Winter Checks - Dont get caught out by the cold

[sideways danny]

Well in the last few weeks the sudden drop in temperatures has caught out a few people

In view of this I thought it worthwhile to highlight a few areas worth paying attention to.

Coolant/anti-freeze - I've seen a number of cars that the anti-freeze concentration has been far too weak, causing the entire coolant system to solidify, or turn to icy slush. This can do untold damage, and just today I've seen a Mazda MX6 with frozen coolant and a blown headgasket, due to a frozen water pump.

A check of the concentration of your coolant can be done quickly and easily. If your coolant needs changing, this can be done, using Renault type D, all inclusive for £45

Thermostat - A very commonly neglected item. If your thermostat is not operating correctly, the engine will never get up to the correct operating temperature. Often this will go un-noticed until the outside temperature drops. This will make the engine run rich, and have a noticable effect on economy
I would advise changing the thermostat at the same time as the coolant for an extra £20

Battery - Another item that is sensitive to the cold weather. If the battery has started to become weak then it can sometimes take time to recover after a cold engine start, leading to the common issue of belts slipping and squeeling in the morning. This is accentuated by cold temperatures.

Battery condition can be checked with a piece of equipement called a drop tester


This can tell you the condition of the battery, and not just it's immediate state of charge. If you're in need of a new battery, it's better to know now than to be stranded in a cold carpark when your car wont start


Get in contact now to organise winter checks and maintenance, and be ready for the next cold snap.

Email - [email:iojd93dk]enquiries@519automotive.co.uk[/email:iojd93dk]

Telephone - 07880 62 62 00

 

[aucky]

Re: drop tester
How does this differ from off and idle battery volatge testing using a multimeter? (genuinley curious)

 

[sideways danny]

The drop tester applys a resistive load across the battery, similar to the kind of loads the starter motor would give for example. This allows you to see the strength of the battery rather than just a voltage.

 

[keo]

aucky you can do a drop test with a multimeter, well you can on the ones i use at work, put the meter on the battery, set it to min/max and start your car. Will tell you the min voltage the battery dropped to

 

[sideways danny]

aucky you can do a drop test with a multimeter, well you can on the ones i use at work, put the meter on the battery, set it to min/max and start your car. Will tell you the min voltage the battery dropped to

you're very much incorrect in the method you're suggesting. All you're testing like that is the alternator output

 

[nickboazracing]

aucky you can do a drop test with a multimeter, well you can on the ones i use at work, put the meter on the battery, set it to min/max and start your car. Will tell you the min voltage the battery dropped to

you're very much incorrect in the method you're suggesting. All you're testing like that is the alternator output

That's correct actually. With a meter that records min and max you can see what the battery drops to under cranking.

 

[keo]

aucky you can do a drop test with a multimeter, well you can on the ones i use at work, put the meter on the battery, set it to min/max and start your car. Will tell you the min voltage the battery dropped to

you're very much incorrect in the method you're suggesting. All you're testing like that is the alternator output

no your incorrect (I arent arguing mate) if you put a meter on the battery whilst the engine is running it will show what the alternator is producing.

Dont know if how i described it was clear:

Connect meter to battery and press the min/max function
Start the engine
The lowest value the battery dropped to under cranking will be reccored