It's FREAKING FREEEEEEZING here in Calgary right now... -40', not including
the wind chill.
Needless to say, my car refused to start. Where I'm parked there is little
chance that I can get an extension cord out to the block heater.
Is there ANYTHING I can do to that the battery enough to start and move my
car to a better location?
Rodan - 29 Jan 2008 04:48 GMT
It's -40' here in Calgary... not including wind chill. My car
refuses to start, and I can't get an extension cord out to
the block heater. Is there anything I can do to the battery
enough to start and move my car to a better location?
________________________________________________
Take the battery out, bring it into the house and set it near
a heater vent for about 4 hours. Attach a charger if you
have one. Reinstall the warmed battery and try again.
Good luck.
Rodan.
Calab - 29 Jan 2008 05:45 GMT
> It's -40' here in Calgary... not including wind chill. My car
> refuses to start, and I can't get an extension cord out to
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> a heater vent for about 4 hours. Attach a charger if you
> have one. Reinstall the warmed battery and try again.
Doh!
Now why didn't I thunk of that?
Thanks!
Nate Nagel - 29 Jan 2008 11:28 GMT
>>It's -40' here in Calgary... not including wind chill. My car
>>refuses to start, and I can't get an extension cord out to
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> Thanks!
'cause if it's really -40 up there, once you step out side the only
thing going through your head is OH F**K IT'S COLD I'M GONNA DIE WHY DID
I GET OUT OF MY NICE WARM BED...
I don't mind cold weather but too much below 0F is too much for me.
nate

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Calab - 29 Jan 2008 13:03 GMT
>>>It's -40' here in Calgary... not including wind chill. My car
>>>refuses to start, and I can't get an extension cord out to
>>>the block heater. Is there anything I can do to the battery
>>>enough to start and move my car to a better location?
<snip>
> 'cause if it's really -40 up there, once you step out side the only thing
> going through your head is OH F**K IT'S COLD I'M GONNA DIE WHY DID I GET
> OUT OF MY NICE WARM BED...
>
> I don't mind cold weather but too much below 0F is too much for me.
Believe me! We are doing are darndest to move someplace warmer... Just wish
it were easier for us Canucks to get a green card!
N8N - 29 Jan 2008 13:54 GMT
> >>>It's -40' here in Calgary... not including wind chill. My car
> >>>refuses to start, and I can't get an extension cord out to
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> Believe me! We are doing are darndest to move someplace warmer... Just wish
> it were easier for us Canucks to get a green card!
Forgot to mention, in addition to Rodan's post... once you get the
battery inside and your hands are thawed out, pop the caps and look
inside before connecting the charger. If there is anything actually
frozen inside the battery DO NOT connect the charger until it is
thawed. If it's frozen, even after it is thawed and charged it also
will probably not hold a charge very well so plan on replacement
preferably before you shut the vehicle off again.
nate
Scott Dorsey - 29 Jan 2008 16:04 GMT
>"Nate Nagel" <njnagel@roosters.net> wrote in message
>
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>Believe me! We are doing are darndest to move someplace warmer... Just wish
>it were easier for us Canucks to get a green card!
And the sad part is that your Canadian money will go farther here in the US.
--scott

Signature
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
boxing@sasktel.net - 29 Jan 2008 09:41 GMT
try boosting it tuesday afternoon. it should be a bit warmer. once you
get it going, it would be a good idea to put the battery charger on
over night. You should make sure you have the most powerful battery
that you can get for your car. Also if the battery is more than 5
years old then its probably on its last legs and it would be wise to
buy a new powerful battery. lots of cold cranking amps. good luck.
http://www.theweathernetwork.com/index.php?product=weather&placecode=caab0049&sw
itchto=c
Don Stauffer in Minnesota - 29 Jan 2008 15:25 GMT
> It's FREAKING FREEEEEEZING here in Calgary right now... -40', not including
> the wind chill.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> Is there ANYTHING I can do to that the battery enough to start and move my
> car to a better location?
When I went to school in Upper Michigan many of us in the dorm would
regularly take our batteries in and keep them in dorm room overnight
on really cold nights, rather than chance frozen battery. We got
pretty good at taking them out and replacing them in a minute or so.
Calab - 29 Jan 2008 16:01 GMT
>> It's FREAKING FREEEEEEZING here in Calgary right now... -40', not
>> including
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> on really cold nights, rather than chance frozen battery. We got
> pretty good at taking them out and replacing them in a minute or so.
With todays cars there's so much junk crammed in there... I'm hoping not to
break too many plastic bits just getting to the battery.
Only -31'C (-24'F) right now... Really warming up! :)
AZ Nomad - 29 Jan 2008 16:13 GMT
>>> It's FREAKING FREEEEEEZING here in Calgary right now... -40', not
>>> including
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>> on really cold nights, rather than chance frozen battery. We got
>> pretty good at taking them out and replacing them in a minute or so.
>With todays cars there's so much junk crammed in there... I'm hoping not to
>break too many plastic bits just getting to the battery.
Try using automotive tools instead of a crowbar.
cuhulin@webtv.net - 30 Jan 2008 03:48 GMT
Only - 31? Having a heat wave in Calgary, eh? Back in the 1960s, I saw
some ads in Popular Science and Popular Mechanics magazines about an
electric heat plate thingy.The plate sits in the battery compartment and
the battery sits on top of the plate.Plug the plate into an electric
cord and the plate heats the battery.There are avaliable (or used to be
available) electric dip sticks.Put the electric dip stick in where the
regular oil dip stick goes and plug in the electric dip stich, it is
suppose to keep the engine oil warm.I used to own one of those gadgets
back in the 1960s.The temp here got up to about 71 degrees above zero
this afternoon.It felt like Springtime.The grass and weeds in my yard
are still Irish Green, the Dafodill plants are donig their thing with
those green stems coming up out of the ground.
International Cam Links.(on the web) I didn't see Calgary listed there,
but it says it's about -24 in Edmonton.
cuhulin
Mike Romain - 29 Jan 2008 15:40 GMT
At -40, your oil has turned to grease, even a boost won't likely start
it because of this.
When I or most of my friends got caught like that, usually when out
camping or ice fishing up near Jasper or Columbia Icefields, we used a
garbage can lid or a hibachi and got some BBQ briquettes going in this,
then slid it under the oil pan being 'very' careful not to cook any
wires or hoses and left it for a short while. 15 minutes to a half hour
max. We even put a sleeping bag or blanket over the hood to hold the
heat in.
This works very well.
Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
'New' frame in the works for '08. Some Canadian Bush Trip and Build
Photos: http://mikeromainjeeptrips.shutterfly.com
> It's FREAKING FREEEEEEZING here in Calgary right now... -40', not including
> the wind chill.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> Is there ANYTHING I can do to that the battery enough to start and move my
> car to a better location?