frozen vehicle

Is there any clicking at all? I mean if the battery was dead and you tried to start the car wouldn't you still hear a clicking of the alternator?

Stupid question, are the leads on the battery secure? Around the post, tightened.

you dont need to plug in the hybrids. The batteries start an electric engine which starts the gas engine. I dont have any trouble but Ive only had it down to 10 F. .
Id have it towed to a garage so the whole thing can warm up.

So, its not a hybrid so then its the 6 cylinder . Advice still stands, get it in the warmth. You have AAAwhere you are?

Ahhh....Roger might be right about the fluids if you don't think the battery is dead.

Yes, he confirmed it was the block heater that was not plugged in.

I am not sure, but even if the fluids were frozen would the care still not try to start? or at least make some noise like it was?

ha...GreenWitch

minus 19 deg in the UK
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/devon/hi/

http://www.clickgreen.org.uk/news/national-news/121033-satellite-pic-reveals-ice-age-britain.html

we're positively arctic and not equipped for it. Problems with my car too and we're getting hit hard over the weekend.


Honourary Aussie if they'll have me... talk OZ!

my cars diesel

Oops, I've always had trouble telling the English accent from the Australian.
Stay toasty.

Never hun

Thankeeeeeeee.... trying hard <shiver> brrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Yes. I asked because I was looking for the meaning of "frozen". Also to point out there could, but might not be damage resulting from frozen coolant.

If the coolant is frozen and the car starts anyway, I would expect a radiator hose to blow apart before engine heat thaws the coolant. I have had first hand experience with that. In Oklahoma, central Canada.

That is what I thought. I still think that if, as the original post stated, the battery is good, but when he turns the key that he hears nothing at all leads me to think it is something with the alternator or the maybe a sensor or fuse

Wouldn't involve the alternator, but yeah, if the car thinks it is in gear without the clutch being depressed, or an automatic thinks it is not in park, that could produce the symptoms. Still, these are things the driver routinely deals with when starting.

oh yea, I didn't even think about the car not being in park or neutral. that could be a problem as well. I think our poster is putting a hair dryer on his engine as we speak

I know it sounds crazy, but depending on the problem it actually works. Just you wait and see Mr. SmartySeed.

Haha. I was merely stating that he said he would try it, and as he had been going back and forth with us and he stopped, I assumed that is what he was doing.

Props to you Witch of the Green

Mine's an auto - have to have the have the foot on the break and in park before it will start too.

Best of luck to matey there

Nitey nite. x

I think the block is cracked. You won't be able to tell for sure until the car gets towed in, warmed up, (not started, just warmed up) and then looked at for freeze cracks.
That's a bad thing. Sorry.

For those of you lucky enough not to live in the climes which need such things, a block heater is plugged into the local electricity and sits under the car to provide enough warmth so that the oil and coolant don't freeze. -30F will do such things to both oil and anti-freeze especially if there are sufficient winds to bring the temps down even further. Some block heaters are combined with heater sticks which go down into the oil filler tube and the radiator.

I watched a guy in Montana one morning after a big snow first shovel and sweep off his truck of all the snow and ice, but then he couldn't get the hood open to get the heater sticks out of the engine. There he was, a nicely warmed oil supply and antifreeze, but no way to get the thing started. A friend went and got a heat gun (looks just like a hair dryer but puts out about 750-1200F) and between the two of them heating and beating on the hood finally got it open in about a half an hour.
Whew.
That night it snowed again. And, sure enough, there he was about 7:30AM, the truck all cleared off but the hood frozen shut.

Joe(that was the day I drove my VW bug back to Oklahoma)Nation

Up in the BAffin Bay projects, we used to keep the drill rigs running all night. No problem starting then.


ThenThere is the unique diesel winter asshole trick. We plugs our trucks in and the thing starts like a champ in the cold morning. SO we derive off with the cord still hanging on and sometimes even the elctric junction box dragging along.

I didnt feel too bad after I once shared this with Timberland Kevin . He assured me that he had lost several electric cords attached to snowplows and schoolbuses. My one tech rigged up a tripod out of heavy gage wire. He has the plug attached to this and theres a big red flag on the top so you can see that youre plugged in and dont drive off with a flag attached to your truck.

Good idea. I've never driven still plugged in unless you count the time I was in a hurry to leave the drive-in movie.
Forgot that the speaker was still hanging on the inside of the back window.
Joe(Made a terrible sound and completely ruined the mood.)Nation