When do alternators fail?
12-10-2008, 04:47 AM
#1
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When do alternators fail?
a) Sunny dry weather, 25C with no traffic on the road,
-or-
b) Cloudy drizzle/sleet, 1C with tons of Christmas shoppers jamming the roads?
HINT: we're talking about Tantrum here.
*sigh*
-or-
b) Cloudy drizzle/sleet, 1C with tons of Christmas shoppers jamming the roads?
HINT: we're talking about Tantrum here.
*sigh*
12-10-2008, 06:53 AM
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Winnah!
...and to add insult to injury...the Auto Club tow truck shows up in a half hour with a dolly with air in only 3 tires. Niiiicee. Took the "slow boat to China" route through town with the front wheels up.....(Generation I Quattro rules!)
Cheers!
Cheers!
12-10-2008, 07:34 AM
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I didn't think you could put a quattro on a dolly
I had mine towed yrs ago cuz of a blown brake line and I requested a flatbed and the guy told me that's all they use now. Don't most dolly's have only two tires?
Eitherway, they get an "A" for showing up in only a half hr but I'll have to give them a "D-" for the dolly and another half grade lower for air in only three tires which brings us to a final grade of "F"
I'd consider a new autoclub. I've also found that tow truck drivers seem to be VERY socially challenged and generally a miserable group that don't like it when you "help" them load your car even though you can clearly see they don't give a hoot over any damage they may cause.
R
Eitherway, they get an "A" for showing up in only a half hr but I'll have to give them a "D-" for the dolly and another half grade lower for air in only three tires which brings us to a final grade of "F"
I'd consider a new autoclub. I've also found that tow truck drivers seem to be VERY socially challenged and generally a miserable group that don't like it when you "help" them load your car even though you can clearly see they don't give a hoot over any damage they may cause.
R
12-10-2008, 08:19 AM
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CAA is not too bad.....
although they used to offer a certain percentage of Sunoco gas purchases off your next membership fee. That is gone by the wayside and they cannot compete with regular travel agents for business ("CAA cannot match their price" - what??....and I PAY to be a CAA member?)....yeah, maybe it's time to switch.
Actually, I'm not with you on the miserable tow truck driver thing. I've generally found them to be more a bunch of "car guys" than most (usually domestic car guys, though). You do get the occasional melonhead, but for the most part they're OK. The guy that towed Tantrum last night was told that he was to tow a front-drive 5k around the block...not across town. He said he would have turned the call down if it was 4wd because of the flat dolly tire (tow truck dollies have 4 wheels...a car dolly that, say, you would use to tow a DKW behind a Honda CRV...if you had one...would have 2 wheels). We took out the 5ktq owner's manual and it said that it was OK to tow with the fronts immobile, provided that the transmission was disengaged, centre diff unlocked, low speeds were used and distance was less than 40 miles (?). We kept it at about 40km/h all the way home...much to the consternation of the other drivers on the sideroads.
It would be interesting to see my tow records at CAA. They would include:
- a couple 190-ish km tows
- recovery of a Pontiac Sunbird from a collision with the backyard wall of a house
- towing a Land Rover to the middle of the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie
...hmmm...maybe I should stick with CAA...
Cheers!
Actually, I'm not with you on the miserable tow truck driver thing. I've generally found them to be more a bunch of "car guys" than most (usually domestic car guys, though). You do get the occasional melonhead, but for the most part they're OK. The guy that towed Tantrum last night was told that he was to tow a front-drive 5k around the block...not across town. He said he would have turned the call down if it was 4wd because of the flat dolly tire (tow truck dollies have 4 wheels...a car dolly that, say, you would use to tow a DKW behind a Honda CRV...if you had one...would have 2 wheels). We took out the 5ktq owner's manual and it said that it was OK to tow with the fronts immobile, provided that the transmission was disengaged, centre diff unlocked, low speeds were used and distance was less than 40 miles (?). We kept it at about 40km/h all the way home...much to the consternation of the other drivers on the sideroads.
It would be interesting to see my tow records at CAA. They would include:
- a couple 190-ish km tows
- recovery of a Pontiac Sunbird from a collision with the backyard wall of a house
- towing a Land Rover to the middle of the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie
...hmmm...maybe I should stick with CAA...
Cheers!
12-10-2008, 08:39 AM
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Re: CAA is not too bad.....
Well that's good to know.
The guy who took the Audi wasn't too bad but my last experience was awful. It was for my mother's car and when the guy put it on the flat bed he left the window open. Now it was about to storm, dark & windy and I knew he had about 40 min drive so I said we need to put up that drivers window (he was back in the truck cab at this point as I waited till the last minute till I pointed this out) Oh boy wrong thing to say. Long story short I'm like WTF! I did get the window closed though. My insurance covers all my towing but my mother's tow was a warranty claim.
R
The guy who took the Audi wasn't too bad but my last experience was awful. It was for my mother's car and when the guy put it on the flat bed he left the window open. Now it was about to storm, dark & windy and I knew he had about 40 min drive so I said we need to put up that drivers window (he was back in the truck cab at this point as I waited till the last minute till I pointed this out) Oh boy wrong thing to say. Long story short I'm like WTF! I did get the window closed though. My insurance covers all my towing but my mother's tow was a warranty claim.
R
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12-10-2008, 10:08 AM
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( B ) all the way / guess what I was doing last night VR
Last night My Voltage Reg died in the alternator.
Had a new VR in the car in 1/2 hour and then went out and had fun in the 20+ cms of snow .
Had a new VR in the car in 1/2 hour and then went out and had fun in the 20+ cms of snow .
12-10-2008, 10:16 AM
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Maybe he was having a bad day....
I'm sure the truck drivers meet all sorts of folks who are in the midst of having the worst day of their lives EVER. Stolen cars, drunks, idiots that shouldn't be driving, fatalities....etc. etc. I'm sure that would get to you after a while.
For me the classic was getting the Rover towed to Buffalo - the guy "realizes" that he cannot enter the US (hmmmmm...OOPS!) and so he drops my friend's Rover in the line at US Customs.....with a blown transmission. Luckily he still had reverse so he drove through Customs and home from the Peace Bridge in reverse.
Cheers!
For me the classic was getting the Rover towed to Buffalo - the guy "realizes" that he cannot enter the US (hmmmmm...OOPS!) and so he drops my friend's Rover in the line at US Customs.....with a blown transmission. Luckily he still had reverse so he drove through Customs and home from the Peace Bridge in reverse.
Cheers!
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