I see this frequently on the road, and it keeps leaving me scratching my head. Broke down car on the side of the road with somebody trying to jump start it. Do alternators frequently die and leave the battery dead in mid flight, or are people just convinced that jump starting is the universal fix for cars that won't start? Mind you, I encountered somebody with a trashed starter who kept fiddling with the good samaritan's jumper cables while the starter was spinning furiously but never engaging the engine. He didn't seem to want to listen when I tried to tell him it won't help.
Strange sight
- Thread starter Dave Sherman
- Start date
- Status
Good question...I would love to know the answer as well. On a sort or related topic, is cars that break down on a major interstate/freeway and sit there for DAYS. I can see a few hours or so, to call a wrecker or get a buddy with a tow strap...but for days...would never leave my car on side of the road any longer than I had to. Tom
I think you hit the nail on the head with the thought that most of the general public is not very car knowlegeable. Most people honestly have no idea how many parts, both electrical and mechanical, are involved from the time they turn the key to the time the engine catches and begins to run on its own. Most all people ever care about is that when they turn the key, the engine starts up and they don't ever care to learn anything about the why or how. When things don't go the way they should, the general thought is that the battery must be dead, since that is the only part that most people ever really think of when it comes to starting a car. I've had people come in my shop asking for a jump and when I go outside, the headlights are shining bright and the stereo is going full blast. Of course you can't explain to these people that the problem can't possibly be their battery until they hook up the jumper cables and see for themself that the problem was not solved that way. Then they just start scratching their head and call a tow truck (or in the case that they break down near my shop I offer to push the car into the shop and check it out for them.)
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2002
- Messages
- 39,793
I think that even if your average person had the fundamentals of how an engine works in their personal mental data base, that a break down on the road would be difficult to diagnose and remedy. If it's not fuel or a blown hose causing and overheat, there's not really much to do ..even if you know what the cause is.
I think the jumper cable thing is more a product of wearing down the battery; hoping that magic will occur in it fixing itself.
I think the jumper cable thing is more a product of wearing down the battery; hoping that magic will occur in it fixing itself.
i agree that it is almost impossible to diagnose an issue with a modern vehicle on the side of the road. although i do keep a pretty extensive tool kit in my truck at all times (including a matco scan tool), i'm definitely a bit more prepared than most people. i also tend to have a bit more knowledge about what i'm looking at than most people as well.
i'd also agree with the jump starting being more of a "hopeful" fix than anything. although someone with a little bit of knowledge should know in certain cases that it just isn't going to work and not waste time trying it. with the amount of time it takes a tow truck to get to you around here in NJ (last time i called one it took 2 hours) i'd rather spend that time waiting for the tow instead of wasting my and some other random motorist's 20 minutes.
i'd also agree with the jump starting being more of a "hopeful" fix than anything. although someone with a little bit of knowledge should know in certain cases that it just isn't going to work and not waste time trying it. with the amount of time it takes a tow truck to get to you around here in NJ (last time i called one it took 2 hours) i'd rather spend that time waiting for the tow instead of wasting my and some other random motorist's 20 minutes.
Originally Posted By: daddi
Good question...I would love to know the answer as well. On a sort or related topic, is cars that break down on a major interstate/freeway and sit there for DAYS. I can see a few hours or so, to call a wrecker or get a buddy with a tow strap...but for days...would never leave my car on side of the road any longer than I had to. Tom
About a week ago I saw five of these apparent orphans in the twelve miles between downtown New Orleans and the suburbs. All with the bright orange sticker on the back window that meant they've been there long enough for the cops to tag them.
Good question...I would love to know the answer as well. On a sort or related topic, is cars that break down on a major interstate/freeway and sit there for DAYS. I can see a few hours or so, to call a wrecker or get a buddy with a tow strap...but for days...would never leave my car on side of the road any longer than I had to. Tom
About a week ago I saw five of these apparent orphans in the twelve miles between downtown New Orleans and the suburbs. All with the bright orange sticker on the back window that meant they've been there long enough for the cops to tag them.
A friend of mine works at an impound lot that tows these "abandoned" vehicles off the freeway. He says at least 4-5 come in every day. And his lot only covers a 10-mile stretch of the freeway here. He told me they sit on the lot for a few months and then get sent off to the crusher. He's gotten all kinds of goodies out of these cars from CDs to stereos and even got a toolbox full of Snap-On tools once.
My coworker thinks like this! His alternator went out and someone gave him a jump, he made it another block (go figure), and since he was going downhill he wondered why his power steering got heavy. That was his first clue he stalled again. He thought it was the end of days!
"They" don't help things by having the alternator light shaped like a battery. In the 70's when we could all read english it actually said "ALT"... I got a grand marquis off craigslist once real cheap with a dead alt and a couple-days old $125 NAPA battery!
Try explaining to someone how flooring the gas will clear extra gas out of an engine! There are several failure scenarios that lead to flooding that would more or less clear out if and when someone gets it idling.
"They" don't help things by having the alternator light shaped like a battery. In the 70's when we could all read english it actually said "ALT"... I got a grand marquis off craigslist once real cheap with a dead alt and a couple-days old $125 NAPA battery!
Try explaining to someone how flooring the gas will clear extra gas out of an engine! There are several failure scenarios that lead to flooding that would more or less clear out if and when someone gets it idling.
Originally Posted By: daddi
Good question...I would love to know the answer as well. On a sort or related topic, is cars that break down on a major interstate/freeway and sit there for DAYS. I can see a few hours or so, to call a wrecker or get a buddy with a tow strap...but for days...would never leave my car on side of the road any longer than I had to. Tom
People who are very poor may have no other option, or it simply may just be more cost effective for them to leave it and get another car if it's a major failure. I couldn't imagine doing that either, but some people decide it's their only option I guess.
Good question...I would love to know the answer as well. On a sort or related topic, is cars that break down on a major interstate/freeway and sit there for DAYS. I can see a few hours or so, to call a wrecker or get a buddy with a tow strap...but for days...would never leave my car on side of the road any longer than I had to. Tom
People who are very poor may have no other option, or it simply may just be more cost effective for them to leave it and get another car if it's a major failure. I couldn't imagine doing that either, but some people decide it's their only option I guess.
- Status
Similar threads
- Locked
