Coupe comes to the rescue - just....

Chilly 7:00am start this morning - cars were completely white with frost. It had rained last night, so I was expecting problems with the frame-less windows on the GT doors.

I left the house - ice-scraper in hand. Pressed the button on the remote - nothing - locks were frozen solid. Got the butane blow torch out of the garage and waved it at the locks for a while - still nothing.

Gave up - went inside and got the Coupe key - pointed it at the Coupe - nothing - locks were also frozen.... I started to ponder working from home for the day, but no - I fired up the blowtorch again and after a couple of minutes waving a soft flame near the lock, it let me in.

It started first time and after a five-minute scrape of the windows, I set off for work.

It was actually quite nice to get some heat out of the heater - the Alfa (being a diesel) doesn't get properly warm on the 9 mile journey to the office

Perhaps I need a newer car - Wifey fired up her Volvo XC60, switched on the heated seats and heated screen and drove off as though it was just an ordinary day

Warm the car from the inside with a fan heater over breakfast?

A butane blow torch seems a bit of overkill, in the past I would use a kettle filled with warm water and pour it over the windows, then squeegee the water off, try again if it freezes.

But with my Jag I just get in and start the engine, at -3°C the car turns on the front and rear screen demisters and by the time I've cleared the side windows, the front screen can be cleared with the wipers and off I go.

The Jag's a diesel but I've never thought that the heater was slow to warm up, why should that be the case in the Alfa?

Got to be careful DaveG...I have seen things go spectacularly wrong for someone (not me) when they used warm water on a badly frosted screen and it cracked.

Scraping or just letting the car get warm is safest option. Slowest maybe-but safest.

And its not even cold yet-UK can't seem to handle a trickle of snow-sadly.

Regards

MM

the problem wasn't the windows - I'm always prepared to scrape them clear.

The problem was that the locks were frozen solid - couldn't even unlock with the key - the blowtorch (on a very low setting) was just to wave at the locks to get them to free off - worked on the Coupe but not on the Alfa

I'm not sure what temperature it was at 7:00am, but after I had thawed the locks with the blowtorch, the water droplets had frozen again within five minutes, so pouring warm water down the windows probably wouldn't have had the desired effect...

The last time my GT door froze closed I pulled the handle clean off! the aluminium handle hinges are very fragile. Happened to both doors eventually.

Yes, that's why I use luke-warm water, just warn enough to melt the ice, and then only just

Ah yes I overlooked that, maybe a sign that there's some damp inside the door? In which case pouring luke-warm water over the windows is probably not a good idea

Our remedy for frozen cars is to cover it up the night before.

I know it's a bit left field but it works for us.

Once in, spary the locks with WD40 to get rid of the water and then squirt some lock deicer in.

I still prefer the fan heater on a timer approach as the inside condensation/ice is also dealt with.

Ah yes, but that only works if you don't get a sudden onset of "can't be ar$ed to go out in the cold - it'll be alright" the night before....

Even that wouldn't have worked in this case though, as the locks were frozen inside the door - it would have frozen even if it was covered - time to empty half a can of WD40 in there...

I doubt that it would freeze when covered.

I have covered wet mortar and concrete with just a plastic sheet hundreds of times and not had any freeze.

Agreed this is very common with 147 and GT’s...

Wife's hairdryer was always the best for frozen locks and even frozen handbrake

Talking about diesel's, my Merc A Class is able to put real heat out of vents withing 30 secs of starting. Must prioritise cabin over engine.

I owned a Saab Turbo once-and it did much the same. And fantastic in the snow. As you would expect.

MM

My Alfa Spider seems to wait around 5 mins before the heater suddenly kicks in?
It appears to prioritise the engine over the cabin!!!

I guess freezing locks and sub zero temperatures just aren't big things for the Italian car makers...