Frozen car. Best way to revive?

Hey all,

Just got back from an extensive interview (trying to leave our biz). 3+ days, on great behavior, thought it went great.

Return home -- and my car is frozen. Won't start after sitting under 8" of snow for three days. Even worse, it's in the boss's driveway. Ugh. That's not embarrassing or anything.

The battery is relatively new but it's stinking cold here. Go with DeIcer for the fuel tank? Blow my other car's exhaust into the dead car's engine area? Pluck down $80 for a new battery?

Thanks!

 

Several years ago I was in a similar situation, but I had been gone about 10 days. I thought it was going to cost me a fortune, but I just called AAA and they came out and within seconds the care was running great. As far as I know, he just sprayed something under the hood and then jumped the battery.

 

Dig it out, jump it, and get it to a heated garage where you can thaw it out.

Should be fine.

 

Call AAA or, if need be, a local garage. They can get it started.

 

This is why everybody should get an engine block heater and plug those babies in!

My mechanic got it started the one time it happened for me, but that was eons ago and I have very little memory of what happened.

 

Yesterday my fuel door was frozen shut (a little WD-40 generally takes care of this) and I had to jump one of the news reporters (who's from the south and had never had to jump his car simply because it was cold before. He was sure he needed a new battery, but he didn't. Let it run for a half an hour and when he went out at the end of the day it turned right over.)

 

Is your fuel line frozen?

Get the snow off the hood, open it up and let the sun shine in.

An extension cord and a hair dryer are another option.

 

I had AAA come over the day before yesterday, thinking I'd have them tow a car that had been sitting in my driveway close to a year to the shop. It was my father-in-law's car but he suffered a stroke and it had been sitting ever since.

It hadn't responded when I tried to jump-start it and it wouldn't accept a charge from the plug-in battery charger last weekend. But the AAA guy got it started with his hand-held charger in about 30 seconds.

Got it down to the shop, got new brakes all around, a battery, changed the oil, got an inspection sticker, and today I have a well-running 2000 Buick Park Avenue (52K miles) to take me back and forth from the train station for the next 10 years.

Anyone want to buy a '95 Jeep Cherokee Sport w/ 111,000 miles on it?

 

Thanks, all.

The car is in the middle of nowhere. That's the problem. I like the hairdryer idea. Can a person find a converter from a regular AC plug into a cigarette lighter?

 

Jesus. Do you people live on Hoth?

I live in Indy-by-god-ana, and it gets cold here from time to time, but "frozen car" has never entered my mind.

Exmediahack, you come down to God's country sometime, and we'll drink beers and sit in the 35-degree heat on my porch together.

Good luck.

 

What is the hairdryer for, now?

It's 10-1 all the car needs is a jump start. Right?

Am I missing something, here?

 

Tried starting it. The car would just go "click click click" at me - won't even turn over. But the battery can't be more than a year old.