[freakmuzik]

I just tanked up my car fully, checked the air and cleaned it up on the day before the lockdown. I like to do a tankful when I refill. Anyways, I don't think fuel supply will be affected much. I'm just going to make sure that I crank the car once in four or five days and just clean the exterior. With all the traffic stopped, the pollution is going to be so much lesser and shouldn't be much of a worry I feel. Anyways, whatever it is, let's not venture out of our houses.

Cheers!

[Mortis]

My mom's Dzire did not start today. Battery is only a month old, we had replaced the factory battery after 2 years since it had gotten weak. It may not be a battery issue possibly. When I try to start it, the car just makes a Trrrrrrrr plasticy machine gun sound from the engine bay that's not too loud. It doesn't make the normal cranking sound that you get when trying to start a car with a weak battery. Various electronic components are working fine.
What could it be ? Starter motor or ignition coil ?

[smileline]

Originally Posted by Mortis

My mom's Dzire did not start today. Battery is only a month old, we had replaced the factory battery after 2 years since it had gotten weak. It may not be a battery issue possibly. When I try to start it, the car just makes a Trrrrrrrr plasticy machine gun sound from the engine bay that's not too loud. It doesn't make the normal cranking sound that you get when trying to start a car with a weak battery. Various electronic components are working fine.
What could it be ? Starter motor or ignition coil ?

I would suggest some basic checks

• When was the car used last ?
• Please check if any lights were left "on"
• Check for any signs of rodents in the engine bay
• Have you hardwired any accessories ?
• Check the manufacturing date of the new battery.
• To rule out the battery try to jump start

[Mortis]

Originally Posted by smileline

I would suggest some basic checks

• When was the car used last ?
• Please check if any lights were left "on"
• Check for any signs of rodents in the engine bay
• Have you hardwired any accessories ?
• Check the manufacturing date of the new battery.
• To rule out the battery try to jump start

Car was last used on Friday.
No lights were left on. There is still enough juice for accessory power.
No rodent damage visible. Car has cat security
No aftermarket electric accessories.
Battery is Dec manufactured.
Unfortunately I don't have jumper cables. I guess I'll have to wait 3 weeks to try this.

I just went and checked again since the last time I tried my boot was open so I thought it could be a safey feature due to that but no luck. Just the same Trrrrrr vibration sound when I try to start and on the MID the lower bit with Trip KM, Avg, etc refreshes itself and the gear shift indicator up and down arrows flash for a second.
Any other suggestions ? I could check with the OBD adapter which shows only Voltage at OBD though.
I might try a push start tomorrow but as I said the sound is completely different from the usual weak battery cranking engine noise which I know what it sounds like since this car itself had weak battery issues and hard starts only a couple of months ago

[GTB]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Keeping your tank full is always advised. The less air above the fuel, the less condensation, the less problem with the fuel. Always check and smell the fuel before you start it for the first time after a prolonged period of time. If it smells of rotten eggs, it’s gone off. Don’t start it, if you do you will not only have to clean out the tank, but also the whole fuel system. So try avoiding starting with bad fuel!

When would the condensation start to happen? All the cars which are parked straight for a couple of months would face this problem?

[smileline]

Any other suggestions ? I could check with the OBD adapter which shows only Voltage at OBD though.
I might try a push start tomorrow but as I said the sound is completely different from the usual weak battery cranking engine noise which I know what it sounds like since this car itself had weak battery issues and hard starts only a couple of months ago

Does the music system, lights or MID work, on ignition ? my guess would be if the system and MID works, it may not be related to battery. ,

[RAHS]

Hello Everyone,

My Duster is about 3.5 years old now. I thought it's high time to get it detailed once. I have visited FAYNLAB in HSR Layout, Bangalore earlier this month to get the exterior detailing done. Attaching couple of pics that was taken after the work is completed. Overall happy with the service. Friendly staff and excellent work quality. Highly recommend this studio.

This is just before the virus outbreak / lockdowns started in India. It would have been impossible now since things have changed dramatically now. Not using the car since last week. Car washing guys are not allowed inside the apartment complex due to obvious reasons. So planning to wash it myself and turn it ON once a week to keep it healthy.

Stay Home, Stay Safe & Take Care!

Thanks,
Raghav

[scorpian]

Originally Posted by Mortis

My mom's Dzire did not start
What could it be ? Starter motor or ignition coil ?

From what i can think it can be either the starter relay,starter itself.
Try putting the car in reverse gear and just try rocking it front and back with the reverse gear engaged and then give it a try.

Post back if it helps or dosen't.

[Mortis]

@Smiline : They all work.

@ Scorpian : I'll try this tomorrow. Just a little rocking ? 1-2 feet fwd and back is fine ? I don't think it will move much in gear.

[silverado]

Even if you have one parking slot, change the direction of the car every 3-4 days to avoid issues with rats. Best option is to swap your parking location with neighbors every few days.

If you stay in a society with some internal roads, you can take few rounds inside the society itself.

[Tuisha110HP]

Since my car is fairly new, here's what I have done:

a) Gave it a thorough wash and did put the car cover. Dirty car with a cover is the worst thing for the paint.

b) Since I have a ceramic coated car, to avoid any swirls developing due to the cover rubbing against the coat, I did put a thin soft bedsheet covering the bonnet and top. Hopefully that should work.

c) Parked it in a almost flat surface with a slight incline on one side close to my home wall. Experts kindly suggest if that is okay for 21 days for the suspensions? Any suggestion would be helpful.

d) Tank is almost full. Did a tank full 2 days before the lock-down.

e) Both my bikes have been washed, tank filled and covered as well.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by GTB

When would the condensation start to happen? All the cars which are parked straight for a couple of months would face this problem?

Air drawn into your tank contains moisture. This moisture condenses when the outer walls of the tank are colder than the fuel causing the moisture in the fuel to condense on the walls of the tank. So it really depends on the ambient conditions.

The total amount of moisture is directly proportional to the amount of air (or fuel) in the tank. The more fuel, the less air and vice versa obviously.

The condensation causes two problems; water in the fuel and rust.
Personally I never believe the story of water formed out of condensation being a problem for the fuel. Water is heavier than fuel and would go to the bottom of the tank. Where it will be sucked up into the fuel system with all sorts of problems.

However, under normal ambient temperatures the amount of air in a liter of air is pretty minute. Think 1 ml or thereabouts. But that is still going to condens and condensation happens on the most rough surfaces. So that it typically a seam of your tank, or where the tank liner (if yours has one) has a tiny crack in it. So it will cause rust!

I have never come across cars not being able to start due to water from condensation in tanks. But I have come across tanks that were completely rusted from the inside out.

Like most wear and tear on our cars, this tends to be a cumulative phenomena. Putting a car up for several months with an almost empty tank is just likely to make it a bit worse. So this is a case of better safe than sorry.

Modern cars have their fuel systems effectively sealed from the environment. So with the car standing still/engine off, the same air remains in the tank. On older cars, the fuel tank/system is more likely to be open to the air, so some circulation could happen. Irrespective, make sure your fuel cap makes a good seal. On modern cars, a poor seal on a fuel cap is a known cause for many a Engine Check Light.

Due to my overseas work over many years I have had to lay up my cars for extended period of times. My classic usually don’t run during the winter month. I always take a few simple measures:

- Clean the car thoroughly
- Put extra pressure in the tyres
- Fill up the tank
- Keep the battery on a trickle charger.

In all those years, once the fuel had gone bad on my Alfa Spider, and once the (brand new) tyres on my Jaguar had become square.

Jeroen

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by RAHS

I have visited FAYNLAB in HSR Layout, Bangalore earlier this month to get the exterior detailing done.So planning to wash it myself and turn it ON once a week to keep it healthy.

Why wash at all unless it has caked dirt on it? Just use a Jopasu type duster followed by a waterless wash if required, and avoid the hard water totally.

[boniver]

My 16 year old car usually stays idle for 15-20 days at a stretch and I haven't faced any issues till date. However, since I'm usually never this bored and also because I needed to pick up a few things from the car, I paid her a visit and idled her for a few minutes. Started in the first crank, as always! Closed garage, so I don't have to worry about rats. Next visit will be after this lockdown ends.

[GTB]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Air drawn into your tank contains moisture.

Thank you for the very detailed explanation. Very informative.
Also, my car's motor oil change is due this month. From the service experts, I have got to know that, it is okay to run up to 3000 kilometres when your motor oil change is due.