Cold weather issues...

[floydr007]

Hey everyone, my car sat in a parking lot at school for the past week and a half in 0 degree temperatures, and I had a few issues today when I went to drive it. First off, my trunk wouldnt open. I would hit unlock on the keyless, or in the car, and it sounded like the motor or actuator was working back there, but it was making a minute squeaking noise, and not actually unlocking the door. It wasnt just frozen shut either. This has happened to me once or twice in the past in extremely cold weather too. Any ideas on that?

Also, I was sitting at a stop light idling, and had my front defrost running at the highest level, and the rear defrost on too. I noticed the voltmeter (or whatever gauge there is with the battery logo) was slowly moving down. There were no driveability issues, and the car did not stall. Once the light turned green and I got on the gas, the gauge went back to normal (maybe a tiny bit lower than normal). I turned down the fan for the defrost, and also turned off the rear defrost and had no problems at stop lights after that. Do you think the cold just drained my battery a bit, or am I looking at a bigger problem?

Thanks a ton for your help.

 

[hunterdan]

For the lock problem, I would pop the door panel off, and lube the latches and anything that moves that deals with the locks with a lithium grease, should really only have to lube the latch. Technically, you don't have to pop the panel off, but I would do it to check to make sure everything is working correctly. As for the voltmeter, I would get an actual voltmeter/multimeter and check the voltage at the battery with the truck off, should be 12.5 volts, if it's lower than 12.0, it may be time for a new battery, or just a good slow charge. Then check the voltage with the truck on, and no accessories on, it should read somwhere around 14.2-14.5 volts. Then check it again with all accessories on (stock accessories if possible), and again the voltage should read no lower than 13.5 volts. Mine reads between 14.2-14.5 with and with out the load. If your voltages are lower than those mentioned with the motor running at an idle, your alternator may be on it's way out. In which case, you may want to have it load tested if you can. Most parts chain parts stores will do that for free, but not everyone really knows how to use the machine correctly. You may even want to check the condition of your belt and tensioner to make sure its not slipping at all. But what your describing sounds like a weak alternator. Hope this helps.

Dan

 

[Hoppy]

floyd007,

There is no problem with your electrical system in your truck. You had two of the most electrically draining systems on in your truck when you noticed the volt meter drop down. The rear defrost, combined with your blower motor being on full blast and if you had your headlights on too, is too much for the alternator to power all of them on idle. Your battery acts as a cushion and powers everything until the engine speeds back up to start powering all of your accessories again. This is normal in any vehicle. My cavalier does it too. Try sitting in your driveway, turn on every possible accessory in your truck and watch the voltmeter on the dash. With everything on with the engine running the voltage will drop way way down. Now, rev the engine up a little bit and you watch the volt meter come up. If it does, well that is the exact thing that should happen. The alternator will power everything once again, as well as charge the battery back up from what power was used from it.

As for your lock. Well, considering you are in NY, I am just accross the border from Buffalo, in Welland Ontario, we have had the same freeze you have had. With a little thawing during the day, then freezing at night, your locks are probably gettting wet from the thawing of the ice and snow on the vehicle, then at night freezing so it is all solid in the morning. What I would recommend is to have your truck undercoated. This eliminates any possible freezing of any linkages in your vehicle. That is if it is done by a reputable shop, and I would recommend using a thin, dripping oil type such as Krown, or Rustcoat.

Hope This helps.

 

[IAmTodd]

I have the same problem with my rear lock. Everything unlocks but the hatch. Start the car and the hatch will unlock. I don't know why but it seems like a power problem in the cold.

 

[old mechanic]

From what I have seen and went through most older or high mileage vehicles have cold weather issues. If its not the slow turning starter, the battery, the lower compression, the power windows, the door locks and other things should be expected to slow down or sometimes stop working when its really cold out.
For example, my 92 EX is fine but I have left it outside in the cold weather for a few days and it wouldn't start. I just waited about a 1/2 hour and it started right up. My rear lock button was really slow too. Just like us our vehicles have some good days and bad days too especially when its real cold outside. Everything in vehicles seem to improve as the weather gets warmer.
If they don't get better in the warm weather then its time to address those issues. I don't worry about cold issues like that.

 

[Vinniety]

From what I have seen and went through most older or high mileage vehicles have cold weather issues. If its not the slow turning starter, the battery, the lower compression, the power windows, the door locks and other things should be expected to slow down or sometimes stop working when its really cold out.
For example, my 92 EX is fine but I have left it outside in the cold weather for a few days and it wouldn't start. I just waited about a 1/2 hour and it started right up. My rear lock button was really slow too. Just like us our vehicles have some good days and bad days too especially when its real cold outside. Everything in vehicles seem to improve as the weather gets warmer.
If they don't get better in the warm weather then its time to address those issues. I don't worry about cold issues like that.

Well said OLD MECHANIC! I just got my truck and just like any other car i buy of course usually used i go crazy with a can of wd40. After a day or two in the garage i then add some grease to the places i sprayed wd40 and never encounter any issues of freezing locks or doors. As for the voltage i am still learning myself so sorry no help there.

 

[floydr007]

thanks for all the replies. when I tear off the panel I'll let you know what I find.

 

[hunterdan]

floyd007,

There is no problem with your electrical system in your truck. You had two of the most electrically draining systems on in your truck when you noticed the volt meter drop down. The rear defrost, combined with your blower motor being on full blast and if you had your headlights on too, is too much for the alternator to power all of them on idle. Your battery acts as a cushion and powers everything until the engine speeds back up to start powering all of your accessories again. This is normal in any vehicle. My cavalier does it too. Try sitting in your driveway, turn on every possible accessory in your truck and watch the voltmeter on the dash. With everything on with the engine running the voltage will drop way way down. Now, rev the engine up a little bit and you watch the volt meter come up. If it does, well that is the exact thing that should happen. The alternator will power everything once again, as well as charge the battery back up from what power was used from it.

While this may be common on other cars, but with the higher than most output alternator in our trucks, the guage should not really drop when everything is already running at an idle. Seriously, the only time my guage drops is when I switch it from low to high at an idle, or when I leave it on high, and actually switch the heat on. Our alternators are rated at about 130 amps, and at an idle, they should not have a problem powering everything in the truck. My alternator certainly does not struggle with the demands of my blower, defroster, lights and amp. As of lately, I've had my fair share of cold mornings, between 0-5 degrees Farenheit. Now, I watch my guages meticulously, if it even sputters a little I notice. I know where all the guages should sit when cold, hot and everywhere in between on my truck. Now, certainly everything may be working correctly, but I sure would feel a whole lot better just by whipping out the voltmeter for 5 minutes and checking all the voltages. The other thing that some may want to consider is that when cold, our motors idle higher than normal and thus alternator output should be able to keep up with no problem. Sorry for disagreeing with some other members here. Just want to make sure that there really is no problem with the electrical system, and if there is, that it gets repaired as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Dan

 

[floydr007]

The car was idling at the time at about 800 rpm, slightly higher than it normally does. As I said before, after this one incident, I stopped at other lights and had no problems. The car also sat for a week and a half or 2 weeks in 0 degree weather, but I doubt that had anything to do with it. I'll keep an eye on it, and hope for the best. How difficult is it to change an alternator if that is what i need?

 

[bp1506]

maybe your battery posts and clamps need a cleaning too. Sometimes its just something simple like that.

 

[old mechanic]

While this may be common on other cars, but with the higher than most output alternator in our trucks, the guage should not really drop when everything is already running at an idle. Seriously, the only time my guage drops is when I switch it from low to high at an idle, or when I leave it on high, and actually switch the heat on. Our alternators are rated at about 130 amps, and at an idle, they should not have a problem powering everything in the truck. My alternator certainly does not struggle with the demands of my blower, defroster, lights and amp. As of lately, I've had my fair share of cold mornings, between 0-5 degrees Farenheit. Now, I watch my guages meticulously, if it even sputters a little I notice. I know where all the guages should sit when cold, hot and everywhere in between on my truck. Now, certainly everything may be working correctly, but I sure would feel a whole lot better just by whipping out the voltmeter for 5 minutes and checking all the voltages. The other thing that some may want to consider is that when cold, our motors idle higher than normal and thus alternator output should be able to keep up with no problem. Sorry for disagreeing with some other members here. Just want to make sure that there really is no problem with the electrical system, and if there is, that it gets repaired as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Dan

__________
Yup, your alt puts out about 130 amps.
SADLY the 1st gen EX's like mine only puts out 95 amps.