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How people get hurt

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Gliderman8

Gliderman8

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Last evening my wife and I took my TR6 out for a spin and stopped for an ice cream. While we were sitting there a another customer attempted to start her car but it would not crank when she turned the key. I walked over to help her and determined that she had an electrical problem.
  • Would not crank when key was turned to start
  • No lights at all
  • No radio, No interior lights, etc.
  • No brake lights
She could have had a bad battery, ignition switch or master fuse, etc. I informed the customer that I did not have any jumper cables and she proceeded to call her husband at which point I walked back to my car.
The next thing I see is a twenty something young girl walk over to the stranded car and put her hand on the radiator cap and was going to open it. I yelled for her to "STOP" since I didn't want her to get burned.
I then asked her "Why she was taking off the radiator cap?" She told me that she "knows how to work on cars" and that "maybe there is sludge in the radiator keeping it from starting"!!!!
I tried explaining that the car has an ELECTRICAL problem since the starter was not energizing and it had NOTHING to do with the radiator. She was not at all pleased with me but maybe I saved her from getting hurt. Unbelievable!
 
Wow - sludge in the radiator! I'll have to remember that next time my wife calls in a panic because she's stranded somewhere.

Speaking of which - Yesterday, my she left in her BMW Z4 to travel to Denver to visit her sister. They have a Sorority conference to attend in Estes Park, CO. Anyway, along about 11AM, I get a panicked call from her stating that she had stopped to get gas in Colorado City and now her car would not start. When she turned the key - nothing. I had her check the battery, which appeared to have good, tight, clean connections. The battery was also relatively new. Anyway, we never did figure out what the problem was but after several attempts it all of the sudden decided to start. She made it to her sister's house and so far the car seems to be starting fine. Assuming she makes it home, I intend to have the electrical system checked to see what the problem might had been (maybe a clutch lock-out switch?). I also know the key for that car has a chip that must be in proximity of the dash to allow the car to start. I'm wondering there could be a problem with her key/chip?
 
That sounds plausible Bas. Hopefully it will not happen again on her trip.
I made sure the lady's car was in Park and even tried to start it in Neutral. This young lady was a nano second away from getting scalded by hot antifreeze.
 
Basil - when that key fob battery runs down, the car acts "dead", altho' you can sometimes get it to start by holding the fob right under the steering wheel. Note - there's always an actual key inside the fob, you can insert in a slot under the dash, in case the fob battery is dead.

The battery is usually a $3.00 wafer cell you can get at Walmart. Don't do like my neighbor, who took the dead fob to the dealer, which charged him $102 to "fix" the fob.

Elliot:

transport-horn-brake-auto_mechanic-car_mechanic-mechanic-jnan3440_low.jpg


Tom M.
 
Gliderman8 said:
She told me that she "knows how to work on cars" and that "maybe there is sludge in the radiator keeping it from starting"!!!!
Click to expand...

That's what the last shop told her when they charged her $500 to clean the sludge out when it was a corroded battery terminal.
 
The battery terminals were the first thing I checked.
 
Now why would you want to interfere with that poor girl's education? She would have learned "why not to remove a radiator cap hot" much better if you hadn't stopped her!
devilgrin.gif~original


PS, I'll still bet it was a bad connection either near the battery or inside it. Part of the reason I carry a DMM in all my cars; I've helped out strangers more than once.

Oddly enough, no one has ever called me sexist because I'm more likely to help a lady than a man :smile:
 
Well Randall the young lady was quite upset with me when I told (suggested) her she didn't have a clue and was going to get hurt if she opened the cap.... then I walked back to my car and drove off.
Yes, a DMM would have been useful.
 
Anyone got that old Cheech & Chong clip? The one where someone says "It's the battery" while the engine is cranking madly.

"We couldn't be out of gas, I put 37 cents worth in last Tuesday." (or something like that).

I've got the album at home, but that's about 2500 miles from here ...
 
TR3driver said:
Anyone got that old Cheech & Chong clip? The one where someone says "It's the battery" while the engine is cranking madly.

"We couldn't be out of gas, I put 37 cents worth in last Tuesday." (or something like that).

I've got the album at home, but that's about 2500 miles from here ...
Click to expand...

Cheech: "Hey man, am I driving ok?"

Chong: "I think we're parked man."
 
Basil said:
Wow - sludge in the radiator! I'll have to remember that next time my wife calls in a panic because she's stranded somewhere.

Speaking of which - Yesterday, my she left in her BMW Z4 to travel to Denver to visit her sister. They have a Sorority conference to attend in Estes Park, CO. Anyway, along about 11AM, I get a panicked call from her stating that she had stopped to get gas in Colorado City and now her car would not start. When she turned the key - nothing. I had her check the battery, which appeared to have good, tight, clean connections. The battery was also relatively new. Anyway, we never did figure out what the problem was but after several attempts it all of the sudden decided to start. She made it to her sister's house and so far the car seems to be starting fine. Assuming she makes it home, I intend to have the electrical system checked to see what the problem might had been (maybe a clutch lock-out switch?). I also know the key for that car has a chip that must be in proximity of the dash to allow the car to start. I'm wondering there could be a problem with her key/chip?
Click to expand...

Is the car an automatic? There may be a problem with the neutral safety switch. My daughter called me the other day, saying her 1997 Volvo V90 wouldn't start. No crank. When I got there, I took the car out of park and then put it back in. It then started.
 
maynard said:
Is the car an automatic? There may be a problem with the neutral safety switch. My daughter called me the other day, saying her 1997 Volvo V90 wouldn't start. No crank. When I got there, I took the car out of park and then put it back in. It then started.
Click to expand...
No, 5-speed manual
 
While on vacation in stmartin we went to the French side for lunch
we arrived in Marigot just as a cloud burst was ending and were sitting in the car waiting for it to end
next to us in the lot was a Peugeot that wouldn't start
two guys pulled up in a little van
they walked over to the car looked it over open the hood
one of them walked up with a Battery
'I was expecting them to change the battery or run jumpers cables
NO ! WRONG they turned the battery up side down one guy jumped behind the wheel the other stuck the battery to the one in the
car and jumped it sans cables we just just look at each other with our jaws in our laps
 
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