Starting a car that's sat idle for six months?

Wasting your time - get a new battery .

The message from Paul Hutchings contains these words:

Handbrake my be stuck on, in fact the brakes all round may be a bit sticky. The tyres will need checking to make sure they ain't flat. Worst of all, the fuel may have gone stale. It loses its volatile components after a while and this can make it hard to start the car. If this happens, you can either try to run it on a fresh load to get it started - or drain the tank.

Costs near nothing to try charging the old one.

Guy King wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@zetnet.co.uk:

OK, assuming "car muppet" is about my level, tyres I expected, fuel I spose would be a case of syphon the tank (what's the "proper" way to dispose of old fuel?), sticking handbrake I'm not sure about?

regards Paul

Dave Plowman wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@argonet.co.uk:

That was my take on it, but at the same time I didn't want to be flogging a dead horse from the word go.. guess expecting it to still have any level of charge is a no-no :-)

regards Paul

I've often heard this said but as far as my lawnmower is concerned, it starts every spring with the same old stale fuel swilling around as it went into hibernation with.

Tim

: Any ideas just so I have an idea what to expect, or should I dig out a : charger and go early one day and plan to leave it on charge all day before : even wating time trying it?

If the battery was any good, six months shouldn't be a problem. It'll almost certainly ned charging, though.

Ian

PS My DS started first turn of the key after a six month layup without even a battery charge...

A lead acid battery in good condition has a very low self discharge rate, and if it was reasonably charged and in good nick before the lay up - and with no drain on it - it might well still be ok.

I've never had problems with fuel in cars that have had the same fuel in the tank for a year or two. The SD1 Vitesse in my garage, is still on the button, but hasn't been filled for at least 18 months. Runs fine. Mike.

My Ford Anglia started after being laid up for over nine months with the battery still in it untouched and uncharged, Didn't need to change fuel or the battery although the battery was fairly new at the time.

I'd of thought the octane would be lost over a far longer period than six months, My AJS motorcycle started up second kick after being laid up for seven years with the same 4 star fuel in the tank.

I don't know if this applies to unleaded fuels though?.

Steve.

The message from "Mike G" contains these words:

Lucky sod. I've had trouble with things ranging from lawn-mowers to a Ferrari. Mind you, that was mostly the petrol pump. The bloke who owned it had been banned for two years for something. The mechanic I was with tapped the fuel pump with a screwdriver handle and it started up. The owner started the engine and against all warnings revved the nuts off it. I forget what actually happened but there was a bang and a cloud of smoke and it all stopped again.

The message from Stephen Hull contains these words:

Newer fuels have a lot of butane dissolved in 'em which is rather volatile.

As long as the car a good starter 6 months ago,just put the key in the ignition and it will start within 10 seconds. don't listen to all the twaddle about stale petrol ( unless someone has been shaking the car constantly for 6 months) , and I doubt if the battery will need charging either.

Am I the only one thinking that a new battery may be worth more than the car?

I agree. I've had motor bikes that have sat there for months on end only for them to start after a couple of kicks. Just let it idle for a while to get the oil all around the engine and no revving the nuts off it just after you start it up.

To help it start you could always squit some wd40 into the carb for the first go...

I suspect it depends on the conditions e.g. engine, quality of fuel, weather conditions etc). FTR, my old boss had a Kawasaki quad bike as a plaything. A couple of years ago he laid it up in his barn just for winter. After winter it refused to start, until the petrol had been drained and replaced with fresh!

So there must be some truth in it!

Stuart Sharp

Take the charger and a set of jump leads.

Try to crank the engine over and you will soon see if the battery is flat.

Then to see if the engine will run - use the jump leads if you wish.

Then charge the battery and see if it will take and keep a charge. The if it's duff. replace it.

Also take a voltmeter if you have one - a healthy battery gives out almost

Oh - and before you crank the engine over just check the oil - and maybe take out the plugs and spin it over for a few secs to get the oil circulating before trying to start the engine.

I agree. I got an old Golf last week that had been laid up since last summer. I just stuck the key in and tried it. There wasn't quite enough juice in the battery to turn it over,so I jump started it from my other car. It started instantly and ran fine. I gave it an oil change immediately after that. Only takes 10 mins, and makes sure all the condensation and old oil is out.

Mike

In article , Paul Hutchings writes

Hmm. My parents had a Mondeo 1.8 auto which had been put up on axle stands and left unused, outside, for 18 months. I expected the battery to be as flat as a pancake, but it started on the first turn of the key and has been running happily since. To say I was impressed would be an understatement.