Tales of £13 car - PUNK'S NOT DEAD

[scaryoldcortina]

Dustpan and brush jobs don't make it all the way to the MoT bay....

[twosmoke300]

Do you not mot fords or jags then ?😄

[scaryoldcortina]

I have to sweep up after every mondeo and transit, put it that way

[loserone]

First FTP today.

Haven't used HODOR in a couple of weeks, so decided to take it out this morning. It started - just - and left the battery light on. Engine died once I had the car filled with passengers and three feet into the road, and just clicked instead of turning over. Jump leads from the SMOLL CAR showed no improvement. Pushed it back mostly onto the drive and pulled the battery, took it inside and put it on charge.

LIDL charger said 10.7v, so went out in something else and came back after lunch. Battery now at 13.7v, so popped it back in and went off again into the Durham dales.

Five miles later the engine died with the same symptoms so I pulled into a farm track and called AutoAid for the first time since I started abusing the Kia Pride, then SoC to warn him I might need to dump a V8 liability on him.

Chas agreed that a broken Lexus is a nice place to be, which is some consolation at least.

Ten minutes later a Corsavan arrived with a nice bloke and his ~10 year old, who tested the battery and established it was flat. A jump pack got the engine going again, but the battery tester showed it as not charging. We suggested I try to drive it home, which was fine until I tried to move, so the jump pack was carefully* installed* under the bonnet and I drove home at 15MPH.

Current plan is to get the battery charged again and try to make some sense of the alternator with a multimeter, hoping that it's just a loose connection or something. I'm sure* it'll be something simple and inexpensive.

[Jim Bell]

Thats a pain in the butt man. Hopefully a simples fix.  Fingers crossed.

[loserone]

A few days in Scary's yard and HODER seems to be feeling better. From what I understand the alternator was indeed kaput, and has undergone surgery involving some new bits and some bits from a landcruiser.

 

A vital fluids change was also undertaken, and it's back ready for the next decent run out.

 

SL kindly sent on the battery clamp, which highlights just how undersized the Camry battery is. Zip ties remain in place!

 

[dome]

Mines languishing 100 miles from my house at the minute, I left it at my dads and have his Fiesta just now. I miss it

[loserone]

Today, HODOR has been treated to a £75 gen-u-ine TOYOTA battery of the right size and £20 of Sainsbury's finest unleaded. No pics, soz, but Chas was helping best he could given he's only 5 months and didn't complain at being put down when I was attaching the battery terminals.

 

It hasn't been washed though, so PUNK'S (still) NOT DEAD.

[Spottedlaurel]

Good news that it was nothing too serious.

 

By coincidence, I've been swapping Toyota batteries around which has led me to realise that a Carina E battery is even smaller than that intended for a Camry. Just be glad I hadn't foisted that onto the Lexus....