Car Batteries and cold starts.

Does give another car a boost ruin the boosters battery?

It is -31C here (-24 F). The car did not start.

And once a car can no longer turn over - what else can be done besides waiting?

Would a block heater help?

Thanks,

Tmuld

If the battery won't turn over the engine when cold replace it. If you don't
know what you are doing jumpering today's cars you can blow the computer and
other electronics. It is better to put a charger on the battery......


"Tavish Muldoon" > wrote in message
om...
> Does give another car a boost ruin the boosters battery?
>
> It is -31C here (-24 F). The car did not start.
>
> And once a car can no longer turn over - what else can be done besides
> waiting?
>
> Would a block heater help?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Tmuld

At those temperatures a block heater helps a lot. It only needs to be
on for about 3 hours on a timer in the morning. They are power pigs.

You can take the battery out and put it in the house for an hour. When
you take it back out, it will crank again for a bit. The temperature
increase helps.

When you boost, you have to be careful and leave it charge for a while
before trying to start the vehicle at those temperatures. This charging
warms up the battery and it has a better chance of turning the engine
over.

If you mess up a connection, it can cost big time on new vehicles, lots
of things can pop including the battery so you have to be careful.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

Tavish Muldoon wrote:
>
> Does give another car a boost ruin the boosters battery?
>
> It is -31C here (-24 F). The car did not start.
>
> And once a car can no longer turn over - what else can be done besides waiting?
>
> Would a block heater help?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Tmuld

depends on the load you are boosting and the quality of the battery I'd
imagine as far as damaging the battery. Your charging system diodes would be
the biggest risk. I know some charging systems don't appreciate a differant
model vehicle drawing higher current that they were not designed for. Also
remember when batteries are that cold they do not deliver full available
power. A crankcase heater would keep the oil runnier in the engine your
trying to start and I'd think that would lessen the demand on the battery
once you cranked the warm oil through the block but again if the battery is
say 650 cranking amps and its 20 below zero, your only getting a fraction of
the power at that temperature. There are ratings on the batteries label that
tell how much is available and at what temperature. Some people turn on the
headlights to draw some juice through the battery and warm it internally
some to improve its output. A higher rated battery is a good idea so you
have more power to begin with.


In jumping, I generally let the donor car charge the other vehicles battery
for 5 or 10 minutes before I allow them to crank. I know I take my charging
system to risk, but thats just me. When it comes back to haunt me, then I
guess I wont do it any more.

my .02

On 21 Dec 2004 13:01:03 -0800, (Tavish Muldoon)
wrote:

>Does give another car a boost ruin the boosters battery?
>
>It is -31C here (-24 F). The car did not start.
>
>And once a car can no longer turn over - what else can be done besides waiting?
>
>Would a block heater help?
no, giving a boost will NOT ruin the booster's battery. I might run
it down a bit if the car is hard to start. but the other advice you
got was good. if your battery won't turn it over at -30C, get
a new one. bigger is usually better.

i keep an old one in the garage and when it's going to be
an especially cold night, i put it on charge. if i need a boost
the next morning, not too tough.

when i was using a block heater, i not only had it
on timer, i put a charger under the hood and charged
the battery too. this warms it up and makes sure
you'll get whatever you can. usually, the combination
will do the trick.

for those that don't have a block heater, there is
something you can buy that has a strong magnet
to hold it on the manifold while it heats up. i've used
it a bit and it works ok. if the manufold is warm, the gas
will stay more vaporized. so, better chance of starting.
also, keep a can of "Quick Start" in the trunk.
....thehick

"Tavish Muldoon" > wrote in message
om...
> Does give another car a boost ruin the boosters battery?
>
> It is -31C here (-24 F). The car did not start.
>
> And once a car can no longer turn over - what else can be done besides
> waiting?
>

If your battery is flat at those temperatures it could freeze and bust its
casing. Be careful out there. Acid is seriously dangerous.

Huw

When done properly a boost will not hurt your battery, electronics, or
the like. When done wrong everything can go in a heartbeat. The
electrochemical performance of a battery diminishes rapidly with
temperature. You might consider investing in an automotive battery
charger, some also have a 50 or 100 amp starting boost. If the car
wont start, charging the battery will warm it up and give you another
10-15amps to start the car. As someone suggested, if you are having
persistent problems for a short while remove the battery and let it sit
inside overnight and put it in just before starting. A bit of a pain,
but you will get maximum battery performance at room temp.

Other options would include the block heater or just a flood light bulb
in close proximity to the block which work quite well. You might also
consider a very low viscosity oil. Even 5W-20 is quite viscous at
those temps, so you could opt for a synthetic with a 0 winter rating.
Good luck

"Tavish Muldoon" > wrote in message
om...
> Does give another car a boost ruin the boosters battery?
>
> It is -31C here (-24 F). The car did not start.
>
> And once a car can no longer turn over - what else can be done besides
> waiting?
>
> Would a block heater help?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Tmuld

I lived in cold mountain area for 13 years. Temp down to minus 40 F. Used a
heater mounted in radiator top hose and a flat battery heater that the
battery sat on. Installed a timer on the extension cord to turn heaters on
at 5 AM. Went to work at 7 AM. Never had a problem starting. W W

I tell ya , if you have to put a dipstick heater in, why not devise an
insulated heated battery box with one of those low current wire heated
strips (> fire risk?) or a charger that taps into the cigarette lighter
(just for trickle charging of course...)

just after thoughts...

On Wed, 22 Dec 2004, Warren Weber wrote:

> I lived in cold mountain area for 13 years. Temp down to minus 40 F.

Wow, minus forty Eff. What's that in Cee?