Forum Replies Created
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I could not agree with you more!
Especially on batteries!
I have a Fiat Punto JTD 1.9 which has had some starter problems.
Now this car has a very powerful (for its engine size at least) starter motor, which is rated for 2,2KW.When the starter motor problems began I put a brand new but cheap battery, thinking it could not hurt.
The original battery is a three years old Bosch S5 series 54AH (S5 is Bosch’s best series).The new battery had the same AH capacity ( 55AH ) as the “old” one, but a slightly lower CCA rating ( 480 CCA vs 540 CCA)
Anyway, now that the starter motor is fixed/cleaned/oiled, I’ve had some difficult starts in this cold days (I live in northern italy and in between the mountains, so this gets very very cold in the morning)
Since the starter is fixed and it never had this particular problem (its problem was that its pinion was stuck and didn’t engage the freewheel) , I decided to put back the “old” bosch battery to see if it made a difference.
And it did!
After a week stopped without starting the “old” battery did crank withouth a hitch, while the “new” one did strain after a single night in the cold.
You could tell me, put a bigger cheap battery in that car!
Well the problem with this small car is that it’s battery tray only fits up to 55AH sized batteries, so I cannot put a bigger battery in this tray.
So this leaves me with only one possible conclusion: a battery is worth its money!
The cheap battery cost me 55 euros, the bosch S5 one would cost me more than 100 euros, but it sure does its job fine, while the other stinks!
Of course my case is a quite particular one, but nevertheless it proves the point.
Hope this helps guys!
P.S: I read optima batteries are the best lead batteries that money can buy, but they are all too big!!!!! (at least for all my intents and purposes)
Live long and prosper (and stay dirty of course!)
10nico
I’ve just bought three tools from ebay
1) a decent floor jack, a Pro-Lift with Speedy Lift and high height (53cm) from germany
2) a good pair of jack stands rated for 6 tons and with max height of 61cm from an italian supplier
3) a very good welding auto-darkening welding mask for my mig welder (I’ve just bought it and LOVE to weld!)Also a week ago I bought my first serious vice, a 10cm wide (4 inch) cast iron model wich can also rotate on its base; I think I’ll use it for replacing my cv boots on my trusty little Citroen AX!!
Live long and prosper (and of course stay dirty!)
10nico
I’ve just bought three tools from ebay
1) a decent floor jack, a Pro-Lift with Speedy Lift and high height (53cm) from germany
2) a good pair of jack stands rated for 6 tons and with max height of 61cm from an italian supplier
3) a very good welding auto-darkening welding mask for my mig welder (I’ve just bought it and LOVE to weld!)Also a week ago I bought my first serious vice, a 10cm wide (4 inch) cast iron model wich can also rotate on its base; I think I’ll use it for replacing my cv boots on my trusty little Citroen AX!!
Live long and prosper (and of course stay dirty!)
10nico
Hello, I have both analog and digital.
There are two main differences between the two types:First of all the analog one actually puts a load on the battery, and this is quite a stress for the battery, especially for the weak ones.
This also means you cannot test a battery if it isn’t fully charged.With the digital one there is actually no load on the battery, so it doesn’t get stressed and you can read it even if it is in a discharged state.
The second , and maybe more important feature of a digital tester is that , since it has to read the capacity of the battery with no load, it actually has to measure the battery’s internal resistance, which in turn is a very very important indicator of the effective state of health of the battery.
The internal resistance is very important because, in practice, it is inversely proportional to its capacity and cold cranking capacity.
Here in EU digital testers are quite costly, but in the US they are cheaper, in fact I bought mine on ebay.com from the US; I almost payed more for the shipping cost than for the tester!!! :woohoo:
Hope this helps!
Live long and prosper (and stay dirty!!!)
10nico
Hello, I have both analog and digital.
There are two main differences between the two types:First of all the analog one actually puts a load on the battery, and this is quite a stress for the battery, especially for the weak ones.
This also means you cannot test a battery if it isn’t fully charged.With the digital one there is actually no load on the battery, so it doesn’t get stressed and you can read it even if it is in a discharged state.
The second , and maybe more important feature of a digital tester is that , since it has to read the capacity of the battery with no load, it actually has to measure the battery’s internal resistance, which in turn is a very very important indicator of the effective state of health of the battery.
The internal resistance is very important because, in practice, it is inversely proportional to its capacity and cold cranking capacity.
Here in EU digital testers are quite costly, but in the US they are cheaper, in fact I bought mine on ebay.com from the US; I almost payed more for the shipping cost than for the tester!!! :woohoo:
Hope this helps!
Live long and prosper (and stay dirty!!!)
10nico
Good job! :cheer:
I too had an Mk1 Punto not too long ago.
It was a 1998 Sporting 1242 cc with 86HP I bought used in 2003.
Great little car , very sporty and comfortable, it let me down only once, because of the fuel pump.
I later learned it was my fault, ’cause at the time I always ran on reserve, and this makes fuel pumps overheat.Also I had your same problem with the rear bushings; mine were so worn that on some holes in the road the rear suspension remained jammed up all on one side, and to drive the car in a straight line I had to keep the steering wheel steered , and wait for the next hole to make it right again 😆
It had ABS too, and AC, and it was my first car to have these two accessories; ABS once saved my butt on the snow, I had summer tires and on exiting a tunnel all the road was covered in snow and a queue of other (stopped) cars was in front of me.
I pushed HARD the brakes and the car slowly stopped avoiding a collision B)
Just out of curiosity, how much did you pay for the bushing repair kit?
Live long and prosper (and enjoy your Punto!)
P.S: if I can give you a suggestion, keep its oxygen sensor checked ’cause it’s the main source of high fuel consumption, and also replace the spark plugs with NGK Iridium ones, they are just great!
Peace and long life
10nico
Good job! :cheer:
I too had an Mk1 Punto not too long ago.
It was a 1998 Sporting 1242 cc with 86HP I bought used in 2003.
Great little car , very sporty and comfortable, it let me down only once, because of the fuel pump.
I later learned it was my fault, ’cause at the time I always ran on reserve, and this makes fuel pumps overheat.Also I had your same problem with the rear bushings; mine were so worn that on some holes in the road the rear suspension remained jammed up all on one side, and to drive the car in a straight line I had to keep the steering wheel steered , and wait for the next hole to make it right again 😆
It had ABS too, and AC, and it was my first car to have these two accessories; ABS once saved my butt on the snow, I had summer tires and on exiting a tunnel all the road was covered in snow and a queue of other (stopped) cars was in front of me.
I pushed HARD the brakes and the car slowly stopped avoiding a collision B)
Just out of curiosity, how much did you pay for the bushing repair kit?
Live long and prosper (and enjoy your Punto!)
P.S: if I can give you a suggestion, keep its oxygen sensor checked ’cause it’s the main source of high fuel consumption, and also replace the spark plugs with NGK Iridium ones, they are just great!
Peace and long life
10nico
Hi!
I’ve always used vaseline (also called petroleum jelly) instead of grease for my battery terminals and tips.
It tends to cover and prevent corrosion without attracting so much dirt!
Hope this helps! 😉
10nico
Hi!
I’ve always used vaseline (also called petroleum jelly) instead of grease for my battery terminals and tips.
It tends to cover and prevent corrosion without attracting so much dirt!
Hope this helps! 😉
10nico
Hi only and Happy New Year to you too!
I see you’ve made some changes, and I appreciate the color scheme too; personal thank you from my eyes! 😉
Also the forum seems to be faster, thanks for that too! :cheer:
Cheers!
10nico
Hi only and Happy New Year to you too!
I see you’ve made some changes, and I appreciate the color scheme too; personal thank you from my eyes! 😉
Also the forum seems to be faster, thanks for that too! :cheer:
Cheers!
10nico
[quote=”EricTheCarGuy” post=40482]Honestly I HATE doing that type of adjustment which I’ve done on some Toyota engines. I’ll say what I always say with these suggestions and that is in order for me to make that video I would need the same vehicle to come into the shop needing the same service. Should that happen I’d be happy to make that video for you.[/quote]
Eh eh! I knew you’d hate it! 😆
Don’t worry, when and if my dear old new BX will need that I’ll be sure to take that occasion to bring her to you in the US!
For that moment I really hope they’ll have perfected the transporter :woohoo:Beam me up Eric! :silly:
Cheers
10nico
[quote=”EricTheCarGuy” post=40482]Honestly I HATE doing that type of adjustment which I’ve done on some Toyota engines. I’ll say what I always say with these suggestions and that is in order for me to make that video I would need the same vehicle to come into the shop needing the same service. Should that happen I’d be happy to make that video for you.[/quote]
Eh eh! I knew you’d hate it! 😆
Don’t worry, when and if my dear old new BX will need that I’ll be sure to take that occasion to bring her to you in the US!
For that moment I really hope they’ll have perfected the transporter :woohoo:Beam me up Eric! :silly:
Cheers
10nico
Thank you Eric!
I agree, the tweaking, which I love doing, is sadly going out of todays mechanic’s knowledge baggage.
And as for the part swapping thing, I think that by educating people to only look at the OBD code and then starting to swap parts, not only is very much more costly (and profitable for car makers! 👿 ) , but it does not educate repair people to really understand WHY the problem manifested itself in the first place.If instead one takes apart the broke part (if it is a broken part the problem) and tries to undestand why it did break, he’ll begin to do that “investigative” thinking that really REALLY helps to understand how things work (and break), and, finally, to repair them for good.
Anyway excuse me if I asked an already asked question!
And when and if you do that video, well you can bet on it that I’ll be there to watch it and comment on it! 🙂
Take care and Stay Dirty! 😉
10nico
Thank you Eric!
I agree, the tweaking, which I love doing, is sadly going out of todays mechanic’s knowledge baggage.
And as for the part swapping thing, I think that by educating people to only look at the OBD code and then starting to swap parts, not only is very much more costly (and profitable for car makers! 👿 ) , but it does not educate repair people to really understand WHY the problem manifested itself in the first place.If instead one takes apart the broke part (if it is a broken part the problem) and tries to undestand why it did break, he’ll begin to do that “investigative” thinking that really REALLY helps to understand how things work (and break), and, finally, to repair them for good.
Anyway excuse me if I asked an already asked question!
And when and if you do that video, well you can bet on it that I’ll be there to watch it and comment on it! 🙂
Take care and Stay Dirty! 😉
10nico