Car plugged in, but still won't start

[al-ti2d]

my friend's car has been sitting out in the freezing cold the past few days, and it won't start even though it had been plugged in. the shitty thing is, she can't even boost her battery because the hood is frozen shut. is there any tricks you guys know of to open up the hood in cases like this?? is there any tool to buy at Canadian Tire that can open up frozen doors and hoods and the like?

[jswankster]

get the Blow dryer out and put it close to the release mechanism under the hood... Might work ... but no guarantees

[Grogador]

is the latch frozen, or the hood itself? is it a winter beater? i find smacking her around works wonders...

(the hood)

[Stealth22]

Originally posted by jswankster
get the Blow dryer out and put it close to the release mechanism under the hood... Might work ... but no guarantees

Get a blow dryer and melt the ice with it...I know you can get little keychain things that heat/melt ice on a frozen keyhole...so a blow dryer ought to work on a frozen hood.

But I'm not sure its a good idea to boost the battery if its frozen...someone correct me if I am wrong, but is it a better idea to let it warm up inside your house, then charge it with one of them battery chargers from Crappy Tire? Or even just boost it after its warmed up?

Originally posted by Grogador
i find smacking her around works wonders...

(the hood)

[al-ti2d]

we're not sure if its just the latch thats frozen or if its the entire hood.. i suggested getting her brother to try and shake up the ice by sitting on the hood and bouncing up and down or something like that... but i don't know how effective that would be?? to the blow dryer idea.. i don't think that would help since its so cold outside, or would it?

[Stealth22]

Originally posted by al-ti2d
to the blow dryer idea.. i don't think that would help since its so cold outside, or would it?

Its worth a shot, isn't it?

I know its really cold these days...check for ice along the 'cracks' (for lack of a better word) along the edges of the hood..run the blow dryer over the latch and the edges if necessary. You just have to be quick...open it faster than the cold weather can freeze it up again. The blow dryer probably won't make it as smooth as opening it in say, the summer, but at least it can melt the ice a little bit..enough to open it up with a bit of force.

[al-ti2d]

i guess the blow dryer is the best option available..
i've never tried it myself so i have no idea how effective it will be. from what my friend is telling me, she said that ice is covering the entire hood and when she pulled the lever to pop the hood, nothing happened


i hate it when stuff like this happens. i remember last year i took my car to get washed and the same night it snowed
the next morning my door was frozen and i thought i was going to break off my door handle at the rate i was pulling the door at lol. thankfully my passenger side door wasn't as bad as my driver's side, and i was able to open it and get in through there

[buh_buh]

I'd do both.
Shake the shit out of the hood so you can tell its not frozen shut, and have someone pull up on the hood while popping the latch. If that still doesn't work bust out the blowdryer.

[Stealth22]

What about the battery? Is it ok for him to boost it, or should they let it thaw in the house first?

[al-ti2d]

^ ya i guess i should get that question out of the way too..
i have booster cables in my trunk ready to go, but can someone tell me if its going to cause more harm than good

[jswankster]

i definitely think once you get the hood open , unhook the battery and bring it in the house for at LEAST a few hours, and throw it on a slow Trickle charge........ should work out well , dont boost a frozen battery.

[al-ti2d]

ok
thanks alot for the advice guys!

[timmyotools]

I'd wait till the warm weather comes around, it's a beautiful day in Los Lavos, Mexico.

[Crymson]

Never boost a battery you think might be frozen, they can explode.

[Zero102]

The hood is covered in ice? Remove the ice at the seams and try again. Pretty rare the latch will freeze enough to lock the hood in place. I have seen the CABLE freeze multiple times, but hardly ever the latch, and you can tell if the handle moves, that the cable isn't frozen.

Break the hood free from the ice at the sides and you should be okay.

The rule of thumb is that you should never boost a battery that has been frozen. That said, it is really hard to tell if the battery actually froze (unless it actually burst open from freezing). Best bet is to take it inside and let it thaw, then take it back outside and boost the car with a warm battery in it. The battery will have less internal resistance when it is room temperature anyways, and the car will start better.

The risk here isn't in boosting a _COLD_ battery, but rather one that physically has ice inside of it. When lead-acid batteries discharge the freezing point of the liquid inside them raises. When almost fully discharged the freezing point is well above the temperatures we have had recently (I can't quote exact numbers here, maybe -10*C?) and the battery can freeze inside. Then as it freezes the ice will force the casing to expand, damaging it. When you boost it, much of the ice inside will melt, and also some hydrogen gas will be generated inside the battery creating pressure. So, if the casing is cracked you have acid and hydrogen gas escaping. Combine this with the inevitable sparks at the terminals (when connecting/disconnecting the cables) and you can have a real disaster on your hands.

[kylejw]

Originally posted by Zero102
Combine this with the inevitable sparks at the terminals (when connecting/disconnecting the cables) and you can have a real disaster on your hands.

And face.