In HD trucks, the intervals can even be up to a million miles.
No transmission, but there’s still a gearbox and it has oil; think of it more like a differential instead of a transmission. Considered “lifetime filled”, but a lot of regular transmissions are considered the same too as manufacturers really just care about it outlasting their warranty period.
Brake pads do last a lot lot longer due to regenerative braking. Brake fluid still needs servicing, however.
@Kyeh@narfcake@werehatrack I am aware of the cooling and transmission fluids, but the point is they do not need regular checking, or changing. The Tesla Model 3 manual (downloadable from the Tesla site) urges you NOT to take off the access cap. No mention is made of needing to check the transmission fluid. The transmission is relatively simple, I believe, as it does not do any shifting in most cars (I think the Porsche Taycan does shift between two gears).
@narfcake My full EV just turned 10 years old. I bought it new at the end of the model year using several rebates. I figure it paid for itself in gas in about 4 years. At the time I was spending $50 a week in gas and the electric went up about $30 a month. Only maintenance was tires. Since then brakes, more tires and a sensor. Tires are those stupid odd size little things. Now I drive less so the math would not be as favorable.
… but the point is they do not need regular checking, or changing.
@andyw It’s not in the manufacturer’s best interest for folks to keep their vehicles for years and many miles or kilometers after their payments and warranties end – hence, my comment about “lifetime fill”.
“The trend in the automotive industry … has been to increase service intervals to reduce the cost of ownership artificially. The issue with this is those intervals have been proven to be detrimental to the long term reliability and service life of the vehicles in question.” https://blog.fcpeuro.com/bmw-lifetime-transmission-fluid-isnt-lifetime
My point is that based solely on manufacturer’s servicing and them calling out “lifetime fill” also, the only primary argument that can be made about less maintenance with an EV versus an ICE is on the engine – they cannot escape regular oil changes. $40-$100 minimum on an annual basis is a given (unless DIY).
@narfcake I am sure that the oil in an EV transmisson gets a lot less deteriorated than ICE engine oil as it is not exposed to gas or its combustion products or as much heat. The oil in an ICE automatic transmission is not changed yearly either. There is no engine oil in an EV that I am aware of.
@andyw That is why I mentioned “think of it more like a differential instead of a transmission.” The earlier Tesla model S drive units use Dexron VI (ATF) for lubrication and cooling; they had service intervals at 1, 5, and 9 years. Later ones were deemed “lifetime fill”.
@Kyeh@narfcake@werehatrack Sheesh. My 7 year old car (which is past the time when I usually trade a car in) has about 169,000 miles on it. Two thumbs up for a Mazda CX-5. 2016 model bought in 2015 and I haven’t had a single issue with it. Just waiting until the CX-70’s are released here and I’ll likely get in line.
@cinoclav@Kyeh@narfcake@werehatrack my equinox turned 11 YESTERDAY! She has been a good car, although the frigid cold b4 Christmas made me aware of a $987 maintenance that was necessary. She stopped running and the engine flooded w gas causing the need for a tow to the local mechanic.
Apparently you have to have engines cleaned around 100k miles or the valves can get stuck open with a build up of mucky-muck. She has just over 108k, so I guess she was due. I would love to get an ev as a second car at some point, but I dont drive that much since covid - I think Ive put 4k on the car since 2020. Makes it hard to justify the $$$
@tinamarie1974 Engines with a direct injection setup do tend to gunk up the intake after a while, so alas, that is a needed service. Some folks have installed oil catch cans between the crankcase and intake to minimize the oil vapors that cause the build up, but with the very limited driving, I don’t see it as a must.
@macromeh@Tadlem43 The Best of the newer ones have features that the manufacturers of the old ones didn’t even know about. Those can come in handy. But I still have my old shop charger, too. The one that has wheels under it, and a fan inside. It can jump start a car with the battery missing. That car’s engine may not keep running, of course, but the charger actually has the output to do the entire job.
@Oldelvis@smyle If you’re lucky, it’s a guy piloting a big diesel pickup with a battery bigger than your whole car. If it’s just not your day, it’ll be somebody with a Chevy Venture where the battery is buried in a spot that makes it next to impossible to hook the cables up direct, and the little post they give you to hook up the positive cable does not seem to do a very good job. The same rant applies to the PT cruiser, of which I have one in the driveway. Which had a dead battery day before yesterday. But somehow or another, there, the little clampy post things work. I have no explanation for this.
@Oldelvis@werehatrack I used to own a big ol Chevy truck with a V8 and big enough to jump anybody, but they put the battery under the hood hinges AND had these ridiculous pyramid-shared connectors that jumper cables had a hard time clamping onto.
SO frustrating!
Been carrying a RavPower jump starter pack for years. It holds a charge for at least two years. Always use it to help someone else though. My car kills all the lights when it’s turned off so I’ve never drained my own battery.
I used to carry jumper cables, but now use a pack like the one offered today. I have one in each car since they don’t always die at home. That way I can also start someone else’s car when they have a dead battery. These boxes work well and are much smaller than adequate thickness cables, and they are cleaner. I charge mine up in the house every few months.
I bought a new 2020 car at the end of 2019 and commuted to work for 3 months. Then came Covid and working from home. Then 15 months later, retirement.
Now we use my wife’s EV for most shopping and other short-to-medium trips, so my gas-powered car doesn’t get much use. However, I learned the hard way that modern cars with all their computers and sensors drain the battery even when parked. I now have a trickle charger/battery maintainer to ensure I’m not surprised by a dead car when I do need to use it.
BTW, even when the car’s battery was fully recharged, the car still presented an error message and refused to start. I finally disconnected the battery for 30 minutes, then reconnected it and it would start, but it still presented a “Have your vehicle serviced by the dealer” error. So I did a little investigation online and found I could clear that obnoxious error with my OBD scanner.
@macromeh Some ECMs niw yse nonvolatile memory to store diagnostic information including trouble codes, which is why disconnecting the battery will not clear them. This is considered a feature. There are mixed opinions amongst the service people about whether that’s an appropriate evaluation. When it preserves information that the technician actually needs, it’s a good idea. But when it’s perpetuating an annoying service engine light for no good reason, It is less beneficial.
@Tadlem43 Yeah, I have done that (so am old, too).
Also, I have a history of past motorcycles, mostly Hondas or Yamahas. I wouldn’t be able to begin to estimate the number of times I pushed one with a low battery to start it, when the foot crank wouldn’t do it. Took more effort and coordination than I could probably muster now.
Some good exercise (unless the weather was really cold and discouraged the MC from starting, anyway, even after inducing heart pounding).
Too, the Hondas of yore really hated low batteries. If the battery were truly dead, it was likely not going to start even with lotsa pushing.
@djslack@Tadlem43 I knew somebody with an old VW who lived on a hill and worked in a place on another hill; he intentionally parked where he could just roll-start in both places. His frugality bit him one day when he discovered that his seldom-used battery was mostly dead, parked in a place where he was at the bottom of a hill.
@Kyeh@werehatrack Isn’t that one of those little cars that you can fold up and put in your back pocket? lol I looked at them and couldn’t figure out how I’d get in and out of it…if it’s the one I’m thinking of.
@Tadlem43
It must be bigger on the inside. I’m not really kidding; I can drive it comfortably, and I’m 6’2".
Now, the smaller of the two Fiat 500 models might be a challenge…
Sometimes, when simply hooking up the charger doesn’t work, I cast a “revive battery” spell. You do that by hooking up a different charger that has a “recondition” button on it, and letting it do the magic for about 24 hours. Yes, it’s slow, but it’s cheaper than buying a new battery unnecessarily. Believe it or not, it actually works about 2/3 of the time.
@werehatrack
I can attest that such “magic” exists. I’ve had this for so many years I don’t even remember where or when I got it. It’s not in my Amazon order history. I do know I paid more for it then than what that ad shows (of course, it says it’s not in stock, so might not even be made any longer). I have used it many times to reanimate “dead” batteries. (And sometimes, not.) But, whatever I paid for it, it probably has been worth ten times that to me over the years, for both cars and motorcycle batteries (the latter, as a last resort).
If mine bites the dust, there is one on Amazon from Clore that looks similar and affordable.
@phendrick Vector is owned by Stanley; the charger I have is a (discontinued) Stanley Fat Max. Don’t let that Vector get away; you’ll have a hard time replacing it.
@werehatrack Thanks. I thought they had disappeared off the face of the earth. Web references to them are minimal and ancient. It’s been a great device, though a little clunky. Sometimes it just tells me “Dead cell”, but I have gotten around that with a recondition (though not always). In addition to standard Voltage check and charger, it also has functions for the recondition, alternator check (though a little unclear on using that), and a buildup of charge to do an engine start. I lost the manual years ago (perhaps in my house fire) but found one online OK.
I’ve never had the retail experience, but you seem to have had such. Why do companies occasionally come up with some really great products, and then discontinue them, without really replacing their features in a newer version? Is it driven more by marketing types than engineers?
Sears used to drive me crazy. I got started with them while in the Air Force. They had great prices in the Base Commissary on their tools. As a non-professional mechanic working on my own vehicles (incl. motor cycles), I thought they were the right quality/price point for my needs. And they always honored their warranties. But it got where I couldn’t really build up my collection. Instead of offering good intermediate tools or add-ons to collections, they were more intent on hawking all their starter sets or “new, improved” versions of such. (Two exceptions, I did build up my tap/die collection with sets of less popular sizes and holders, along with different impact tools.)
Indoctrinated by my family, I used to buy their major appliances. But then they got where if you went in to look around, you’d be surrounded by more salespeople than at a used car lot. But if you were ready to check out, you’d have to go two departments down to find someone at a cash register. And they always had “sales”. Fifteen different models of the same washer, and they’d rotate which two were on “sale” that week.
</rant>
@phendrick And then Sears stopped having appliances in stock at the stores at all, and it took two days to a week ro get one deluvered because it had to come from somewhere else …
If your car battery is dead, there are a few steps you can take to try and jump start it:
Make sure you have the necessary equipment: a set of jumper cables, a working car with a charged battery, and some safety goggles.
Park the working car close to the dead car, but make sure the two cars do not touch. Turn off all electronic devices in both cars.
Open the hoods of both cars and locate the batteries. Identify the positive (+) and negative (-) terminals on both batteries.
Connect one end of the red (positive) jumper cable to the positive terminal of the dead battery. Connect the other end of the red jumper cable to the positive terminal of the working battery.
Connect one end of the black (negative) jumper cable to the negative terminal of the working battery. Connect the other end of the black jumper cable to a solid metal part of the dead car’s engine (not the battery). This will help ground the electrical circuit and reduce the risk of sparks.
Start the working car and let it run for a few minutes. Then try starting the dead car. If the dead car starts, allow it to run for at least 15 minutes to give the battery a chance to charge.
If the dead car does not start, you may need to have the battery tested or replaced. It is also possible that the issue is not with the battery itself, but with the car’s electrical system. In this case, it is recommended to take the car to a mechanic for further diagnosis and repair.
Depends on why it died and what kind of car it is. Will jumping it help? Does the battery have an open cell or internal damage that means it’ll only run off the alternator? What kind of compression is it running? Can my car do that without outputting some crazy current or can I just help charge their battery? Is there some key-off current draw that would offset my attempt at charging? Is there a convenient non-battery chassis ground I can connect to? Are there sensitive electronics that I can damage? Is a plug fowled that makes starting harder that won’t allow the EFI system to maintain at least 10.5VDC intermittently to let it run after the starter on the dead car takes a bunch of current? Is the alternator on the target car in passable shape? Will it get past a break-even charging point? THERE ARE QUESTIONS, MAN!
Replace it that little citag.
Call AAA
@pooflady me too
@pooflady AKA insurance
@pooflady You rang?
I open the hood so the battery can charge in the sun.
I don’t go anywhere
Call @shahnm, so he can bring me a new one from his refrigerator.
@phendrick Hey now… I don’t hand out my precious chilled fresh batteries to just anyone…!
you’re an all-star
Buy a new one.
Damn, they’ve gotten expensive!
@2many2no And the replacements are all crap, now that Johnson Controls is out of the game.
@2many2no @werehatrack Dang, when did that happen?
Been out of the battery industry a few years (and never looked back) but when I was more aware of the goings-on, I was a big fan of East Penn as they insisted on manufacturing in the US and seemed to have a much bigger focus on quality than the others.
@Turken I had an OEM Volvo battery (EP sourced) last 9 years. JC usually lasts 5-6 years for me, Exide and AC Delco were a roll of a dice.
@2many2no @Turken Johnson’s name vanished from all of the batteries on which I had previously seen it about 4 years ago. And since then, I haven’t had any last more than 3 years, even when they had a 3-year free replacement policy. And those are getting scarce. East Penn batteries are completely unknown down here in Texas.
@2many2no @werehatrack If Johnson Controls is “out of the game”, who’s good at controlling johnsons now?
@2many2no @phendrick Well, it sure isn’t Dr. Frankenfurter.
Use my portable battery charger.
Jump it with the battery jumper thing. Y’know, like the one currently on Meh.
Hand over the cash? I bought my car with a dead battery!
Okay, so the condition was explicitly stated. Also it was the hybrid battery pack.
@narfcake
Oh, duh. It took me a minute…
@Kyeh As there’s no starter, the hybrid battery has to be sufficiently charged in order to start the motor.
And since a 330v jumper pack is considered dangerous and unavailable off-the-shelf …
/image inverter diagram
@narfcake My next car will be a hybrid - or fully electric. This is only my third car ever and first one I got new though, so it might be a while!
@Kyeh @narfcake The closest I’ve ever come to a “new” car was a demo with 11,580 miles on the clock. Everything else has been used, most often very used.
@narfcake @werehatrack I guess if you’re a car wizard you can do that - I am NOT. I envy those who are.
@Kyeh I’ll end up with a full EV at some point, but currently, it wouldn’t make enough sense for me. A used Bolt EV would still take nearly 20 years to recoup in fuel savings. That’s still less time than a new Ford Maverick hybrid, however. At MSRP, it will take me nearly 100 years to recoup through fuel savings.
@werehatrack The lowest mileage car I’ve owned had 102k – then the AC compressor went out, so at 103k miles, I sold it for twice the price I paid.
@narfcake @werehatrack
My 10-year-old car only has 13,550 miles on it as of today. I put that 500 on it just this summer, because I’ve been having to go back and forth across town to help out my elderly mother quite a bit.
@narfcake @werehatrack
THAT would be a interesting topic/question, how many vehicles have you owned and/or what’s the lowest milage?
@Kyeh ONLY 3 vehicles ever, that’s impressive! WOW
@Kyeh @narfcake @werehatrack Most full electric vehicles have lower maintenance costs as there is no oil to change, no regular antifreeze changes and no transmission to service.
@Kyeh @narfcake @werehatrack almost the same for me. 10yr old car, only $40,000 miles but caring for my Mom i put 1,000 miles on it in 5mths. Weird
@andyw @Kyeh @werehatrack A cooling system still exists on EVs; it’s just that it’s for the motor(s), controller(s), inverter(s), and the battery pack(s) instead of an engine. Extended life coolants exist, so 5+ years and 100k+ mile intervals are common. In HD trucks, the intervals can even be up to a million miles.
No transmission, but there’s still a gearbox and it has oil; think of it more like a differential instead of a transmission. Considered “lifetime filled”, but a lot of regular transmissions are considered the same too as manufacturers really just care about it outlasting their warranty period.
Brake pads do last a lot lot longer due to regenerative braking. Brake fluid still needs servicing, however.
@Kyeh @narfcake @werehatrack I am aware of the cooling and transmission fluids, but the point is they do not need regular checking, or changing. The Tesla Model 3 manual (downloadable from the Tesla site) urges you NOT to take off the access cap. No mention is made of needing to check the transmission fluid. The transmission is relatively simple, I believe, as it does not do any shifting in most cars (I think the Porsche Taycan does shift between two gears).
@narfcake My full EV just turned 10 years old. I bought it new at the end of the model year using several rebates. I figure it paid for itself in gas in about 4 years. At the time I was spending $50 a week in gas and the electric went up about $30 a month. Only maintenance was tires. Since then brakes, more tires and a sensor. Tires are those stupid odd size little things. Now I drive less so the math would not be as favorable.
@andyw It’s not in the manufacturer’s best interest for folks to keep their vehicles for years and many miles or kilometers after their payments and warranties end – hence, my comment about “lifetime fill”.
“The trend in the automotive industry … has been to increase service intervals to reduce the cost of ownership artificially. The issue with this is those intervals have been proven to be detrimental to the long term reliability and service life of the vehicles in question.”
https://blog.fcpeuro.com/bmw-lifetime-transmission-fluid-isnt-lifetime
“For some vehicles, you’re advised to change the coolant every 30,000 miles. For others, changing it isn’t even on the maintenance schedule.”
https://www.cars.com/articles/how-often-should-i-change-engine-coolant-1420680853669/
My point is that based solely on manufacturer’s servicing and them calling out “lifetime fill” also, the only primary argument that can be made about less maintenance with an EV versus an ICE is on the engine – they cannot escape regular oil changes. $40-$100 minimum on an annual basis is a given (unless DIY).
@speediedelivery ($50 x 52) - ($30 x 12) = $2,240 saved per year based on fuel/energy costs.
@narfcake I am sure that the oil in an EV transmisson gets a lot less deteriorated than ICE engine oil as it is not exposed to gas or its combustion products or as much heat. The oil in an ICE automatic transmission is not changed yearly either. There is no engine oil in an EV that I am aware of.
@andyw That is why I mentioned “think of it more like a differential instead of a transmission.” The earlier Tesla model S drive units use Dexron VI (ATF) for lubrication and cooling; they had service intervals at 1, 5, and 9 years. Later ones were deemed “lifetime fill”.
@Kyeh @narfcake @werehatrack Sheesh. My 7 year old car (which is past the time when I usually trade a car in) has about 169,000 miles on it. Two thumbs up for a Mazda CX-5. 2016 model bought in 2015 and I haven’t had a single issue with it. Just waiting until the CX-70’s are released here and I’ll likely get in line.
@cinoclav @Kyeh @narfcake @werehatrack my equinox turned 11 YESTERDAY! She has been a good car, although the frigid cold b4 Christmas made me aware of a $987 maintenance that was necessary. She stopped running and the engine flooded w gas causing the need for a tow to the local mechanic.
Apparently you have to have engines cleaned around 100k miles or the valves can get stuck open with a build up of mucky-muck. She has just over 108k, so I guess she was due. I would love to get an ev as a second car at some point, but I dont drive that much since covid - I think Ive put 4k on the car since 2020. Makes it hard to justify the $$$
@tinamarie1974 Engines with a direct injection setup do tend to gunk up the intake after a while, so alas, that is a needed service. Some folks have installed oil catch cans between the crankcase and intake to minimize the oil vapors that cause the build up, but with the very limited driving, I don’t see it as a must.
@narfcake it was necessary and I am thankful I could afford it. This mechanic I recently found seems to be honest and trustworthy. Lucky find!
Happy New Year
Dude. I’m the one that people call when they need help. I’ve been turning wrenches (sometimes professionally) since 1970. Cars fear me.
@werehatrack I need you to teach mine a lesson!
/giphy CHARGE
I have an ancient battery charger that you plug in to an outlet. It really should be in a museum somewhere, but it works.
@Tadlem43 Same. I think my dad bought it sometime in the 1970’s. I still use it regularly.
@macromeh @Tadlem43 The Best of the newer ones have features that the manufacturers of the old ones didn’t even know about. Those can come in handy. But I still have my old shop charger, too. The one that has wheels under it, and a fan inside. It can jump start a car with the battery missing. That car’s engine may not keep running, of course, but the charger actually has the output to do the entire job.
I carry cables, and ask a stranger to help me out.
@Oldelvis Yep. Just hook up your end and look pleadingly at passersby. Usually only takes a couple of minutes before a good Samaritan will stop.
@Oldelvis @smyle If you’re lucky, it’s a guy piloting a big diesel pickup with a battery bigger than your whole car. If it’s just not your day, it’ll be somebody with a Chevy Venture where the battery is buried in a spot that makes it next to impossible to hook the cables up direct, and the little post they give you to hook up the positive cable does not seem to do a very good job. The same rant applies to the PT cruiser, of which I have one in the driveway. Which had a dead battery day before yesterday. But somehow or another, there, the little clampy post things work. I have no explanation for this.
@Oldelvis @werehatrack I used to own a big ol Chevy truck with a V8 and big enough to jump anybody, but they put the battery under the hood hinges AND had these ridiculous pyramid-shared connectors that jumper cables had a hard time clamping onto.
SO frustrating!
@Oldelvis @smyle Those side-terminal batteries were a horror, all right.
I would simply jump start it off of another one of my vehicles…
Plug it in
Been carrying a RavPower jump starter pack for years. It holds a charge for at least two years. Always use it to help someone else though. My car kills all the lights when it’s turned off so I’ve never drained my own battery.
I used to carry jumper cables, but now use a pack like the one offered today. I have one in each car since they don’t always die at home. That way I can also start someone else’s car when they have a dead battery. These boxes work well and are much smaller than adequate thickness cables, and they are cleaner. I charge mine up in the house every few months.
Call AAA
The one car now has a jump starter pack that I bought from Costco.
The other one I would push start, if conditions permitted. That is why I am buying another jump starter thingy.
I bought a new 2020 car at the end of 2019 and commuted to work for 3 months. Then came Covid and working from home. Then 15 months later, retirement.
Now we use my wife’s EV for most shopping and other short-to-medium trips, so my gas-powered car doesn’t get much use. However, I learned the hard way that modern cars with all their computers and sensors drain the battery even when parked. I now have a trickle charger/battery maintainer to ensure I’m not surprised by a dead car when I do need to use it.
BTW, even when the car’s battery was fully recharged, the car still presented an error message and refused to start. I finally disconnected the battery for 30 minutes, then reconnected it and it would start, but it still presented a “Have your vehicle serviced by the dealer” error. So I did a little investigation online and found I could clear that obnoxious error with my OBD scanner.
@macromeh Some ECMs niw yse nonvolatile memory to store diagnostic information including trouble codes, which is why disconnecting the battery will not clear them. This is considered a feature. There are mixed opinions amongst the service people about whether that’s an appropriate evaluation. When it preserves information that the technician actually needs, it’s a good idea. But when it’s perpetuating an annoying service engine light for no good reason, It is less beneficial.
Anyone remember getting someone to push you and popping the clutch?
Geez… I’m old.
@Tadlem43 I still have one car with a stick shift. I’m not going to let it go.
@Tadlem43 Yeah, I have done that (so am old, too).
Also, I have a history of past motorcycles, mostly Hondas or Yamahas. I wouldn’t be able to begin to estimate the number of times I pushed one with a low battery to start it, when the foot crank wouldn’t do it. Took more effort and coordination than I could probably muster now.
Some good exercise (unless the weather was really cold and discouraged the MC from starting, anyway, even after inducing heart pounding).
Too, the Hondas of yore really hated low batteries. If the battery were truly dead, it was likely not going to start even with lotsa pushing.
@phendrick @werehatrack
Thank you. I don’t feel so alone now. lol
@Tadlem43 most of my cars I could push myself from the driver’s door and pop the clutch. Self service!
@djslack @Tadlem43 I knew somebody with an old VW who lived on a hill and worked in a place on another hill; he intentionally parked where he could just roll-start in both places. His frugality bit him one day when he discovered that his seldom-used battery was mostly dead, parked in a place where he was at the bottom of a hill.
@djslack @werehatrack Uh…oh…!!!
@Tadlem43 @werehatrack
My 2012 Honda Fit is a stick shift.
@Kyeh @werehatrack Isn’t that one of those little cars that you can fold up and put in your back pocket? lol I looked at them and couldn’t figure out how I’d get in and out of it…if it’s the one I’m thinking of.
@Tadlem43 nah, you’ll fit. Have to, it says it right on the back.
They are surprisingly roomier inside than they appear from the outside, though.
@Tadlem43
It must be bigger on the inside. I’m not really kidding; I can drive it comfortably, and I’m 6’2".
Now, the smaller of the two Fiat 500 models might be a challenge…
@Tadlem43 @werehatrack @djslack
First I had a VW Bug, then a 1983 Honda Civic Station Wagon (I loved that car and drove it until it became impossible to get replacement parts.) This guy can testify about its roominess: https://www.theinertia.com/gallery/my-four-day-love-affair-with-the-honda-fit/
It’s the biggest car I’ve owned!
@Tadlem43
Oh yeah, the good ole days!
@djslack @Kyeh @werehatrack wow… that
IS much bigger than I thought!
@djslack @Kyeh @Tadlem43 @werehatrack Is that the Tardis edition?
@djslack @phendrick @Tadlem43 @werehatrack
Well, mine IS dark blue …
@Kyeh If the cloister bell starts to ring, check for large objects approaching at speed.
Sometimes, when simply hooking up the charger doesn’t work, I cast a “revive battery” spell. You do that by hooking up a different charger that has a “recondition” button on it, and letting it do the magic for about 24 hours. Yes, it’s slow, but it’s cheaper than buying a new battery unnecessarily. Believe it or not, it actually works about 2/3 of the time.
@werehatrack
I can attest that such “magic” exists. I’ve had this for so many years I don’t even remember where or when I got it. It’s not in my Amazon order history. I do know I paid more for it then than what that ad shows (of course, it says it’s not in stock, so might not even be made any longer). I have used it many times to reanimate “dead” batteries. (And sometimes, not.) But, whatever I paid for it, it probably has been worth ten times that to me over the years, for both cars and motorcycle batteries (the latter, as a last resort).
If mine bites the dust, there is one on Amazon from Clore that looks similar and affordable.
@phendrick Vector is owned by Stanley; the charger I have is a (discontinued) Stanley Fat Max. Don’t let that Vector get away; you’ll have a hard time replacing it.
@werehatrack Thanks. I thought they had disappeared off the face of the earth. Web references to them are minimal and ancient. It’s been a great device, though a little clunky. Sometimes it just tells me “Dead cell”, but I have gotten around that with a recondition (though not always). In addition to standard Voltage check and charger, it also has functions for the recondition, alternator check (though a little unclear on using that), and a buildup of charge to do an engine start. I lost the manual years ago (perhaps in my house fire) but found one online OK.
I’ve never had the retail experience, but you seem to have had such. Why do companies occasionally come up with some really great products, and then discontinue them, without really replacing their features in a newer version? Is it driven more by marketing types than engineers?
Sears used to drive me crazy. I got started with them while in the Air Force. They had great prices in the Base Commissary on their tools. As a non-professional mechanic working on my own vehicles (incl. motor cycles), I thought they were the right quality/price point for my needs. And they always honored their warranties. But it got where I couldn’t really build up my collection. Instead of offering good intermediate tools or add-ons to collections, they were more intent on hawking all their starter sets or “new, improved” versions of such. (Two exceptions, I did build up my tap/die collection with sets of less popular sizes and holders, along with different impact tools.)
Indoctrinated by my family, I used to buy their major appliances. But then they got where if you went in to look around, you’d be surrounded by more salespeople than at a used car lot. But if you were ready to check out, you’d have to go two departments down to find someone at a cash register. And they always had “sales”. Fifteen different models of the same washer, and they’d rotate which two were on “sale” that week.
</rant>
@phendrick And then Sears stopped having appliances in stock at the stores at all, and it took two days to a week ro get one deluvered because it had to come from somewhere else …
This rant could go on for a ling time
If your car battery is dead, there are a few steps you can take to try and jump start it:
Make sure you have the necessary equipment: a set of jumper cables, a working car with a charged battery, and some safety goggles.
Park the working car close to the dead car, but make sure the two cars do not touch. Turn off all electronic devices in both cars.
Open the hoods of both cars and locate the batteries. Identify the positive (+) and negative (-) terminals on both batteries.
Connect one end of the red (positive) jumper cable to the positive terminal of the dead battery. Connect the other end of the red jumper cable to the positive terminal of the working battery.
Connect one end of the black (negative) jumper cable to the negative terminal of the working battery. Connect the other end of the black jumper cable to a solid metal part of the dead car’s engine (not the battery). This will help ground the electrical circuit and reduce the risk of sparks.
Start the working car and let it run for a few minutes. Then try starting the dead car. If the dead car starts, allow it to run for at least 15 minutes to give the battery a chance to charge.
If the dead car does not start, you may need to have the battery tested or replaced. It is also possible that the issue is not with the battery itself, but with the car’s electrical system. In this case, it is recommended to take the car to a mechanic for further diagnosis and repair.
Depends on why it died and what kind of car it is. Will jumping it help? Does the battery have an open cell or internal damage that means it’ll only run off the alternator? What kind of compression is it running? Can my car do that without outputting some crazy current or can I just help charge their battery? Is there some key-off current draw that would offset my attempt at charging? Is there a convenient non-battery chassis ground I can connect to? Are there sensitive electronics that I can damage? Is a plug fowled that makes starting harder that won’t allow the EFI system to maintain at least 10.5VDC intermittently to let it run after the starter on the dead car takes a bunch of current? Is the alternator on the target car in passable shape? Will it get past a break-even charging point? THERE ARE QUESTIONS, MAN!
@GetClosure Yeppers! All of that!