 Poster: A snowHead
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...top tip...
...take the handbrake off...
...no amount of digging is effective against stupidity 
(This was, of course, "a friend". Not myself. I would never be so stupid...)
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| FlyingStantoni wrote: |
...top tip...
...take the handbrake off...
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Take it out of gear when being towed with the engine off too. 
I towed a Corsa in the snow, told the driver to take the handbrake off, dragged it 200m with the front wheels locked solid.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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This thread just reminded me that I left the car with handbrake on. Frozen on handbrake is not a fun situation **goes to release handbrake**.
Top tip for towing: keep the electrics on or your brakes don't work properly and the steering lock will be active 
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Mon 21-12-09 19:02; edited 2 times in total
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I (sorry, "my friend") is starting to feel positively intelligent 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Never swear blindly you've fixed a faulty brake light to the wife - as you will only be caught out later when the wife as to call the AA out as half the other lights have stopped working and batteries flat.
So a friend tells me 
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| narc wrote: |
Frozen on handbrake is not a fun situation.
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Frozen on handbrake is also not a cheap situation 
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FlyingStantoni,
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I (sorry, "my friend") is starting to feel positively intelligent
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LOL Oh I've used that so many times
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| eng_ch wrote: |
| narc wrote: |
Frozen on handbrake is not a fun situation.
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Frozen on handbrake is also not a cheap situation |
Bloody hell, all the roads round me are hills. Wot am I supposed to do?
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Cars shouldn't really be left with the handbrake left on for a prolonged period of time anyway.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I never knew about handbrakes being a problem - can anyone tell me when/when not to use it? I've just always put it on when I leave the car; we did so last year when it was -13 in the morning but nothing went wrong. How long is "prolonged"? Thanks!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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AW, Long enough for it to freeze! Normally overnight. Frozen doorlocks are easier to access with a readily available warm fluid! Leave the car in gear, and if on a hill with the wheels into the kerb.
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FlyingStantoni, a "friend of mine" did the same thing. Luckily the car could still be moved (slowly) and some time in the "domestic" garage (as opposed to the car mechanic type of garage) with a fan heater solved the problem.
AW, maybe it was cold enough that there was no water to freeze but only snow  . I've always been more worried after driving through lots of slush than "pure" snow. In the absence of snow I'm not sure how long James the Last would recommend but I leave mine off if I'm away for more than a week or so - having had problems with brakes "rusting on".
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You know it makes sense.
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FlyingStantoni, a "friend" of mine called the AA out when his Merc wouldn't start. When they arrived he got in and noticed the auto shift was in D. That's not right I - sorry, he - thought, and put it in Park. "Try to turn it over" says Mr AA, and amazingly, it started first time! Gosh, you're clever I, er, he said, what a proper mystery.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Such a luxury today. After a couple of hours down in Annemasse/Geneva my handbrake had thawed out and I could use it again!
But I did leave it frozen on last year - you live and learn. Mine was frozen solid (off) for the last 10 days, and the concentrated low temp windscreen wash solution also frozen solid.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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This frozen handbrake intrigues me - I always put the handbrake on and have never had a problem - nor did I know there could be a problem?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Boris, Neither did I until a few weeks ago.
But I have had it happen to me twice now - both times when the car was left overnight with temperatures of -5 or lower on return to it. And both times when the final part of the drive before had been on roads likely to result in damp brakes (wet road the first time, snow the second).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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As normally the handbrake is part of the rear brake assembly, this is prone to snow, slush etc. When the brakes are used they generate heat which melt the snow or slush into a substance called water this then result in the rear brake assembly becoming what is normally refered to as wet. Once the vehicle ceases to move, known as stationary, said brakes lose this generated heat to the surounding area often refered to as cooling. Should surrounding area be below freezing (sometimes found in ski resorts) this water, now technically refered to as moisture, changes state again to become a solid, called ice, ice sticks things together.
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Boris, it's only ever happened to "my friend" once. But once was enough...
Another snow/car related problem I've only ever had once was the time I failed to clear the snow off the roof (on account of a thick layer of ice "welding" it to the car). As I'm sure many will guess the heat of the car melted this snow somewhat with the result that when I parked the car up overnight the runoff froze the doors shut .
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Rocksteadee,
Good explanation.
The frozen handbrake is more of a problem in the Alps. Disk brakes are less likely to get frozen too. Had a couple of times not able to get into the car due to the doors (or its locks) frozen solid in Norway and Sweden.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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You lot are doing my confidence the world of good . Driving solo to the Swiss Alps next Feb with the children - car normally spends the week outside not being moved with handbrake off - is it best left in gear or neutral? (flat surface is parked upon).
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Really don't get all this frozen this and that stuff. Fours years ago over Christmas in Les Gets and the temperature varied between -10 and -25 C and no problems with anything freezing up. Tell your car to MTFU and get on with it.
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You know it makes sense.
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Genuinely not me.
Two mates who had Yamaha FS1E (for anyone who remembers them) went to Anglesey for a drive. On the way back mate 1's bike conks out so mate 2 gets his trusty spider connector and attaches his bag rack to mates handlebar. Off they go painfully slowly and these are 50cc bikes so that's really painful.
After about three miles they get up to the mind blowing speed of .. . . ooh 26mph.
Mate 1 then, in a moment of shear genius, decides to put his bike in gear. For reasons he was never able to explain.
The spider really showed it's worth and didn't break instantly, instead mate 2, who knew nothing about what is happening, was thrown over the front of his bike. Apparently performing a nice pirouette around his handlebars using his testacles as an anchoring device.
Cue epic but quite reasonable under the circumstances, tantrum. Once he's recovered sufficiently anyway.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Megamum wrote: |
| You lot are doing my confidence the world of good . Driving solo to the Swiss Alps next Feb with the children - car normally spends the week outside not being moved with handbrake off - is it best left in gear or neutral? (flat surface is parked upon). |
If the handbrake's off, I would strongly advise you to leave it in gear.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| 666 wrote: |
| ...For reasons he was never able to explain.... |
Sometimes we just have to find out what will happen if....
It's part of what makes us human.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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andyph, if it's that cold then the snow/ice remains frozen and doesn't turn so easily into water which can then re-freeze.... IMHO conditions around zero are the worst for this sort of thing, just the type of weather we in the UK normally get.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Oh goodie
we've got the car parked outside the chalet in Park and probably with the brake on, too much snow to have a look
It had frozen washer fluid when it was parked. now you are telling me that the brakes could also be frozen and I have a friend with a newer model of the car who had frozen lights when they went to Sweden last year. Has got diesel from a mountain petrol station so hoping that's OK.
What else can freeze????
but then again am I going to worry about it until we need to move it in a week or so's time?
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Frozen lights! How does that work? Or do you mean swivelling/levelling?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| 666 wrote: |
Genuinely not me.
Two mates who had Yamaha FS1E (for anyone who remembers them) went to Anglesey for a drive. On the way back mate 1's bike conks out so mate 2 gets his trusty spider connector and attaches his bag rack to mates handlebar. Off they go painfully slowly and these are 50cc bikes so that's really painful.
After about three miles they get up to the mind blowing speed of .. . . ooh 26mph.
Mate 1 then, in a moment of shear genius, decides to put his bike in gear. For reasons he was never able to explain.
The spider really showed it's worth and didn't break instantly, instead mate 2, who knew nothing about what is happening, was thrown over the front of his bike. Apparently performing a nice pirouette around his handlebars using his testacles as an anchoring device.
Cue epic but quite reasonable under the circumstances, tantrum. Once he's recovered sufficiently anyway. |
Hurrah for Fizzies! Hurrah for pedals and the 4-down gearbox. Hurrah for pre-restriction moped madness.
SS50s sucked 
Nice story!
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Good pictures BergenBergen.
Park locks the output shaft of the automatic gearbox, and therefore locks the wheels which would normally be driven by the engine (front wheels in a FWD car, rear wheels in a RWD car). If you're concerned about the handbrake freezing then leave the car in first gear or reverse (if a manual) or in park (if an automatic). I've had the handbrake-applied brakes stick a few times on various cars (mostly through rust), but can't say I've had them freeze.
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FAQ
