Now thing are getting very chilly! Thought it may be a good idea to share some hints and tips to ensure our cars start firsat time even in these chilly times.

I went to start mine this morning and it took about 10 seconds to start which is 10 seconds longer than normal :P .

I normally pop the key in let the glow plugs warm whilst whacking the fans up before starting the engine.

Is there anything else that can be done to help ensure they survive the winter?

'' Whacking the fans up before starting the engine '' is counterproductive & reduces the power available from the battery to start the car

On more modern cars that don't need the clutch depressed to start - depress the clutch whilst starting the engine as this action lessens the load on the starter motor & assists in easier starting in any ambient temperature

 

Regular battery charging will help - it's also common knowledge that a dying battery will soon fail completely once the temperatures dip

'' Whacking the fans up before starting the engine '' is counterproductive & reduces the power available from the battery to start the car

There we go, learn something new everyday! :D

Even if it makes perfect sense when poited out haha

If it's really bad and I mean really bad, the night before put a blanket under your bonnet and it'll stop everything freezing. We used it on the tractors and it works, fired straight up.

. . . . & remember to take the blanket out before starting the engine & driving off . . . :)

Get in, turn key until it starts, press heated screen buttons, turn heater knob to 'furnace'....wait until ice starts sliding on screen and put auto-wipers on....drive off...

Modern cars FTW :D

Edit - Pressing the clutch is a good idea on anything with a DMF, I do it out of habit on anything tbf. :)

'' Turn key until it starts ''

My cars have no key to turn . . . . . :P

Lol, press button until it starts for those with this new fangled keyless system. :P

'' Press button until it starts ''

No doubt some woodentop will soon be asking '' which button '' ? . . . . . :(

Park car in garage night before, starts first time no problem...lol[emoji2]

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I think the important thing if you do lots of short journeys (like me), is to take it out long enough for the engine to fully warm up and charge the battery a bit.

At least every other day I try to take a longer route back to work from lunch. If I clear the car quick enough in the morning and have time, I'll take the long route in to work too.

Starting an engine when it is below zero, then putting on quickclear screens, heaters, possibly lights really takes it toll if the car isn't given long enough to recharge the battery and recirculate warmed up oil.

don't forget that blanket :)

The last time we had an issue with a car starting in winter was back in about 2003/4 when we had a 1994 Peugeot 405 1.9 Turbo Diesel with crappy glow plugs. Mind you, that thing struggled to fire up even in summer.

Before that would have been the previous cars my mother owned (carbureted petrol engines).

Since the 405 we've had fuel injected petrol cars and not one has failed to start because of the cold.

The wonders of modern (1995+) technology...

Just bounce it off the rev limiter for a mile or so, things should get real toasty then :P

Disclaimer: I'm not responsible for you throwing a piston through the bonnet if you do this. Do not do this.

On a serious note, as of tomorrow it's push button to on, climate control to max heat and heated seats on. Tomorrow will be a good day.

. . . . & remember to take the blanket out before starting the engine & driving off . . . :)

Nah that heats it up quicker, gets you nice and toasty in the cab before you get to work. Marshmallows anyone??

Just bounce it off the rev limiter for a mile or so, things should get real toasty then :P

Disclaimer: I'm not responsible for you throwing a piston through the bonnet if you do this. Do not do this.

On a serious note, as of tomorrow it's push button to on, climate control to max heat and heated seats on. Tomorrow will be a good day.

Or just buy a Vauxhall Zafira. I hear they have a really good defrosting technique...

Pre common rail engines you need to turn the key on and wait for the glow plug light to go out before starting.

Newer common rail engines turn the key and fire up straight away no need to wait for the glow plug light, mine stays on for a millisecond when I turn the ignition on being a common rail engine.

Common rail works under extreme high pressure so does not need to pre warm the fuel in the cylinders so a common rail should start straight away regardless of how cold it is, we don't get cold enough temps here to really need the glow plugs on the common rail engines. If the temp gets cold enough then the glow plug light may stay illuminated for a few seconds so you should wait until the light extinguishes before starting even in a common rail engine, but we are talking extreme temps we won't see here in the UK.

That is my opinion having talked at length to garages about common rail diesels, the glow plugs are mostly used for smoother idling, lower emissions and various other reasons, for example DPF regeneration on my car.

My old push button start Titanium X 2.0 TDCi Focus did not start straight away in the winter.

It would not crank until the glowplug light went out...

That's for emissions reasons though Alex, it chooses not to let you crank until the light goes out as there'll likely be a small amount of unburnt fuel, but it would've still fired if you had a key. :)

The glow plugs cycle on and off for quite a while even after start up as well, the light doesn't actually show whether they're on or off, it's just timed. I don't know the spec for the Focus but its like 0.5s at 0c and 1s at -5c for example. That's how the light was working even 15 years ago on the early CR systems.

Its not so much the common rail part but the fact it's direct injection that makes the difference. Pre combustion chambers are needed with IDI to start burning the fuel before reaching the main cylinder and they'll never heat up enough without glowplugs in them! The 405 1.9 XUD mentioned above is a prime example. With direct injection the injection pressure has to be much higher giving better fuel atomisation directly into the cylinder which catches far easier. The extra advantage of electronic injection and CR is that you can accurately inject the right amount of fuel rather than just dumping a load in and flooding the engine before it starts.