I have noticed that when I stick keys in ignition and turn to open 2, the wipers move a few mm's?

 

Best to try to gently pull the wipers away from the screen at a right angle before getting into the car. If they won't move use a little de-icer on them. Or:

Before I had cars with a heated screen I would use a £5 plastic B&Q garden watering can with a shower type nozzle fitting, and half fill it with warm water. It has to be hand warm only so need to test it with your hand. If you're reluctant to stick your hand under the flow to see, then its too hot! Using the spray nozzle further allows the water to cool before hitting the glass.

I used this many times with no problems, the screen and side glass never refroze before driving away as I used enough water to slightly warm the glass.

On those occasions when it has snowed and you haven't used the car for a few days, the can will clear the thick ridged ice from the side windows better than any scraper & de-icer.

I think llanigraham knows about the effect of alternator draining engine power... Seem to remember him turning off his driving lights on the straight "stretches" for higher speed on Night Rallies 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/380699351818?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

 

Sorry, but the ONLY way to apply engine braking is to engage a lower gear, so that the comprehesion of the engine does it for you.

Welsh spelling? :p

Sorry, just couldn't let you get away with that.

Happy new year Graham

Sorry, Buses and HGVs' usually have auxiliary braking to save brake wear, quite often involving gearbox hydraulics, electro magnets or such like.  Well the engine loading caused by switching on various high drain electrics such as both heated screens also provides a decent amount of engine braking, probably more noticeable on a petrol which would tend to run away downhill without throttle.

Graham may not have come across them, but a lot of coaches have a "Telma Electronic Retarder" fitted. See www.telma.com. These are basically like a giant but rather more sophisticated alternator, fitted into the driveline, that acts to apply a very effective braking effort during steady braking. Particularly effective during long descents from mountain passes and the like, where the retarder saves the service brakes from becoming overheated.  So the latter still work when called upon to in emergency or to bring the vehicle to a complete stop. More popular in Europe than UK, but as dieselglider said, these are also available for many HGV and lighter commercial applications as well as bus and coach.

 

I've never actually driven a coach with a Telma fitted (as I don't have the correct PSV licence), bit have travelled with drivers who use them all the time.  In most applications the early part of the pedal travel operates the Telma, while further push brings in the service (or friction) brakes. On others, its a bit like an exhaust brake (or "Jake Brake" as they used to be called by US truckers), where you rock back onto a heel operation to bring on the alternative brake, while a forward push brings in the service brakes. (I regularly drive a Mercedes light truck with one of those).  Either way, the alternative brake is very progressive and smooth, particularly so with the Telma.

Edited 1 January, 201412 yr by FlintstoneR1

Welsh spelling? :p

Sorry, just couldn't let you get away with that.

Happy new year Graham

Probably more to do with a bottle of red!!  

 

Yes I do know about the Telma system, but I don't think that Skoda have got around to fitting that to a Yeti yet!!

Yes I do know about the Telma system, but I don't think that Skoda have got around to fitting that to a Yeti yet!!

I suspect that's very true Graham     Telma don't make one small enough for SM's

 

I can also recall scrutineering for 1970's Road Rallies, with a 998 Mini Cooper - where if you switched on all four Cibies with the engine on a slow idle, the additional alternator load was enough to stall the engine!

Edited 1 January, 201412 yr by FlintstoneR1

Engine speed only rises in response to electrical load if the demand exceeds the available supply (ie at idle). If the engine is already running at a higher speed there is no need to artificially raise it, so the effect of loading the alternator will actually retard the engine. This is why extra electrical load decreases fuel economy, as more fuel is needed to overcome this extra 'drag'. Only at idle speeds will you see the ECU increase the revs to improve alternator output.

Also, to explode another myth, diesels have inherently LESS engine braking than petrols. The majority of engine braking comes not from engine compression but from air throttling. On a petrol there is a massive restriction in the air intake (the throttle butterfly valve) which creates a vacuum when closed - the engine is therefore 'throttled' as it can not suck much air past the valve (there is a small idle control valve to allow the engine to run with the throttle plate closed). Diesels don't have a throttle and have an essentially unrestricted intake (bar the filter and turbo if it is idling) so often need an auxiliary vacuum pump to supply vacuum assist to, for example, the brake servo.

ECUs these days have greater control over engine systems and can effect engine braking as required.

To the OP - I wouldn't have a heated screen just for minimal extra engine braking! I suppose I could wire a bar heater in if I needed this!

As this thread has gone waaaay off topic and my original statement has answered, I've turned the key on it.

Thanx all for your thoughts.