Column Shift

John G. writes: We have just returned home from a winter in Florida and we now have to deal with re­starting the car. Before we left, we pulled the battery cables off and filled the tank. In the past we have had some trouble getting it going. Sometimes the Check Engine light comes on for a while after it is restarted. Is that normal? What are we in for?

Welcome home! When the snowbirds come back there is always that worry that the car won’t start and will have some new malady to deal with. My first suggestion is to set your worries aside and just plan some time to deal with the car. Count on it not starting and needing a little attention and you won’t be disappointed. If it surprises you and it does start right up, you will be even happier.

Topping up the gas is a good move. It will help to prevent water condensation in the tank. That can be a problem, but let’s think positive! Removing the battery cable is good, too, but it comes with some trade-offs. Before you try to start the car, check the oil, coolant, and brake fluids. If they are just a little low, leave it. They might come up a bit after you drive the car. If any of them is very low call your mechan­ic for advice before starting the car. Check the tire pressure cold, meaning before the car is driven, and plan on stopping to set the proper pressure. That number is almost always shown on the driver’s side door jam, in case you didn’t know that. It is not the “Maximum” imprinted on the car tire. If there is a spare, why not check it, too? The doughnuts are usually much higher pressure than regular tires and they often have a sticker that tells you what to set them at.

However you removed the battery cables, go to your owner’s manual and read what it says about replacing the battery. I also suggest that you remove any rings you have and any watches or other jew­elry. If you short the battery to ground through your ring or watch you will be off to the hospital with a wicked burn. While you are installing the battery take a quick look around the engine bay and make sure that there are no visible nests or animals in there. Mice and other critters sometimes make their homes in cars and it is better to deal with them before you turn the car over. Once the battery is hooked up, put an old towel over the battery and cover it well. This is in case the battery pops (more on this below). Get in the car and think about what you are about to do. Be pre­pared to press the gas to the floor and hold it there. You should not need to pump a modern car. That first crank might be all you get, so be ready. Don’t be shy with the key: turn it, floor it if it does not start up right away, and hold the key until it either starts; or it’s clear the battery is dead. If it is dead call a roadside assistance club or a local garage that has a tow truck to jump start you. I do not recommend ever jumping your car with an­other car you own. It is just not worth it. I once saw a battery “pop” and the acid went all over the face of my dad and all over the car. He was O.K., but it was just luck. He could have had some serious prob­lems.

The car was not at all O.K.. The acid ate the brake lines and other important stuff.

Cover the battery in your car with a towel when­ever jumpstarting. You can also have problems jumpstarting a car if you do it wrong, so I suggest letting the roadside assistance guy who does it every day come and earn a few bucks. If you decide to go it alone I hope you will at least get out the owner’s manual and read it. It matters which connection you make first. When done correctly, one of the cables goes on to an unpainted metal portion of the car, not the battery terminal.

Regardless of whether you pulled the battery and later reconnected it, or if you had a dead battery and you jumped it, there are a few things you will notice. The clock is now at 12:00 and blinking. The radio presets are all gone. In fact, the radio might not work at all. If that is the case, look in the manual for the radio security codes to restart it. You should also check your garage door opener before you drive off. My experience with them is that they will often keep the code, but it is better to check. Here is one trick I also learned the hard way. If you plan to get a new inspection sticker, you might need to drive a few days and a couple hundred miles before you can get one. In Massachusetts, the in­spection machine downloads data from the car’s memory regarding emission levels and you need a few cold starts and some number of warm miles driven before the state machine will pass your car. I only learned this recently and it was firsthand. If you disconnect the battery or it dies completely the data is gone. If you started the car with a jump or a battery that barely got it going, let it run in the driveway for about 15 minutes. After the car is running you might get a Check Engine light come on. This is likely due to the rough start. You pumped some nasty water/gunk/gas through the engine when you turned it over the first time. If the light comes on try driv­ing a bit. Open and close the gas cap a couple times with the car off and drive a bit more. Sometimes this clears the error code. Once you are rolling along, don’t be surprised if the brakes make a grinding sound or squeak. The rotors will have a coating of rust on them. It usually causes no harm and rubs off on its own after a few stops. Finally, if you leave a car for six months at a time there is no reason not to have the oil changed when you get back. Please send me a question at john@columnshift.com. Cathy asks: What happens when you drive into a lot of water and the engine stops? This question is timely and very serious. If you are a fan of ‘80s movies, you might remember that Joel in Risky Business learns some important life lessons. One of the lessons is that water damage to a car is very expensive. When you drive into water and the car stops running two things could have happened; 1) The vehicle’s inflow or outflow of gases (air in, exhaust out) has been blocked, so the car shut off. Likely little or no damage. 2) The vehicle drew liquid water into the intake manifold, then into the cylinders where only vapor­ized gas and air are supposed to go. The car then tried to compress this liquid in the cylinders and it either broke a connecting rod or destroyed the vales at the top of the engine. This is about as bad as it gets in terms of engine damage. However, it might be covered by your insurance if the car has so-called “comprehensive” auto insurance.

My suggestion is to always pull over and turn around if you are not certain of the depth, or if pos­sible let some other driver go ahead of you and ob­serve. However, the wake from an oncoming car can sometimes push up the level of the water and make a crossing go badly. Better to be safe than sorry and turn back.

If you drive the car into water and it shuts off, do not try to restart it. Get out, get to safety, and call a roadside assistance club or a local garage to be towed out. That is because you may not have ruined the engine yet, but cranking the starter might pull liquid water into the engine and then cause major damage.

If you have a car question, or appreciate the les­sons learned in Risky Business, please send me a question at John@columnshift.com.