I’ve learned over the years that taking home an occasional bunch of flowers is good insurance against those tantrums that spoil so many marriages. This explains why I see Daisy Fouche, the local florist, very often.
At my last visit, the conversation soon turned to her 2001 Opel 1,8-litre station wagon. She suggested that perhaps she should buy a new battery because the starter only rotated the engine very slowly.
When I responded that perhaps the starter motor was on the blink, she said that the first battery had lasted only four years so the second unit was just about due for a replacement.
I could not argue with her logic, but asked her to bring the car into the workshop.
Hennie confirmed that the starter motor seemed very sluggish, so he swopped the battery for a fully-charged unit, rather than go to the time-consuming business of charging the Opel battery and then testing it. Japie then engaged the starter with the ignition disabled, while Hennie measured the current draw.
The engine speed was only slightly higher than before, but the starter drew so much current that Hennie asked Japie to let go of the starting switch.
Hennie had visions of having to remove the starter motor, but when he looked under the bonnet to familarise himself with the layout he noticed that the air-con compressor drive belt was on its last legs.
Hennie removed it because it had to be replaced and, on a hunch, asked Japie to engage the starter again. It now spun the engine at a normal pace, and the mystery was solved.
An examination showed that the air-con compressor clutch had locked-up, most likely because it had overheated. This often happens when the compressor itself fails because the car’s air-con system is not used often enough.
This unit should be switched on occasionally, even in winter, otherwise it deteriorates just like an engine that has not run for some time.