From a post on the FP about a car not starting.

Kinja'd!!! by "Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell." (oppisitelock)
Published 01/15/2017 at 16:26

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STARS: 7


“If your lights and radio are working, it’s probably not the battery.” This is completely false... A light bulb and a starter dont exactly have the same requirements.


Replies (15)

Kinja'd!!! "Frenchlicker" (frenchlicker)
01/15/2017 at 16:32, STARS: 0

Exactly, I had that exact situation not even a week ago.

Kinja'd!!! "Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
01/15/2017 at 16:33, STARS: 2

Load test or GTFO

Kinja'd!!! "My X-type is too a real Jaguar" (TomSlick)
01/15/2017 at 16:34, STARS: 1

Yeah someone needs a lesson amps and volts. 100 amps will run most accessories my car needs 850 amps to start.

Kinja'd!!! "Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell." (oppisitelock)
01/15/2017 at 16:39, STARS: 1

Same here multiple times. Usually even a crappy battery that cant turn the starter will have enough juice to run the lights for a bit.

Kinja'd!!! "functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
01/15/2017 at 16:40, STARS: 1

Especially these fancy schmancy newfangled cars what with their L.E.D.s and whatnot....

Kinja'd!!! "Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell." (oppisitelock)
01/15/2017 at 16:41, STARS: 1

Cursed magic boxes.

Kinja'd!!! "functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
01/15/2017 at 16:49, STARS: 0

My DD has many magic boxes. I recently pulled three fuses out trying to disable traction control and abs, and it took four fuses before anything changed. If I pulled four fuses from my truck I’d only have one left.

Kinja'd!!! "Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell." (oppisitelock)
01/15/2017 at 16:51, STARS: 1

My twingo is very simple for a 2010 model, but it still has epic amounts of wiring under the carpets.

Kinja'd!!! "comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer" (00cyclonefan)
01/15/2017 at 16:55, STARS: 0

I’m just here to pile onto that bad advice. I might *possibly* give him a bit of a pass if he lives in the south, where it might not take quite as much amperage to crank, but still, are going to have trouble starting waaay before you can’t turn on the lights/radio.

Kinja'd!!! "DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time" (dc3ls-)
01/15/2017 at 17:20, STARS: 0

Word. I posted a while about an electrical gremlin. Everyone said it was grounds or starter. Then I saw the battery was three years old. Replaced it and the gremlin was set at bay!

Kinja'd!!! "Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck)
01/15/2017 at 17:23, STARS: 0

SAD!

Kinja'd!!! "Cé hé sin" (michael-m-mouse)
01/15/2017 at 17:41, STARS: 0

Fuses are evil. I hired a car (Citroen C3) a few years ago. The fuse for the 12v outlet had blown so I checked the handbook to see where it was. Under the dash, it said. Tried all fuses there. No joy. Found a second fusebox hidden beside the engine. Checked all of these, something like thirty of them. No joy. Checked them all again with now bleeding figures. Nope.

Asked Mr Google, who explained about the third fusebox, hidden deep behind the dash.

Kinja'd!!! "1111111111111111111111" (aaaaaaaaasssssssaaaasaas)
01/15/2017 at 18:14, STARS: 0

I usually turn the wipers on full. That uses some juice.

Kinja'd!!! "Frenchlicker" (frenchlicker)
01/15/2017 at 18:23, STARS: 0

Had that same situation with the shitty replacement battery I bought haha.

Oppo Top Tip: If you want a battery that is in the $50 range go to a farm supply store(Here that’s Rural Kind, Tractor Dupply and the like) and avoid the terrible Walmart specials.

Kinja'd!!! "functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
01/15/2017 at 19:43, STARS: 0

Anywhere it’s reasonable I replace fuses with breakers. Not so much replacing entire fuse panels, but if there’s some accessory with an inline fuse, I would use a breaker. This way you aren’t stuck with the wrong fuse if something goes awry. In particular, this applies to boats where you can really be stranded...