Hi all,
When I try to start my car in cold weather, I want every electron the
battery's got going to the starter. No heater motor, no wipers, no lights.
Since it's reasonbly well established that the battery loses about 50% of
its cranking capacity at 0F compared to 60F, someone should figure out how
much of a current draw is required in the first place to cause any
appreciable heating of the electrolyte, considering that the electrolyte is
also in intimate contact with about 30 pounds of lead. I don't think that
this is a winnable situation.
Another thing I heard of is that quartz halogen lights are required to
operate at full intensity in order for the bulbs to burn 'clean' , and that
having the lights on while starting the car therefore degrades the life of
the bulbs.
Regards
Theo
> -----Original Message-----
> From: BRENNAN,STUART (A-Andover,ex1) [SMTP:stuart_brennan@agilent.com]
> Sent: Monday, January 17, 2000 9:16 AM
> To: Tigers (E-mail)
> Subject: Cold Start Myths
>
> Today's cold weather, -2F as I was driving in (Canadians: Yes, I know
> this
> is a warm day for you.), has brought forth one of the old cold starting
> myths. This alleged hint says that you should turn on your headlights for
> a
> few seconds before trying to start your car. I work in a building just
> full
> of engineers, and most everybody's got an opinion. The comments on this
> range from "GARBAGE!!" (>50%) to various thoughts about warming the
> electrolyte, warming the battery terminals, etc.
>
> Most of us wonder how a few seconds of a few amps is going to do more of
> whatever the effect is supposed to be, than the first few milliseconds of
> starter current. Does anyone have more info on this, what effect is
> supposed to be, etc.?
>
> Stu
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