My car is frozen, a question

[Rogue Hawk]

For the past three days it's been -20F degrees here. When I turn on the ignition, everything lights up and I here a ticking sound. One thing I noted; the dash does it's animation with all the dials sweeping back and forth. All except the fuel gauge, which reads empty. I know I have about an 80% full tank. Could it be the fuel line is frozen? Tomorrow it's suppose to be 40 degrees. But I don't know if it will thaw out quickly.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I don't think the fuel is frozen …..gas won't freeze even at -50F ….. however if there is water in that gas it will freeze ….. the only good thing about Ethyl ( alcohol ) in the gas is the fuel company has already done what a lot of folks used to do ….pour in a container of Gas ANTI-FREEZE ….. I think your Battery is the issue ….. Have you put jumper cables on it from a running vehicle ???? ….. PS - you probably have fuel injection Y/N ? …. Fuel injection isn't as Temp sensitive as Carbs were …………….. good luck ………… Mike

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

For the past three days it's been -20F degrees here. When I turn on the ignition, everything lights up and I here a ticking sound. One thing I noted; the dash does it's animation with all the dials sweeping back and forth. All except the fuel gauge, which reads empty. I know I have about an 80% full tank. Could it be the fuel line is frozen? Tomorrow it's suppose to be 40 degrees. But I don't know if it will thaw out quickly.

Try turning your headlights on for a few minutes. The flow of electricity through the battery may warm it up enough to let it kick out the power it needs to start the engine.

[Peter Aawen]

It's most likely that your battery is just a little tired & doesn't have quite enough oomph to turn the start & engine over, altho it does have enough to turn on the dash lights etc; maybe there's just not enough juice in there to prime the fuel pump either. That is a common problem in our snowfields here in Oz, & frequently the 'quick fix' for the 'ticking starter' was simply to pour a jug or kettle full of hot water over the battery, give it about 30 seconds to a minute to let the warmth seep into the battery & 'excite all those electrons' before you try to start the engine again. If that doesn't work, you'll probably need a jump start with a substantially charged battery, a long charge, or a whole new fully charged battery! Good Luck!

[LeftCoast]

Make sure the radiator fluid isn’t frozen too.

[trikermutha]

Take a volt meter to your battery and see how much voltage it drops. Sounds like the battery took a crap!

Or take it to the autozone or whoever have them test the battery.

The battery may have enough juice to turns on lights etc but not start the car. Ex; ticking noise from starter??

[PW2013STL]

I agree with the above statements. The ticking noise is a sign of the starter not being energized. Two things that cause that are poor battery, or bad starter solenoid. At -20 your battery is putting out about 1/2 it's normal output, and if it was less than new output at above freezing temps it will not have the juce to turn the stater over.

[rtotten]

We keep one these in our vehicles just in for these situations. We in live Las Vegas where the heat cooks the batteries in short order and may leave you stranded. These are small and packs enough juice to start your car several times without being recharged. Got one for each of my 4 sons. Good luck.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[tibadoe]

I'd start with the battery. Check voltage sitting and under load.

[IgoFar2]

It's time to take the battery out and put it on a maintainer until you're ready start the car.

[Easy Rider]

It's time to take the battery out and put it on a maintainer until you're ready start the car.

Not necessary to remove the battery to do that.

And he did NOT say that he was actually trying to run the starter when he heard the ticking sound; it likely is something like a brake system accumulator pump.

But I agree with the others who suggest that the battery is sick.

[Bob Denman]

Has it warmed-up, and thawed-out yet?

[Rogue Hawk]

Well, it did turn out to just be the battery. Thing is, the battery is not that old. But getting it fixed was a mess. I woke up Saturday morning determined to get that thing fixed. But then I noticed my furnace was not working So the day became dominated with getting that fixed first. So I made an appointment for Sunday at Firestone for 2PM. They where the only ones open. I call OnStar and they get a tow truck but it won't be here till 1:45 Great, now I'm going to miss the appointment. Then OnStar calls me back and says the tow company can't help and they need to find a new provider. So I wait. OneStar calls again and says they found a place that will give me a jump. At that point, I did not know if that was the problem but I said OK, have then come over. Fortunately it was the battery, and I was able to make my 2PM appointment. So now I'm good.

[Bob Denman]

Gunny 01.jpg

[Chupaca]

thank for getting back to us with the good news that the problem was a simple one. Was just about to join in with the "It's the battery" group....

[Easy Rider]

Well, it did turn out to just be the battery. Thing is, the battery is not that old.

What exactly is "not that old" ?
Was it a type where the water level should be checked ?

Now that you have a new one, the charging voltage needs to be checked when the car is running.

[rtotten]

Here in North Las Vegas, we have just the opposite we deal with the heat. We expect to change batteries every three years.

[Rogue Hawk]

What exactly is "not that old" ?
Was it a type where the water level should be checked ?

Now that you have a new one, the charging voltage needs to be checked when the car is running.

It was 2 years old and not used that much. I only do about 10K miles a year.

[Rogue Hawk]

Here in North Las Vegas, we have just the opposite we deal with the heat. We expect to change batteries every three years.

I am an Air Force vet. I was stationed at Wright-Patterson and Osan AB.

[Two cats]

Get a can of heat for fuel that should thaw the gas out. It works. Displaces the water in the gas and thaws it out back to a liquid.

[Easy Rider]

It was 2 years old and not used that much. I only do about 10K miles a year.

"Not used that much" can be hard on batteries too.
You need to keep it fully charged when it just sits for more than 2 weeks at a time.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Get a can of heat for fuel that should thaw the gas out. It works. Displaces the water in the gas and thaws it out back to a liquid.

I remember " HEET " from a long time back - BEFORE they started adding " ETHANOL " to the Gas …..perhaps they changed the Formula, but if my memory serves HEET was mostly Alcohol...… just a thought ….. Mike

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I remember " HEAT " from a long time back - BEFORE they started adding Ethyl to the Gas

You were driving in 1921? https://aoghs.org/products/tetraethyl-lead-gasoline/

[Easy Rider]

You were driving in 1921? https://aoghs.org/products/tetraethyl-lead-gasoline/

The product being discussed is HEET. And Ethyl refers to tetraethyl lead.
He is 0 for 2.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

The product being discussed is HEET. And Ethyl refers to tetraethyl lead.
He is 0 for 2.

I have corrected my post #22 to the proper TERMINOLOGY ……. ETHYL is NOT Ethanol !!!! …Ethanol is what I meant …….sorry ….Mike