Don’t Get Stuck Out In The Cold

Everyone knows that you need to get your oil changed...but what about other important maintenance items? In my last article, “Is it really JUST an oil change?”, I spoke of the importance of having  a skilled eye when your vehicle is serviced. It is this skilled eye that can help prevent a break down.  In this article I will be talking about your vehicle’s basic electrical system and what should be done to make sure it stays reliable and problem free.

For the purpose of keeping it simple we will be focusing on the part of your electrical system that actually needs maintenance such as your battery, battery connections, and your belts.  I will be leaving out the miles of wire that control everything from your brake lights to your electronic collision avoidance system because most problems we see are related to that area of your battery and can be prevented with routine maintenance.

Everyone knows if your battery  goes dead your stuck, so don’t leave your headlights on but let us talk about what usually happens.  Let’s say your car comes brand new with a 650 Cold Cranking Amp (CCA) battery from the manufacturer.  What this means is on a 32°F morning your battery can deliver 650 amperes of current to start your car.  When the battery is new it most likely can deliver much more than that and when we test new batteries of this size they routinely test at close to 1000CCA.  But, here's the thing, batteries age, and as they get older they lose their ability to make amps and routinely are considered questionable at four to five years of service.  The good thing is that we can test a battery’s CCA capacity using newer electronic testers.  We actually watch the battery’s CCA go down over its lifespan and can within  reason predict when it is no longer capable of doing its job correctly.  So, in summary, here at Petty Motorworks we test your battery at every service and we record the measured CCA each time. Oh, one more thing, as your battery ages it put more and more load on your charging system and the leading cause of a charging system failure is a weak or bad battery so not taking care of your battery can get very expensive if it also damages the  Alternator which is the heart of the charging system. 

I now want to talk about the connections at the battery and the cables that support the high current part of your electrical system.  Starting at the battery, we see the one of the most commonly overlooked services.  Your battery terminals are the connection between your battery and the vehicle and we see levels of corrosion there that would surprise Nicola Tesla (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla).  Servicing the corrosion that forms on the battery terminals is usually simple if caught early enough but can get very costly if it progresses.  Here at Petty Motorworks we prefer to prevent the corrosion as opposed to repairing the damage. When we service your battery we will clean your battery using an acid neutralizing spray, remove the cables using a special memory saving external power source, install gel impregnated felt pads under your battery terminals, and then apply a special battery terminal protectant when everything is back together.  If the corrosion is too severe and has already damaged the terminal or cables we can make repairs that are as good as new.  Keep in mind that prevention is most important because some terminals have specialized sensors or fuses built in and repair is not possible. We also see the corrosion wick through the cable causing the cable to fail internally which requires cable replacement.

Lastly we need to make sure that your charging system is OK because if this fails it will appear that your battery is dead but the real problem was that is wasn’t being charged back up after each start.  At Petty Motorworks we will check your alternator belt and make sure that the charging system is delivering the correct voltage.  

To wrap things up your battery should have it’s capacity tested at every service or oil change, the charging system should be checked once a year, and you should have corrosion preventing felts installed before any corrosion forms.  These simple things will keep your basic electrical system happy and healthy. 

Is it really JUST an oil change?

Over the years, I have seen many things. For example, an innocent mouse that makes its home in the air filter during winter...Or a less innocent case in which a wheel lug was snapped, drilled out and threaded internally to hide an error, rather than properly being replaced by a (less) innocent facility. Needless to say, the story I am about to tell falls somewhere in the middle.

Many years ago a good friend of mine came to me with a car problem. He was a smart man and being a chiropractor by trade he enjoyed working with his hands, so he usually took care of his own vehicles needs. Long story short, One thousand dollars ($1000) later he was fed up and standing in my garage. As I asked my basic diagnosis questions, and began my tried and true methods developed over my years as a Leading Technician and Technical Instructor, I quickly diagnosed this problem that had taken someone countless hours and dollars in a matter of 15 minutes and had it fixed for less than $100. I simply said to him “You fix my back, I fix your car.” The point of this story is that as professionals in any industry, you are paid for your skill that has been cultivated and perfected over time (in my case, decades!). Your vehicle, like your body or your house, is a valuable investment, and should be treated as such. Is it worth it to risk such an investment, over who has the cheapest labor or a perceived amount based purely around shops that offer the “19.99 oil change”?

And with that..is it really JUST an oil change? I have one more quick story…

This past week a customer came in after hearing a noise while driving. Upon placing the vehicle on the lift, the underside was COMPLETELY covered in oil and the drain plug was missing. How is the drain plug missing, you may ask? It’s really very simple. Every drain plug has a specific amount it should be tightened, and a special tool called a “Torque Wrench” used to ensure the drain plug is tightened to its proper amount set by the manufacturer. Any decent shop will have one of these for their tech’s to easily access. Drain plugs are not meant to be “hand tight” or over-tightened. Not only that, but there was a HOLE cut in the splash shield to access the oil filter made by the previous technician, instead of properly and easily removing the cover to drain the oil. A hole cut in a customers car without their permission, is property damage. I will not say where this was done at, but I will say it was one of these “19.99 quick lube” places. When we do an oil change, it is not JUST an oil change….when most independent repair facilities do your oil change, it is not just an oil change. It is a comprehensive check of your entire vehicle, to make sure it is safe for you and your family to drive in. It is you, the customer, entrusting us to ensure your investment will last you as long as possible, and to do that as cost effectively as possible by recommending maintenance before it is due, ensuring your fluids are topped up, and notifying you well in advance of any future repairs we may see that will be needed. It is making an accurate diagnosis, repairing the vehicle in a proper and timely manner, and standing behind your workmanship, no matter the parts fault or your own.

In summary, appropriate service with properly skilled technicians prevents costly repairs and breakdowns that may occur, as well as ensures that your vehicle is fit for service for many years to come!