hard cranking in cold weather

[gingerbreadman]

recintly we went through a very cold spell here, i knew several people whos vehicles wouldnt start for weeks........

my truck would struggle to crank over... even with the block heater plugged in......

what are some solutions to this?????

it was really bad when my truck sat outside work for 9-10 hours in -25 celcious with no way of plugging it in........

-gbm-

 

[Homercidal]

Hmmmmm.... That's pretty cold!

One thing I've heard of is people buying remote car starters. Some of them can be programmed to start when the temperature gets low enough. They run for up to 15 minutes, then shut offf and waits until temp drops again.

Other than that, I think the block heater is a good thing to use.

-Homer

 

[351LX]

First off you need a good battery.The colder a battery gets the less it puts out so if you start with a big one you are better off or you can get a plug in battery blanket to keep it warm.Also thinner oil helps, this winter I put some semi-synthetic 5w-30 in My Bronco II winter beater and a 1000 CA battery and I have had no problems, even when it has sat outside all day at -30.If you have no plug ins, go out on a break and warm it up for 5 min.Also park out of the wind or at least with the back end into the wind.It makes a big difference in how fast the vehicle will cool off.

 

[68GEETEE]

like stated, a strong battery and run a lighter weight oil if possible. With temps as cold as you have, there aint much more you can do, unless indoor parking was somehow an option. Glad I live in Texas, sheeeesh.