It's FREAKING FREEEEEEZING here in Calgary right now... -40', not including the wind chill.
Needless to say, my car refused to start. Where I'm parked there is little chance that I can get an extension cord out to the block heater.
Is there ANYTHING I can do to that the battery enough to start and move my car to a better location?
It's -40' here in Calgary... not including wind chill. My car refuses to start, and I can't get an extension cord out to the block heater. Is there anything I can do to the battery enough to start and move my car to a better location? ________________________________________________
Take the battery out, bring it into the house and set it near a heater vent for about 4 hours. Attach a charger if you have one. Reinstall the warmed battery and try again.
Good luck.
Rodan.
Doh!
Now why didn't I thunk of that?
Thanks!
try boosting it tuesday afternoon. it should be a bit warmer. once you get it going, it would be a good idea to put the battery charger on over night. You should make sure you have the most powerful battery that you can get for your car. Also if the battery is more than 5 years old then its probably on its last legs and it would be wise to buy a new powerful battery. lots of cold cranking amps. good luck.
'cause if it's really -40 up there, once you step out side the only thing going through your head is OH F**K IT'S COLD I'M GONNA DIE WHY DID I GET OUT OF MY NICE WARM BED...
I don't mind cold weather but too much below 0F is too much for me.
nate
Believe me! We are doing are darndest to move someplace warmer... Just wish it were easier for us Canucks to get a green card!
Forgot to mention, in addition to Rodan's post... once you get the battery inside and your hands are thawed out, pop the caps and look inside before connecting the charger. If there is anything actually frozen inside the battery DO NOT connect the charger until it is thawed. If it's frozen, even after it is thawed and charged it also will probably not hold a charge very well so plan on replacement preferably before you shut the vehicle off again.
nate
When I went to school in Upper Michigan many of us in the dorm would regularly take our batteries in and keep them in dorm room overnight on really cold nights, rather than chance frozen battery. We got pretty good at taking them out and replacing them in a minute or so.
At -40, your oil has turned to grease, even a boost won't likely start it because of this.
When I or most of my friends got caught like that, usually when out camping or ice fishing up near Jasper or Columbia Icefields, we used a garbage can lid or a hibachi and got some BBQ briquettes going in this, then slid it under the oil pan being 'very' careful not to cook any wires or hoses and left it for a short while. 15 minutes to a half hour max. We even put a sleeping bag or blanket over the hood to hold the heat in.
This works very well.
Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail > It's FREAKING FREEEEEEZING here in Calgary right now... -40', not including
With todays cars there's so much junk crammed in there... I'm hoping not to break too many plastic bits just getting to the battery.
Only -31'C (-24'F) right now... Really warming up! :)
And the sad part is that your Canadian money will go farther here in the US.
--scott
Try using automotive tools instead of a crowbar.
Only - 31? Having a heat wave in Calgary, eh? Back in the 1960s, I saw some ads in Popular Science and Popular Mechanics magazines about an electric heat plate thingy.The plate sits in the battery compartment and the battery sits on top of the plate.Plug the plate into an electric cord and the plate heats the battery.There are avaliable (or used to be available) electric dip sticks.Put the electric dip stick in where the regular oil dip stick goes and plug in the electric dip stich, it is suppose to keep the engine oil warm.I used to own one of those gadgets back in the 1960s.The temp here got up to about 71 degrees above zero this afternoon.It felt like Springtime.The grass and weeds in my yard are still Irish Green, the Dafodill plants are donig their thing with those green stems coming up out of the ground. International Cam Links.(on the web) I didn't see Calgary listed there, but it says it's about -24 in Edmonton. cuhulin
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