Cars and freezing weather

[Bluebottle]

Got a friend on another forum who's car was seemingly dead during a recent cold snap (She's just to the right of Edinburgh) then t'other day she posted this....
"Just to update you - my car isn't dead, it apparently has an automatic shutdown mechanism for when the temperature falls below -15 which it did on 3 nights last week. "

Now I've not come across that before, seems a bit of a strange to me, surely that would rule out quite a few places where such cars could be sold?

[djb]

hogwash, load of baloney, utter tripe, mmmm what other terms can I come up with.......

loads of old cars have that automatic shutdown device here too but it is set to -35c ((its called a weak battery that needs to be replaced)

I just hope she doesnt run into some bloke that tells her that she can't get pregnant the first time....

[garcon]

I think some mechanic just to the right of Edinburgh is currently absolutely ****ing himself laughing...

[dj choc ice]

bloody true, bloke must be making a killing if thats the case.

on a note with the cold weather we had a week or two ago the locks on my peugeot 106 did go very stiff and froze up, i nearly snapped the bloody key trying to get into the car!!

[Bluebottle]

I have the opposite prob in a way DJ, when the Previa is heavily frosted it can only be opened with the key- the remote won't work! Having then opened it with the key, which of course makes the alarm go off, the remote works once I'm inside the car. However, having only had it for a couple of years, I'm still getting used to the idea that in the depths of winter I can turn the key and it'll go!!
As for my friends car, they didn't pay anyone anything to tell them that so no-one is making a killing- quite the reverse since there must be some kind of problem and they're not interested in getting money by fixing it- even if it's just a dodgy battery that's still business they're not going to get.

[nycuk]

Originally Posted by dj choc ice

bloody true, bloke must be making a killing if thats the case.

on a note with the cold weather we had a week or two ago the locks on my peugeot 106 did go very stiff and froze up, i nearly snapped the bloody key trying to get into the car!!

My old 306 used to freeze shut on me. The doors would literally not open and I'd have to enter / exit via the window. Such actions fulfilled one of my 'Dukes of Hazzard' fantasies (the other one was Daisy...) but looked ridiculous and not a little suspicious.

Another time the heater packed up one freezing evening on the M40 and ice started to develop on the inside of the windscreen. I had to pull on to the hard shoulder to scrape it off but it just kept forming. So I put de-icer on a cloth and wiped the inside - job done! I then had to stop again five minutes later as the fumes made me vomit... I eventually made it home with a deathly palour and a splitting headache.

[GORDON STREETER]

If a battery is on the way out the cold weather will soon be the best test.
Nothing mechanical turns easily when the temperature is very low,and bad resistance in cable connections show up when trying to pass more current, also its not unknown for the battery electrolyte to freeze up especially on the ones you can top up with distilled water. The battery manufacturers love a few cold snaps !!!!

[Rockmunky]

Originally Posted by nycuk

(the other one was Daisy...)

Did you ever fully fill her?