[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by glovins2004

Effects of lockdown

Below picture makes me wonder whether I live in Bangalore or in torrid location, couple of days back I noticed my car mobile holder was missing but when I took a closer look, I was shocked and never seen like this before, the suction cup melted due to heat and the holder dropped on the mat.

Oops! But not a rare occurrence. If anything - it tells your holder's suction cup was quite good. It melted away but didn't release the hold before that climax. Car cabins easily get hot like an oven to melt such materials. That is the reason why automotive grade components are predominantly costly. Specific materials for those components are costly.

The amount of energy that the Sun delivers in the form of pure light is just enormous. If it gets amplified by some nearby reflective surfaces etc, even more so. There has been a very well publicized case in London where the 20 Fenchurch building (then known as Walkie Talkie building thanks to its shape) ended up reflecting enough light on a parked Jaguar to melt its body parts!
Link - BBC - Building melts parked car!

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by Amrik Singh

Why go for additional Battery Chargers when most of us have Inverters at home. For any "Long Term Parking" Car Battery can be charged with Inverter.

Sure you can charge a battery using an inverter. But this is provided the inverter leads have a clamp that fits your battery's posts. Inverter leads generally have a large crimp connector that look like like the largest one in this pic.



How do you fit that crimp terminal securely to a car battery post which more often than not requires battery clamps OR crocodile clips like the kind you see on jumper cables and car chargers?

[Amrik Singh]

You would not need any of these fancy things if you use any type of cable end (preferably strands of wires, exposed and spread) tied firmly to the Battery Terminal with a cheap 10 Rs. Hose Clip (aka Jubilee Clamp). The purpose is solved. I don't mind if you term it as a 'Jugaad', as long as the emergency is resolved.

[R2D2]

Jugaad is definitely a way out. In an emergency I could think of other methods too. For e.g. I could use a 12V 4 A wall adaptor from my external USB drive to top up/charge a car battery. Heck, in an emergency, why not? Anything goes.

[Swapnil4585]

Originally Posted by glovins2004

Not sure whether the quality of the holder is in question or the accumulated heat on the glass, have any of our members experienced similar incident before?

Anyway, good lesson learnt that not to park the car under direct sunlight for a prolonged duration especially during lockdown season.

Surprised to see that. The quality of holder must be compromised one, is what I can tell you from my experience.

We'd been intending to rework our vehicle parking space so as to fit all vehicles (one Altis + four two wheeler) in nice shade from all sides. We intended to get it done by January, but somehow we only managed to start the deconstruction / reconstruction by mid March. After the porch and its supporting pillars were demolished, lockdown came. So whatever space we had was lost.

Now the Altis stands outside the compound in direct sun. I have its cover but I don't use it for the fear of unknown. The sun of Jalgaon in April, May and June always averages above 43. So in that scorching heat, I have a Mi Dash Cam on its original mount. For the first lockdown, I did not even bother to remove the camera. When I removed it, I tested it. It was working fully. The mount is still affixed in the car and is there as it is.

So in your case, the mount quality is questionable.

[glovins2004]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

The amount of energy that the Sun delivers in the form of pure light is just enormous. If it gets amplified by some nearby reflective surfaces etc, even more so. There has been a very well publicized case in London where the 20 Fenchurch building (then known as Walkie Talkie building thanks to its shape) ended up reflecting enough light on a parked Jaguar to melt its body parts!

Thanks a lot Reinhard for your inputs, now I can relate to the London incident you have mentioned, its true the power of sun is phenomenal, and I guess the heat accumulation over a period would have been the root cause.

Originally Posted by Swapnil4585

Surprised to see that. The quality of holder must be compromised one, is what I can tell you from my experience.

I did not even bother to remove the camera. When I removed it, I tested it. It was working fully. The mount is still affixed in the car and is there as it is.
So in your case, the mount quality is questionable.

Hello Swapnil4585, Thanks for your inputs. Glad your camera mount could withstand Jalgaon’s heat. The quality of holder also might be an issue, however when I opened the door after three weeks, I could feel like getting into a pressure cooker, may be prolonged heat accumulation added to the quality of holder might have resulted in melting. Thought of car windscreen reflector but again the suction cup will be exposed to direct sun light, good quality car cover might help for those who don’t have covered parking.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by glovins2004

Effects of lockdown

Below picture makes me wonder whether I live in Bangalore or in torrid location, couple of days back I noticed my car mobile holder was missing but when I took a closer look, I was shocked and never seen like this before, the suction cup melted due to heat and the holder dropped on the mat.
.......

Inside a car with doors and windows closed can reach 70+degrees. Children have died when left in a close car. In direct sunlight I have experienced plastic seat covers melt.

In case of long term parking, ensure that the direct sunlight on windows is stopped by putting some sort of shade.

[Gansan]

This is how our cars are parked, facing the apartment block inside the premises, but open to sky. Car faces south.The first floor overhang above the cars will offer only part shade, up to the windshield perhaps, during summers. In the afternoons even that shade will go and the entire car will be exposed. During winters because of the sun's position, entire car will be in shade.

Since it will get extremely hot during Chennai summers, I always use this type of reflective cover. Since the cover only reaches till the bumpers, the tyres will be exposed and may gradually lose pressure, necessitating more frequent air checks. I take the car out only during weekends, even during normal times.

Hence the jugaad to cover the wheels! These are advertisement placards which various guys tie on our apartment block gates. They are ostensibly "no parking in front of gate" signs, bearing also their ads. But in reality, it will be only ads, one will have to search for the "no parking" with a magnifying glass! So I have no qualms about taking fresh ones from time to time for my car! They are held in place by the elastic at the bottom of the car cover, but because of the very windy conditions for the past few days, the watchman has placed half bricks/stones, pressing the bottom of the placards to the tyres! He has also attached a wire to each placard on one side, to tie them in place if necessary!

I keep 2 psi pressure above recommendation in the tyres and check it once a month. Works for me.

[prithm]

Originally Posted by Gansan

Since it will get extremely hot during Chennai summers, I always use this type of reflective cover. Since the cover only reaches till the bumpers, the tyres will be exposed and may gradually lose pressure, necessitating more frequent air checks. I take the car out only during weekends, even during normal times. ...
I keep 2 psi pressure above recommendation in the tyres and check it once a month. Works for me.

Just moving the car back and forth also might help save tyre from getting cracks, battery discharging, engine oil circulation etc.

I did once every 3 days for 15 min. Just put in reverse, go till neighbors gate, shift to forward and go till my parking end. Keep the AC running, Radio, hazards on etc.

Not to mention the strange stare from neighbors to see me do this like a crazy petrol head kid.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by Gansan

This is how our cars are parked, facing the apartment block inside the premises, but open to sky.

If you own the house and this is your dedicated parking spot, perhaps you can invest in a yawning/permanent tin roof? If nothing else, tie up a bedsheet/cloth to keep the car in shade.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by prithm

Just moving the car back and forth also might help save tyre from getting cracks, battery discharging, engine oil circulation etc.

I did once every 3 days for 15 min. Just put in reverse, go till neighbors gate, shift to forward and go till my parking end. Keep the AC running, Radio, hazards on etc.

Not to mention the strange stare from neighbors to see me do this like a crazy petrol head kid.

Read my post again.It is not for flat spots or cracks. It is to prevent slow loss of pressure due to day long exposure of tyres to the hot sun. Car goes out every weekend for groceries shopping even during lock down. The covering is for the days it doesn't go out. The watchman does the covering and uncovering.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

If you own the house and this is your dedicated parking spot, perhaps you can invest in a yawning/permanent tin roof? If nothing else, tie up a bedsheet/cloth to keep the car in shade.

It is an apartment complex. Each one parks at a particular spot by custom, there are no owned parking spots. It is all part of the common area. Else we would have done it long back.

[drmohitg]

My Ecosport was due for its yearly service in May,2020. Although the car has covered only 8k kms in this 1 year period but the 1 year time interval has come up. This is the 20k km service. Now I am confused if I should give it for service now or rather hold on to it for next 2-3 months till the Covid crisis has played out. My car is under extended warranty till 5 years and hence I was wondering if Ford cites this service delay in any future warranty related claim that may arise. What shall I do?

[nagr22]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

My Ecosport was due for its yearly service in May,2020. .. What shall I do?

I am on a similar boat and my car is due for service next month. What I have decided is to use the pick up and drop facility offered by the service center, pay online and when the car is delivered at home, let it stay parked for a week or more before I use it. Studies show that the virus survive maximum 7 days on metal. So it should be safe.
Desperate times call for desperate measures but we car lovers shouldn't neglect our cars

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by nagr22

I am on a similar boat and my car is due for service next month. What I have decided is to use the pick up and drop facility offered by the service center, pay online and when the car is delivered at home, let it stay parked for a week or more before I use it.

I cannot fathom the idea of someone else driving my car. So a pick and drop service is out of the question. The situation in Delhi right now is such that exposure risks are high if I visit the dealership. Hence the confusion between taking the risk vs waiting it out.

Hadn't Ford too offered extensions for services and other such matters due to the lockdown?