The cold will test your car’s electronics but you don’t have to wait for the cold

It’s comforting to know your car is ready for winter, assuming it is. Sure, we have a little while yet before we have to seriously worry about sub-zero temperatures and falling snow. But, if your car isn’t ready to start when that time comes, on a frigid day only a few months away, you don’t have to stand in a walk-in freezer wearing shorts and an Hawaiian shirt to know it will be cold.

When the car won’t start there are several likely offenders – the car battery, alternator and/or starter. All three are critical elements when it comes to starting your car. Maybe they’re doing fine starting your car now. Of course, it’s in the 80s out there, the oil is nice and thin and the engine is easy to start but, when the temperature is North-Pole cold, that oil will thicken some.

If there is a weak link in your charging/starting system, the cold will help you find it. And that’s one way to find it. You can wait until you have to be somewhere on a mid-January morning and discover, “Well, I guess my car won’t start when it’s this cold.”

Of course, you could also avoid the discomfort and inconvenience by having your charging/starting system checked now at your convenience and in the comfort of a warm summer day.

It doesn’t matter how well the alternator pumps electricity back into the battery if the latter won’t hold a charge. If the starter is drawing too many amps even a good battery will have trouble keeping up. And, if your battery is fine but the alternator isn’t putting out the expected electricity, there’s nothing to keep your battery fully charged.

Break one element in that chain and you’re in trouble. A cold winter day will send the dominos tumbling in a hurry. The result – “tick, tick, tick, tick,” as you turn the key hoping to hear the engine turn over.

It only takes a short time for a qualified auto repair shop, such as Performance Unlimited in Ringwood, to check out your charging/starting system. How long does it take, sitting in a cold car on the side of the road, for a tow truck to arrive?

For more information, call Denny at 815-728-0343.

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