Saving on vehicle costs

[Texas Proud]

Or you can buy one of those Michelin jumpers that do not do anything until it is connected correctly....

Michelin Smart Jumper cables for easier jump-starts | The Car Tech blog - CNET Reviews

[rbmrtn]

+1 one the battery write up. Also since most people carry something with access to the internet, you can find most owners manuals in PDF format these days. There is a section on emergency procedures that covers jumping, jacking etc. I looked at mine and the jumping instructions are as described in the previous post.

[Ronstar]

Thanks for the battery write up. I've got one taken care of, still got another one to work on. I put my corvette in storage nov 1 through April 1, so I may wait until April to put a new battery in. I may put my battery tender on it through the winter just to give it a fighting chance of starting in the spring. And I may start it a few times and back it out in the driveway if there is no ice and snow.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbmrtn I looked at mine and the jumping instructions are as described in the previous post.

My cables have an instruction tag hanging from them. But the challenge has proven to be finding bare metal inside the Prius engine compartment. I usually end up scratching through the paint on the frame with the teeth of the cable.

Here's a weird one for those of you who buy cheap jumper cables. Due to the construction of the hinge on the clamps, it's possible for only one side of the clamp to be electrically live-- the side with the cable attached to the clamp handle. If you're attaching it to a car's jumper-cable lug that's only metal on one side, then it's possible to clamp live metal onto dead plastic.

I had an opportunity to test this one day, and it drove me nuts until I ran across the hint on PriusChat. Sure enough, the jumper-cable lug on the Prius is only metal on one side and plastic on the other, and I had the live side of the clamp on the plastic. I switched the live part of the clamp around to the metal side of the jumper-cable lug and the car immediately powered up.

[boatfishandnature]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbmrtn I thought their major sugar cane production is away from the amazon region. But I was just stating their source of ethanol not whether it was green. Sugarcane Ethanol and Amazon Rain Forests — Sugarcane Ethanol, the Sweeter Alternative

You are correct and so is the article that you provided the link for. Amazon deforestation ( which fortunately is way down, in Brazil ) is almost exclusively caused by logging often followed by cattle raising. No sugarcane growing anywhere near the Amazon, because:

1. It does not grow well there - sugarcane requires some water stress during their growth to optimize sugar content. The main sugarcane production areas are highly productive. Sugarcane grown outside these areas just can't compete

2. Amazon soils are relatively poor. Most sugarcane is grown on some of Brazil's most fertile soils, having displaced the oranges and other crops that were grown there before.

3. You need an integrated mill/sugarcane plantation to make it work. To be economical, the cane need to be no farther than 60 km from the mill and you need roads to transport it. Nobody can get a permit to build an ethanol mill in the Amazon.

[meierlde]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbmrtn I thought their major sugar cane production is away from the amazon region. But I was just stating their source of ethanol not whether it was green. Sugarcane Ethanol and Amazon Rain Forests — Sugarcane Ethanol, the Sweeter Alternative http://www.tropen.uni-bonn.de/new_we...Home/Myths.pdf

Actually an interesting way to think about the ethanol, is sugar cane uses the Rum Process to make ethanol, while corn uses the whiskey process.

[NW-Bound]

And in Europe, they get ethanol from wine, due to the wine glut. It was done to help vintners get rid of some of their lesser wine. If I were one of the vintners, I would cry. They got paid something like a dime a liter!

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords My cables have an instruction tag hanging from them. But the challenge has proven to be finding bare metal inside the Prius engine compartment. I usually end up scratching through the paint on the frame with the teeth of the cable. Here's a weird one for those of you who buy cheap jumper cables. Due to the construction of the hinge on the clamps, it's possible for only one side of the clamp to be electrically live-- the side with the cable attached to the clamp handle. If you're attaching it to a car's jumper-cable lug that's only metal on one side, then it's possible to clamp live metal onto dead plastic. I had an opportunity to test this one day, and it drove me nuts until I ran across the hint on PriusChat. Sure enough, the jumper-cable lug on the Prius is only metal on one side and plastic on the other, and I had the live side of the clamp on the plastic. I switched the live part of the clamp around to the metal side of the jumper-cable lug and the car immediately powered up.

Nords.... I remember when you mentioned this awhile back.... but I do not know if I had asked.... why would you need to jump a Prius Don't they have this big honking battery in the car

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texas Proud Nords.... I remember when you mentioned this awhile back.... but I do not know if I had asked.... why would you need to jump a Prius Don't they have this big honking battery in the car

I had a similar problem when the 12 volt battery died in my Escape hybrid. The computer that controls everything runs off 12 volts, so when the 12 volt battery is dead you need to add enough 12 volt power to get the computer to do its thing. On my Escape, if the 12 volt battery is almost dead, the 330 volt battery will recharge it. But if the 12 volt battery is completely dead, you need a jump.

[rescueme]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texas Proud Or you can buy one of those Michelin jumpers that do not do anything until it is connected correctly....

Sounds like me ...

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texas Proud Nords.... I remember when you mentioned this awhile back.... but I do not know if I had asked.... why would you need to jump a Prius Don't they have this big honking battery in the car

That main battery doesn't have anything to do with the 12v battery. They're completely separated from each other.

At first I thought it was a design flaw. But now I think it's a safety feature to keep people from accidentally putting a few hundred volts through their jumper cables.

But wait, it gets even better. Where do most drivers keep their jumper cables? In the back under the spare tire. Unfortunately the Prius spare tire is in the back under the deck (right next to the 12v battery), and the hatchback is electrically operated. So when the 12v battery dies, the hatchback won't open. You can't lift up the back deck (the hatchback is in the way) and you can't get at your jumper cables.

So now our jumper cables live under the driver's seat.

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords That main battery doesn't have anything to do with the 12v battery. They're completely separated from each other. At first I thought it was a design flaw. But now I think it's a safety feature to keep people from accidentally putting a few hundred volts through their jumper cables. But wait, it gets even better. Where do most drivers keep their jumper cables? In the back under the spare tire. Unfortunately the Prius spare tire is in the back under the deck (right next to the 12v battery), and the hatchback is electrically operated. So when the 12v battery dies, the hatchback won't open. You can't lift up the back deck (the hatchback is in the way) and you can't get at your jumper cables. So now our jumper cables live under the driver's seat.

Yea, now that you mention it.... it does make sense....

As for storing the cables.... I will have to look... I do not think my car trunk has a key option.... something else that you do not think about until it happens to you....

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texas Proud As for storing the cables.... I will have to look... I do not think my car trunk has a key option.... something else that you do not think about until it happens to you....

Many cars have a fold down back seat - you can get to the trunk that way from inside the car.


-ERD50

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 Many cars have a fold down back seat - you can get to the trunk that way from inside the car. -ERD50

Mine does not... it only has a small hole for the 'skis'.... I think that I have to have a key option as I know I got a valet key when I bought the car... I just have never looked.... probably under something... heck, I have only had the car for 9 years.... I can't know everything about it...

[Finance Dave]

15. Front end alignment (or rear wheel alignment for that matter) will not cause vibrations in a car. I have done over 4,000 alignments in my life, and I can’t tell you how many customers think that aligning a car will fix a vibration. Vibration is usually caused by (in order of frequency) tire balance, tire problem such as a slipped belt or knot, worn suspension parts, or worn driveline parts.

[imoldernu]

This may be off topic, but the part about the Prius battery needing voltage, to start charging reminds me of a similar situation, with my 36v 6 battery (older) Club Car golf cart... Last year, after 7 months away from FL, I asked a friend to put a charge in the cart. He wrote back, that my charger wouldn't work... Hmmm.. that's a $300 bill for a used charger... Sure enough, when I tried it myself... nada... Last ditch stand... used my 12V car charger to put a minimal charge into 2 batteries at a time, just to be able to move the cart. VOILA! Last ditch try to used the cart charger... Perfect... Seems the circuit in the charger requires some minimum charge to trigger the automatic cycle.

And one more... re: safety... five years ago, after charging the cart batteries on a hot day... decided to tighten the cable terminals with pliers. Oooops... BIG BOOM... knocked me on my tail, singed my eyebrows, and sent the plastic battery caps into the air, to land about 100 ft. away and bulged the sides of two batteries.... 36 volts and high amps, cause a big hot spark, and nitrogen gas is pretty powerful. Nothing like a personal experience to learn a lesson.

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by imoldernu ...... nitrogen gas is pretty powerful. ........

I think it might have been hydrogen.

[imoldernu]

One more... about the trunk... My 96 SLS has an electric automatic "pull down", where after lowering the lid to the switch, it draws down to the lock position. Anyway, it stopped working, so I had to adjust the catch to engage mechanically and use the key to open.
I figured out why the pulldown motor wouldn't work and decided to change it back to electric. Problem is, the adjustment... Got stuck and no way to open with the key. Finally got it open again and decided to go back to manual... Have no idea, how to open the trunk when the catch adjustment is stuck... Can't get through the back seat. Cadillac forums don't address this problem.
Can opener?

[imoldernu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover I think it might have been hydrogen.

How kind you were to put it that way... :

It's the steady descent into AZ...

[Finance Dave]

16. This one is for the mechanically inclined…and I don’t think a shop would ever do this for you. When you buy a brand new or used car…take a tiny drill bit (perhaps 1/32”), and drill a tiny “weep” hole in the lower edge of the back part of the muffler casing. Mufflers typically rust out from the inside…when you start your car and drive it, the air in the exhaust is humid, and the exhaust system is not hot enough to burn off any condensate…so the water settles out near the back of the muffler and rusts it. I have an 11-year old car with 80,000 miles on it, and the muffler is nowhere near being rusted out because I did this 11 years ago. I have a high performance car with 2 mufflers that are 16 years old each…and they are not rusted at all (to be fair, this is a very low mileage car). Over time you’ll see a small black line running down from this hole…this is the water condensation carrying soot out…and this is normal…it means the hole is working.