Very Narrow Miss!!

ruaneg

it may be coincedental but I only brought the car into the garage last week for a battery change..never had a problem before.

unnameduser

surprise surprise.. f*** sake...some ppl jump at the opportunity to attack the OP. The OP didnt was asking for suggestions as to why the car might have died. Im sure the OP was looking for the usual...lack of driving experience, no licenced driver. Yes these are other issues but start your own thread on that

Mr Magnolia

unnameduser wrote:

surprise surprise.. f*** sake...some ppl jump at the opportunity to attack the OP

<applauds>


OP, take the car to the garage.

peasant

ruaneg wrote:

it may be coincedental but I only brought the car into the garage last week for a battery change..never had a problem before.

It might be a likely explanation ...ECU reset/fault like fletch says.

Get it checked pronto anyway.

A tip for the future: if you ever loose control over the steering again on a front wheel drive car (for whatever reason ...stalled engine, ice, aquaplaning)

PRESS THAT CLUTCH AND KEEP IT PRESSED

That way you will remove all engine related forces (acceleration or engine breaking) from your tyres which in turn makes it easier for them to regain or maintain grip ....no steering without grip.

Also keep your steering movements light, no sawing at the wheel and unless you have ABS be tender with the brakes as well.

zilog_jones

Fey! wrote:

OP - can't think why the engine would have stopped without warning unless the ignition switched it off.

I've only been driving about 2 months, and frequently stall my car when coasting to a stop (like at a crossing or traffic lights). It's usually because I go on the clutch too late... I think. However, I can always tell when it stalls - the battery and oil lights come on, and any other lights will dim when it's about to go. There's also the fact it's a pushrod so it's pretty easy to notice when the engine's not making noise

If a car stalls when coasting, is it OK to go off the clutch to get it going again or is it best to just use the starter?

ruaneg

appreciate the friendly advice guys..Ill ring them up today and see what they say!!
I can guess though.

Its a shame that posters like Big Nelly :rolleyes: give boards.ie such a bad impression to new people. I cant help but notice you have over 5000 posts which may explain lack of civility and social skills.

(Sorry couldnt help myself) I wont be coming back.

Wishbone Ash

zilog_jones wrote:

I've only been driving about 2 months, and frequently stall my car when coasting to a stop.

If a car stalls when coasting, is it OK to go off the clutch to get it going again or is it best to just use the starter?

You should not be coasting to a stop. It's bad driving habit and if you do it in a driving test, the tester won't be impressed. To answer your question, I would start it off the clutch as it's quicker (although I can't remember the last time it happened to me). I presume in a test situation, you would be expected to stop the vehicle, apply handbrake and restart if it is safe to do so (but I'm open to correction).

Big Nelly

ruaneg wrote:

appreciate the friendly advice guys..Ill ring them up today and see what they say!!
I can guess though.

Its a shame that posters like Big Nelly :rolleyes: give boards.ie such a bad impression to new people. I cant help but notice you have over 5000 posts which may explain lack of civility and social skills.

(Sorry couldnt help myself) I wont be coming back.

Sorry for asking a few questions.

peasant

zilog_jones wrote:

If a car stalls when coasting, is it OK to go off the clutch to get it going again or is it best to just use the starter?

Depends very much on how well you know what you're doing ...

Engage the clutch with too much verve while in the wrong gear and possibly the wrong accelerator postion ...and you could either block the wheels and skid or make an almighty jolt forward.

Safest option is to switch on warning lights, keep the clutch pressed, break,come to a standstill and restart car as normal.

Having done that a few times during rushour, the friendly drivers all around you should have taught you not to do it again

Wishbone Ash

ruaneg wrote:

Its a shame that posters like Big Nelly :rolleyes: give boards.ie such a bad impression to new people. I cant help but notice you have over 5000 posts which may explain lack of civility and social skills.

(Sorry couldnt help myself) I wont be coming back.

Everyone has their bugbears - I've a few myself. Don't let that put you off further posting. If we all knew everything there would be no need for this Forum. You could have posted originally without revealing that you were relatively new to driving and on a provisional.

zilog_jones

Wishbone Ash wrote:

You should not be coasting to a stop.

That's probably what I'm doing wrong then

peasant wrote:

Engage the clutch with too much verve while in the wrong gear and possibly the wrong accelerator postion ...and you could either block the wheels and skid or make an almighty jolt forward.

Yes, the latter has happened a couple of times - it does not sound good!

ruaneg: Did any lights come on when the car apparently stalled?

fletch

zilog_jones wrote:

I've only been driving about 2 months, and frequently stall my car when coasting to a stop (like at a crossing or traffic lights). It's usually because I go on the clutch too late... I think.

Then you are not coasting ...you are just gettin on the clutch too late as you say....coasting is when you clutch in too early and basically roll the car to a stop without a gear engaged.

cormie

Big Nelly is like that to everyone on here, aren't ya son?

Anyway, having a fully licensed driver with him at the time, if he was on his first, third or subsequent license, wouldn't have made a difference in this situation, what could the fully license driver have done? Calmly say to put on hazard lights, check the key and then give him a bollocking?:D

peasant

zilog_jones wrote:

That's probably what I'm doing wrong then


Yes, the latter has happened a couple of times - it does not sound good!

nothing personal ...but I would strongly suggest that you get a few lessons on the basics of car control from a good instructor.

Big Nelly

cormie wrote:

Big Nelly is like that to everyone on here, aren't ya son?

Nah Cormie, just to the people that don't know how to drive and I think are a danger on the road:p the rest of the time I am sweetness and pie

cormie

Well ruaneg, regardless of anyone's attitude on here, I would take in all advice, criticism and even insults as it will all help in some way or another and certainly don't be put off coming back here as it's a great place to learn things:)

ballooba

Wishbone Ash wrote:

Many of the young drivers killed on our roads each year considered themselves to be good drivers. At least that incident should be a valuable experience if you learn from it. I've been driving all categories of vehicles for 20 years and I don't consider myself to be a good driver. I'd say I'm average.

In fairness, who asked??? :rolleyes:

ballooba

Big Nelly wrote:

This is about the 3rd or 4th post where you mentioned you cant be sure what happened. Again I will ask are you on a prov license and are you supposed to have a full license driver with you?

That is completely irrelevant. What would his accompanying driver have done.

There are plenty of fully licensed drivers who would have reacted the same to this situation. Or even handle it a lot worse.

There is a lot of people here who need to get off their high horses.

And yes, I have my full licence. Would i have reacted differently than the OP? Maybe, maybe not, I have never been in that situation.

ambro25

Wishbone Ash wrote:

You should not be coasting to a stop. It's bad driving habit and if you do it in a driving test, the tester won't be impressed.

Another quirk inherited from the Brits which is apparently happily paraded as gospel over here :rolleyes:

Any driving instructor on the Continent will tell you that if you are driving in any other gear than 1st, you always retrograde (5>4>3>2) when coming to a halt and use engine friction to decelerate you car, until you apply brakes to come to a full stop, and clutch out of 2nd at the time of coming to a full stop, else you are deemed not in control of the car.

Besides obvious relief for brake pads (I don't think I changed my pads more than once in any 40,000 miles period with the same car, ever), multiple benefits are even engine wear, prolonged shock absorbers life and instant control over car if you need to accelerate before coming to a full stop.

As for de-clutching on ice or water or mud or whatever if you're sliding, that's just downright dumb, from experience (lots, Continent + Canada). You're better off letting the engine friction cull the momentum through the tyres than you are using the brakes (ABS or not) if the situation requires you to stop - in the alternative, you're better off learning to use your handbrake to straighten the car relative to the intended path of travel and gently feeding power until it catches (AKA power sliding). What you never do on such surfaces is use brakes, because they accentuate any sliding momentum too quickly - only gentle acceleration/deceleration.

As for the OP, well done in keeping your cool and keeping it together, especially with so little experience to date.

I've had this happen to me with a Citroën years ago, timing belt snapped (engine instantly blown) in the middle of motorway roadworks and in heavy fog - no power, no steering, no brakes (all linked by pressurized hydropneumatic system, no engine = no pressure :eek:).

The last thing you do is put the damn hazards on. The first thing you do is determine safest option for you and other drivers between stopping ASAP or use any leftover momentum to coast clear of danger (such as coming to a stop with the hazards on in the overtaking lane in the middle of roadworks on a motorway smothered in fog :rolleyes: - looking at ya Big Nelly ).

peasant

ambro25 wrote:

As for de-clutching on ice or water or mud or whatever if you're sliding, that's just downright dumb, from experience (lots, Continent + Canada). You're better off letting the engine friction cull the momentum through the tyres than you are using the brakes (ABS or not) if the situation requires you to stop - in the alternative, you're better off learning to use your handbrake to straighten the car relative to the intended path of travel and gently feeding power until it catches (AKA power sliding). What you never do on such surfaces is use brakes, because they accentuate any sliding momentum too quickly - only gentle acceleration/deceleration.

I would agree and disagree at the same time.

Once your driven tyres have already lost grip, the only hope of getting that grip back is to declutch and remove all engine forces from the equation.
This depends of course, if there is time and space for such a maneuvre ...otherwise just stand on the brakes and brace for impact.

Advising a novice to learn handbrake slides is just reckless.

Wishbone Ash

Wisbone Ash wrote:

You should not be coasting to a stop. It's bad driving habit and if you do it in a driving test, the tester won't be impressed.

ambro25 wrote:

Another quirk inherited from the Brits which is apparently happily paraded as gospel over here :rolleyes:

Any driving instructor on the Continent will tell you that if you are driving in any other gear than 1st, you always retrograde (5>4>3>2) when coming to a halt and use engine friction to decelerate you car, until you apply brakes to come to a full stop, and clutch out of 2nd at the time of coming to a full stop, else you are deemed not in control of the car

I think we are singing from the same hymn sheet. By 'coasting', I presumed that zilog jones meant that he/she engaged the clutch and glided to a halt using the brake. On rereading the post I see now what he/she meant.

Any driving instructor on the Continent will tell you that if you are driving in any other gear than 1st, you always retrograde (5>4>3>2) when coming to a halt and use engine friction to decelerate you car, until you apply brakes to come to a full stop,

Slightly off topic, but just as a matter of interest, that method only applies to rigid vehicles. If you did that in an articulated truck or any vehicle with a trailer, it could easily jack knife (and would fail the test). "Brakes to slow, gears to go" is the truckers motto.

zilog_jones

fletch wrote:

Then you are not coasting ...you are just gettin on the clutch too late as you say....

OK, "failed attempts at coasting" then

peasant wrote:

nothing personal ...but I would strongly suggest that you get a few lessons on the basics of car control from a good instructor.

I already had 9 lessons, and was told I don't need any more until I'm nearer to my test.

However:

ambro25 wrote:

...Any driving instructor on the Continent will tell you that if you are driving in any other gear than 1st, you always retrograde (5>4>3>2) when coming to a halt and use engine friction to decelerate you car, until you apply brakes to come to a full stop, and clutch out of 2nd at the time of coming to a full stop, else you are deemed not in control of the car

My driving instructor told me the complete opposite of this, i.e. there's no need to go down through the gears sequentially when stopping and you can coast to a stop. I always had a lot more trouble doing this with my car (Fiesta) as opposed to my instructor's Hyundai Atoz, and now realising it's probably a good way of doing things I'm not really surprised.

ambro25

peasant wrote:

(...) just stand on the brakes and brace for impact.

Advising a novice to learn handbrake slides is just reckless.

So, assuming a car has lost traction (tyres are sliding on the road surface, whether brakes applied or not), advising a driver to stand on the brakes and brace for impact is less reckless than recommending an attitude change with the handbrake ? :eek:

Erm... :rolleyes:

Qs: have you ever lost traction on snow? on black ice? wait for this one (absolutely true): a (big) fresh cow pat? you ever aquaplaned with a FWD? with a RWD?

I've been through all of the above, some many times, voluntarily and not, and in every case the appropriate actions required were entirely dependent upon the situation: road configuration and immediate surroundings, surface condition, car, engine size, speed, etc.

The few 'general' take away points applicable to each and every situation above are what I posted earlier. In very adverse conditions, learn to drive with your engine and gears, slow down to a speed at which your engine traction can stop your car within a safety zone (which varies dependent on what and where you drive);don't ever put your entire confidence in your brakes.

It's easier, to the novice and the experienced driver alike, to correct a slight vehicle sideways on snow at 20 mph with both the handbrake and using the engine and gears, than to correct same with just the momentum of the car not in gear and a prayer that the tyres start biting again before the bend or the dip

...of course, that's assuming that the lot I see driving daily in Dublin have the nunce to slow down to 20 mph on fresh snow or ise or whatnot, and keep a larger safety distance between them. Big f*ing 'IFs', I know

peasant

ambro25 wrote:

...of course, that's assuming that the lot I see driving daily in Dublin have the nunce to slow down to 20 mph on fresh snow or ise or whatnot, and keep a larger safety distance between them. Big f*ing 'IFs', I know

Thats exactly the point !!

If you're going slow already and your car just "twitches" a bit, there are all manner of tricks to get it back again.

If you're too fast to start with there only is the hope and pray method ...either declutch and hope that you get the grip back again or brake and hope that the impact is slowed at least a bit.:D

For the inexperienced, panicked novice imo the declutch method still is the best. It is simple, it requires no special skills (unlike the power slide) and returns a reasonable chance of getting grip back and being able to get the car under control and/or avoid any obstacles.

But this is a topic over which one could smoke many pipes, Watson ...as you said it all depends on the exact circumstances at the time.

So I'll leave it at that.

and just for your info ...for the last 23 years I have been driving all manner of contraptions through all manner of conditions ...including getting caught in a blizzard on a motorbike

galah

ambro25: good advice, and I can confirm that what you describe is exactly what people learn on the continent (retrograde shifting gears, declutching etc etc) Makes perfect sense! Strange that people here are taught differently!

However, I also disagree with you handbrake advice - if you ever pulled a handbrake on black ice and sent your car into an unintentional spin, you will never do it again...On ice, my advice is to slowly shift down the gears, gently (!) press the brakes repeatedly, and try and keep the car in control...

...of course, that's assuming that the lot I see driving daily in Dublin have the nunce to slow down to 20 mph on fresh snow or ise or whatnot, and keep a larger safety distance between them. Big f*ing 'IFs', I know

BIG problem here - was driving through the Burren last week, thick layer of sleet and hail on the road - one idiot decided the best thing would be to speed right up and drive as close to me as possible...w*nker. He then overtook at a crazy speed for these conditions (those hairpin bends are scary even in dry conditions, imagine ice/hail...not funny) - and I was almost expecting him to end up in the ditch...

And one word on hazard lights - they're great if people here would actually use them to warn others of a HAZARD - not use them because they need to run into a shop to buy fags, or because they're waiting for someone, or double-parking, or whatever. This really pisses me off...So even if you'd use your hazards in a dangerous situation, people would not necessarily react accordingly...

But I could rant about this forever...