Minneapolis limits vehicle idling to 3 minutes except in traffic

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I see this as TOTALLY enforceable...

It clearly isn't but the subject of the law does start a very educational conversation!

[Nagishkaw 510]

How come everyone still does it?

Most people don't know much about car mechanics would be my guess. It used to be necessary....just like pumping the pedal, but that was before fuel injected engines.

I carburetors.

Edited June 9, 2008 by Nagishkaw

[Sister Fracas 5]

I see this as TOTALLY enforceable...

It clearly isn't but the subject of the law does start a very educational conversation!

aye, I get ya...

[Kevin and 10]

I see this as TOTALLY enforceable...

Radio guy this morning idled for over an hour waiting for a ticket. They had to give out the location and vehicle make before LEO showed up. Even then LEO wouldn't issue a ticket unless he left the vehicle and walk down the block.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I see this as TOTALLY enforceable...

It clearly isn't but the subject of the law does start a very educational conversation!

aye, I get ya...

It would be cool if we could do citizens arrests for infringements of this law.... I'd spend my time off walking around the parking lot with a stop watch....

[Sister Fracas 5]

I see this as TOTALLY enforceable...

It clearly isn't but the subject of the law does start a very educational conversation!

aye, I get ya...

It would be cool if we could do citizens arrests for infringements of this law.... I'd spend my time off walking around the parking lot with a stop watch....

hehehe....

[NickD 203]

Front wheel drive cars have a major trade off with the electric radiator cooling fans that draw a substantial amount of current from the alternator when at idle, it is the least capable of producing this extra amount of current. The cooling for the alternator is accomplished with internal fans whose air flow increases by the square of the alternators speed. This coupled with running the AC at idle that can draw an additional 25 amperes from the alternator with approximately that much additional from the condenser cooling fan with other accessories can severely overload the alternator causing rectifier temperatures in excess of 210*C that vastly shortens the life of the alternator. And in a 90*F ambient, very typical for underhood temperatures to approach 300*F that takes it toll on all the plastic and rubber parts that are very typical in today's engines and some of those many sensors are extremely expensive to replace.

Yet another trade off is thermal cycling that does more engine damage than you can imagine, most domestic vehicle use the engine coolant temperature sensor to control the fans so you have a constant thermal cycling between 195-230*F with an engine made of cast iron, aluminum, and plastic all with different expansion rates causing gasket failure with that constant rubbing back and forth. Don't blame the engineers for this, either have to make it cheap or they will find somebody that will.

I never idle my vehicles from long experience in this field in particular in warm to hot ambient conditions, but tend to idle longer in sub zero temperatures due to the edge of thermal cycling crossing the line. I also modify my own engines that I drive with a thermal sensor on the radiator that switches on the fan at 160*F, this maintains a constant engine temperature of 195*F, but mostly in traffic. Really the best solution is not to drive in traffic, another key element is the torque converter in an automatic transmission, on each start off, that sucker really gets red hot by the compression effects of of the AT fluid. Here again is another temperature sensor that is needed by not there, should never exceed 180*F temperatures in the fluid, it's life drastically decreases leading to even more very expensive problems. If you have to idle switch to neutral, the torque converter is still slipping at idle.

Regarding Minneapolis and St. Paul, really quite a gang running that city, the very last city to complete the interstate system in the USA with constant lawsuits on noise and pollution. And not very good at that, the only city I am aware of where the entrance and exit ramps use the same lane, how in the hell do they expect you to exit with all that traffic pouring in? And the wife and I did cross that 35E bridge exactly one month before it fell down, we must be lucky. And they still haven't finished 494 yet, even Chicago was done back in 1957 with the Edens.

And like any intestate system that started good a long time ago, 50 zillion suburbs were built up along side of it with entrance ramps for homes just a half a mile up the road for an exit ramp for Wal-Mart and a ton of other with no other way to get there except taking the interstate. Always huge traffic jams near large cities.

Also in the 50's and 60's, GM and Exxon were jointly buying up suburban railroads and shutting them down, but the anti-trust act never stopped them, but did fine them $5,000.00 for each railroad closing. Whole point was to sell more cars and gas, it worked. But I do not feel that Exxon and GM are friends anymore, Exxon is beating GM to death right now.

With people moving out in the sticks for lower property taxes and some green grass, the IRS not giving you a cent deduction for transportation expenses for work or school, they got us where they want us. Can only suggest to take it like a man, and bend over, because you are really going to get it where it hurts the most.