Snow Warning: Britain Set For Winter Blast

AllyG wrote:Fortunately the car I have now is petrol so it starts okay, in spite of the cold.

Are you suggesting diesel cars don't start when its cold?
I've had diesels for years, and never has one not started in cold weather - thats why they have glow plugs.
Funnily enough, 2 of my old cars (going back a while now) never used to start when it was cold and they were both petrol.

Two Feet of Snow in Surrey!







:lol: :lol:

Brilliant!


2 inches of snow in the past hour in South Lincs :shock:

Brilliant, Alistair! - )

local boot fitter getting bored?

Tony_H wrote:

AllyG wrote:Fortunately the car I have now is petrol so it starts okay, in spite of the cold.

Are you suggesting diesel cars don't start when its cold?
I've had diesels for years, and never has one not started in cold weather - thats why they have glow plugs.
Funnily enough, 2 of my old cars (going back a while now) never used to start when it was cold and they were both petrol.

Tony,
I'm glad to hear that your diesel cars have always started okay in cold weather. It is, however, a scientific fact that it's much harder to start a diesel engine in cold weather. The engine will use a lot more battery power to get going, because the diesel fuel will be colder and thicker, and the block and battery will be colder, and diesel ignites using the heat of compression unlike a petrol engine which has an electrical ignition system.

I agree, modern diesel cars do have glow plugs (small heaters) but these wear out with age and require quite a bit of battery power to work. In fact, a couple of days ago my husband had to come to the rescue of one of our friends by fitting new glow plugs for him because the cold weather resulted in him having difficulty starting his car.

If you're not careful the battery of a diesel car will soon run down in very cold weather, especially if you're doing short runs, because of the extra electrical energy required to start it plus run the rear windscreen heaters etc.

In the past I have coped with this by using hot water bottles, blankets, bringing the battery inside overnight and re-charging it, bump starting or towing, aerostart (on the tractors) and even hot water.

It is of course more of a problem with older vehicles (like the sort I usually have!).

Petrol cars usually have more of a problem starting in damp wet weather, especially if you do something daft like leave the bonnet up when it's raining, because of the electrical ignition system.

Ally

I just asked Mr Emmaevs (who supplies car parts) and he said what AllyG said.

For those of you who have diesel cars and may have difficulty starting them in the cold he also offered a tip. Normally when starting the car you only heat the plugs once before turning the key fully to spark the ignition. He suggested following the 'glow plug heating process' three times before trying to actually start the car. He said if that doesn't work you need a new battery and/or glow plugs. He also said "and tell them glow plugs are available from us by mail order!" :lol: :lol:

If you have problems with any car it is normally because you have not had it serviced regularly.