Click. Click-click. Then nothing. That was the Sienna at 7:15 this morning, sitting in the garage with the thermometer on the wall reading 2 degrees inside and the one on the porch reading 6 below. Tina had to be at the flower shop by eight. I had my coat on over my pajamas.
Back in October, the parts store tested the van's battery and called it weak. I wrote in this blog that we'd watch it and replace it the week we got a real cold snap. I'd like to report that I did that on Thursday when the forecast came out. I did not. This is a post about what happens when you wait one day too long.
What started and what didn't
We have three vehicles now, and this morning was a fair test of all of them.
The Silverado lives on the driveway because it doesn't fit in the garage. It sat outside all night at 6 below, and it started. It cranked slowly, with a groan I didn't love, but it caught on the first try. That battery tested good in October, and it showed.
The Civic, Garrett's car, was in the other bay of the garage. It started without much complaint. Small engine, newer battery from the previous owners, and a little shelter from the wind. Garrett is still a few days from turning 16, so it isn't going anywhere without a parent anyway.
The Sienna, with the weak battery, gave me that clicking and then nothing. The clicking is the starter solenoid getting enough power to engage but not enough to turn a cold V6. Cold does two things to a battery at once: it cuts the power the battery can deliver, and it thickens the engine oil so the starter needs more power to turn the engine. An old battery that's fine at 40 degrees can't keep up with both at 6 below.
The jump
I pulled the Silverado up to the open garage door nose to nose and used the jumper cables I'd put in the van in October. The order matters, so here's the one I use:
- Both vehicles off. Red clamp on the dead battery's positive terminal.
- Other red clamp on the good battery's positive terminal.
- Black clamp on the good battery's negative terminal.
- Last black clamp on a bare metal bolt or bracket on the dead vehicle's engine, away from the battery, not on the dead battery itself. A weak battery can vent hydrogen, and that last connection makes a small spark.
- Start the good vehicle, let it run three or four minutes, then try the dead one.
- Remove the clamps in reverse order.
Also look at a battery before you jump it in this kind of cold. If the case is cracked or bulging, or it looks like the liquid inside is frozen, don't jump it. A frozen battery can crack or explode when you push current into it. Ours looked normal.
The van started on the second try. Tina drove it toward downtown with a stop on the way at the parts store, where they tested the battery again and it failed outright. A new one was $164 installed, because they put it in for free in the parking lot. She was eight minutes late, which on a Saturday in January at a flower shop is apparently fine.
If you're wondering whether it was worth gambling since October: no. I saved nothing by waiting, and I put Tina in a cold parking lot. Lesson learned and written in the notebook in capital letters.
Our cold-morning routine
The forecast says it'll be 6 below again tomorrow morning, so here's what we're doing tonight and every night of a cold snap from now on:
Park whatever fits in the garage. Even an unheated garage keeps the wind off and is often 10 degrees warmer than outside.
Point the truck's nose away from the wind if we can. It's not scientific, but it helps.
Turn off headlights, the heater fan, the rear defroster and the radio before shutting a vehicle off, so the battery doesn't have to power them while the starter is working the next morning.
When starting, turn the key and hold it for no more than 10 seconds. If it doesn't catch, wait a full minute before trying again so the starter and battery can recover.
Let the engine idle for a minute or two before driving, mostly so the oil gets moving, then drive gently. Long idling to warm up a modern engine isn't necessary and burns gas.
Keep the gas tank at least half full in this kind of cold. Less air in the tank means less moisture to condense.
Check tire pressure the next afternoon. Every one of our tires was low this morning, which is what 30 degrees of overnight drop does.
The truck will get its battery tested again this coming week, because I'm not doing this twice. The van's new battery is in the notebook at 198,240 miles. It's closer to 200,000 than I'd realized, and Lainey has already asked when we're having the party.