Help Cold Starting a Diesel NO CORDS

Diesels need the combustion chamber heated to get them running. Even a hair dryer blowing down the intake while cranking might be enough. But, of course, that would require a LONG extension cord it seems… You do add anti-gel to the fuel?

Use SAE 5W-40 synthetic diesel motor oil too. I do with tractors which are not near outlets and it really helps.

It won’t be cheap, but a separate deep cycle marine battery insider the van with inverter and line to the block heater. You would have to take it out and hook to a charger now and then, but it would not jeopardize your car battery. Marine catalogs have different solar powered set ups which could supply some trickle charge to battery if the expense is worth it too.

Cold weather additives should be in already, but it wouldn’t hurt to add a little more.

Lastly, because batteries also loose cranking amps in cold weather, have a cheap portable starter battery around inside where it’s warm to take with you for a little extra boost. You are right about letter glow plugs do their work…keep that up.

Maybe I’m a little goofy for suggesting this method . . . but here goes: I have one of those jump-start battery pack things in my trunk all Winter. I charge it every week or so, rarely ever used it. Couldn’t you charge one of these overnight in your nice warm apartment and then (on very cold mornings) bring the battery pack and a hair dryer (like Rod Knox suggested above) down to your truck and warm the combustion chamber a bit and then try and start it? I think that the battery pack would run down in 10-15 minutes using a hair dryer, but even more quickly with say . . a block or dipstick heater. Seems like you need portable heat once in a while . . this is what I can come up with. This is AFTER you have changed the motor oil to the lowest viscosity you can and after you have added an additive to the fuel. Good luck! Rocketman

DO use a synthetic oil. 10W-40 and even 10W-30 regular oil does not permit your starter to spin the engine fast enough. That is our experience with a diesel car that was parked outside all day during an upper midwest winter.

Big ol pan of charcoal under the oil pan.
Keep an eye on it so you dont start a fire and keep fire extinguisher handy

Your best bet might be to kludge together a solution that allows you to remotely activate your engine block heater, but doesn’t leave any evidence to thieving passers by that there’s something worth stealing on your truck.

As mentioned by another poster, what you want to look for is one of those portable battery jump packs, but that also has a 110 volt outlet built into it. Charge this up during the day, and leave it in the truck at night.

Combine in a block heater. If your van doesn’t have one already, get one installed.

Finally, buy a timer outlet plug in.
You know, one of those things that you plug into an outlet that turns on and off a light in your house at predetermined times that you set.

You plug in the timer into the battery pack, and plug the block heater into the timer, and set it to turn on about an hour or half an hour before you normally head to your truck. If you can keep everything under the hood of your truck, or in the passenger compartment of your truck, then you don’t have to worry about opportunist thieves walking away with your stuff.

BC.

A butane heater carefully located on the ground under the engine would likely get things going but if not careful the heat could do some serious damage.

Has anyone checked the glow plugs? Are they functioning? Are you allowing them time to function?

A HEATER… is exactly what you need but being in NY SEVERELY complicates things…back in the day we if we needed power we used to park near Light poles…(know why?..lol I’m all growned up now tho)

The ONLY other method of getting her started is ETHER…if you don’t use heat…it is not harmful when used correctly…and I mean a small little bit of it usually does the trick…you need to remember diesels usually have a wide open throttle area…they only run from what amount of fuel was given to them…so the more you give the more rpms it will try to produce…so if you spray a shite ton of ether then it will try to jump immediately to 4K rpms…which is very bad…

Trucks have used ether for almost since they were invented. I believe they even have a “sneaky Pete” ether spray mechanism u can do from the cab…(don’t quote me on that)…A tiny burst of it gets utilized…and u just replace the can of ether when it runs out…but you control it from the cab…My Dad had one on his 18 wheeler…dunno if they still have those things…OR IF it was commercial and not rigged…LOL

Blackbird

What is the lowest viscosity oil you can use? 10W-40 can be pretty thick in very cold weather and that makes it harder for the starting motor to turn over. I’d check the owners manual and use 0W-30 or 0W-40 if this is available in a diesel formulation.

Waiting for the glow plugs is warm up is great. Your fuel is likely OK but there might be a “winter” additive that would help. In days of old diesel fuel could “gel” when it got really cold, but I don’t think Brooklyn cold is the same as Int. National Falls MN cold. I think current diesel fuel sold in your area should be fine for winter.

I would be thinking along lines similar to what has been suggested re: the jumper box to run some heat source. I was thinking a deep cycle battery with an inverter and some easy heat source - e.g. a 100watt lightbulb would probably do fine. It would take some rigging.

Your battery cannot will not support any heating type of device that is hooked directly to your vehicles battery…so forget that route. Oh…an external batt…I see… Still that setup would be struggling if you ask me…and this would require a trip to the vehicle every single day to deal with it…No?

I agree, HB, a jumper battery pack would need to be switched on at just the right time to have any impact. Even then, it’ll be limited. The BTUs needed to heat up a cold block/oil/coolant is high, especially if the wind’s blowing.

wind chill doesnt effect metal texases

Of course not, but wind blowing will cool it off faster as one tries to heat it up with a block heater. Much harder to heat something up when the wind’s blowing, don’t you think?

I used to put a gallon or two of kerosene in and then fill the tank with diesel fuel in the Winter when I had a Rabbit diesel many years age, to keep the fuel from getting thick at low temps. The only other thought I have is that the glow plugs might not be getting hot enough anymore if they are that well used. Electric elements do sometimes seem to become less efficient over time with lots of use. I’m just throwing that in as a thought; it could be completely useless.

texases "Much harder to heat something up when the wind’s blowing, don’t you think? "

I agree, Yes …it has no affect on cooling inanimate objects to below the ambient temperature. It would affect heating the object above that temperature though; you are right. Of course it’s harder on the operator, if nothing starts when left out in the cold, and then that animate object feels it walking home.

Otherwise, I think we are over thinking this thing. 5w-40 synthetic oil motor oil, make sure glow plugs are working properly, extra winter additives, batteries are at full charge. I have NEVER had a problem starting any of my diesel tractors at near zero temps if all this was in place. The big key is, without a heater, not letting them sit too long. If you have a real cold snap, run them daily.
Good thoughts “wentwest”.

“The big key is, without a heater, not letting them sit too long. If you have a real cold snap, run them daily.”

I am not sure exactly what you are suggesting so if I mis understood you, sorry.

Once a car reaches the same temperature as the outside air temperature, it makes no difference how long it is cold.  A car that has reached say -30º  just now is no better or worse than one that has been at that temperature for the last week.

It depends upon how long it takes all the critical elements of a car to reach -30 degrees. I have no doubt what you say for a car in general for time greater then a day, but the battery is an exception and the longer the ambient temp stays at -30, the less power it has to turn the car over as it gradually cools down. Remember too, if you drive the car the previous day hopefully you won’t be finishing driving it 24 hours from the next start and the battery warmed and fully charged.

I made sure that the car I would depend on the next day, I drove in the late afternoon so it sat 8 to 12 hrs max in really cold weather. Notice too, I mean drive when I say run, and not just idle. Keeping the battery charged is critical, especially if you are no where near an outlet and charger. That’s why I recomended a jumper battery be kept in the house as well earlier. But then, I’ve been starting cars in sub zero weather for only forty five years plus years. So what the heck do I know.

Never use ether/starting fluid to start a cold diesel engine.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_LWm4g35Jw

Tester