How to start a diesel engine in cold weather? How to start a car in winter? Tips, recommendations

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:42

In winter, starting the engine "cold" sometimes becomes an impossible task for motorists. Sometimes this requires a lot of effort. But not every car owner has so much free time. But how to avoid such a situation? In today's article we will tell you how to start a diesel engine in the winter. We will also look at tips that will help you avoid getting into such unpleasant situations so often.

Looking for a "common denominator"

How to start a diesel engine in cold weather? To begin with, let's look at the causes of poor engine start at low temperatures. Let's just say that there are a lot of them. But most of them have a common denominator - liquids. Moreover, the lower the ambient temperature, the worse the engines will work.

In the case of a diesel engine, frost attacks the fuel. AtWith a rapid drop in temperature, it begins to thicken, which changes the composition of the liquid. As a result, the fuel is difficult to ignite or does not pass through the fine filter at all.

The battery is also connected with liquids, in which chemical processes are constantly going on (generation of electric current). And the lower the air temperature, the slower they occur.

Motor oil can also be a reason for a bad start of a car on a diesel engine. It, like fuel, also tends to thicken. Thus, as the temperature decreases, the movement of the rubbing parts of the crankshaft becomes more complicated. Even worse, if the oil film breaks or disappears altogether. Then the overhaul of the power plant is inevitable.

How to start a diesel in winter? First run

If your vehicle doesn't start the first time, don't panic. This process should last no more than 15 seconds. After that, you should turn the key to its original position and let the battery “rest” for one to two minutes. Ideally, the car should start with a maximum of 3 attempts. If your car still does not start, do not repeat this process many times. This will only degrade the performance of the starter and drain the battery.

Start using the "lighting" method

In winter, always keep ready-made cables in reserve. Thanks to them, you can quickly start the car. Help can be provided not only by a friend, but also by any friendly driver passing by you.

If the carit will be possible to start the “lighting up” method, he can safely go further. But it is worth noting that you should not turn off the engine immediately after ignition. Let the battery fully "satiate" with electricity by driving at least 5 kilometers. And it is best to let the engine run for about an hour. In this case, the battery will definitely resume its charge and will give normal starting current at the next start.

Use of additives and antigels

So, our car is frozen. How to start it if there is no suitable car nearby from which one could “light up”? In that case, welcome to the world of additives and anti-gels. Fortunately, finding them is not difficult even in small towns. Often, motorists prefer such well-known manufacturers as Liquid Moli, Hado and Castrol. Due to their composition, they do not allow the paraffin contained in diesel fuel to multiply in full. The fact is that when the temperature drops, this fuel begins to become cloudy, forming a special precipitate. Because of it, diesel fuel does not enter the combustion chamber, getting stuck in the filter walls.

We also note that additives and anti-gels do not dissolve paraffin in liquids, they only delay its growth with the next decrease in temperature. But, as practice shows, this is quite enough to start a diesel engine in a 40-degree frost. True, for this you need to know how to use the antigel correctly. And it is poured into the tank at a temperature above 0 … +1 degrees Celsius. In this case, the tool brings real benefits to the engine.

The nuances of antigels

Modern automakers do not recommend the use of additives in fuel. This applies to TDI, HDI and CDI engines. This prohibition is explained by the complexity of the design of the fuel equipment. But motorists say that when used carefully and moderately, the additive does not cause any harm to diesel installations.

When using anti-gels, it is important to pay attention not only to the ambient temperature, but also to the proportion in which you need to add liquid to the tank. Manufacturers indicate this information on the labels.

What if the diesel fuel is already frozen?

How to start a car in winter if the fuel is already frozen? Of course, it is impossible to “revive” an already frozen diesel fuel full of paraffins. The only way is to pour it into a canister and heat it to a temperature of 60-70 degrees Celsius. After that, add a few milliliters of antigel and pour the resulting substance into the tank. But before starting the car in winter, motorists are advised to pre-install a new fuel filter.

Details about kerosene

Experienced drivers do not trust various new products in the form of anti-gels and additives and usually prefer to dilute diesel fuel with kerosene. In practice, the result is the same, and this method can be used not only on older engines. Kerosene has a high lubricity, so it does not harm the fuel system. Experts recommend diluting diesel fuel with datafuel in a proportion of no more than 30 percent, that is, for 100 liters of diesel fuel, a maximum of 30 liters of kerosene.

Petrol

But this kind of oil products should be completely deleted from the list of used "heaters" for diesel engines. The fact is that gasoline, unlike additives and kerosene, does not have lubricity. And this means that during the operation of the engine, the high-pressure fuel pump will pump the liquid “to dry”. Therefore, before starting a diesel engine in cold weather in this way, remember that the repair of fuel equipment can cost from 200 to 500 Euros. In extreme cases, it is recommended to dilute gasoline with oil.

Glow plug

Before you start a diesel engine in winter, you need to carefully warm up the candles. How to do it? First you need to turn the ignition key, then wait until a bulb in the form of a spring appears on the instrument panel. Most often it is yellow or red (you can see it in the photo below).

After a couple of seconds, it disappears, informing that the fuel has warmed up sufficiently. After that, return the ignition key to its original position. To completely warm up the glow plugs, it is necessary to repeat this procedure several more times with an interval of 2-3 seconds. The fact is that foreign manufacturers do not quite know what kind of low temperatures their cars have to face in Russia, especially in the northern regions. The fuel mixture during this period is simply not able to warm up normally, so repeat this procedure with turnskey follows more than once.

Also, before starting a diesel engine in the cold, it is recommended not to remove the car from the gear, but to squeeze the clutch all the way (applies to cars with a manual transmission). The fact is that in winter, gear oil tends to stagnate, that is, removing the car from gear, you force the discs and gears to slide without lubrication.

The car is frozen. How to get her "from the pusher"?

Unfortunately, this method cannot be used on cars with such engines. The reason for this is the timing belt, which can break or jump a few teeth forward. Therefore, any attempt to start a diesel engine "with a pusher" in most cases turns into an expensive repair.

Advice for the future

Of course, it is best to prevent these cases. For this we recommend:

1. Leave the car in the garage. Ideally, the highest and most stable air temperature is in underground types of premises. But if you do not have such a garage, try to insulate the gates of a regular one. A car stored in such a room is not only protected from fuel freezing, but also not exposed to external factors (rain and direct ultraviolet rays in summer).



2. Always fill up with quality fuel. Of course, the offers of gas stations at cheap gas stations seem tempting, but in winter it makes sense to look for stations only of large chains. With regard to diesel fuel specifically, all filling stations inthe period from December to February should sell only the winter grade of diesel fuel, which does not freeze at a temperature of -20 degrees Celsius.
3. Store the battery at home if possible. Even if your car is stored in a garage, it still makes sense to remove the battery at night. A warm battery will ensure a reliable engine start even at the lowest temperatures. And before you start a diesel engine in the cold, do not neglect the unnecessary check of the battery charge. If it was less than 12.5 volts, connect it to the charger for 1-2 hours. In cold weather, the battery charge should be slightly higher than normal, that is, about 12.5-13.5 V.

So, we figured out how to start a diesel engine in winter. We hope the tips above are helpful to you. Good luck on the road!