Car Starting Tips for the Freezing Cold.

As I am sure you know by now, it’s brutally cold outside. You might be getting ready to head out but hesitating because you know it’s going to be brutal. You’re right, as soon as you open the door you see your parked car with frost on the windshield giving you second thoughts.

You might be wondering how long it’s going to take for it to warm up, but that depends on how cranky it happens to be this particular day. Do you realize there’s a right and wrong way to start your car in these conditions? You’ll have to be careful because it’s possible you can flood your engine or cause your battery to die so here are a few simple tips you can follow to make sure your car starts up with no problems.

For the purposes of this article let’s assume your car is less than 20 years old and has a fuel injection system. This should make most starts uneventful, but let’s not take any chances.

Before you go any further make sure you’ve turned off anything electrical so all power goes straight to the engine. The colder it is, the more battery power is required and you don’t want to waste resources cranking up your favorite tune before it starts up completely.

You’ll have to turn your key but don’t do that for more than 10 seconds, it’s normal for your engine to be ‘stiff’. That means there’s more internal resistance than usual because when its cold, engine oil is thicker and it requires more effort to get to the steel parts that have contracted.

After counting to 10 your engine should turn over but if it doesn’t try that again for another 10 just make sure you don’t overheat the starter and cause it to breakdown. Remember its never a good idea to press on the accelerator for a long period of time, that will almost certainly cause the engine to flood. (That’s when excessive fuel soaks the spark plugs so much they’re unable to ignite fuel in the cylinders.)

If the engine floods while pressing the accelerator try holding it to the floor, then crank the engine for a few seconds. that will cause your car’s computer will cut the fuel delivery, letting the excess fuel leave the engine. At that point, you can try to start it again.

If that STILL doesn’t work, jump-start your battery.
A weak battery won’t have enough power to get past all that. It might be an indication you may need to replace the battery especially if you need to jump start your car often.

If after all that nothing works you might have to let your car rest for 20 to 30 minutes, letting it sit for a for a short time will allow the spark plugs dry. Then you can try to start the engine again.

Worse comes to worst you can plug in your engine block warmer. Some cars come equipped with a heating element that warms the engine. If you do this, make sure it’s for 60 to 90 minutes, or the night before, if you know it will be cold. Just make sure you unplug your engine block warmer before you drive away!

Remember you can prevent cold weather starting issues by stopping by Moe’s Northboro Auto Service Center, 269 Main Street, Northboro, MA 01532 or call us P:(508) 393-3225 to make an appointment. Proper maintenance such as battery inspections, oil, and filter changes, and spark plug replacement can help you avoid car troubles.

Good luck and Stay Warm

Moe.