Opel Astra frozen solid all week

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ney001

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Hi guys

Brother's Opel Astra frozen solid all week, no antifreeze of course. What can he do, it won't start at all, battery seems fine - just won't even turn over.

Any suggestions?
 
He's probably better off having it looked at before driving. The radiator and pipes must be checked for leaks or bursts,.. if you definitiely didn't have antifreeze.


The problem is that water expands when it freezes, so it will burst metal pipes and radiators. Plastic bottles, like the windscreen washer fluid, may handle the expanding ice better than metal containers and pipes.



His car may be ok,... but he should defo keep an eye on it every few hundred yards for the first while if he gets it back going. He should at least look for leaks and bursts (under the bonnet) before starting.
 
Thanks joe - well he says he didn't put in antifreeze - it hasn't been serviced for about 14 months so would there be antifreeze in it? probably not
 
ney001 said:
Thanks joe - well he says he didn't put in antifreeze - it hasn't been serviced for about 14 months so would there be antifreeze in it? probably not
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What year is it?

Most modern cars have a "coolant" rather than just plain water installed in the cooling system. This coolant contains an anti-freeze.
 
How do you mean battery seems fine? What did you check it with? Can you turn on the lights or the radio? It may not be frozen as above poster says coolant usually contains antifreeze
 
Well assuming it never sprung a leak and/or had the coolant removed or diluted I would say he is OK on the freezing issue.

On the not turning over issue........
Are you absolutely sure the battery is OK?
 
well I tried this morning, you can turn on lights and the engine lights all come on as usual, but when you go to start it it just makes a 'ticking noise'. it never sprang a leak or anything.
 
ney001 said:
well I tried this morning, you can turn on lights and the engine lights all come on as usual, but when you go to start it it just makes a 'ticking noise'. it never sprang a leak or anything.
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"Ticking noise" indicative of a weak battery, I would hazard a guess that the lights dim or go out altogether when trying to crank engine.
 
Sparkrite - thanks for this - I'll have to ring him and ask him if that's the case. So, even though lights are coming on on dashboard the battery might be weak? if that's the case is it okay to go ahead and jump start the car i.e if it's not the battery can you do damage by jump starting it?
 
Very unlikely to do any damage jump starting it. Lights on in dash require very little power, get him to turn on main beam and see how strong they are.

Also get him to squeeze one of the water pipes, this will let him know whether the coolant is frozen or not.
 
Sparkrite - i'll ring him now and get him to try this - thanks so much. ps I have learned my lesson from this and am going to get some antifreeze tonight so stupid question but do I just pour it in to radiator? as in a whole bottle of it? . Thanks again
 
Instructions on will be the container and depending on strength and what protection is required, ie. down to say -6 or -10 and also the volume of water/coolant in the system, all these factors will determine how much you pour in. You will probably need to drain some out first though.
But as I said instructions will be on container.
 
Sparkrite - you were right - turned out to be the battery - it started no problem with a jump. Only thing is it was dead again today so must be a connection problem or something! .

Many thanks indeed! :)
 
Cold kills batteries. I suggest you just save yourself alot of hassle and put a new battery in.
 
ney001 said:
Sparkrite - you were right - turned out to be the battery - it started no problem with a jump. Only thing is it was dead again today so must be a connection problem or something! .

Many thanks indeed! :)
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New battery time.
 
You need to run a car to charge the battery. If you jump it, then only do a short journey, you won't have charged the battery. Then if its very cold, it will drain the battery, and old battery quicker than a new one.

Last time, my battery actually froze. When it thawed out the next day it started fine. This cold spell it wouldn't start again. Its a fairly new battery so I was puzzled. Turned out not to be the battery, but the connection to the battery was cracked and not making a good contact. Fixed that and its fine again.

An auto electrician will tell you if the battery is holding its charge, and if the car is charging it properly. They'll know in a couple of minutes.
 
ney001 said:
Sparkrite - you were right - turned out to be the battery - it started no problem with a jump. Only thing is it was dead again today so must be a connection problem or something! .

Many thanks indeed! :)
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Thanks for letting me know.

As others posters have said, it is probably time to get a new battery.
No harm to check connections at the poles first, but a 4 year old battery is past its best.
 
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