Car Batteries and cold starts.

"gobroncos" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> to be honest....not so sure that it was in fact ice that knocked the
> belt off . The reason that the belt got knocked off track is not
> relevant to muldoon's problem.
>

Not true. The belt may have been so loose that it just fell off, and that
might explain why the battery wasn't able to start the car under severe cold
conditions. The battery can't deliver a high-amp, short duration "start"
discharge unless your generator has previously put a low-amp, long duration
charge INTO the battery.

A really loose or badly worn belt is a prime reason for poor charging.

Ed

"gobroncos" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> When i finally got the concorde started, my first thoughts where not to
> sit there in the cold while the concorde warmed up. Before exiting the
> concorde, after starting it, what makes u think the idiot light would
> be on before i pulled the jumper cables.
>

You didn't answer the question by asking me another question.

However, I would expect the idiot light to be ON if the alternator was not
working. The jump would have put enough charge in your battery to operate
the operate the idiot light if the alternator were not putting out power.

If you battery had accepted no charge at all during the jump, AND if the
alternator were bad too, then the light would not work. However, when you
removed the jumper cables, something was supplying power to the ignition and
other loads, otherwise, the engine would have quit immediately. Either the
battery, the alternator, or both were providing some power when you removed
the jumpers.

Now, maybe LATER, after you got out of the car, the belt failed, the idiot
light came on, and you began to draw down your battery. But you said you
only ran it about 15 minutes, and it didn't stall, you shut it off yourself,
so why didn't you see the idiot light on at that time?

Maybe your idiot light is bad too! Do you regularly scan your warning lights
as you start your car?

Ed

During that first warm-up cycle, and before shutting the concorde off,
the idiot light very well may have been on. I never checked...I simply
reached-in, shut it off and went back inside.
After jumping it again, later that day, I finally got it started. With
the engine runnning, i got out (and at least at this time, there were
no idiot lights on), removed the jumper cables shut the hoods, went
inside to warm up while the concorde warmed up.
After approx 5 mins, i went to check on the concorde, and at this time
the engine was not running...and this is when i discovered the belt had
jumped off (for WHATEVER reason). The chronology seems to be getting
confused, when quite simply, the only thing i was trying to convey to
Tavish, is that one must be aware of the electrical load that they are
about to subject their vehicle to, when jumping another vehicle,
especially in inclimate weather, and that a small inspection may be in
order before hooking up the cables.
The question remains legitimate to me, so once again, what makes u
think the concordes ididot light would have been on with the jumper
cables still hooked-up and and the engine running?!