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Why I Still Drive An Old Car ......


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at 10:30am this morning I'm packed and loaded for a week's "vacation" to Simi Valley.  First stop:  lunch at Centro Basco in Chino.

 

SO, I jump in the '74tii and turn the key to "Start" ...... uh-uh-click-click-clickety-click.  Crap !!

--  I check my notes:  the battery is 4 years 3 months old ...... past expected life.

 

I jump on the motorcycle and 3 minutes later I'm at Pep Boys, buy a battery, and zoom back to the house.  8 minutes later the old battery is out and the new battery is in.  I wash my hands and jump in the car.

     It's 11:00am, only 30 minutes later.

 

Turn the key ..... starts right up !!  Zoom to Chino for an awesome lunch.  Then the 60 Fwy West to the 57 North to the 210 West to the 118 West into Simi Valley.  Perfect SoCal weather, and best of all, no traffic.

 

And that is why I still drive an old car:  99% of the time, I can fix the problem immediately and without any headache.

 

Cheers,

 

Carl

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Carl - how often do you drive your tii?  The clock will draw some amperage since it is running all the time.

 

Maybe you should invest in a maintainer (like the Battery Tender).  My current battery is from 2008.

IMG_5347.jpg

 

Jim Gerock

Ruby Red 73tii built 5/30/73 "Celeste"

Riviera 69 2002 built 5/30/69 "Oscar"

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 I drove the car all over the place on Thurs-Fri-Saturday, so it was not a "sitting too long" problem.  And I get out and about at least once a week, so the charge level is maintained OK.

 

 I'm 100% convinced the problem was definitely the 4+ year-old battery .....

 

 Another reason why I still like the car so much:  the problem occurred at home, in the garage.  As I mentioned, I was all over the place for 3 days, the battery could have died anywhere along the way, in a variety of parking lots.  But Saturday afternoon I got that one more "start" that got me home and safely into the garage.  How can you not like a vehicle that takes such good care of you ??

 

Cheers,

 

Carl

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Thats right and if it did die somewhere else Im sure you would have got someone to give you a push start.On the new cars now it would take about a few hrs just to get the battery out !!

72/2002 Inca

72tii/2002 "Apple"

70/2002 "Five "

73/2002 "Freeda"

2007 Lotus 7 Replica

2011 Ford xr6 Ute

85 E30 325

70 1600-2 "Orange"

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carl when was the last time you checked the dpf filter? The egr might have gone into regen mode and caused a loss of power and spike in amperage draw.                          ;)00 ;)

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I did the push-starting thing for my son when the battery in his car (5-speed) died at a family gathering. He thought I was a god. You have to grab those deifying moments when you can.

 

I do change batteries in daily drivers close to four years, maybe five, as I don't want to be wrong about it with my wife's car in the middle of the winter, but on mine I certainly let 'em go until they're in "not only are they really dead, they're really most sincerely dead" category.

 

And any car where I have to code any module to the car is not bloody likely to find a place in my driveway.

The new book The Best Of The Hack Mechanic available at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0998950742, inscribed copies of all books available at www.robsiegel.com

1972 tii (Louie), 1973 2002 (Hampton), 1975 ti tribute (Bertha), 1972 Bavaria, 1973 3.0CSi, 1979 Euro 635CSi, 1999 Z3, 1999 M Coupe, 2003 530i sport, 1974 Lotus Europa Twin Cam Special (I know, I know...)

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And any car where I have to code any module to the car is not bloody likely to find a place in my driveway.

 

After I replaced the battery in my wife's 2002 M-B sedan, the DSC warning (traction control) would not turn off.  This did not happen the first time I changed the battery 5 years ago.  I took it to the dealership and after some questions, they simply told me to turn the steering wheel lock-to-lock while the engine was running to re-set the system.  Easy fix.

 

Off topic >>  Noticed a Newish C-Class M-B (AMG) with this license plate this morning on the way to work  "L8R BMW". 

Jim Gerock

Ruby Red 73tii built 5/30/73 "Celeste"

Riviera 69 2002 built 5/30/69 "Oscar"

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After I replaced the battery in my wife's 2002 M-B sedan, the DSC warning (traction control) would not turn off.  This did not happen the first time I changed the battery 5 years ago.  I took it to the dealership and after some questions, they simply told me to turn the steering wheel lock-to-lock while the engine was running to re-set the system.  Easy fix.

 

Off topic >>  Noticed a Newish C-Class M-B (AMG) with this license plate this morning on the way to work  "L8R BMW". 

 

My cousin has a 2008 c63. Runs consistent 10.90s.  His license plate is    MTHIS   lol

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