Sounds plausible. No stalling here though, at least not yet. What's
this "red goop" you mentioned? I'm going to check the local auto parts
stores tomorrow (since I have to go out that way anyway...left something
at the office that I need to catch up on this weekend) for this cool
brush gizmo I saw the guy at AutoZone use on my friend's car last
weekend when we got her battery replaced, maybe I can pick up this red
goop as well?
The brush was actually 2 brushes that snap together to protect the
bristles. One's a "male" configuration, for cleaning the inside of the
terminal clamps on the leads, and a "female" brush cup, for cleaning the
terminals on the battery. For storage, they lock together, covering
both brushes. Real slick. (if I've bored anyone with this tangent
because it's such a common tool, I apologize. I'd never seen one before
and it fascinated me. Simple minds, simple pleasures.) I'll have to
check my catalogs too.
Oh, and Tom, < 10 isn't "extremely cold." < -25 is where I start
calling it "extreme." Unless the wind's blowing...then I bump the bar
to < 0.
fawcett@uism.bu.edu wrote:
>
> I wouldn't have believed this had I not experienced it, but I had a slow start
> and stalling condition on my '98 318 in extremely cold weather ( < 10 deg. F).
>
> I took it into the dealer figuring I had a bum battery (slow start) and/or a
> faulty IAC (stalling)... They tested the heck out of everything and found no
> problems. What they did do was clean the battery terminals thoroughly and seal
> them with that red goop. We only had a couple of days below 10F subsequent to
> the "cleaning" but there was absolutely no sign of the problems I was having
> before.
>
> The best explanation I've heard as to why this worked is because the 'puters and
> sensors are extremely sensitive and must have the proper voltage in order to
> function properly. Apparently the small reduction in voltage caused by the
> corrosion was enough to throw everything off.
>
> I can't vouch for the veracity of this explanation but I can say a simple
> cleaning worked in my case.
> Tom
> ____________________Reply Separator____________________
> Subject: Re: DML: Dying batteries
> Author: <dakota-truck@buffnet.net>
> Date: 2/11/00 7:40 AM
>
> I haven't checked yet. I've got about 12K on it so far.
>
> fawcett@uism.bu.edu wrote:
> >
> > Do you have any corrosion/buildup on the battery connectors?
> > Tom
-- -andyhttp://home.twcny.rr.com/andylevy/ --- andylevy@bigfoot.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Let's all get GNU'd together! -----------------------------------------------------------
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