I need a checklist for my car.

Will Tim's car still be alive?

  • It will still be blinking and you may get one chance to start it.

    Votes: 2 6.1%

  • It may still flash, but you'll want to jump start it.

    Votes: 7 21.2%

  • Doornail, as in "Dead As A..." Better call ahead for a station to bring out a new battery.

    Votes: 24 72.7%
  • Total voters
    33
  • Poll closed .
TMetzinger

TMetzinger

Final Approach
Joined
Mar 6, 2006
Messages
9,660
Location
Northern Virginia
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Display name:
Tim
I drove my car out on the Leesburg ramp today (Saturday, 10 AM) to load up the airplane, with my flashers on. Parked the car back in the lot, and my family and I headed down here to Myrtle Beach until Tuesday.

Got a call from Av-Ad, the FBO, telling me my flashers were still on. Since everybody with keys to the car is down here, it will just have to sit.

Car's a 2001 Subaru Forester, with a battery that's only 4 months old. Anyone want to lay bets on what state the car will be in when we touch down on Tuesday afternoon?

Since it's just the flashers, I think the draw is pretty low.
 
Doornail. Been there, done that. That's why I'll never leave my car on the side of the road with the flashers on. You'll probably be able to get a jump start.

Accidentally left my trunk ajar in the company parking lot when I went on a trip in the dead of winter in Alaska. It has a light in it. Two months later I showed up to a dead battery, but it started right up when I got a jump. Had a lot of running around to do so I just left the thing running and took my key fob with me when I went into places. After about two hours of running, I decided to see if it would start on it's own. It did and I never had a problem since.
 
You're not gonna need a new battery. You'll just need a quick jump. I got one of the Xantrex battery/jumper/invertor/inflator/light that I've used so often it paid for itself.

I keep it in the van because the battery it has will die if it sits for more than a week. I will get a new battery for it soon.
 
TMetzinger said:
Car's a 2001 Subaru Forester, with a battery that's only 4 months old. Anyone want to lay bets on what state the car will be in when we touch down on Tuesday afternoon?
Click to expand...
I'm voting for "dead as a..." but you will be able to jump it. BTDT, twice, in my 2003 Subaru Outback. :redface:

The first time the car was less than a year old and I left the dome light on in the parking lot at Denver International. I was gone for about a week and I had to get a jump. My first clue was that the remote key clicker would not even unlock the door.

The second time was about 6 months ago when I must have accidentally hit the parking light switch which is on top of the steering column. I don't think the car sat for more than a day or two in my garage and the battery was dead. Like the other time, not even the remote key would work. Again, I was able to recharge the battery with a charger and got it to start. This time I decided to go and get a new battery since it was almost 5 years old and I noticed that when trying to revive it that the cells were almost out of water.

Anyway, if your Subaru battery is anything like mine I doubt if it will still be alive on Tuesday. Good luck. :yes:
 
This is one of the things I like about my Caddy- if you accidently leave something turned on, it will, after a period of inactivity (I do not recall how long) turn it all off, and in time to actually save the battery.

Very nice!

Edit:

Oh yeah, the Subaru will be (as noted above) deader'n'dead.
 
SCCutler said:
This is one of the things I like about my Caddy- if you accidental leave something turned on, it will, after a period of inactivity (I do not recall how long) turn it all off, and in time to actually save the battery.
Click to expand...
My Jetta did that with interior lights. The Grand Cherokee does it with all the lights and other functions except for the battery power to the outlets. It's a nice feature but when I'm sitting in there, reading, writing or other work on the computer, it's a bit of a pain to suddenly have lights shut off on ya.

At least the battery and alternator are much stronger in the Cherokee.
 
SCCutler said:
This is one of the things I like about my Caddy- if you accidently leave something turned on, it will, after a period of inactivity (I do not recall how long) turn it all off, and in time to actually save the battery.

Very nice!

Edit:

Oh yeah, the Subaru will be (as noted above) deader'n'dead.
Click to expand...

It will turn off the flashers? I have a Jimmy and it will turn off my lights but not the flashers (they are on because you need them on until you turn them off).

It will be dead but all you need is a jump or stop off at an auto store and get a battery pack so when you get back you can jump it yourself. plus you get a battery pack to put in your car if anything like this happens again.
 
You won't need a new battery. It should jump start just fine. Heck, if it's a stick shift you don't even need a jump...just tow it with the airplane and pop the clutch in 4th gear. :) Just kidding - don't pull it with the plane!

Make sure you drive it around for a little while before you shut it back off - no need to have to get two jump starts. I don't usually trust letting it idle to get a fresh charge - on some cars, the alternator has to hit a certain RPM before it will actually begin charging. As far as I know that's mostly on older cars (like 1960's older), but you never know.
 
All generators (they haven't called 'em alternators since we changed to global part names about 10 years ago) put out max amperage at about 2,000 rpm. That's also the rpm in which charging system tests are conducted (most, not all).
 
kevin47881 said:
...they haven't called 'em alternators since we changed to global part names about 10 years ago....
Click to expand...

I didn't know that. Just out of curiousity, do you know the reason for the change?

That doesn't mean I'm going to start calling car chargers generators. Old habits die hard. :D
 
It will be dead all right. My car had a slow drain from something wacky in the power seats - I went home over Thanksgiving last year and came back to a dead battery. And the tech didn't diagnose that there was a draw, so he replaced the battery and that was it... I left again for another long wkd shortly thereafter and came back to a dead car again. That time they figured it out. It wasn't cheap (luckily you won't have that issue!!)
 
It'll be dead. Guaranteed. However, you won't need a new battery, you'll just need to charge it up or get a jump.
 
Obi Heed Kenobi said:
I didn't know that. Just out of curiousity, do you know the reason for the change?

That doesn't mean I'm going to start calling car chargers generators. Old habits die hard. :D
Click to expand...

All OEM's were requested to standardize component names to be in compliance with OBD II. It took some time for everyone to get on board. And yes, I still call 'em an alternator and I've been in the business 24 years.
 
kevin47881 said:
All OEM's were requested to standardize component names to be in compliance with OBD II. It took some time for everyone to get on board. And yes, I still call 'em an alternator and I've been in the business 24 years.
Click to expand...

Didn't they used to be called generators before they were called alternators (but I think the old generator was different from the alternator, though)? Somewhat ironic....
 
Obi Heed Kenobi said:
Didn't they used to be called generators before they were called alternators (but I think the old generator was different from the alternator, though)? Somewhat ironic....
Click to expand...

Alternator is an AC generator. So an alternator is a generator. But a DC generator is not an alternator.

When you hear the term generator there is a reasonable chance it's DC. If it's AC people will usually refer to it as an alternator. Although I think the alternator term is more specific to the automotive industry. They had to differentiate between the old school DC generators and the new fangled AC generators that brought many improvements.

I can see why they would just push for the term generator these days. Although I've never heard a mechanic or auto parts store refer to them that way. I don't think there are many vehicles being built with DC generators anymore.

If I'm wrong--I'm sure Lance will soon be replying :)
 
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jesse said:
Alternator is an AC generator. So an alternator is a generator. But a DC generator is not an alternator.

When you hear the term generator there is a reasonable chance it's DC. If it's AC people will usually refer to it as an alternator. Although I think the alternator term is more specific to the automotive industry. They had to differentiate between the old school DC generators and the new fangled AC generators that brought many improvements.

I can see why they would just push for the term generator these days. Although I've never heard a mechanic or auto parts store refer to them that way. I don't think there are many vehicles being built with DC generators anymore.

If I'm wrong--I'm sure Lance will soon be replying :)
Click to expand...

Actually, I think that's right on.
 
jesse said:
Alternator is an AC generator. So an alternator is a generator. But a DC generator is not an alternator.

When you hear the term generator there is a reasonable chance it's DC. If it's AC people will usually refer to it as an alternator. Although I think the alternator term is more specific to the automotive industry. They had to differentiate between the old school DC generators and the new fangled AC generators that brought many improvements.

I can see why they would just push for the term generator these days. Although I've never heard a mechanic or auto parts store refer to them that way. I don't think there are many vehicles being built with DC generators anymore.

If I'm wrong--I'm sure Lance will soon be replying :)
Click to expand...

That is correct. The primary item within a generator which causes it to be referred to as an alternator is a diode trio.
 
kevin47881 said:
That is correct. The primary item within a generator which causes it to be referred to as an alternator is a diode trio.
Click to expand...

and slip rings instead of a commutator. My 2007 Chevrolet owners manual still refers to it as an alternator. Being in the repair business myself I have not heard anything about changing the name to generator, but they have done more stupid things than that.
 
Don Jones said:
and slip rings instead of a commutator. My 2007 Chevrolet owners manual still refers to it as an alternator. Being in the repair business myself I have not heard anything about changing the name to generator, but they have done more stupid things than that.
Click to expand...

That's interesting Don since GM was one of the first OEM's to go back to calling them a generator.:dunno:

Yes, more stupid things have surely been done :D
 
And the results are in....

Dead as a doornail.
Started right up with a jump start.
Battery was charged on the drive home.
We'll see if it starts in the morning after a cold night.
 
TMetzinger said:
And the results are in....

Dead as a doornail.
Started right up with a jump start.
Battery was charged on the drive home.
We'll see if it starts in the morning after a cold night.
Click to expand...

I guessed right on the first one.

My next guess is that the car will start fine in the AM.
 
TMetzinger said:
And the results are in....

Dead as a doornail.
Started right up with a jump start.
Battery was charged on the drive home.
We'll see if it starts in the morning after a cold night.
Click to expand...

As long as the drive home was at least 30 minutes it's gonna be as good as new. Like I said, I've done this a half dozen times with my van.
 
So Tim, how was it the next morning?
And what's this about "cold"? You're in Virginia! We're going to have wind chills in the 20's tomorrow, and that's not cold! (Just ask any of the Alaskans here!)
 
It's been fine ever since. No noticable differences. It had a good 30 min of charging on the way home that first day.
 
TMetzinger said:
And the results are in....

Dead as a doornail.
Started right up with a jump start.
Battery was charged on the drive home.
We'll see if it starts in the morning after a cold night.
Click to expand...
Your battery will probably be alright. It may experience a loss of power latter down the road and die sooner. Just plan on replacing it a bit sooner and you will be ok.
 
gprellwitz said:
And what's this about "cold"? You're in Virginia! We're going to have wind chills in the 20's tomorrow, and that's not cold! (Just ask any of the Alaskans here!)
Click to expand...

I'm in SoCal and I cold is 55.
 
smigaldi said:
50 is cold. If I can't wear shorts, it is cold.
Click to expand...

And WHY can't you wear shorts when it's 50? :p

I've seen college-aged kids on the trains wearing shorts and sandals when it's in the 30s. I think that's because a) they just got off an airliner at Midway that came from someplace warmer or b) they don't have any other pants.
 
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mikea said:
We keep telling youse guys. Fifty is not cold. Fifteen is getting cold.
Click to expand...

I guess you won't have "Storm Watch '07" on the news this winter either? I always love the reporter showing us the 3"-6" of flooding on the streets and the stalled out civic in the middle.
 
Pi1otguy said:
I guess you won't have "Storm Watch '07" on the news this winter either? I always love the reporter showing us the 3"-6" of flooding on the streets and the stalled out civic in the middle.
Click to expand...

We have those every year. I guess the TV reporters are from outta town..or think everybody else is. They evidently don't know it snows every year.

"Now to the weather desk. I guess what everybody wants to know is when is the snow coming and how much will we get?"

"Folks, if you don't have to out, just stay inside." Doh!

They do that dance so often they could just run a rerun. Unaffected by the writers trike.
 
Nah here in the midwest before every major snowstorm you get the obligatory shot of the low guy on the totem pole in front of the salt pile. I remember driving north through Milwaukee one winter listening to 620am (local talk radio), and the guys on the show were placing bets on which reporter from their sister TV station was gonna draw the shoet straw this time.

Pete
 
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