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From: ix654@sdcc6.UUCP (ix654)
Newsgroups: net.auto
Subject: Re: Baby it's cold outside
Message-ID: <1880@sdcc6.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 23-Jan-85 12:40:29 EST
Article-I.D.: sdcc6.1880
Posted: Wed Jan 23 12:40:29 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 25-Jan-85 21:34:18 EST
References: <159@ur-cvsvax.UUCP>
Distribution: net
Organization: U.C. San Diego, Academic Computer Center
Lines: 26

> My car recently refused to start despite a boost from a sympathetic and
> very lively battery in my friends car. This is not surprising in view of
> the cool breezes we've been having where I live (rochester, n.y.). My
> questions are; aside from your battery dying what else tends to go on a car
> in this sort of climatic extravaganza and, if my battery was being boosted
> and yet the car refused to start, what are the most likely reasons for
> this;(I've heard two possibilities; a) that my carb is not adjusted
> properly for this kind of weather and b) that you have to have the right
> kind of oil or it sludges up and keeps your motor from running...

   I recently noticed the following (which probably has nothing to
do with weather): trying to jump-start my car from another battery
did not work, my engine acted as if it was frozen. I suspected some
of the things mentioned above, but after doing some thinking I
disconnected _my_ battery and the car started like a dream. From
what a "family electrochemist" told me once, I remembered that the
most common cause of battery failure is even a minute amount of dirt
in the electrolyte which effectively causes a short between
electrodes (this should not happen in sealed, maintenance-free
batteries - but it does!) The current from booster cables was going
through the smallest resistance, i.e. through my battery and not the
starter. I think it should be kept in mind when jump-starting a car,
but I haven't seen this mentioned in any troubleshooting manual.

                                        Erek Behr, UCSD
                                        (sdcc6!ix654)