Cold Weather Car Gremlins by William
R Blankley
more by William Blankley
Cold weather seems to
make the Car-Gremlins very active. The frost kills
batteries, one day 0K, the next morning, nothing. My
local Lucas place had run out of everything except type
027 to fit the A. This is huge, but it just goes in, if
you are good with the shoe-horn, being the third size up
from the usual and good for 25 amps for a couple of
hours. Definitely the get you home size! If you then find
that it was a dead alternator that failed to keep the
battery charged then it’s more expensive egg on the
face!
How do you know when
the battery isn’t being charged? If the car has an
ammeter all well and good but otherwise difficult. The
easiest solution is a battery condition indicator
(voltmeter) as there is no heavy wiring. Finding the
right place to put it is another matter!
Then there is the good
old car won’t start. Apart from the usual there is a
little trick the A can play if it has not been run for a
day or two when it has been parked pointing uphill. If
the fuel pipe between the tank and the petrol pump has a
slight leak some sort of air lock develops and the pump
will not prime, no petrol, no go! The cure is to make the
fuel system right, make sure the hose clips have not
rusted away, replace that corroded steel pipe near the
tank, (remember that this pipe is being sucked on so air
tends to go in through the holes rather than the fuel
leak out). I can’t spot a leak until it floods out
so it’s easier for me to do the lot, especially if
it’s old. Never, ever, throw a petrol can lid full
of fuel down the carb in desperation to make it run. It
can be most horribly dangerous.
William
R Blankley
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