Tips for maintaining your car battery

You seldom think about your car battery until you are in a deserted parking garage late at night and your car won’t start. Then it becomes very important in your life. Car batteries require simple and routine maintenance in order to work properly over their lives. If you can open your hood and use a wire brush, you can maintain a car battery. First thing is to pop open your hood and locate your battery. Don’t worry, it won’t bite. The 2 posts that the battery cables are connected to must be clean and free of corrosion. Corrosion can prevent the cables from getting a charge and prevent your car from starting. Simply keeping your terminals clean can keep those troubles away. Get a wire brush and scrub the contacts clean. If you are really motivated, you can remove the cables and scrub the inside of connector and the terminal post. You should have a good contact after you complete this little chore. You also need to check your water level, especially when it is hot outside. If the water level drops too low, the battery will have a difficult time holding a charge. Next time you fill up, ask the guy at the service station to check it for you. Don’t wait until your car is slow to crank up. If your battery is not putting out enough juice, it may be too late to save it. The time to save your car battery is before these symptoms show up and always have a pair of jumper cables or a battery booster in your truck. You never know if that old battery has cranked for the last time.

What is a good battery jump starter for cross country trips?

I travel cross country a lot and drive through some pretty desolate areas. My fear is having a dead car battery or a flat tire out in the middle of nowhere. What product do you carry that I can carry in my trunk and will give me a some piece of mind? Thanks for your help.

Thanks for your question. First of all, to address the dead battery issue, a good battery jump starter is all you need. This will allow you to jump your own dead battery without having to wave another car down on the highway and use a pair of jumper cables. These products act as an "extra car" that you can jump your dead battery. The K&K Jumpstart JNCAir jump starter also comes equiped with an air compressor. This model battery jump starter will inflate your tires in minutes and it also has a DC outlet to power your 12 volt accessories. This model battery booster will go a long to giving you a little extra piece of mind on those long trips.

Can I disable my check engine light?

Is it possible to disable the check engine light in my car? It is very annoying. Thanks in advance

Yank the bulb!

But seriously, most states require an automobile to have an annual emissions test. Part of that test requires NO check engine light be illuminated. When you crank up the engine, the check engine light comes on as part of a diagnostic to show that it is still working (i.e. not been pulled or is burned out). You may also consider correcting the root problem. If your car is ODB compliant, you can purchase an automotive scan tool that will read your OBD codes. Then you can find out what is causing the error code and correct the problem. You are better off fixing it than yanking the bulb. In Texas, you can't get an inspection sticker if your check engine light is on. Good luck.

Soldering Iron Help.

Hi,

I've tried my hand with a soldering iron lately and haven't met with much success. Had a fuel guage sender with a leaky float. Made of copper, had a crack. Tried soldering with resin core and a soldering iron. Looked okay and didn't bubble in a bath, but was sunk a day after reinstallation. Next, I tried repairing the top of the radiator. Had seperated at a soldering crimp. Took it out and laid down a nice bead with silver solder and a propane torch. Tested in the garage, it held water after a few touch-ups. When driven, didn't make it to the gas station and it was leaking almost as bad as before.

What gives? Any advice on what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks for the question.

When you solder floats they heat up and expel air creating leaks. You will need to heat the entire float up with a torch and then solder with the soldering iron. Also, the area you are using the soldering iron is probably not clean. Silver solder is difficult to use and requires the parts be very clean. It also needs higher heat. I would also recommend trying to use a tin/lead solder instead.

How does an evaporative cooler work?

How does an evaporative cooler or swamp cooler work? Is it different from a regular air conditioner?

Thats a good question and easy to answer. First of all, a swamp cooler is very different from an air conditioner. It works on a totally different principle. The air conditioner in your automotive shop office or your car works on a freon based system that uses a compressor, blower and other parts to create cold air. It basically is the same principle as when you let the air out of a bicycle tire and the valve gets cold. Iin an air conditioner, the freon is expanded through some coils and air is blown over them producing the cold air. In an evaporative cooler, water is fed into filter pads and, thanks to gravity, trickles down through them to collect in a sump at the bottom of the cooler. A small water pump circulates the collected water back to the top of the pads. Then the process begins over again. The fan blows air through the pads and through evaporative cooling, the air is cooled. Generally, swamp coolers work best in dry climates and are great for an automotive shop or other outdoor application.

Recharging your automobile air conditioner

My air conditioner was not cooling anymore. I bought a 134a kit with two bottles for $35, recharged, and everything seems to be fine. What is the advantage to having a garage recharge your automobile air conditioner for around $100 compared with doing it yourself for a fraction of the cost? I know one thing the garage does is put a vacuum pump on the lines, is this a necessary step? Is recharging yourself by adding a can of 134a just a temporary fix?



Using a garage and a good mechanic has several advantages. They are generally equiped with much better tools and instruments. A automotive garage with have professional grade refrigerant manifold gauges to measure both the low AND high side in the lines. If refrigerant needs to be added to your A/C system, the exact amount will be added using a Robinair charging cylinder. Cans simply are not very accurate. An quality automotive air conditioning mechanic will evacuate, vacuum and recharge for an exact filll by weight per manufacturer's specs. Also, leak detection dye may be added. Then the air conditioning system can be inspected
for refrigerant leaks and free recheck under ultraviolet flashlight a few weeks later. An experienced air conditioning mechanic will probably be familiar with your car's particular air conditioning system and will now where to look for refrigerant leaks.