starting a van with flat battery

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

Is it not the same for four-wheeled drives, i.e. they shouldn't be towed with all driven wheels on the ground?
I understand it's for a different reason than no oil pressure though.

 

[Keithmac]

My GTO would burn out the viscous coupling (VR4) if towed all wheels on floor I believe. There are massive warnings in the handbook about towing (basically use a flatbed)..

 

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

I read a long time ago that it was sufficient to remove one of the prop shafts, or raise a pair of the driven wheels.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Boot light staying on?

Andy

Things like that don't/shouldn't happen on modern cars - all the lights are ECU controlled.

 

[Munroast]

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Wasn’t a mechanic that was needed - it was a good auto electrician that was needed. She tried two before she bought the jump start battery! It would be fine for a week or a month and then totally flat. Start it up and it would be fine again. - until next time.

Left a month unused, then the battery on a modern car can go flat due to all the ECU's consuming the charge. If it was something more random than that, then there is a discharge fault, which can be difficult to track down. Difficult, but not impossible - it just needs time and someone who knows what they are doing.

I had a similar issue, which I eventually traced to the voltage controlled relay for my towing socket. It's trigger voltage was set a tad low, so it would switch on, switching on the volts drop was enough to have it switch back off. So it would cycle on and off continually. The cycling on and off, would trigger the rest of my cars ECU systems to wake up and after a week or two unused, the battery would be completely flat.

 

[transam]

My GTO would burn out the viscous coupling (VR4) if towed all wheels on floor I believe. There are massive warnings in the handbook about towing (basically use a flatbed)..

GTO

being what make of car ?

 

[HERTS P&D]

 

[Munroast]

My GTO would burn out the viscous coupling (VR4) if towed all wheels on floor I believe. There are massive warnings in the handbook about towing (basically use a flatbed)..

do you Wear a uniform on a government loan ?

 

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

do you Wear a uniform on a government loan ?

does What you posted make any sense?

 

[Munroast]

I'm worth a million in prizes
With my torture film

(some one somewhere might get it!)

 

[Ihavenojob]

Left a month unused, then the battery on a modern car can go flat due to all the ECU's consuming the charge.

A lot of vehicles have low voltage cut offs. If the battery drained to a certain extent, a switch would cut out. Had it on a few vans, turn key, zilch, pop up bonnet, reset switch and off I went. Cars with stop start technology have super duper batteries, not cheap.

 

[Ihavenojob]

I'm worth a million in prizes
With my torture film

(some one somewhere might get it!)

James Osterberg

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

A lot of vehicles have low voltage cut offs. If the battery drained to a certain extent, a switch would cut out. Had it on a few vans, turn key, zilch, pop up bonnet, reset switch and off I went. Cars with stop start technology have super duper batteries, not cheap.

I've not come across that - I had one where it would turn off the remote control receiver and scanning alarm, after being left unused for a month, to save power. You would have to turn the key in the lock, to bring it back to life.

 

[EFLImpudence]

I read a long time ago that it was sufficient to remove one of the prop shafts, or raise a pair of the driven wheels.

Yes, of course, if the prop-shaft is disconnected then the wheels won't turn the transmission parts - or the driven wheels are off the ground.