Noticed a few vehicles parked having open bonnets, leaving them open all night. Nissan Patrol seems to be one vehicle I have noticed. I take it that this allows the motor to cool more rapidly, although I have never done this. Is this practice recommended?
darjak said
09:45 AM Jan 17, 2020
No not a common practice, never done it.
They could be hooking van up to aux battery
bobsa said
09:48 AM Jan 17, 2020
It deters the mice from chewing your wiring under the bonnet
elliemike said
10:05 AM Jan 17, 2020
I've always thought it was people connecting their Engel fridges to the cranking battery with crocodile clamps ??
They generally seem to have heavy wires coming out from the battery area and going to something ??. Never thought it might be for cooling !
Interesting.
markf said
10:23 AM Jan 17, 2020
The first thing I do when connecting the solar panels to the aux batter (in the back) is lift the bonnet to drop the breaker between the VSR and the battery. I'd rather not wreck the crank battery by overcharging. I leave the bonnet up so I won't forget to reset the breaker when we're ready to go again. If I don't reset the breaker there's no power to the Anderson plug for the camper and hence the camper batteries won't be charged while we're driving. Once bitten twice shy.
It's got nothing to with cooling in my case.
Nevd said
10:29 AM Jan 17, 2020
bobsa wrote:
It deters the mice from chewing your wiring under the bonnet
Interesting idea. What's the theory behind this, bobsa?
Bow said
11:28 AM Jan 17, 2020
Nevd wrote:
bobsa wrote:
It deters the mice from chewing your wiring under the bonnet
Interesting idea. What's the theory behind this, bobsa?
Rats and mice, i have been told they do not like the light and cold night air.
Moose2 said
12:41 PM Jan 17, 2020
Might be to stop batteries batteries from getting too hot since most don't like heat. After driving all that heat would be trapped and affect batteries whereas whilst driving presumably air flow would keep them at a lower temp.
Bagmaker said
01:02 PM Jan 17, 2020
Might be to save time fixing the engine in the morning?
Datsuns aren't that reliable.......
Radar said
01:06 PM Jan 17, 2020
iana wrote
Noticed a few vehicles parked having open bonnets, leaving them open all night. Nissan Patrol seems to be one vehicle I have noticed. I take it that this allows the motor to cool more rapidly, although I have never done this. Is this practice recommended?
Hi, my younger sister lives on a large rural property out west a bit near a healthy National Park, the small bush mice/rats are plentiful and mice has caused a few problems with wiring under the bonnet and chewed fluid hoses allowing coolant to drip out on their vehicles unnoticed. Not a cheap fix most times.
We were warned somewhere else to release our bonnet catches and allow the light to shine in to discourage the mice, not remembering where at the moment possibly lower NSW by the caravan park attendant. It is a problem at times.
Whenarewethere said
02:27 PM Jan 17, 2020
If it is hot weather we open everything to cool the car off quicker for the night as we mostly sleep in the car. The heat from the exhaust worked its way into the car, now I have added insulation it is not really necessary.
Insulation in the ceiling has made a big difference as well stopping heat from the metal roof.
Not getting much heat from the firewall anymore either.
Might be to stop batteries batteries from getting too hot since most don't like heat. After driving all that heat would be trapped and affect batteries whereas whilst driving presumably air flow would keep them at a lower temp.
Excessive heat shortens battery life. The battery should be isolated from the engine bay. The battery in my car gets a lot of air circulating around it, but not from the engine bay. I have also added insulation with reflective aluminium.
Another vote for rats and mice. Everyone does it around the Atherton tablelands, especially camped around Lake Tinnaroo. At one camp there were 3 vehicles had to be towed due to wiring damage. Mothballs on top of the tyres is supposed to help deter them too.
Nevd said
05:39 PM Jan 17, 2020
Whenarewethere, I'd be drinking those beers first to cool myself off before using them to cool the car
iana said
05:40 PM Jan 17, 2020
I am going to agree with rats and mice, and battery cooling. But I don't think I will be leaving the bonnet of the ute open.
Brodie Allen said
01:44 PM Jan 18, 2020
One thing that I don't see happening too much these days:
When you stop a turbo driven vehicle when towing, and particularly if you have been
"singing along as against backing and filling to park, don't just pull up and turn the
engine off.
Residual heat in the turbo can escalate very quickly when coolant isn't circulating
thru the turbo and seals and the like will harden and leak, sometimes it can be
so violent that blades can even buckle, and so-on.
When you stop, run the engine with no load at a fast idle for a couple of minutes
and then shut off. You will have nice clean oil in the turbo for start-up and the
turbo will be cooled from the astronomical heat that these things run at.
Remember the days of the turbo timer?
Brodie
dogbox said
02:52 PM Jan 18, 2020
I thought it was a sign that they where open to a conversation "open bonnet someone will come along and ask what is going on"
but have also heard it was to deter the rodents in some areas
Aus-Kiwi said
04:21 PM Jan 18, 2020
In NZ they do it due to birds setting up nests on top of exhaust manifold . Causing fire . I guess magpies are up to same tricks here. ? They dont nest where theres light, open .
Bushpie said
10:04 PM Jan 19, 2020
I pretty much always drop speed to 80 about 5 k from my destination. This allows my trusty diesel to cool sufficiently after a good drive. Just something an old mate told me years ago. But I too would leave it up for the rats and mice.
Onedodger said
02:08 PM Jan 22, 2020
I am one that lifts the bonnet when stopped to camp/rest etc. I also let the engine idle for a couple of minutes if the vehicle has been working fairly hard eg. Towing.
Reasons for bonnet lift.
1. Let the heat out of the engine bay.
2. Reduces heat on the battery .
3. Leave the bonnet open slightly over night to keep rodents at bay . (they like a warm bedroom)
4. For conversation as someone will come up to see if you have a problem.
Noticed a few vehicles parked having open bonnets, leaving them open all night. Nissan Patrol seems to be one vehicle I have noticed. I take it that this allows the motor to cool more rapidly, although I have never done this. Is this practice recommended?
I've always thought it was people connecting their Engel fridges to the cranking battery with crocodile clamps ??
They generally seem to have heavy wires coming out from the battery area and going to something ??. Never thought it might be for cooling !
Interesting.
The first thing I do when connecting the solar panels to the aux batter (in the back) is lift the bonnet to drop the breaker between the VSR and the battery. I'd rather not wreck the crank battery by overcharging. I leave the bonnet up so I won't forget to reset the breaker when we're ready to go again. If I don't reset the breaker there's no power to the Anderson plug for the camper and hence the camper batteries won't be charged while we're driving. Once bitten twice shy.
It's got nothing to with cooling in my case.
Interesting idea. What's the theory behind this, bobsa?
Rats and mice, i have been told they do not like the light and cold night air.
Might be to stop batteries batteries from getting too hot since most don't like heat. After driving all that heat would be trapped and affect batteries whereas whilst driving presumably air flow would keep them at a lower temp.
Datsuns aren't that reliable.......
Hi, my younger sister lives on a large rural property out west a bit near a healthy National Park, the small bush mice/rats are plentiful and mice has caused a few problems with wiring under the bonnet and chewed fluid hoses allowing coolant to drip out on their vehicles unnoticed. Not a cheap fix most times.
We were warned somewhere else to release our bonnet catches and allow the light to shine in to discourage the mice, not remembering where at the moment possibly lower NSW by the caravan park attendant. It is a problem at times.
If it is hot weather we open everything to cool the car off quicker for the night as we mostly sleep in the car. The heat from the exhaust worked its way into the car, now I have added insulation it is not really necessary.
Insulation in the ceiling has made a big difference as well stopping heat from the metal roof.
Not getting much heat from the firewall anymore either.
Excessive heat shortens battery life. The battery should be isolated from the engine bay. The battery in my car gets a lot of air circulating around it, but not from the engine bay. I have also added insulation with reflective aluminium.
Another vote for rats and mice. Everyone does it around the Atherton tablelands, especially camped around Lake Tinnaroo. At one camp there were 3 vehicles had to be towed due to wiring damage. Mothballs on top of the tyres is supposed to help deter them too.
Whenarewethere, I'd be drinking those beers first to cool myself off before using them to cool the car
When you stop a turbo driven vehicle when towing, and particularly if you have been
"singing along as against backing and filling to park, don't just pull up and turn the
engine off.
Residual heat in the turbo can escalate very quickly when coolant isn't circulating
thru the turbo and seals and the like will harden and leak, sometimes it can be
so violent that blades can even buckle, and so-on.
When you stop, run the engine with no load at a fast idle for a couple of minutes
and then shut off. You will have nice clean oil in the turbo for start-up and the
turbo will be cooled from the astronomical heat that these things run at.
Remember the days of the turbo timer?
Brodie
but have also heard it was to deter the rodents in some areas
I am one that lifts the bonnet when stopped to camp/rest etc. I also let the engine idle for a couple of minutes if the vehicle has been working fairly hard eg. Towing.
Reasons for bonnet lift.
1. Let the heat out of the engine bay.
2. Reduces heat on the battery .
3. Leave the bonnet open slightly over night to keep rodents at bay . (they like a warm bedroom)
4. For conversation as someone will come up to see if you have a problem.
5. To check oils and water when engine cools.
6. Because I can.
