One of those power pack thingies, you can see the crocodile clips on the terminals. My guess, exceptionally stupid person who found his battery was flat, jumped it with the power pack and thought leaving it connected would charge the battery.
And then drove along peering through the gap under the bonnet.
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I think the drivers brain needs a jump start more than the car. :-)
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What's that on the back bumper?
I'd guess it's been parked up for a while and subsequently wouldn't start. It's showing up as being taxed and insured.
Hampshire Constabulary said it was investigating. Someone may get their collar felt.
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It makes you wonder, how can anybody that stupid earn enough to afford an 11 Reg Merc?
I've gone seriously wrong somewhere...:-(
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Possibly being charged, and an opportunist thief drove away...
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>> One of those power pack thingies, you can see the crocodile clips on the terminals.
>> My guess, exceptionally stupid person who found his battery was flat, jumped it with the
>> power pack and thought leaving it connected would charge the battery.
Battery so flat/alternator not charging, that once you start it with the power pack, it'll stop again when you remove the power pack, despite the engine running.
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>> Battery so flat/alternator not charging, that once you start it with the power pack, it'll
>> stop again when you remove the power pack, despite the engine running.
That's right I think. Modern cars don't seem to give clues you used to get when electrics are playing up.
At one time a glow from ignition light would have given a clue that alternator was on decline but recent experience suggests modern electrics do't quite work that way.
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I had the bonnet fly up on my Zephyr 4 mrk 3 in the 70's on a side road doing about 30MPH and that was bad enough!
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My rough white VW 411 came with a dog-eared front bonnet which had opened at speed some time previously. I got it a navy blue impeccable bonnet from a 412 in a breaker's yard, made it look like a German police car. It fitted perfectly of course, but I made sure both catches were working properly. As you would.
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>>My rough white VW 411 came with a dog-eared front bonnet which had opened at speed some time previously.
My Vitesse had a vinyl sunroof that didn't like anything over 60MPH with it open. The first time it flipped back and appeared in the mirror near frightened me to death.
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>> The first time it flipped back and appeared in the mirror near frightened me to death.
That's nothing. Our Lada 1200 estate was red with a rotten dogpoo-brown vinyl stick-on roof covering. It came a bit apart from the rubber windscreen fillet, and one very windy day the wind got in there and ripped it off back to the tailgate surround leaving it flapping 'like Batman's cape' as I have said before. Stopped, ripped the rest of it off and chucked it away.
Never cleaned the old glue off the roof either. That car was really me.
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I was once delivering a camper van for a friend when without warning the bunk bed over the front seats suddenly fell onto the dashboard. I could just lift it up a couple of inches to see to the hard shoulder.
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Non story, he's only going about 15/20 mph.
One would assume from the Wailesque heqadline that he was cruising up the dual carriageway at 75 mph overtaking all and sundry.
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Think I agree with you GB. Have you see the antics of drivers when we start to get the heavy frosts and snow?
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Porthole in the screen and thats the sum total of their efforts FC?
...not forgetting the 6" of white roof insulation ready to slide down over the screen at the first braking point once the roof reaches thaw point.
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Passed the local Porsche dealers the other week and thought the Panamugly just departing a bit erratically - as I passed it stopped at the lights, I could see two A4 laminated signs saying 'unsafe vehicle - do not drive', two porsche technicians in it, the passenger appears to be holding the steering wheel whilst the driver was tightening it up with a torque spanner.
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Stupido, I deal with flat batts on an almost daily basis.
Start the car with the booster.......take booster off and put it in car. Drive round for 20mins. The booster's with you if you stall.
Close bonnet before moving off.......not rocket science !
Many years ago I changed an engine in my then Range Rover. Started up and drove off for a test run. Got to the local railway bridge where there was, and is still, a slight ' step ' in the tarmac.
Bang ! the bonnet hit the top of the screen leaving a dent right across it
Some idiot hadn't even half locked it down.........if I ever get my hands on him.....!
Ted
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>>
>> Stupido, I deal with flat batts on an almost daily basis.
>>
>> Start the car with the booster.......take booster off and put it in car. Drive round
>> for 20mins. The booster's with you if you stall.
>>
>> Close bonnet before moving off.......not rocket science !
I had a Toyota Avensis in my drive a month or so back, it wouldn't start.
Power pack would start it, but when you took the power pack off, the engine would stall (even if you revved it up to 5,000 revs)..so it was either drive it with the power pack still attached..or tow it.
So I towed it. With a fixed bar, as I didn't fancy no power steering or powered brakes.
Horrible feeling incidentally, driving the towed vehicle on a very short fixed bar.
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95% of ' my ' cars are Toyotas now WPorker. If the alternator isn't working then there will be no leccie to run the car and it will stop when the booster is taken off. A tow, or preferably a transporter, is the answer.
There is another way which I have used a few times, the last when my daughters A4 lost it's alternator belt. A spare, charged, battery is placed in the passenger footwell. Connected to the battery under the bonnet with the bonnet on 1st catch and the leads fed in through the drop window. Surplus lead is inside the car.
Works 'til the battery runs flat. Keep the electrics to a minimum.
I have a rigid bar, ex RAC 'cos it got a little bent. Goes on a 50mm ball and has a secure fitting at the other end. About 10ft long, it splits into 3 for transport. Not used it for a while.
Ted
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A few years back I had a95 mile trip to do Poole with what I suspected was a faulty alternator. Approx half way there I had to buy another battery and that had enough power from that to complete the journey.
I fully charged both batteries for the return trip. Approx half way home the lights got dimmer and dimmer so time for a battery swop and that got me back home.
I was surprised how far each battery allowed me to travel.
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Car driven with bonnet up on A31 - Robin O'Reliant
