I got to use my EDC in an emergency last night

So I got this car at an auction and after a few weeks of checking it out, took it on a 4 hour trip. The way there was fine but on the way back experienced a breakdown. I had taken it to a repair shop the day before and they diagnosed it as having a serious oil leak due to cam seal being bad, maybe oil pump leaking. So I am taking it back thinking I can take care of it at home. 4 hour drive.
It's 2AM on I-95 heading to DC, traffic is light.
Hear this loud pop, think a tire blew up and there is an 18 wheeler next to me. Nothing happens though, to his truck or mine. Next thing I see is my temp goes into red.
I pull over, pop open the hood, there is stuff all over it. TSHTF. I guess the seal finally blew, but how is that possible.
Turns out it's the coolant, not oil. The hose came off.
My Malkoff M60 comes out, I got 2 mostly depleted Li-Ion cells in it.

I am filling the radiator with water, half way through that the lite goes out without a blink. Nice cells but not good for an emergency at all. I do a rapid reload, I had 3 sets of spares in my pocket. Keep in mind, it's late at night, there are these big 18 wheelers zipping past me, it's kind of chilly, rainy and just nasty and I am exhausted and my main concern is that nobody crashes into me from falling asleep. I did get the car as far off the road as possible.
I call home in case I don't get the car going and need a tow truck. Miracle happens, even though the radiator is broken off right where the upper rad. hose fits onto it, I manage to get the hose back on it and make it home, although it does come off once again (I think the Rad. is plugged and I have no heat at all, needs total replacement)

Mental note 1: It's good I had spares in my pocket. Li-Ions offer 'ok' runtime but will go out in an instant right when you need the most.

mental note 2: Good to have 5 gallons of water with you.

I had another M60 with 123 primaries in the glove box but couldn't readily get to it because the car was packed.

Sounds like a tough night. Glad you managed to limp home. Good that you were well prepared. Spare batteries or spare lights are definitely a must for night time travel.

Geoff

cool story!

Subaru Legacy, late 90's.

Scored it for $1200 but needs substantial work. Cam seal, timing belt, water pump, radiator. Think I can do all of it myself.

Malkoff M60 is good, Leef is good also but don't be so frugal and take 123s or AA on mission critical stuff.

I had another M60 modified to run on 4x123 and loaded so precisely for this event but couldn't get to it. Also had a 3xAA Malkoff and a Gerber Infi, also packed in the car but none of them accessible (some genius I know)

I EDC 1 set of Li-Ion 18500 plus 2 sets of 123s. Giving me 3 sets of reloads total.

I think I will change that to 3 sets of 123s.

Primaries have huge advantage in that they slowly dim over time and you aren't just left in the darkness in an instant.

P.S. a headlight is really useful for anything automotive. Might be good to keep in the trunk loaded with L91s.

Juggernaut said:

That's why I'm OCD about keeping my batteries at 90% or more charged all the time!

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+1 Me toooo. I almost always top them off with a charge the next day. Nice story

In theory it's real nice.

IN reality I was away from home, busy on a project and while I did have a car charger, it's just not practical to do so, keep taking them out and charging them.

There is really no easy way to meter how much runtime you have left with 2x18500. You can guesstimate, sure, but...

Best thing I can think of it reload them while they still run.

Juggernaut said:

That's why I'm OCD about keeping my batteries at 90% or more charged all the time! By the way what kind of car was it, if you don't mind me asking.

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OCD??? I have a spread sheet and number my cells (2A=3.03=C2, 2B=2.98=G2)...always keep the same cells in the same light. When they get too low, I put new one's in my "go-to lights" and move the weaker one's to my " I need a light" lights. But, I only check the voltage/location every 3 months or so, so I'm not that bad...Am I??? It actually comes in handy when i "really need" my lights, as i can pluck the higher voltage cells from my novelty lights, and throw them in my C3 w/Z20 W/KL5A, or my E2L.

I love reading these stories BTW...

Glad you made it home safely. As long as you've been on CPF I assume you know about these lights: HDS, Novatac, Ra - all Henry's lights are good for at least an hour on the higher levels and with over 20 levels to choose from and at least 4 of the quickly accessible all you need is 4 spare batteries to have at least 5 hours of runtime at very bright levels. And when they get too weak to run on a higher level they step down to a lower level instead of just going OFF And it's so quick to switch to lower levels if you don't need the highest that you can greatly extend runtime. So for mission critical stuff I always have a setup I know is going to last. If you don't have one it's probably a good time to get one - like the Ra 120 @ $99 which is quite a nice deal.

Juggernaut said:

That's why I'm OCD about keeping my batteries at 90% or more charged all the time! By the way what kind of car was it, if you don't mind me asking.

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I'm like this as well, soon as I put more than 10-15 minutes use total on a battery I'll cycle in a freshly charged one. It's kind of silly cause with an 18650, I'll still have tons of run time but it just feels right. I'm even more stringent when running 2-cell drop-ins because they'll run in regulation right til the Li-Ions protection circuit kicks in, whereas with 1 cell I get a dimmer period in between.

Flashlights are great but put some flares and DOT triangles in the trunk for the next time. It's a whole lot safer.

Good luck getting it checked out and repaired.

chmsam said:

Flashlights are great but put some flares and DOT triangles in the trunk for the next time. It's a whole lot safer.

Good luck getting it checked out and repaired.

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NO!

Flashaholics buy these! :naughty:

LED Road Flares

Hey, flashaholics can be pyromaniacs, too.

I like my Mg flares. Even if I don't get to use them near often enough.

Flashlight Aficionado said:

NO!

Flashaholics buy these! :naughty:

LED Road Flares

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Cool.....

Flashlight Aficionado said:

NO!

Flashaholics buy these! :naughty:

LED Road Flares

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I want some... how come none of regular dealers here are stocking them. Seems like an opportunity for someone.

etc said:

mental note 2: Good to have 5 gallons of water with you.

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I have at least three lights with me in the car, plus flares and Turbo Flares.

I do carry a 1.5 gallon jug of premixed coolant, but should I consider 5 gallons now?!?

Ever seen a turbo flare setting in about 5" or more of snow, slush, or mud? That just does not work. And having one on the car does not leave anywhere near enough safety room. I'm sticking with what I have seen work best. Been there, done that many more times than I can remember, so I'm going to thread hijack for a bit because this really is life saving stuff.

I never, ever see it done right, even by truckers. It's not that I hate stopping and using my own flares for some turkey as much as I hate filling out paperwork, especially while they pull a tarp over somebody.

I'll bet we all see a lot of people standing at the back of the car, at night, in dark clothes, and they do not even realize that they are blocking the tail lights and reflectors. They never have a flashlight, flare, or triangle out. That's suicidal. Often there is more than one person walking around outside of the vehicle, usually in the traffic lane or worse, just standing in the traffic lane.

I love my flashlights and a 2xD MagLED with a yellow traffic cone is a good thing to have in the car (durable, dependable, large enough, and bright enough -- all equally important). But the first thing I grab is a flare and then I get out the triangles. Often I have them in the passenger compartment, in a container where they are ready to go. Flashlights are good for working on vehicles or for having on your person, but they do not work anywhere near as well as a traffic warning device.

As long as leaking fuel is not an issue, a flare is going to attract far more attention than anything else. I have over 1 hours worth in the vehicle. It's why police use them still -- there must be cheaper ways for LEO's to warn traffic but flares are still what you see. DOT triangles are passive and work great too.

The object is to get either of them yards/meters away from the vehicle. It is that distance is what provides your safety zone. If I see any warning at all and usually do not (how about you?), 99% of the time it is far too close to the vehicle.

In my opinion you need multiple warnings and the closest light, flare, or triangle should be no closer than 2-3 yards from the scene and the farthest works best when it is at least 15 yards/meters out. Farther is better. The farthest warnings should be near the side of the road and then they should angle out to direct traffic away from the vehicle(s). The ones nearest to the scene should be no closer to the side of the road than the traffic-side edge of the vehicle plus enough room for someone to walk along the side of it. You want to set up the warnings so that you are gradually heading traffic away from the lane at the scene PLUS a safety margin.

BUT never walk down the traffic side of a vehicle with your back turned to traffic! If at all possible stay in the car. If you cannot, get as far off the road as possible. The median is a bad place to be but do not cross the road. Never turn your back on traffic.

OK, you can check the math but folks, remember this -- a vehicle traveling at only 60mph is going to take a minimum distance of over 100 yards to stop. That's for a panic stop that includes the drivers reaction time (from the first "Oh, s***!), to the stomp on the brakes, and finally to the time it actually takes for the vehicle to come to a full stop. That's a football field at only 60mph. Since the laws of physics are harder to break than the speed limit, that distance is usually much longer. Get your warning makers out there and out there farther than you think you need.

Folks, please, please!, PLEASE! pay attention to this. This is what works. The car can be fixed, you can miss your appointment or even be late for dinner, but make it home in one piece and we'll all feel better about it.

Sorry to be so distracting from the OP and so long winded but I spend way too much time saving the butts of dumb schmucks on the road. Is it this way all over or am I just lucky enough to be living in a brain-dead zone?

etc said:

I do a rapid reload, I had 3 sets of spares in my pocket. [...]
Best thing I can think of it reload them while they still run.

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I never bother carrying spares (except for one extra cell in the briefcase for my E1 Roomsweeper - 12 minutes of runtime on 'high' is pushing my comfort envelope), but I always have two flashlights on me and often 3-7 total with me (jacket, briefcase, car glovebox). One set of cells gets low or protection circuit cutoff - out comes another light. I have no interest in doing battery changes in the dark, especially when I consider the risk of mixing cells up and mismatching their voltages. Also, in an emergency, the depleted cells can 'rest' in the light while I'm running my backups, juggling depleted cells back and forth in a single light is inconvenient.

Thanks for the post.

Thanks for education and sharing your experience.

Kestrel said:

I never bother carrying spares (except for one extra cell in the briefcase for my E1 Roomsweeper - 12 minutes of runtime on 'high' is pushing my comfort envelope), but I always have two flashlights on me and often 3-7 total with me (jacket, briefcase, car glovebox). One set of cells gets low or protection circuit cutoff - out comes another light. I have no interest in doing battery changes in the dark, especially when I consider the risk of mixing cells up and mismatching their voltages. Also, in an emergency, the depleted cells can 'rest' in the light while I'm running my backups, juggling depleted cells back and forth in a single light is inconvenient.

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I carry spares, but practically never change batteries (in the field, I mean) in any lights except one (my 2C Mag61 -- 20-30 minutes runtime). For that one, I stick my 25500s together in sticks of two with scotch tape, and keep however many sticks I'm carrying in one pocket. If I do change, I throw the used cells in a different pocket to prevent confusion. When I get home, I untape, charge, and retape them. I could confidently swap sticks in the Mag61 in the dark, but I'd still turn another light on to do it.

I definitely agree about changing cells in the dark, and if I'm in the middle of something will usually just use another light, but as soon as it's convenient, I'd rather change cells (using one of my other lights) and go on using whichever light I was using -- after all, the reason I was using it in the first place was because it was the best for the task at hand. It's mostly academic, since I top up my cells regularly, and rarely use a single light more than a few minutes a day, but I'd rather have the ability if I do need it than risk being forced to use a less-suitable flashlight. If I wanted that, I'd just leave half my lights at home.