Car Enthusiast Thread

[Lets Gekiga In]

Thank you guys for responding, I haven't had a call back yet from service, but I really appreciate y'all giving me ideas on what it could be.

It used to start over right again after driving for around 15 minutes. But when I tried this time around it all the accessories would turn on, but the engine wouldn't turn over. I think I could tell I was going to have issues when I got inside the car and the speedometer didn't immediately light up like it did previously. It's a keyless start.

Can certain 12V accessories (e.g. the Android/iPhone charger I have) if left plugged in could be a phantom power draw as well?

 

[madmanjock]

So on a really old car, I keep everything disconnected and turned off (radio, a/c) to give it as much chance as possible to fire when I turn the key. No harm in trying that and disconnecting anything from the cigarette lighter as well or usb port’s if it has those. But that’s a problem I’d have thought a new battery which had been fully charged would solve on a 11 year old car.

 

[lithy]

When you use a jump box where are you connecting the leads to the car? Positive at the battery terminal but where is the ground going? Battery or some other grounding point?

As for accessories, they should usually not draw enough if anything. Especially not to matter over just a couple days between drives but it couldn't hurt to unplug them either to see if it changes anything.

If it's running fine once underway, I think the alternator can be pretty safely ruled out especially with a recent replacement. It really sounds like maybe the battery isn't getting a charge and the most obvious thing to me would be a bad connection somewhere or corrosion at the terminals.

 

[NeoSneth]

Starter motor could be very tired or gummed up. Letting them sit idle is probably the worst thing you can do for a car. Electrics, rubber, gaskets, motor, brakes. All of that stuff sitting idle is not great.

Could be something simple like the starter cable. You should see how much Voltage is going to the starter motor. My model of Porsche has a common issue with the starter cable because it stretches from the front of the car to the back.

 

[lithy]

I've never been able to jump a car with a bad starter though.

Well, at least an automatic one.

 

[Lets Gekiga In]

Luckily the last time they worked on it I had a warranty so they replaced the battery for free. But apparently it was a bad battery they had installed back in May this year. Fingers crossed that's all it is, but I'm going to keep a close eye on it. Car seems to start up right away every time.

Thanks everybody!

 

[madmanjock]

Phew, happy days!

Here’s some pictures from ‘Shite in the Park’ - a monthly car meet for pre 2000 cars in Dunfermline, Scotland, which I was at last Sunday.

 

[Tarma]

That time I had two Boxsters...

 

[madmanjock]

That time I had two Boxsters...

Noooice.

I’m getting a 924 in a couple of weeks.

 

[Tarma]

Noooice.

I’m getting a 924 in a couple of weeks.

Got this thing now...

 

[Neodogg]

Got this thing now...

Nice Pinto!

 

[Tarma]

Nice Pinto!

Ha, close, but thanks! Not sure how much the European Escort Mk4 has in common with the Pinto... probably not much with this being a RS Turbo.

 

[Neodogg]

I remember delivering pizzas in an Escort back in high schoolz…

 

[madmanjock]

There’s a classic Ford specialist near me that have a import Ford Sierra XR8 for sale that I keep glancing at. The XR8 was a South African only model that came with a 302 V8 engine.

Ford Sierra XR8 | Car Cave Scotland - Used Cars in Midlothian, Edinburgh

Ford Sierra XR8 V8. This is a genuine Ford factory built car. These were homologated for racing in South Africa and only 250 were ever made. This is a genuine car and is probably the only one for sale North of the equator at the moment. The car was on the road prior to export and starts runs and...

carcavescotland.co.uk

 

[madmanjock]

A bittersweet day today. My Proton GLS which has been a great toy for the last year broke down 3 hours away from home in the middle of nowhere. The RAC towed the car back to my local garage but it needed a new distributor to get going again, which was an absolute nightmare to source. To top it off while it’s running again, it’s started an occasional farty backfire habit which might be related to the distributor (maybe the garage didn’t reset the valve timings when the new part arrived) but I’ve fallen out of confidence and thus love with the car, so I’m trading it in today towards a Porsche 924.

Out with the old…



In with the new. (Even although the new is 6 years older).

 

[NeoSneth]

Nice looking 924. I'd really like an old Porsche, but I just don't set aside the time to wrench.

 

[madmanjock]

Nice looking 924. I'd really like an old Porsche, but I just don't set aside the time to wrench.

You aren't wrong.

It nearly gave me a heart attack on the way home. On the A68 on the English side of the border the engine just decided to crap itself. I was with a pal at the time, we limped the car to the next parking space.

Turns out the last owner had done a shit job at changing the spark plugs himself, and one had popped out.

I had no idea what to do but thankfully my pal had serviced his own car before (once). There was a toolkit in the boot (thank you for being an old car with an official toolkit) and spare spark plugs (thank you previous owner even although you are a dick from not installing the other ones properly). We got it going again within an hour. Amazing really.

 

[NeoSneth]

Yeah, old cars are easier to work on in some respects, but there's also no ODBII for when you are clueless.

 

[madmanjock]

A few pics from ‘Shite in the Park’ earlier today.

 

[lithy]

Clean looking Europa, nice.

What's the modern silver car between the Volvo and Lotus?

 

[madmanjock]

Clean looking Europa, nice.

What's the modern silver car between the Volvo and Lotus?

It’s a Smart roadster. A bit of a hairdresser’s car but it’s rear wheel drive and has a tiny 698cc engine with a turbo.

Clarkson seemed to quite like it.

 

[Late]

The Mk2 is nice.

 

[madmanjock]

More classic car spotting. This time from Morris Leslie Car Auctions in Perth, Scotland last weekend.

 

[NeoSneth]

I feel like there is untapped design inspirations in those old cars. It worked for the Mustang, but I guess it could also flop like the Thunderbird.

I'm gonna need to get back to Cars and Coffee after the winter break. I'm on year 3 of shopping for a new vehicle.....can't decide.

 

[madmanjock]