WE DO SNOW PLOWING CALL FOR ESTIMATES ONLY • (includes oil filter, grease & 10W40 oil. OFFER GOOD TIL NOV. 30 PAGE 2 - PLAINDKALER Tips to keep battery in tip-top shape ̂ FRIDAY. OCTOBER 7.1M3 to keep your battery in tip-top The fast approaching cold battenes. says the Automotive until it got cold last night, "car thing but call for help, weather season significantly^ Parts & Accessories Associa- owner* frequently complain as notes. increases the need for pmper tion(APAA). . soon as the first cold snap hits. maintenance of automotive "My battery was all right By then it is too late to do any- Here is advice from APAA WINTERIZING SK(IAL (MfM $ 4A95 >NLY JMH (Includes thermostat, flush & antifreeze...Hoses extra if necessary.) OFFER GOOD TIL NOV. 30 • Inspect manrhff The battery should be inspected monthly to make suit the ter minals ate clean, the electro lyte (fluid in the battety) is maintained at the proper level, and the belts and clamps ate tight. Use a hydrometer to obtain an accurate reading of the bat tery's state of charge. These are inexpensive and available from mom retailers of automo tive products. • Lifetime butteries: Most maintenance-free (or lifetime) batteries are sealed and so do not require checking of the electrolyte level. Even with these batteries, however, you sometimes can check the level by looking through the translu cent material on the side of the battery. These batteries keep the supply of electrolyte at the proper level by ucmg an ex pansion. or vapor storage, compartment to trap the gasses given off during charging and discharging. The condensa tion from these gasses drains back into the cells. If your c«r has n conven tional battery and the fluid level is low, add water to those cells which need it. The car should then be driven a while before using the hydrometer to recheck the electrolyte level. This will give you a true read ing by allowing the charging system of the vehicle to re charge the cells. • Nat IN winter: Never add water to a battery during the winter unless you plan to drive the vehicle shortly aftentaid. This will prevent the water from freezing and damaging A fully-charged battery will not freeze until the under-the- hood temperature drops to mi nus 70 degrees F. ; a weak bat tery, at 20 degrees F. -- only 12 degrees below freezing. The most common causes of battery failure are corrosion on the battery terminals and battery terminal ends, am* a loose connection. These con ditions ate easily remedied if they are caught before a br iery failure occur*. . ' • • The brush-off: For cor roded terminals, simply «•- move the cables from the bat tery. Be sure you remove the negative or "ground" cable* first. There Is no problem in determining which of the two cables noes to the negative terminal. Conventionally mounted batteries have terminals that are two sizes. The spalkr-. sized terminal is the aegatiye one and usually will be marked "Nef." or Some OftiiTCl Motors cars have side-mounted batteries -- He terminals face 4. side rather than upward. The negative ter minals on these batteries are black. Clean all the terminals and " cable ends with a wire brush. Once the cables and termi nals are clean and shiny, re-in stall the cables • Safety first'-and last: Be sure you hook up the negative/ ground cable last. The reason lor removing the negative ca ble first and replacing it last is to avoid the possibility of sparks or damage to the elec trical system. A tune-up can be an impor tant life extender for your bat tery. An out-of-tune engine may be hard to start and this wears down the battery. which may not fully recharge after ward. ° Other factors in accelerated battery wear are low idle' speeds in slow-moving condi tions. Picture a car with its windshield wipers, healer, ra dio and headlights driving at twilight in rush heur traffic a marginal battery can go "over the hill" quickly in such conditions. • Jump starts: Batteries produce hydrogen gas "when they discharge or are exposed to extreme loads such as cranking the engine for a Jong period of lime. An explosion can be caused by a spark near this hydrogen gas when the car is being jump started It you ever need to jump- start your car or someoi else's, the Automotive Parts & Accessories Association sug gents the following procedure so as to avoid any chance of your car's battery exploding 1. Pull the two can close enongh together to avoid ovej extending the jumper cables 2. Connect one and of other cable to the poatotfi +) terminals of each 3. Connect one end'of the other cable to the negative (-) terminal of the foodbattery 4. Connect the other end of the cable to the engine blotk of the vehicle being started. Do not connect the cable to the negative (--) of the bad battery under any circumstances! A void damage to the electri cal components of the vehicle being started by making cer tain the engine is running at idle speed before disconnect ing the jumper cables. • Battery m id: Battery acid is highly corrosive. Avoid splashing it on your skin or clothing. Wash your hands be fore touching your eyes if you have touched a battery case or terminal. Incase of accidental contact with eyes or skin, flush imme diately with large quantities of water Get medical attention IMMEDIATELY if the acid reaches your eyes. ip INv Air Tabes , Mosquito larvae live juit below the surface of water. They get their air through tubes poked through the sur face. Just as a snorkel sup plies oxygen to a diver, the tubes bring air to the lar vae, National Oeographic World points out. tet ft _ Let it Snow. Let it Snow. A Western Snowplow will handle it. Designed and built to take on the worst winters, a Western snowplow turns your 4-wheel drive truck into a real money maker. This year, let it snow...you're ready with a dependable Western. See: ADAMS ENTERPRISES 3017 W. Route 120 • McHenry, IL 60050 815/385-5970 WESTERN We're On The Move