“Car Maintenance Tips II” Checking your coolant level, have you ever wondered as to the use of the coolant in your engine? This is one vital item that enables the heat distribution out of the engine block. Again, something everyone can do. The coolant is the other thing your engine cannot go without. Every engine is different but if you check your handbook you should find where the coolant reservoir is. It will normally be bolted to one side of the engine bay, somewhere near the radiator and it is usually a white semi-transparent plastic bottle. Wait until your engine is cool and take a look at it - the outside should have ‘low’ and ‘high’ markings on it and the level of coolant inside should be between the two. Never over fill or allow it to go below the low level! What about the paint works of your vehicle? You need to maintain the paint well; only choose superior car care products to keep your car’s interior and exterior like new. There are plenty of decent quality waxes and polishes on the market today and if the last time you waxed or polished your car was several months ago, most probably technology has changed considerably since then. The wax and polish compounds may be far more sophisticated both in terms of protection from fading, the look of the finish, and the ease of application. Turtle Wax Ice gets rid of that old problem of white waxy residue. Is a clean car a pride to the owner? Probably, yes, but if you park under a tree where birds’ droppings fall more often, repaint your car with recycled blueberries, that dirt will come off a lot easier if it falls on a waxed paint job. If you find a bird has pooped on your car, wash it off as quickly as you can. There are compounds in bird waste that can damage most car paint jobs. If you leave it in the sun and the poop bakes on, you could end up with a dull spot in the paint. The Battery is a very important source of power for so many systems and subsystems in the vehicle. If you’re going to do any work on your car involving the electrical system, always first disconnect the battery in order to avoid any short circuits that could occur in the process! To do this, loosen the connector for the negative/ground terminal first, and twist the terminal cap off. Use a wire-tie or similar to tie the cable back out of the way. If you need to take the battery out, you can now take off the positive connector.Why negative and then positive? If you disconnect the positive side of the battery first, the negative side is still connected to the entire car. If you drop a tool and it lands on the positive battery terminal and touches anything else on the car, you’ll have an electrical short. By disconnecting the negative first, you’re cutting off the return path for the current. Now, if a tool drops on to either of the battery terminals, it doesn’t matter if it touches part of the chassis or not - there’s no continuous path for the electrical current. Likewise, when reconnecting the battery, Connect the positive terminal first, and the negative second - the reverse of removal, and for the same reasons. When you slip the negative connector on, there will be a spark as it gets close and makes contact with the negative battery terminal. Don’t be afraid of this - it’s nothing to worry about. Make sure the terminal caps are done up nice and tight. motoringcorner@live.co.uk
