Check batteries and electronic system

Press, 3 May 1984, Page 28

Check batteries and electronic system

If your car refuses to start one frosty morning this winter, do not blame the battery. Just pause and think — all the sun you miss , in winter has to be made up for by the battery. If has to power the lights all the time and, maybe, a pair of foglamps as well as additional driving lights. If also keeps your windscreen wipers going, powers the pump that works the windscreen washers and heats the rear-window demister. And, as well as enabling you to listen to the weather reports on the car radio, it has to start the car when the oil is more sluggish. Just to top it all, a cold battery is never at its best anyway. As winter approaches, it is well to be aware of the two main facts of battery life. The first is that low temperatures will lower its capacity and while lowered charge does increase the possibility of freezing, a battery can never be cracked by frost. The other fact of battery life is that while there are always exceptions, if a battery is guaranteed for a specific period, it will function efficiently for that period, but not much longer, particularly if the expiry date happens to correspond with the onset of colder winter weather, when the demands on its energy will be greatest. So, it makes good sense, at this time of the year, to check whether your car battery'has reached or is approaching the end of its guaranteed life.

Having done that , a decision can be made whether to replace the battery or take the risk, if the guarantee is due to expire before the spring. But, as was said earlier, do not blame the battery if it fails to respond at some very inappropriate winter moment.

Povided a car is properly maintained, it should never complain and, even in winter, its complaints should not be automatically laid at the door of the battery. If the battery acid is at the recommended level and the capacity is more than 60 per cent and the terminals are clean and the car still refuses to start, at least periodically, obviously something else is wrong. These days, such troubles can be easily pin-pointed with the aid of the diagnostic electronic equipment that most forward-looking garages use.

This equipment is wellnigh essential to maintain modern cars in tip-top condition because of their electronic engine management systems. So, anyone owning a contemporary car would be wise to have a electronic diagnostic check and have any faults the check reveals remedied by the friendly garageman.

Provided there is nothing seriously amiss, the complete job would be unlikely to cost more than $l5O and although, at first sight, that might seem costly, it would probably pale into insignificance when compared with the cost and inconvenience associated with having the car towed to civilisation

from the back of beyond on a winter’s night. For the benefit of people who own older cars and prefer to do their own maintenance, here is a check list: 1. Change the spark plugs. 2. Renew the high tension cables where necessary. 3. Clean the distributor and metal contacts. 4. Renew the contact points. Set the gap and timing to the maker’s specification. 5. Test the generator brushes and renew where necessary. 6. Tighten all the terminals. 7. Strip and clean the carburettor and fuel pump. Blow out the fuel lines and dry out the petrol tank if necessary (all petrol contains a little water and other impurities, but it is a question of degree, and the time of the year exerts an influence also). 8. Test the battery acid level and check the capacity. 9. Grease all the cables. 10. Lubricate all the joints. 11. Lubricate all the door locks with glycerine and oil the catches. 12. Drain the engine sump and refill with winter-grade oil. 13. Check the valve clearances and adjust if necessary. 14. Put anti-freeze in radiator. 15. Check the heater. Perhaps your car does not require such a thorough check, but at least it will have given you peace of mind and, with the onset of winter, what is more important?