Cold Start Tricks and Treats!

[Jettadoor]

As winter approaches, I sometimes shudder just thinking about a no-start situation at -20C or below. I'm probably not the only one  

Over time i've discovered a few little tricks that help me avoid trouble or get out of jam. I'm probably not the only one  

Obviously, if you can use a block heater for some time before starting there should be no problems. This will also hide issues that will bite you when you've been parked outside overnight at aunty Jean's for the New Year's party and want to go home the next day! Getting everything (charging, battery, starter) in shape for winter is even more important than on a gas car. A new battery every 3 or 4 years could be good investment

An added luxury is a battery warmer since it only has a fraction of it's capacity in sub zero temps. This reduces power available for the plugs and starter. On my '78 gas Rabbit i used to dangle a 100W bulb under the hood close to the battery and put a couple of old blankets over the whole thing before closing the bonnet. I've even taken the battery off and taken it into the house overnight to keep it warm! A trickle (1-2 amps) charger will help. 110V is not always available so this winter I'm thinking of a small solar panel to trickle the battery. I work evenings, so the car is sitting all day in the sun dawn to dusk: sunny days are usually the coldest!

So it's really cold and your not plugged into anything; what helps?

Double cycling the glow plugs is a common trick.I always push in the clutch, which saves having to turn over the tranny in it's thick oil, and only pull out the cold start handle once the starter has got going. These steps reduce the initial load on the starter and gives a few more RPM for the start. (Helps preserve the starter bushing too; a bad bushing can be a cause of slow turn over on ANY engine)

I've heard tales of lighting a fire under the oil pan of large diesels at -40C up in the great white North and letting the fire warm the oil and engine for a while. Fanatic drivers of old british sports car sometimes dunked the oil and warmed it on the stove before putting back in. This might not be a good idea if the oil is too hot and the engine too cold! I'd rather not resort to these kinds of tricks unless my life depended on it!

Ether can seriously damage the plugs and injectors so try to avoid the temptation. I've read elsewhere in the forum that WD40 works but never got to try it yet. If I had to, I would warm the wife's heat pack in the microwave and put it on the air intake for a while or shoot a hair-dryer into the intake.
If I had one of these stand-alone Power Pack things I would use a light bulb under the air intake for a while before having to start.

A pair of booster cables in the trunk is not to be overlooked; my wife's '92 Corolla starts at ANY temperature(!) plugged or unplugged, so as long as I am with her I always have a booster battery available :wink: Hope she doesn't catch me with her heat pack!

Does anybody else have tips for avoiding or solving no-starts in cold weather??

[Doug]

Go with a 5W30 or even a 0W40 oil plus always change the fuel filter before the really cold weather sets in. Then use a fuel additive like kleen flow to keep the system dry. I have used a Coleman gas stove under the oil pan under cold conditions where the car was beyond the reach of electricity. It can give enough heat to warm a frozen fuel line too but be careful as they are a plastic rubber compound in places. The best idea is using the hot exhaust from a truck or tractor to prewarm the block. A heavy duty diesel can kick out a lot of heat from the exhaust assuming that it is already running and warmed up. One thing is for sure that you must do, is warm the block and intake if it will not start after several tries. It is possible to melt the solder right out of the starter windings where they meet the commutator with excess current under near stall conditions so go easy on that starter. I did that once on those infamous British cars years ago.

[burn_your_money]

My car would start at -40 without being plugged in. Synthetic oil is the secret.

The other thing you need is a properly functioning starting and charging system.

To test the starting system all you need is a volt meter.
Disconnect the stop solenoid on the pump so the car will not start.
Set your volt meter up with one lead on the negative terminal and one on the clamp around the terminal. Crank the engine over. The voltage drop (reading on the meter) should not be more then 0.2V
Next move the leads to one end of the positive cable to the other end. Crank the engine over and record the voltage drop. Again, anything over 0.2V is excessive and requires either cleaning, tightening or replacement.

Complete this procedure for both positive and negative cables/posts. 0.2V is the magic number. If you are over that you need to work on that cable/connection. The engine needs to be cranking in order for this to work. You can't just check resistance because the engine needs to be cranking over and you can't check resistance if there is power.

[Jettadoor]

Many thanks for these tips. Right now my weak spots are the oil and the fuel filter (which hasn't been changed since I got the car 2 years ago.  :oops: )

I have seen threads on the forum about oil and will read up a bit more. As a one time VW mechanic in the '70's, I was taught by my 'old school' boss that VWs run on Castrol. I read here that the Castrol oils are not the best, though, and by my next oil change I hope to have found a good oil that is readily available in the Québec area.

During the winter I use Stanadyne fuel additive, the small increase in fuel economy pays for the bottle and if you believe the hype on their web-site, it's better than most others. I am trying to get my head around how something which freezes solid if you leave the bottle in the trunk can prevent your fuel from freezing, but I'm not a chemist.   :roll:

I'm impressed with the overall level of knowledge and skills on this forum and hope I'll learn a lot more about keeping my Flair2 running strong  

[jtanguay]

pretty much any synthetic diesel 0w40 or 5w40 should do the trick.  really cold climates (-30C or lower) should use 0w40.  

stick with that and you're fine.  you could buy the Elf oil (name changing to Total or something like that) and change your oil every year... or more if you do oil analysis and are brave.  :wink:

they have this new oil that is recommended for PD engines that comes as 5w30.  i'd love to try that on an older diesel.  if it can stop the cam wear from all the punishment on a PD engine, it should be able to stand up to an IDI.  better fuel economy and power, but probably increased oil consumption  

[bigblockchev]

In addition to the other good  ideas such as synthetic oil, battery heaters, etc I would like to add hairdryer in the intake if you really get stuck and can reach with an extension cord. My generator has heating coils in the intake as well as glow plugs. The extra heat gives the air charge a much greater chance to ignite the fuel as the heating effect is magnified by the compression of the air. Cheers Dan

[Riverfurm]

I have Ford diesel at work. They have a glowplug on the intake going into the turbo to warm the air ( we had some employees use starting fluid and that red hot glowplugs lights the starting fluid and blow up the plastic aircleaner housing :!:  :!: ). Why can't a glowplug be installed into the air intake and a relay wired into the glowplug cicut to wasrm the cold air?

[Jettadoor]

Some good ideas! A 12V. hairdryer could be cannibalized for parts to make an intake air heater, or hooked up to blow into the air inlet. They may have those in a camping store or some-such.

I'm going to test those mitt warmer things, see how much heat they put out. Maybe stick them underneath the air intake. The solid fuel cans for campers are very small, cheap, and can burn for 4 hours, enough to warm an oil pan a few times. I'm more for stuff that will get me going when I'm far from 110V. at 2 a.m., which is part of my routine.

The choice of oil seems to be the most basic thing. Having re-read the thread from a year or so ago and checked out other stuff, my choice could be Mobil1 or Esso's XD-3. The Elf oils look good if I can find them. No oil consumption at all 2-3K. since last oil change, so a 0W -40 could be possible. By the way, has anyone tried those FS2500 by-pass filters yet?

My fuel filter is next on the list though, thanks for the reminder, Doug!

[jtanguay]

Some good ideas! A 12V. hairdryer could be cannibalized for parts to make an intake air heater, or hooked up to blow into the air inlet. They may have those in a camping store or some-such.

I'm going to test those mitt warmer things, see how much heat they put out. Maybe stick them underneath the air intake. The solid fuel cans for campers are very small, cheap, and can burn for 4 hours, enough to warm an oil pan a few times. I'm more for stuff that will get me going when I'm far from 110V. at 2 a.m., which is part of my routine.

The choice of oil seems to be the most basic thing. Having re-read the thread from a year or so ago and checked out other stuff, my choice could be Mobil1 or Esso's XD-3. The Elf oils look good if I can find them. No oil consumption at all 2-3K. since last oil change, so a 0W -40 could be possible. By the way, has anyone tried those FS2500 by-pass filters yet?

My fuel filter is next on the list though, thanks for the reminder, Doug!

i've got an FS-2500 ready for my mTDI  

i've gone to great lengths to prepare the motor (cleaning etc) so i want to keep it nice and clean inside

theres a company that makes diesel/gas engine heaters.  they seem quite pricey and are only in the uk??? how hard would it be to make a small one?  i've seen a diesel heater for a westfalia camper on ebay but it was going for $300-400!!  i'd like to install a heater that burnt diesel just to eliminate the need to buy another fuel other than the one running the motor.

i also have plans to create a coolant thermos for the engine.  probably store it where the battery normally sits after moving it to the back.  basically hot coolant is stored in a thermos that keeps it hot for more than 24 hours.  great for those cold days at work!!!  makes sense doesn't it?  all that built up energy is just lost after about 20-30 mins in subzero temps.  building a vacuum thermos that won't leak is another story though...  :lol:  i wish someone had a p/n or even a price to replace the ones on the toyota prius.  probably $$$$$$$$$$$

[burn_your_money]

I think these intake heaters and engine heaters are overboard.
Proper timing, proper oil, good glow plugs, proper CCAs and a good working starter/starting circuit and you should be able to start at almost any temperature.

I do like block heaters though because the put less wear on the engine, however they can't always be plugged in

[subsonic]

I plan on going with the block heater and a battery blanket.  They should both power up when plugged in.  I am looking for the correct heater probe for my Racor 2-micron fuel filter / water seperator.

Slightly warm block, battery and fuel.   That should help for those 5 degree(F) morning starts.

[BlackTieTD]

synthetic lightweight oil on a good compression engine, make sure you have a proper battery and functioning glow plugs, and you're good to tackle another winter. i've never had major probems even at -30 unless one of the things i just mentioned wasn't correct. bad compression, wrong oil, bad glow plugs, etc. (ps - or STARTER, and check grounds)

[Jettadoor]

I think these intake heaters and engine heaters are overboard.
Proper timing, proper oil, good glow plugs, proper CCAs and a good working starter/starting circuit and you should be able to start at almost any temperature.

I do like block heaters though because the put less wear on the engine, however they can't always be plugged in

Quite agree with this. I have sourced some good synthetic oil and am almost looking forward to the first -20 to try it out    

I enjoy reading others' ideas on the subject, even if we go overboard now and then! Getting the thing to start is every bit as much a part of motoring as getting more RPM, power, boost, or smoke!

Jtanguay, I hope we will hear some more about your FS2500 when you get it installed. I think it sounds like a good investment on a brand new or rebuilt engine.

[jtanguay]

I think these intake heaters and engine heaters are overboard.
Proper timing, proper oil, good glow plugs, proper CCAs and a good working starter/starting circuit and you should be able to start at almost any temperature.

I do like block heaters though because the put less wear on the engine, however they can't always be plugged in

Quite agree with this. I have sourced some good synthetic oil and am almost looking forward to the first -20 to try it out    

I enjoy reading others' ideas on the subject, even if we go overboard now and then! Getting the thing to start is every bit as much a part of motoring as getting more RPM, power, boost, or smoke!

Jtanguay, I hope we will hear some more about your FS2500 when you get it installed. I think it sounds like a good investment on a brand new or rebuilt engine.

yes the FS2500 will be a sweet filter.  i'm also buying the amsoil pre-lube system.  it holds partial oil pressure and holds it until you go to start your car.  once you turn your key the oil pressure is sent back through the system to make sure you don't have any dry starts.  (one major cause of cold start wear & tear)  around $400, but worth it IMO.

[Slave2School]

You need a webasto for when you can't get an electrical cord out to the car  only sets you back aobut $1500