BS: small person trapt in glove compartment

Subject: BS: small person trapt in glove compartment
From: leeneia
Date: 14 Oct 18 - 09:58 PM

My sister-in-law drives a 2010 Chrysler Town and Country van. It has gone for many, many miles cross country. It has two quirks.

1) When still cold, but in Drive and going down the street, the engine stops running. It has had two new starters and a new alternator, and it still does it. Her mechanic(s) have no idea why. It's nothing she's doing, because it did it to many husband, too.

2) Again, when the car is still cold but in motion, we hear a sharp rapping coming from the vicinity of the glove box. It sounds exactly like there is a person in there, tapping to be let out.

Do any Mudcat automotive people have any ideas about these two phenomena?

Subject: RE: BS: small person trapt in glove compartment
From: Joe Offer
Date: 14 Oct 18 - 10:25 PM

Well, I started to hear a clicking sound in the ventilation system fan. Turned out to be a rodent's nest....

Subject: RE: BS: small person trapt in glove compartment
From: robomatic
Date: 14 Oct 18 - 10:34 PM

1) Starters do nothing but start, so changing the starter would have nothing to do with the motor stopping.

How cold is cold? If we're not talking below freezing, is it possible that it misbehaves when it's damp or raining? In an older vehicle, seals can be decayed and moisture in a cold engine can short circuit stuff.

Motor stops when it doesn't get spark (electricity) or fuel.
Fuel stops when the fuel pump stops. The fuel pump stops when it doesn't get electricity (assuming that it's a modern fuel pump which is powered by electricty. A new alternator is a good idea. So is a new battery.

Sharp rapping from the vicinity of the glove box. Let the little guy out! It could be that a belt is slapping while stiff and cold, but those are hard to figure without direct ears to the noise.

Subject: RE: BS: small person trapt in glove compartment
From: frogprince
Date: 14 Oct 18 - 10:41 PM

" it did it to many husband, too."

That sounds like there may be a whole other story to tell...

Subject: RE: BS: small person trapt in glove compartment
From: Iains
Date: 15 Oct 18 - 03:19 AM

Maybe the little person in the glove box got hungry and started chewing insulation off wires. I know rats have a liking for chewing insulation, perhaps their smaller cousins have the same tastes.
   I too have had the little blighters trying to   claim squatters rights under the hood

Subject: RE: BS: small person trapt in glove compartment
From: G-Force
Date: 15 Oct 18 - 05:58 AM

We get the knocking noise in my wife's Ford Fiesta. It's something to do with the drive mechanism for the heating/ventilating flap (the gears lose their teeth popssibly).

Subject: RE: BS: small person trapt in glove compartment
From: leeneia
Date: 15 Oct 18 - 05:44 PM

Robomatic, I'm told it seems to have no connection to the weather. When my SIL says "cold", she means the engine hasn't warmed up after starting. I like the sound of your idea about seals, though.

G-force, your idea about the ventilating flap may it it, because there are flaps on both sides of the glove compartment. (I opened the compartment to make sure there is no little person in there.)

We had a great visit despite the car - quilt shop, steamboat Arabia, steakhouse, barbecue joint, music...

Subject: RE: BS: small person trapt in glove compartment
From: Donuel
Date: 16 Oct 18 - 09:06 AM

minor noise may come from a fan or dash attachments

major noise could come from the right front wheel suspension which could prove fatal. (loss of wheel at high speed)

Subject: RE: BS: small person trapt in glove compartment
From: Donuel
Date: 16 Oct 18 - 09:12 AM

Dash noise - good
Ball joint, wheel bearing, CV joint - bad

Subject: RE: BS: small person trapt in glove compartment
From: leeneia
Date: 16 Oct 18 - 10:23 AM

Thanks for the warning, Donuel. It's definitely a small noise originating somewhere near the glove compartment. Dash noise, as you say.

Subject: RE: BS: small person trapt in glove compartment
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 18 Oct 18 - 09:42 AM

When still cold, but in Drive and going down the street, the engine stops running.

Try replacing the fuel filler cap. Modern filler caps are not simple plugs. They're integral parts of cars' emission control systems. For pollution control reasons, the fuel tank on a modern-day car isn't vented to the atmosphere like it was on a '57 Chevy. The only place for the tank to "breathe" is at the filler cap. If it malfunctions, a slight vacuum can be produced in the tank which interferes with proper fuel flow.

It may not solve the problem, but it's cheap and requires no professional installation.

Another cheap DIY possibility is the fuel filter.

Subject: RE: BS: small person trapt in glove compartment
From: Iains
Date: 18 Oct 18 - 11:29 AM

More sensible news from Guido.(Confirmed by the video clip for those that would deny it)

NO HARD BORDER!


https://order-order.com/2018/10/18/juncker-varadkar-guaranteed-irish-parliament-no-hard-border-event-no-deal/

Subject: RE: BS: small person trapt in glove compartment
From: Iains
Date: 18 Oct 18 - 11:32 AM

Hmm I think a small person hijacked my keyboard and posted in the wrong
thread. Could a kind forum fairy place it in Brexit?

Subject: RE: BS: small person trapt in glove compartment
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 18 Oct 18 - 08:25 PM

When I saw the thread title I immediately thought of that dramatic headline in Airplane!, thus:

"BOY TRAPPED IN REFRIGERATOR EATS OWN FOOT".

Subject: RE: BS: small person trapt in glove compartment
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 18 Oct 18 - 10:01 PM

I had a mouse turned up in my car one day, but he was running about. Ran across behind the steering wheel as I was driving. I put down a saucer of water and a humane mouse trap with some cheese, and after a few days he walked into it and I freed him in a safe place.

Subject: RE: BS: small person trapt in glove compartment
From: robomatic
Date: 19 Oct 18 - 04:51 PM

You CAD! You stole Stuart Little's car!

Subject: RE: BS: small person trapt in glove compartment
From: keberoxu
Date: 19 Oct 18 - 06:18 PM

Robo, that's marvelous.
I can never think of those comebacks.

My experience is not rodents or glove compartments.

This is from my childhood, and the family car.
Turns out the fan belt was attractive,
not to rodents,
but to the cats. It was warm up there.
One time my mom turned on the ignition,
and a kitten was dozing on/in the fan belt.

Scared the heck out of everybody.
The kitten had a concussion; a fan blade smacked it in the forehead.
Alive, all right, but it crawled away from the car and lost consciousness.

Following recovery, the little black kitten had,
permanently,
a patch of white on its forehead that wasn't there before.

Subject: RE: BS: small person trapt in glove compartment
From: leeneia
Date: 20 Oct 18 - 11:52 AM

Thanks for suggestions, BWL. I have passed them on.

Subject: RE: BS: small person trapt in glove compartment
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 21 Oct 18 - 07:35 AM

Had you used peanut butter or chocolate, Kevin, your rodent would've been trapped within minutes.

By the way, if you don't take the mouse at least four miles from your house before letting it go, it will come back, sure as eggs is eggs.