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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Maintenance and Repair / January 2006cold weather starting
I drive a 1993 chevy silverado stepside for any warm temperature above freezing and to roughly -5C below the truck works perfectly. But any colder and it is sluggish in starting... ie: takes longer to turn over. I'm susecting battery myself. > I drive a 1993 chevy silverado stepside > > for any warm temperature above freezing and to roughly -5C below the truck works perfectly. But any > colder and it is sluggish in starting... ie: takes longer to turn over. > > I'm susecting battery myself. could be the battery, also make sure all your cable connections are clean and tight, battery +ive to starter and also -ive to engine block. Also if you are running a heavy oil such as 20W50 that can cause cold starting issues, a synthetic might be the ticket if your engine doesn't leak too much. good luck, nate >> I drive a 1993 chevy silverado stepside >> [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > >nate I agree with nate on all of the above. Since switching to Mobil 1 synthetic oil, my cold weather starts are like warm weather starts. No hesitation at all. And I checked my seals for leaks. Nothing I can detect. Of course, this car had 20K miles on the odometer when I did the switch to synthetic, so it wasn't too far gone in the seals department. I'm a happy camper with Mobil 1. Using a Mobil 1 oil filter also. I shouldn't have to do an oil or filter change until the Springtime! Lg >could be the battery, also make sure all your cable connections are >clean and tight, battery +ive to starter and also -ive to engine block. > Also if you are running a heavy oil such as 20W50 that can cause cold >starting issues, a synthetic might be the ticket if your engine doesn't >leak too much. Once a month or so I check all the ocnnections for the vehicle and everything is clean and tight. I usually run 10W30 in the winter months and chang eit over to 5W30 for the summer. Therre are no leaks in the engine... even with 378,000 km on that little 5.7L 350. :) > >could be the battery, also make sure all your cable connections are > >clean and tight, battery +ive to starter and also -ive to engine block. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Once a month or so I check all the ocnnections for the vehicle and everything is clean and tight. I > usually run 10W30 in the winter months and chang eit over to 5W30 for the summer. Why so? Here in Canada we use 5W30 in the winter (or even year around in some vehicles) and then use the 10W30 in the summer when the engines have a LOT of kms on them. >> >could be the battery, also make sure all your cable connections are >> >clean and tight, battery +ive to starter and also -ive to engine block. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >Why so? Here in Canada we use 5W30 in the winter (or even year around in some vehicles) and then use the >10W30 in the summer when the engines have a LOT of kms on them. dyslexic moment. :) change that around to read 5W30 for the winter and 10W30 for the summer > dyslexic moment. :) change that around to read 5W30 for the winter and 10W30 for the summer Been there, seen that. My buddy got an "F" on a major exam question because he mistakenly placed the word "not" in a most inappropriate place of his argument. Sorta like Washington and his army did NOT beat the British at the Battle of... Happy New year to you and yours :-) >>could be the battery, also make sure all your cable connections are >>clean and tight, battery +ive to starter and also -ive to engine block. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > usually run 10W30 in the winter months and chang eit over to 5W30 for the > summer. That's your problem. You should first see the owner's manual for oil recommendations, but you have it backwards. 10w30 is summer oil, 5w30 is winter. Though lately 5w-20 or 5w-30 is recommended for year-round use here in the states, probably for fuel economy reasons. >That's your problem. You should first see the owner's manual for oil >recommendations, but you have it backwards. 10w30 is summer oil, 5w30 is >winter. Though lately 5w-20 or 5w-30 is recommended for year-round use here >in the states, probably for fuel economy reasons. read my next post concerning that post and you will see the correction. I believe it's YOUr prolem now for not reading the thread entirely before opening your mouth Keeping the battery charged and using a block heater for an hour before hand help. >Keeping the battery charged and using a block heater for an hour before >hand help. That also. On sub zero nights, I put my Vector battery charger on my engine battery, and leave it there overnight. It tops off the charge and then goes into float mode. Weather here is completely unpredictable ( southern Lake Michigan ). Have already had some below zero days/nights, and today it feels like 40F. Makes no sense to me. But on those sub-zero nights, it is good to have a fully charged battery to start off with. I haven't gotten around to the block heater yet. It can take up to 20 minutes for my engine temp to get up to 200F...what is holding me back is the price. IIRC, they are over $100 from Ford/Lincoln/Mercury parts department at dealership. Lg > I drive a 1993 chevy silverado stepside > > for any warm temperature above freezing and to roughly -5C below the truck works perfectly. But any > colder and it is sluggish in starting... ie: takes longer to turn over. > > I'm susecting battery myself. Let's clarify terms here. What do you mean by slow to turn over? Do you mean there is a pause from the time you turn the key to the time the engine starts cranking? Or do you mean the cranking speed is low? Some people mean, when they say that, the engine is slow to turn over on its own, i.e, ignition and firing. >> I drive a 1993 chevy silverado stepside >> [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >mean there is a pause from the time you turn the key to the time the >engine starts cranking? Or do you mean the cranking speed is low? cranking speed is slow >I drive a 1993 chevy silverado stepside > >for any warm temperature above freezing and to roughly -5C below the truck works perfectly. But any >colder and it is sluggish in starting... ie: takes longer to turn over. > >I'm susecting battery myself. Using a lighter-weight winter oil? --scott  Signature"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." For what it's worth ... In winter with my 4.0L Jeep (6 cyl) I use 5W30 and a block heater switched on about an hour before starting ... turns over just fine. That's the procedure to maybe -20C ... below that, I'll switch on the block heater last thing before going to bed. And getting to much below -30C if it's parked at work, I'll go out at lunch and start it up. And I buy the "crankiest" batteries I can :-) and don't keep them over 4 years. Without the block heater at say -30 it turns over real slow and runs a bit rough for a minute or two ... imo the block heater heats up more than just "the block" ... heats up sensors and other stuff that might otherwise stick due to layer of frost. Block heater ... one of the brighter ideas :-) > I drive a 1993 chevy silverado stepside > > for any warm temperature above freezing and to roughly -5C below the truck works perfectly. But any > colder and it is sluggish in starting... ie: takes longer to turn over. > > I'm susecting battery myself. > keep them over 4 years. Without the block heater at say -30 it turns > over real slow and runs a bit rough for a minute or two ... imo the > block heater heats up more than just "the block" ... heats up sensors > and other stuff that might otherwise stick due to layer of frost. Block > heater ... one of the brighter ideas :-) Used in tandem with a battery heater pad, yes. A block heater will do ok by itself on a gas engine until the temps get to -extreme, but if you =really= want to make sure it starts, add a battery heater pad. They don't cost much and are easy to put in. On previous cars I've had, I wired the two in parallel into one plug. My van ('05 chevy express cargo) has a thermostat built into the block heater plug. The t-stat turns the heater on when the temp reaches 0F which isn't such a bad idea since you don't need one above 0 usually. Since it's a company van, I don't bother with the heater pad. If it won't start, I guess I take the day off. :-) One thing that made me a convert to block heaters was almost instant heat for me. Gotta like that! > Used in tandem with a battery heater pad, yes. A block heater will do ok by > itself on a gas engine until the temps get to -extreme, but if you =really= > want to make sure it starts, add a battery heater pad. They don't cost much > and are easy to put in. A good timer that will handle the current of the block heater and battery warmer is a way to save some money and conserve resources. At -40F (or Celsius) 3 or 4 hours of heating is quite adequate for winter starting. Plugging the vehicle in for longer periods of time is of no value - it just wastes electricity and does not get the engine any "warmer". I use a timer here in Winnipeg (Canada) and my vehicles start under such situations. I take the added caution of using gasohol (10% ethanol) to ensure there will be NO gas line "freezing" - but that is another topic... A friend with a Mercedes Diesel puts an old blanket over the engine when he "plugs it in". The valve cover is nice and warm to the touch - even at -40F. He takes the blanket off EVERY time before start up ;-) No room for error there. Mind you, it goes without saying that your ignition system and state of tuning must be proper and at factory specs. |
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