[SS-Traveller]

Cross-posting into this thread for easy reference...

Originally Posted by ramkya1

Also carry a wheel spanner extra, the original which comes with the OE slipped...

Slipped wheel spanners is a problem faced by plenty of people. The nuts get tightened to full torque (or even over-torqued) with a pneumatic wrench at the workshop, and the (usually) flimsy OE wrench fails. At these times, what you can do is...

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

A quick get-me-home tip for slipped wheel spanners - fill up the spanner with wet sand, seat it (gently hammer it in) completely on the wheel nut, then turn. It won't slip any more.

Originally Posted by Gandhi

Do we have a list of precautionary things to take along for long journeys, which can be life saver in break-down?

The whole idea of this thread is to let you do something even though you don't carry a lot of stuff in anticipation of an emergency situation!!! So you use resources available nearby, get yourself moving to the nearest service point, and then do a permanent fix there.

[cnaganathan]

These are from the days I learnt driving using the good ole' Amby and was told by my trainer.

1. While on long trips, take a bar of soft soap - comes in handy if your radiator springs a leak. The soap can be applied like a putty to the point of leak and allow it to dry before topping up and moving to the closest service station. This works well only for small leaks and can last for quite sometime.

2. What do you do if on your wiper fails on a long drive and it is raining? Keep some chewing tobacco in your car (if you are one of those who is in the habit of chewing it you would have ready stock!!). Take a little tobacco and rub it across the windshield - viola, the water will no longer stay on the screen and will run off. This is because tobacco creates a hygrophobic film on the glass that prevents the water from forming droplets on the windshield. This is good only

• if the rain is not too heavy
• for a few kms after which you will have to rub some more tobacco again

[SS-Traveller]

I would like to highlight and link on this thread some excellent get-me-home tips and information written by sudev in the following situations:

1. When there is clutch hydraulics/cable failure and you need to keep moving;
2. When your brakes stop working; and
3. Getting yourself towed when the engine refuses to start.

Thank you, sudev.

[risga]

Another remedy for radiator fan not working:

If the temp. meter needle is moving into red zone, despite other remedies as friends have highlighted, take water and splash it into the radiator from the front of the vehicle. This will lower the temp. Drive. Repeat again as necessary.

[SS-Traveller]

^^ There may not be enough water to splash onto the radiator when you are on city streets. Up in the mountains, if you do locate a stream / waterfall with chilled water flowing in it, over-enthusiastic splashing of cold water onto a hot engine may carry the risk of a cracked engine block / head or a blown head gasket because of the sudden change in temperature.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

^^ There may not be enough water to splash onto the radiator when you are on city streets. Up in the mountains, if you do locate a stream / waterfall with chilled water flowing in it, over-enthusiastic splashing of cold water onto a hot engine may carry the risk of a cracked engine block / head or a blown head gasket because of the sudden change in temperature.

+1

The correct method of cooling the engine is to keep it running, and slowly pour water into the radiator bottle, say 100ml at a time, wait a minute and then pour some more. Keep doing this till the bottle is full. As the water is slowly getting into the cooling circuit, there is less chance of cold water touching very hot engine. Mind you this would work only if there is some water in the circuit and the vehicle is overheating in spite of it. It not work if the coolant is fully drained. In that case you have to wait and let the engine cool on its own.

[sumeethaldankar]

Hello,

My 800 wiper motor on its way put.It only works properly at the high speed while at the lower speeds it tends get to stuck.I have removed the passenger side wiper to keep the load less on the motor and driving only with the driver side wiper.

Now my question is what to do if it's raining heavily and you have to drive with your wipers not working.I know the most logical thing to do is to pull over till the rains subside but sometimes stopping may not be possible eg on a deserted highway etc.

thanks

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

Hello,

My 800 wiper motor on its way put.It only works properly at the high speed while at the lower speeds it tends get to stuck.I have removed the passenger side wiper to keep the load less on the motor and driving only with the driver side wiper.

Now my question is what to do if it's raining heavily and you have to drive with your wipers not working.I know the most logical thing to do is to pull over till the rains subside but sometimes stopping may not be possible eg on a deserted highway etc.

thanks

Well, get your wiper motor fixed asap. With the monsoon coming in, you wouldn't want to be blinded.

To get the water glide off the windshield, you could apply some mud to it. Wait for the mud to be washed off; water will come down as a blanket rather than forming dots on the screen. There's some other thread where there other tips too (tobacco IIRC).

[antz.bin]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

Hello,

My 800 wiper motor on its way put.It only works properly at the high speed while at the lower speeds it tends get to stuck.I have removed the passenger side wiper to keep the load less on the motor and driving only with the driver side wiper.

Now my question is what to do if it's raining heavily and you have to drive with your wipers not working.I know the most logical thing to do is to pull over till the rains subside but sometimes stopping may not be possible eg on a deserted highway etc.

thanks

I do have a tip but it can be used ONLY IN CASE OF TOTAL EMERGENCY like being stuck in heavy rain in a Naxalite / other hostile area with a failed wiper motor.

I had used it on my helmet Visor on a road trip last year (since there are no wipers on a helmet) barely 10 hours after waving good bye to our friendly mod n_aditya .

Apply a thin layer of oil (engine oil / parachute hair oil /Gear oil / Saffola /Sundrop / 2T oil etc. NOT BRAKE FLUID.) on the windshield. But be extremely careful as too much of it will create a partial prism effect and will be even worse while driving if there is traffic in the oncoming lane.

The thin film of oil will not let droplets of water form on the windscreen and the water will just flow off. And don't worry if you put too much oil because this oil will eventually get washed off after constant rain and keep applying more layers when you see the effect wearing off. Its better than waiting for the rains to stop in places where stopping itself could cause danger to life.

When you eventually reach a safe spot for the night, wipe off the excess oil with mild dishwasher liquid / windshield washer shampoo and water

P.S.: I had used w90 Gear oil that I use to lube the bike's chain in case I run out of chain spray.

[motomaverick]

I think for this situation even windshield wax such as Turtle wax or Shampoo works i guess as I have seen many Auto fellows put shampoo on the windshield and drive in the rain as most of them do not have a working wiper.

[SS-Traveller]

The Engine Wouldn't Start

I returned from work (a 75-km drive) in the (very hot) afternoon today, stopped for a few minutes a short distance from home, turned off the engine, and discovered that my 6-year-old (70k km) Swift 1.3L ZXi would not fire up again. No overheating, no issues that I could see. The engine would crank fine, and then idle too low (400-500 rpm, but not rough idling) for a few seconds, and die out.

Step 1 check: Fuel in the tank - yes. Coolant in radiator - yes - not boiling! Fuel flowing from tank into pipe in engine - yes.

Suspected issue: Electricals. CEL went out when engine idled, though, so possibly not an ECM error or sensor problem.

Repair: Opened up the fuse box on the left side inside engine compartment. Took out relevant relays/fuses for FI and other vital electricals, cleaned contacts and reinstalled one at a time.

Result: Engine fired up and running normally, as if nothing happened.

Long-term: Intend to wait and watch for a few days, before deciding whether further intervention is required. This is the first time the car threw such a tantrum, and I am not 100% sure why.

Happy about: Not having to walk back home / push/tow the car / call for help. That's what get-me-home tips are all about.

[ritz3645]

I use to face fog/mist on all inside glass while driving in rain in Toronto.

Am in India now, but just can't forget the horrible experience of driving in the rain with mist inside and
big drops exploding on windshield on 401.

Got sprays from Walmart for both, issue resolved, also read of vinegar which can also be used for the same.

Hope they have some spray in India.

Also use to carry all Seafoam products especially the multi utility spray. Emailed Seafoam for India distribution rights, they declined India ain't on their radar.

Seriously if you can get hold of Seafoam buy it in boxes its a miracle product.
Put it in a 100k run car, start it and you will feel like a showroom new car.

[sudev]

Probably ECM reset when you pulled out the fuse/relay did this.

[mashmash]

Instead of Tobacco, one can also use Cut Potato on the windscreen when the wiper fails. Cut potato is also a very good windscreen cleaner.

MaSh

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by sudev

Probably ECM reset when you pulled out the fuse/relay did this.

Maybe it did. In which case it's a simpler task to reset the ECM this way than to disconnect the battery terminals (wonder if someone can confirm if pulling out the relay really managed to reset the ECM).

Again, I am not sure if indeed this needed an ECM reset, esp. since there was no Check Engine Light before.