Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

hahaha

My wife's car (07 golf) does very little mileage (so battery charging is a problem). We went on holiday for two weeks and came back and nothing works... Central locking doesn't work, no lights on dash, nothing. I assume the problem is the battery.

We couldn't jump start it.

I've seen a couple of sources suggesting that a battery can be dead enough to not be able to jump start, or charge. Anyone know if this is true before I buy a new one?

yep - they go proper dead and it is new battery time

Yes, had this happen too. Get new battery. Also get a battery charger to top up every once in a while if the car doesn't get driven much.

Ok - thanks both, I'll pick one up.

I thought as much, the only thing that made me wonder was not being able to jump start as I thought that this meant you're technically using the other cars battery...

Can't believe I've actually just given advice on fixing a car problem. Like I know what I'm talking about, too.

@christianSpaceman can I ask how much use the car gets? Asking because I often worry about my car battery. I don't use our car much, can be stationary for over a week at a time, but when I do use it I drive it for a fair distance. 50-300 miles. I've not had any problems yet but am waiting for the day the battery goes flat.

@russmeyer Haha! In my mind the car is already fixed, not just sitting dead on the road, and you're like an F1 engineer or something :)

Very little: generally 1-2 miles daily to the station and rarely trips above 10 miles.

This is more like me I think

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDht-t-mhAg

£1,254.90 invoice to pay to get the Volvo back. Expensive things, old cars.

I've had this before with a really dead battery. It's like it was just absorbing all the power from the other battery. The only way we could get the engine running was to disconnect the dead battery completely. Then it started OK, jumped off the other battery, but as soon as you disconnected the jump leads (bit tricky to drive home with them still attached) the output voltage from the generator went mental without a battery to charge.

May I suggest a bicycle?

For that little mileage the battery will never charge. You need at least 20-30 miles in one go regularly to keep a battery totally healthy. Modern cars to suck power while parked so they just slowly discharge.

I believe there are batteries that can handle full discharge and charge cycles better but they will be double the cost.

If you need to keep the car then I'd sell the current one and buy a plug-in EV, those short journeys are going to be absolutely hammering the engine as the oil will never warm up in such a short distance, so every mile the car is doing it's doing cold.

That's a good point, a Nissan leaf or similar would do the job. Even a golf cart would.

From a limited sample battery problems in VAG cars with sunroofs and/or tow bars are not uncommon.

Get a solar trickle charger.

Yeah, we have bikes but have a fairly intricate / tightly timed commute / school drop off that we couldn't do in bikes and work clothes.

Appreciate the short journeys are sub optimal but the car isn't worth selling to replace with a new one (EV or otherwise), although I've not checked the cost of second hand ones recently.

I'll pick up a new battery and charger over the weekend. My luck it won't actually be that at all and will be something more catastrophic!

Porsche guys: some weeeeird concept stuff in here I've never seen before

http://jalopnik.com/going-inside-porsches-secret-vault-left-me-on-the-edge-1798658991

Mostly fugly but this is gorg

Porsche V8 in a Merc mule with fat arches, hnnnngggggg

I feel like a budget version of @Dammit.

Spending this year on the Forester has been hefty, around £4000. Includes new rear arms (upper and lower), heads off, skimmed, new updated gaskets, clutch, timing belt, water pump, cam sensor. Full 3" stainless exhaust with sports cat.

Now it looks like the bottom end has gone, blue smoke from the exhaust at all times, increasing with revs under load.

Ah fuck.

Could be valve stem oil seals?

(Unless you did these as part of the head work)

Valve stem tend to just puff smoke on overrun/rev drop as you shift, rings would give a solid flow at most times.
Or coulr be q mistake in tye head build process, even a wrong HG or upside down (done it twice myself).

Today went for a random blast in the brickwagon, been driving the misses bluemotion polo for a bit and so much nicer to have some actual grunt under the foot. Also the wagon handles so much better in every way I can think of (as much as a wagon with stock arms and non track arb will allow). Also comfort armchairs, such win.

Or coulr be q mistake in tye head build process

Not taking the piss here, genuinely don't get it.

My translation into English is 'Or could be a mistake in the head build process' - i.e. someone's cocked up when building up the cylinder head (installing the valves, guides, seals and valve drivetrain), so it's not oil tight and oil is getting into the combustion chambers. An assembly error, basically. Unlikely to be the issue unless the engine's recently been rebuilt.