« previous next »
Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: Stoopid car question  (Read 3143 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline lastparker

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1437
  • Reputation: +93/-10
Stoopid car question
« on: August 05, 2009, 03:37:23 PM »
I was finishing up a phone call last night when I pulled in the driveway, and left the keys in the ignition like a moron.  This morning, the battery was completely dead.  Had the husband jump it, drove to work, shut off the car, and it wouldn't re-start.  I can get my co-worker to jump me again, but does this mean it is totally gone?  As in, I need a new battery?

Boy I feel like an idiot.
Logged
Cursing is the crutch of the inarticulate mother****er, DUmmies.   -NHSparky

Deadbeats eating mushroom duxelles and dandelion salad with a shallot vinaigrette are still deadbeats.    -GOBUCKS

Offline Eupher

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 24894
  • Reputation: +2828/-1828
  • U.S. Army, Retired
Re: Stoopid car question
« Reply #1 on: August 05, 2009, 03:58:40 PM »
Why would leaving your keys in the ignition drain the battery? Dome light left on overnight? No clickety-click or some other sound when the key is turned? Radio? Wipers? Fan? Everything dead?

If you're getting a faint something from the radio at least, you're probably due for a new battery.

Jeez. If you were talking on the phone while driving your car and you left the keys in the ignition, I'm sure glad you didn't have an accident or a worse crisis!

Just sayin'....   :uhsure:       
Logged
Adams E2 Euphonium, built in 2017
Boosey & Co. Imperial Euphonium, built in 1941
Edwards B454 bass trombone, built 2012
Bach Stradivarius 42OG tenor trombone, built 1992
Kanstul 33-T BBb tuba, built 2011
Fender Precision Bass Guitar, built ?
Mouthpiece data provided on request.

Offline Wineslob

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 14446
  • Reputation: +780/-193
  • Sucking the life out of Liberty
Re: Stoopid car question
« Reply #2 on: August 05, 2009, 04:07:35 PM »
Probably yes, and..............yes.................... :tongue:
Logged
“The national budget must be balanced. The public debt must be reduced; the arrogance of the authorities must be moderated and controlled. Payments to foreign governments must be reduced, if the nation doesn't want to go bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.”

        -- Marcus Tullius Cicero, 55 BC (106-43 BC)

The unobtainable is unknown at Zombo.com



"Practice random violence and senseless acts of brutality"

If you want a gender neutral bathroom, go pee in the forest.

Offline thundley4

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 40571
  • Reputation: +2222/-127
Re: Stoopid car question
« Reply #3 on: August 05, 2009, 04:14:47 PM »
How long of a drive is it from home to work?  Did you leave anything on while at work?
Logged

Offline lastparker

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1437
  • Reputation: +93/-10
Re: Stoopid car question
« Reply #4 on: August 05, 2009, 04:18:20 PM »
Quote from: Eupher on August 05, 2009, 03:58:40 PM
Why would leaving your keys in the ignition drain the battery? Dome light left on overnight? No clickety-click or some other sound when the key is turned? Radio? Wipers? Fan? Everything dead?

If you're getting a faint something from the radio at least, you're probably due for a new battery.

Jeez. If you were talking on the phone while driving your car and you left the keys in the ignition, I'm sure glad you didn't have an accident or a worse crisis!

Just sayin'....   :uhsure:       

Well, I left the keys in the ignition so I could run the A/C fan while I yapped....it was HOT here yesterday.  So lots of things were on.

When I tried to restart the car after driving to the office, the dash lights came on, but that was it - no clickety.

As for being too dumb to drive and yap on the phone - YES, I am!  I almost NEVER talk and drive, which is why I screwed everything up so righteously.  Plus, this car is a stick, the car we got for free (thankfully) from my bro-in-law when my husb got laid off and lost his company ride.  I haven't driven a stick in ten years, so talking on the phone is REALLY difficult while I'm retraining the clutch foot.

Thanks, both of you!!!!  Looks like I'll be getting a battery on my way home....maybe....I'll have to leave the car running while I go in to buy it.....then someone will have to put it in.....  cripes.

Oh - thundley - no, I left nothing on at work.  It's only about a 7 mile drive, but with the traffic I have to deal with, I ran the car for about 45 minutes this am.
Logged
Cursing is the crutch of the inarticulate mother****er, DUmmies.   -NHSparky

Deadbeats eating mushroom duxelles and dandelion salad with a shallot vinaigrette are still deadbeats.    -GOBUCKS

Offline thundley4

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 40571
  • Reputation: +2222/-127
Re: Stoopid car question
« Reply #5 on: August 05, 2009, 04:22:07 PM »
During the 45 minute drive was there a lot of idling spent at traffic lights? Did the alternator light stay on?
 If you have one, I'd recommend putting a battery charger on it over night.
Logged

Offline Eupher

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 24894
  • Reputation: +2828/-1828
  • U.S. Army, Retired
Re: Stoopid car question
« Reply #6 on: August 05, 2009, 04:23:35 PM »
I guess I was too cryptic, lastparker.

I was almost killed on my motorcycle 4 years ago when a sweet young thing was yapping on her cell phone and driving Daddy's Lexus. She damn near turned me into a hood ornament.

I take every opportunity I can to discourage cell phone usage while driving. It has nothing to do with how smart a person is and everything to do with having waaaaaay too much to do in simply negotiating traffic.

My sister tells me she can do 27 things at the same time - and I believe her.

But I'll go to my grave believing that cell phone usage while driving aren't two of them.
Logged
Adams E2 Euphonium, built in 2017
Boosey & Co. Imperial Euphonium, built in 1941
Edwards B454 bass trombone, built 2012
Bach Stradivarius 42OG tenor trombone, built 1992
Kanstul 33-T BBb tuba, built 2011
Fender Precision Bass Guitar, built ?
Mouthpiece data provided on request.

Offline lastparker

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1437
  • Reputation: +93/-10
Re: Stoopid car question
« Reply #7 on: August 05, 2009, 05:46:54 PM »
OK - had to leave - coworker with the "jump" was ready to leave.

I drove it home, let it run in the driveway for 20 minutes, and NOW it is starting up again.

Thanks everyone!

Eupher - me best "dude" friends in college all had bikes, and because of that I am very sensitive to motorcycles around me when I drive.  I give 'em a wide berth, and I never flip my lit smokes out the window when they're behind me.  :-)  Of course I never do that....I don't litter.....

Seriously, THANKS.  It is nice to know I can post here and get some help.
Logged
Cursing is the crutch of the inarticulate mother****er, DUmmies.   -NHSparky

Deadbeats eating mushroom duxelles and dandelion salad with a shallot vinaigrette are still deadbeats.    -GOBUCKS

Offline thundley4

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 40571
  • Reputation: +2222/-127
Re: Stoopid car question
« Reply #8 on: August 05, 2009, 05:48:37 PM »
Quote from: lastparker on August 05, 2009, 05:46:54 PM
OK - had to leave - coworker with the "jump" was ready to leave.

I drove it home, let it run in the driveway for 20 minutes, and NOW it is starting up again.

Thanks everyone!

Eupher - me best "dude" friends in college all had bikes, and because of that I am very sensitive to motorcycles around me when I drive.  I give 'em a wide berth, and I never flip my lit smokes out the window when they're behind me.  :-)  Of course I never do that....I don't litter.....

Seriously, THANKS.  It is nice to know I can post here and get some help.

You still might want try it early enough in the morning for another jumpstart.
Logged

Offline rich_t

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7942
  • Reputation: +386/-429
  • TANSTAAFL
Re: Stoopid car question
« Reply #9 on: August 05, 2009, 05:55:03 PM »
If the battery is nearing the 5 year old mark, it's probably time for a new one.

Logged
"The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the name of 'liberalism,' they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened." --Norman Thomas, 1944

Offline Carl

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 19742
  • Reputation: +1491/-100
Re: Stoopid car question
« Reply #10 on: August 05, 2009, 08:07:30 PM »
If you left the keys in the on position then it is possible I guess for the battery to have gone dead overnight...the blower motor would have been running too unless you turned it off.
Short drive (?) with A/C on probably wouldn`t recharge enough to start it again.

On edit....

Just caught the 45 min drive but that would mean going slow so probably the alternator was barely keeping the electrical load maintained.
Logged

Offline Wineslob

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 14446
  • Reputation: +780/-193
  • Sucking the life out of Liberty
Re: Stoopid car question
« Reply #11 on: August 06, 2009, 10:35:10 AM »
Some cars require that you depress the clutch to start.........................
Logged
“The national budget must be balanced. The public debt must be reduced; the arrogance of the authorities must be moderated and controlled. Payments to foreign governments must be reduced, if the nation doesn't want to go bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.”

        -- Marcus Tullius Cicero, 55 BC (106-43 BC)

The unobtainable is unknown at Zombo.com



"Practice random violence and senseless acts of brutality"

If you want a gender neutral bathroom, go pee in the forest.

Offline Thor

  • General Ne'er Do Well, Troublemaker & All Around Meanie!!
  • In Memoriam
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 13103
  • Reputation: +362/-297
  • Native Texan & US Navy (ret)
Re: Stoopid car question
« Reply #12 on: August 06, 2009, 10:42:31 AM »
It sounds like a similar incident that happened to me many years ago. I go out to my car, no starty. I get a jump and it ran fine. If I turned it off, I needed a jump to get it restarted. Finally, got it to the base hobby shop, checked some things out and the alternator worked fine, but the battery had a "shorted cell" in it. That's REAL easy to check. Go to the nearest Auto Parts Store, ask them to check the battery cell water level and check with a hydrometer(?) and that will reveal if there's a shorted cell. If so, replace the battery. They will also check the charging system for you.
Logged
"The state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people. As long as the government is perceived as working for the benefit of the children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation."- IBID

I AM your General Ne'er Do Well, Troublemaker & All Around Meanie!!

"Congress has not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare, but only those specifically enumerated."-Thomas Jefferson

Offline Chris_

  • Little Lebowski Urban Achiever
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 46845
  • Reputation: +2028/-266
Re: Stoopid car question
« Reply #13 on: August 06, 2009, 12:37:06 PM »
One other thing that you might consider is that on vehicles equipped with an alternator, if the battery goes completely dead (i.e. zero voltage), even if jump-started, the battery will not provide the necessary voltage to excite the field coils in the alternator, therefore it (the alternator) will not charge the battery even if the vehicle is running.......it generally requires about eight volts from the battery to get the alternator working to recharge the battery.

Therefore, you might want to place the battery on a charger to at least partially charge it before driving......routine drives of thirty minutes or more should then sufficiently recharge your battery.

doc
Logged
If you want to worship an orange pile of garbage with a reckless disregard for everything, get on down to Arbys & try our loaded curly fries.

Offline The Village Idiot

  • Banned
  • Probationary (Probie)
  • Posts: 54
  • Reputation: +96/-15
Re: Stoopid car question
« Reply #14 on: August 06, 2009, 01:19:36 PM »
Quote from: Eupher on August 05, 2009, 04:23:35 PM
I guess I was too cryptic, lastparker.

I was almost killed on my motorcycle 4 years ago when a sweet young thing was yapping on her cell phone and driving Daddy's Lexus. She damn near turned me into a hood ornament.

That reminds me of when I was younger. I was walking to the Gibson's store (now a Mexican grocery store) with my brother and we heard a motorcycle coming fast but couldn't see it over the railroad crossing, it was a lot higher than the rest of the road, and a gray primer trans am was heading toward the crossing from the other direction, close to where we were at.

The cycle came flying over the crossing like a stunt man, the trans am driver got spooked and turned across the median (two yellow stripes) and the cycle hit the front of the car. The man on the motorcycle flew up, over the car in a very high arc and landed a good twenty or more feet away flat on his back. No sliding or anything. Me and my brother were thinking of finding a house to ask people to call 9-1-1 but there were none around that location.

Then the man got up and started looking around for his shoe. The woman in the car had pulled to the side of the road and was just sitting in her car for the moment. When he told us he was okay we decided to continue walking on.

The end.
Logged

Offline Chris

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1476
  • Reputation: +522/-16
Re: Stoopid car question
« Reply #15 on: August 06, 2009, 02:22:15 PM »
Quote from: FGL on August 06, 2009, 01:19:36 PM
Then the man got up and started looking around for his shoe. The woman in the car had pulled to the side of the road and was just sitting in her car for the moment. When he told us he was okay we decided to continue walking on.

The end.
Been there, done that.  I t-boned a driver running a red light.  I went over his car and landed on the pavement about ten feet on the other side of his car.  I went in one direction, my shoes went in another.

Damn sneakers.
« Last Edit: August 06, 2009, 02:31:05 PM by Chris »
Logged
This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

Offline Thor

  • General Ne'er Do Well, Troublemaker & All Around Meanie!!
  • In Memoriam
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 13103
  • Reputation: +362/-297
  • Native Texan & US Navy (ret)
Re: Stoopid car question
« Reply #16 on: August 11, 2009, 02:11:05 PM »
Quote from: Chris on August 06, 2009, 02:22:15 PM
Been there, done that.  I t-boned a driver running a red light.  I went over his car and landed on the pavement about ten feet on the other side of his car.  I went in one direction, my shoes went in another.

Damn sneakers.

Almost been there, done that. I rode my motorcycle up to the local C Store in El Cajon, Ca. to get a pack of smokes. No helmet, jacket, gloves, etc. After I purchased my smokes, I jumped on my bike and headed home. A car turned left in front of me and I thought for certain, I was going down and was going to eat some asphalt. I managed to put the bike in a broadslide, he stopped, mid turn, and that took me from the side to in front of him. When I realized I was in front of him, I slammed the throttle wide open and righted the bike, narrowly missing the aged, inept driver. It was a near miss, but one that I will NEVER forget.
Logged
"The state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people. As long as the government is perceived as working for the benefit of the children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation."- IBID

I AM your General Ne'er Do Well, Troublemaker & All Around Meanie!!

"Congress has not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare, but only those specifically enumerated."-Thomas Jefferson
Pages: [1]   Go Up
« previous next »