Starting car after 2 years Hibernation. What to check?
Discussion
My Tuscan had been stored in a garage in Australia for just over 2 years while I had to go back to the UK for personal reasons. A couple of weeks before it was stored, it had a service and I'd disconnected the battery and left as little fuel in the tank as possible with the car in gear and handbrakes off.
When I checked it yesterday, first time in 2 yrs. Connected the battery and was surprised there was still charge for the doors to open, lights to come on etc. Turn the keys and disable the immobiliser, the fuel pump whirled (be it a slightly labored whirl noise but seems to be OK). Checked battery voltage with multimeter and it had 12 volts which means its still about 1/4 charged, have since put battery charger on it. Tyres had deflated to about 18psi which is good but I suspect I have to get new tyres soon.
I've checked all the oil and fluids and they seem ok. There is no leak or anything on the floor.
Once the battery is fully charge I want to take it for a drive.
From memory, if I floor the accelerator paddle and turn the key, the fuel pump won't engage but the engine will try to start and circulate oil?
Apart from adding fresh fuel, what else do I need to do before trying to fire it up for the first time and what to check if it won't fire up?
Thanks
Onny.
When I checked it yesterday, first time in 2 yrs. Connected the battery and was surprised there was still charge for the doors to open, lights to come on etc. Turn the keys and disable the immobiliser, the fuel pump whirled (be it a slightly labored whirl noise but seems to be OK). Checked battery voltage with multimeter and it had 12 volts which means its still about 1/4 charged, have since put battery charger on it. Tyres had deflated to about 18psi which is good but I suspect I have to get new tyres soon.
I've checked all the oil and fluids and they seem ok. There is no leak or anything on the floor.
Once the battery is fully charge I want to take it for a drive.
From memory, if I floor the accelerator paddle and turn the key, the fuel pump won't engage but the engine will try to start and circulate oil?
Apart from adding fresh fuel, what else do I need to do before trying to fire it up for the first time and what to check if it won't fire up?
Thanks
Onny.
Its alive. Managed to get it jump started, I think the battery might be on its way out but its expected. Have taken it for a 10+ mile run and seem to run ok. It idles ok, no fluid leaks etc. Didn't take it over about 3.5k Revs even when it was fully warmed up just in case I missed something.
Only thing strange is the right change up light stays on pretty much all the time. Any ideal what cause that?
I'll give it a quick service and a once over in the next few weeks. Fingers crossed, all looking good so far.
Only thing strange is the right change up light stays on pretty much all the time. Any ideal what cause that?
I'll give it a quick service and a once over in the next few weeks. Fingers crossed, all looking good so far.
Sound slike you've been very sensible in your start up checks.
In reality, as long as its not been sat out in the rain, theres not a lot that can go wrong from a car just sitting for a year or two.
Things that can deteriorate are rubber pipes perishing etc, but really if they were ok before they will be fine after a year or two, otherwise it would just show that they were on the way out anyway.
Your tyres will likely have flat spots if they have sat that long, ideally, up on axle stands to take the weight off the shocks would be better.
The shift light can be adjusted in the menus so maybe it is just set too low?
In reality, as long as its not been sat out in the rain, theres not a lot that can go wrong from a car just sitting for a year or two.
Things that can deteriorate are rubber pipes perishing etc, but really if they were ok before they will be fine after a year or two, otherwise it would just show that they were on the way out anyway.
Your tyres will likely have flat spots if they have sat that long, ideally, up on axle stands to take the weight off the shocks would be better.
The shift light can be adjusted in the menus so maybe it is just set too low?
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