Cold Starting Tips

[Scott M]

Anyone have any good cold starting tips? Have a trip planned for next weekend and they are talking about cold weather. My car has a plug, but we are hitting the ice in my buddy's truck to carry all our gear and the house and he has no block heater. We don't really want to start the truck every hour or anything like that, but I was hoping some people might have some ideas (Liquid Heet or Sta-Bil maybe?)

Thanks.

[EYEYIEYE]

BUY YOURSELF A PORTABLE POWER PACK. BEST $75-$100 YOU CAN SPEND.

[trapperdirk]

Bring a power booster pack and have oil in truck that is only 5w30 . I've seen it so cold here where we even drained the oil out and heated on the stove then put it in vehicle and she fired up .

Worst thing is if you have a poor battery .With injection systems of today the dang things like to flood if they turn over too slow . I myself always keep my rigs tuned so they will fire at -40 whether plugged in or not and alot of importance is a good cold cranking battery ,good plugs and fuel filter . Make sure your antifreeze can go to atleast minus 40 as well .

TD

[eurolarva]

Remove your battery and keep it in the warm fish house. You will have 10 times more cranking power on a warm battery then you will on one that is below zero.

[Bobby Bass]

Before you leave, put your battery on a charger and make sure it has a full charge, Good to do anytime the weather is going to be really cold. Oil change is a good idea to. Don't really need to start your car every hour either. 4-6 hours if you are really worried about it. Battery in the shanty is a good idea to if you want to go through the hassle of taking it out. If it was me I would just go turn the key every 5-6 hours.. Unless I was to busy catching fish !!

[IFallsRon]

Park with the nose of your vehicle facing away from the wind.

[straydog]

I've had to shove my buddy heater under the oil pan on lake of the woods a couple times, from now on the generator goes with.

[Powerstroke]

Not to pick on Ifalls, but windchill doesn't affect vehicles. You car can't "feel" the wind so it can't be colder than the air temperature. It can cool down faster, but it will never be colder than the air temp.

Having your vehicleon the lee side of the shack will be nice if you have to place a heater under the vehicle (been there).

[TTfromBlaine]

I just went through the drama last weekend on URL with a very well maintained vehicle, me personally I would just let it run all nite if your going to encounter the temps we had, the amount of fuel youll burn is minimal compared to the hassle of getting a froze vehicle in the middle of a lake running again , I had plenty of battery it was just cold and did not want to keep firing. I counted no less than 50 hoods up just in my area with many being towed or on a flatbed.

ICE DOG 1out

[hitthebricks]

I've had this problem mid-summer, make sure the battery is good, if the voltage/amperage is not full the injectors will not fire and your car/truck will not start and will cost you a new battery and Tow = $125.00

[Macgyver55]

Quote:

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Not to pick on Ifalls, but windchill doesn't affect vehicles.....

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....in the same way as it affects humans.

It most definitly affects vehicles by cooling them down to the actual ambient temperature much much faster. Residual heat after a vehicle is shut off will last far longer on a calm night than on a breezy or windy one. It takes a long time, as much as 8 hours (Somewhat less on engines with more aluminum parts) for the innermost components of an engine to cool down completely on a calm night. But, it is greatly reduced by convection cooling caused by wind. I'll take starting my vehicle after 4-6 hours at -20 out of the wind any day rather than after 4-6 hours at -20 in a 20mph wind.

[Jeremy airjer W]

How about changing the oil and filling it up with synthetic. I used to do this with my honda and tacoma. Not that they wouldn't start anyway! I'm not the biggest supporter of sythetic oils but if theres any doubt throw a bottle of synthetic and a bottle of regular oil in the freezer over night. In the morning see which one poors out!!

I also support the keeping the battery warm suggestion. I've reccommended and used a 100 watt light bulb next to the battery (You'd be surprised at what a 100 watt bulb can melt so be carefull if anyone tries this!!), and have had great results.

The booster pack/jumper pack is also a great idea. Since they are 12 volts they also make good back ups for your electronics!!! just make sure theres enpough left over so you can use it for what it is intended for if you need it!!

[IFallsRon]

Facing the wind could lead to drifting snow building up in your radiator and engine compartment. It's one less risk I take.