What if the car won't start on cold Wonder Lake winter nights?

Maybe you're out visiting friends but the car

won't start when you want to return to
Wonder Lake. What are you going to do and
how can you avoid this situation?

The weather outside is brutal as a harsh, frigid wind, the kind that seems to cut through any exposed skin, whips through Wonder Lake. Maybe you don’t want to go visit Aunt Muriel. Maybe you’d rather not run out to pick up logs for the fireplace on a cold night such as this. Maybe you’d rather stay in and watch the latest episode of The Walking Dead.

If the car won’t start, you have an excuse to stay home, maybe …

Then again, if you call Aunt Muriel and tell her the car won’t start, she may suggest that you get someone to help jumpstart your car or call roadside service. Now you’ll find yourself standing out in the cold trying to get the car to start.

The reality, however, is that we seldom wish our vehicles won’t start. When we want to go somewhere, we count on the convenience of a car that starts. That’s particularly true during one of cold and snowy Wonder Lake winters.

Unfortunately, winter is the time of year when more people have trouble starting their cars. When it’s cold out, the oil in our engines is thicker. The starter has to work harder to turn the engine over fast enough for the combustion process to kick in and start the engine.

If the starter has to work harder, the battery is called upon for more juice to operate the starter. Maybe the battery has seemed just fine up until now. But when called upon for extra duty, that’s when we discover if a battery isn’t as strong and healthy anymore.

On the other hand, maybe it isn’t the battery. Maybe the starter is failing and calling for an inordinate amount of power from the battery. Maybe the alternator isn’t providing enough of a charge to the battery. You could have a bad ignition switch, you’ve blown a fuse or something else is preventing your car from starting.

What it comes down to is that you probably want your car to start when you want to go somewhere. If you’re snuggled up relaxing with a cup of cocoa on a cold Wonder Lake winter night, even if you don’t want to go anywhere, it’s nice to know you can if you wish.

The best way to make sure you car will start when you want it to is to have the battery, charging system and starter checked out at your convenience. That beats dealing with a car that won’t start when it’s not at your convenience.

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