Nutek

Went to ride on a trolly bus with Mrs. N. yesterday. Saw these there...

Nutek

Nutek

Went for a ride on this guy (they have a couple of miles of live track).

Pretty cool.







It had an advert for a top loader...

Beaverstate

Well spent summer day.

newadventure

We have managed fine for the last 3 years with one car for the family, despite the disbelief of most of our American friends. However, with eldest child starting high school today, all 3 children are now at different schools and I foresee a lot more taxiing around. A friend has offered us a '95 Ford F-150 for $3K. It is 4WD (which we don't need), single cab (would have been nice to get everyone in) so might not be ideal, but I am getting a truck itch and I think it needs to be scratched.

Pulaski

They're a funny looking couple of PT Cruisers. (The beige and dark blue cars.)

I saw this very nice looking Model A when I was tooling around Charlotte the other morning.

markonline1

Not a bad couple of days at work. Yesterday, I got to ride in a McLaren P1, today, drive a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta....

Steerpike

Battery question ...

My 2.5 year old Honda CR-V (55k miles) would not start yesterday afternoon, after sitting in a parking lot for 45 mins. (about 30 miles of driving just before that). When I turned the ignition, the dash lights flashed very quickly, and I heard a corresponding chatter sounding like a lightweight relay chatter. Waited a few mins, tried again; no go. Eventually called AAA, got a jump start (note to self- renew AAA membership and carry jumper cables ). Plan to put in a new battery tomorrow.

This is very reminiscent of an event about 3 years ago with an Acura TL; wouldn't start, 'flickering' sound on turn of ignition. Had to get a jump start. Replaced battery, all was well.

I understand that batteries wear out, die, etc, but - this is now the 2nd time a battery has died on me without any warning - no dash light indication, no 'slower start than usual' (which I remember from the old days - sounded like the startup process was in slow motion) leading up to the event. This was daytime, so no excessive headlight use.

The only possible thing I can think of is, I've been doing very short tips the past 2-3 weeks, just a few miles to grocery store, hiking trail, etc - but I drove 100 miles on Sunday on the freeway, and yesterday I had just driven 30 miles on the freeway before this incident ... so I'm really not understanding how this could happen.

Is battery 'sudden death' typical these days?

rbackhouse

Had a similar thing on our 3.5 year old VW GTI the other week. The battery suddenly gave up without any warning. While the car would start (barely) it was really on it's last legs. I called out AAA and they changed the battery there and then. Their prices are pretty reasonable too. I've used AAA for battery replacements over the few years now.

Interestingly, every battery failure we've had over the last 12 years or so has happened at the height of summer.

Not knowing how long the car sat on the dealer lot before we bought it means its quite possible the life of the battery was impacted before being sold to us.

2.5 years does seem pretty poor though. There might be some pro-rated warranty payment that you could get on it. Maybe worth a try

Pulaski

We have had three batteries die in our Accord, and one in our F250, all went with no warning. One minute they work just fine, the next minute, they were dead.

It seems to be the way with American batteries, either that or the technology has changed since I moved over. I have heard it said that it is something to do with the heat, and I remember that at least three (possibly all) of the batteries we have had fail, failed in the middle of summer, just like RBackhouse reported. The original battery in the Honda lasted six years, the next two only lasted three and two years respectively.

Apparently the reason batteries fail quickly is that as they are charged and discharged, particles are slowly shed from the electrodes which collect in the bottom of the battery. Eventually this sludge builds up until it touches the bottom of the electrodes and then bzzt! the battery is dead.

Norri

AZ has been having extremely high temperatures recently which will kill a battery just a surely as extreme cold.

lizzyq

I remember being told some years ago by an RAC man that in the winter you usually get warning of impending battery failure by sluggish starting etc, but in the summer they just die.

Bob

The cells can go bad and it stops the battery holding a charge and happen pretty suddenly. Tends to happen if you do mostly short trips but also could be a faulty battery.

It happened with our last one and we got lucky with Walmart taking it back for a new one, you might remember the story when it happened to me.

Might get lucky with a warranty replacement.

Bob

BBR launches ‘Super 225’ package for MX-5 | Oxfordshire Guardian

For the MX5 buffs....fun....


Mass Effect Makes for a Cool Custom Motorcycle

And for the crotch rockets...

excpomea

Many things can effect battery life, as mentioned short trips, cold , heat to name a few.
I would also add lack of maintenance. I know most modern battery's are maintenance free, but most still use acid which can evaporate over time due to extreme heat ect. Requiring a top up with distilled water.
The battery in my VW is supposedly maintenance free, but peel the label off and there are the 6 plugs covering the cells. Pop them off and you can see the acid level. On my passat I check this about once every 6 months. Each time having to add a few ounces of distilled water to cover the lead plates.
This is a 2004 on it's 2nd battery.

Lastly, make sure the terminals are clean and that there is a good contact between the cable and the terminal posts.
Remove the cable, clean off the corrosion and replace. Then cover in petroleum jelly to protect.
This is a once a year thing.

Just these last two will prolong your battery life.