What you need to know about cold starting

Cold start car engine

Not all motorists have a warm garage. Most car owners leave their car parked outside or only in their backyard. And if you consider that in most regions of our huge country there are quite severe frosts in winter, it is clear that the owner of the car is noticeably angry. And this is not even related to the cold start of the engine, sometimes the car owner simply can not open the car door, because the lock froze overnight. And to avoid such troubles, follow a few tips that we will share below. To open a frozen door at night, you can use special chemical aerosols.

Cold Start Tips

This is a fairly reliable way to quickly free the castle from ice. Sometimes motorists advise heating a car key with a match or a lighter. But as soon as the key becomes hot, it must be turned very carefully, as it becomes brittle when heated. Also, to quickly thaw the castle, you can squeeze your hands in the form of a tube, blow the castle with warm breath or use a straw for this. The main thing is not to touch the metal with your lips and tongue, as there is a high probability of freezing. Some car owners preheat the water in advance and pour hot water on the castle in the morning. This, of course, will help you warm it up very quickly. But later this very water will freeze the castle even more. And pouring boiling water on the car in extreme cold, you can spoil the paint, because it really does not like sudden changes in temperature.

Cold start stages

You can unlock the car with alcohol. To do this, alcohol must be pulled into the syringe and fill the inside of the lock itself. So, we opened the car, and now a new challenge lies ahead. It is necessary to start the car so that it does not land the battery. Go to the next step. While driving, do not rush to turn the ignition key. First of all, you need to revive and slightly heat the battery, which freezes at night. To do this, you can briefly turn on the headlights and radio. But I emphasize that this should not be done for a long time, otherwise you may land the battery. The next step is to turn on the ignition mode, but you should not rush to scroll through the starter.

Key turn time during cold engine start

First you need to wait until the gas pump pumps up some fuel. It takes no more than five seconds. Next, turn off all electrical appliances and scroll through the starter. It is very important not to hold it for longer than ten seconds. If you keep it longer, the starter itself will probably overheat, and at the same time, you can drain the battery to zero. If the starter rotates normally, but the car does not want to start, do the following. After several unsuccessful starting attempts, you need to wait thirty seconds, and then fully press the accelerator pedal and at the same time try to start the car. The fact is that during previous attempts to start fuel accumulates in the chambers. By depressing the accelerator pedal, we get rid of the excess of this fuel, which subsequently should help start the engine.

Cold start recommendations

It is important to note that if a manual gearbox is installed in the car, then all manipulations to start the engine should be performed with the clutch pedal depressed. In addition, it is recommended that you keep the clutch depressed for several minutes even when starting the engine. This will allow the engine to warm up without additional loads. In addition, this technique will allow the gearbox to last longer. It may happen that even using all these recommendations, the car still refuses to start. Do not panic, but try again. We move on to the third stage. More than half of the cases when the car does not start in the winter are problems with a dead or fully discharged battery.

Cold start attempts

Therefore, we do not lose hope and continue our attempts to start our car. A good way would be to try starting your car using another car's battery. Among motorists, this method is called “lighting”. A very useful thing in winter is the presence of wires for “lighting up”. Thanks to these wires, the chance of finding a responsive motorist increases tenfold. If weather permits and a charger is available, it is best to take the battery home where you can charge it well. Also, if the battery is nearing the end of its life and it is too cold outside, you should store the battery at home. Of course, this is a little annoying, but it ensures that the car will start in the morning and you will not have to go to the service station.