ALWAYS BE PREPARED
Tips on handling breakdowns
Nothing ruins a road trip faster than a roadside breakdown. But with all the technology and electronics packed in today’s autos, is there really anything we can do ourselves to get back on our way? Here are a few of the more common scenarios with a few tips to keep you moving.
OVERHEATING ENGINE?
Ignoring a temp gauge in the red zone or a temp warning light for more than a few minutes of driving can mean astronomical repair bills. But on crowded highways it’s often hard to find a safe place to pull over.
Turning the cabin heater on full with the fan set on high may get you a few extra kilometres of driving. The heater unit behind the dash contains a miniature radiator and can act as a secondary cooling source to the engine.
Once safely stopped, turn off the ignition and pop the hood to help cool things down. Never, ever try to remove a pressurized radiator or reservoir cap on a hot or even warm engine. The resulting volcanic hot eruption of coolant will cause severe burns.
OUT OF GAS?
Feeling that ominous engine sputter while trying to merge onto a highway can be heart-sinking. A gentle (and safe) back and forth swerve on the steering wheel can slosh enough fuel into the pump’s pickup point to keep you going for a few hundred metres with most vehicles.
If you feel these symptoms with sufficient fuel in the tank, your fuel pump may be the culprit. An easy roadside diagnosis is turning off all noise sources (radio, HVAC, passengers) and then cycling the key from off to the on position. If you can’t hear that faint hum from the rear of the vehicle, then you may have a deceased pump.
Often an electric fuel pump will fail because of sticking brushes on its motor. A few slaps on the bottom of the fuel tank with something non-lethal, like a snow brush, can bring the pump back to life to let you get off the road.
POWER WINDOW STUCK DOWN?
The same CPR technique that can restart fuel pumps may also work on a power window motor.
The best place to slap/rap is on the flat steel portion of the metal door bottom. A rubber mallet works best, but few motorists ever carry this in their glove boxes, so the heel of a shoe is a great substitute. Rap the bottom of the door with the key in the on position and the window switch being held in the up position.