What to do when your car breaks down
According to Mayiga, when a car stops while one is driving, it can often be due to a bad fuel pump. If the engine does not get the correct amount of fuel at the right moment, the motor will shut off.
Kenneth Mayiga, a mechanic from Risam Auto Care, Mengo-Kakeka, a Kampala city suburb, says there are car systems to look after and steps to follow to keep yourself and others on the road safe. (Credit: Fred Mubanda)
NewVision Reporter
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A faulty spark plug Throttle position sensor
A car that unexpectedly stalls while driving is stressful. The situation can also be dangerous, especially if you are driving on a busy roadway.
Charles Luwemba, a car owner, says you may not know everything about your vehicle, but you must be able to know when something is wrong.
Luwemba first noticed a faulty battery, which went bad while he was driving, and his vehicle’s alternator was not recharging the battery.
“I guided a car to the roadside to jump-start it in vain. I discovered the battery needs to be replaced with a new one,” he says.
Then, the next time Luwemba experienced a car suddenly stopping over an empty fuel tank because the fuel gauge failed to show the real fuel level in the tank.
However, Kenneth Mayiga, a mechanic from Risam Auto Care, Mengo-Kakeka, a Kampala city suburb, says there are car systems to look after and steps to follow to keep yourself and others on the road safe.
Faulty fuel pump
According to Mayiga, when a car stops while one is driving, it can often be due to a bad fuel pump. If the engine does not get the correct amount of fuel at the right moment, the motor will shut off.
Therefore, you will have to fix or replace it, and most fuel pumps are installed inside the fuel tank.
Overheating
If the car engine overheats, it causes the whole system and the flow of work of spare parts associated with it. It increases the load on the engine which in turn stops the car from operating.
However, Mayiga explains some reasons for engine overheating, including low engine oil, low-quality engine oil, faulty radiator, insufficient coolant and clogged coolant hose. Meanwhile, often make sure you take care of engine maintenance.
Timing belt
It is a critical system enabling the engine to run. The purpose is to keep a car’s camshaft and crankshaft turning at a synchronised rate. Therefore, if the timing belt fails or breaks a car will suddenly shut down.
“Always make sure to change your timing belt every two years before it breaks to avoid the engine being damaged,” Mayiga says.
Also, he notes when the battery has gone dead. It could be completely drained due to a charging system problem, which causes the car to shut off while driving.
Other systems to detect
Gerald Njabire, another mechanic from Japanese Garage in Wandegeya a city suburb of Kampala, explains mixed petrol and diesel or putting in the wrong fuel that is sold from unreliable petrol stations can cause the engine to knock or even fail.
When you have added the wrong fuel to your car, you will notice the following; excess smoke coming from the exhaust, the engine stopping completely plus cutting out, engine misfiring, and the engine warning light illuminating, among others.
Also, Njabire adds mixing wrong oil in the engine, which can damage it because it does not properly lubricate its components.
Njabire notes when a knock sensor goes bad there could be a variety of different signs such as reduced engine power, lowered fuel efficiency and excessive engine knocking or vibrating among others which tend to affect engine performance while driving.
A knock sensor is located on the cylinder head, engine block or intake manifold. Its function is to detect unplanned knocking sounds from the engine.
Faulty spark plugs, which can cause the engine to misfire affect its performance and rough idling. Spark plugs produce electric sparks to ignite the fuel-air mixture in the engine cylinders for producing energy.
A Bad Throttle Position Sensor, will indicate the following symptoms that it is not working correctly such as unusual surges while accelerating, hesitations during accelerations, poor power and delay in gear shifting. A throttle position sensor monitors the amount of fuel a car engine gets.
Njabire says a faulty throttle position sensor should not be ignored once you notice the symptoms, and replace the sensor to avoid expensive repairs and inconvenience.
Steps
Njabire explains there are steps to follow when your car shuts off while driving to maintain the safety of yourself as well as other vehicles on the road. The first thing you need to do is to pull your vehicle over to the side of the road or the shoulder.
Before you restart a car open the hood and make sure you check the engine oil level, the radiator fan if it is not working, the battery, cables and terminals, if they are clean and free from corrosion. Also, ensure that the terminals are securely attached to the battery.
Look at the timing belt as it runs, it should be tight and straight. If it is flexing that is bad which means it’s more likely to jump teeth, which will affect your engine activities.
He says if you are lucky and the vehicle restarts at least drive to the nearest auto repair shop or if it fails to restart use emergency flashers to notify other drivers that your car is immobile and you will not merge back into the traffic. Which keeps you safe while you figure out the next steps as you think a roadside assistance service too.
Advise
Njabire advises that 20 minutes before you often start to drive your vehicle, check on the dashboard lights to make sure all systems are safe and ready to go. Also, Mayiga condemns vehicle owners for delayed car servicing.