Severe winters, which have often begun to painfully visit us lately, make their mark on all motorists. After all, it is no secret that frost is an extremely unfavorable phenomenon during engine start. But nevertheless, most of us continue to neglect cold weather conditions with enviable regularity and boldly start the engine even in dead frost. But is it possible to avoid the destructive effect of cold on the engine during its start? How to start the car in the winter correctly? Our tips will help drivers avoid unpleasant situations.
Content
- 1 Tips for successfully starting the engine in the cold
- 1.1 Technical recommendations
- 1.2 Organizational recommendations
- 2 Start of the engine in a frost
Tips for successfully starting the engine in the cold
During the period of severe frosts, it is better not to let the car idle for a long time.
The main recommendations can be divided into 2 groups: technical and organizational.
Technical recommendations
- Suitable battery. Its quality will directly determine how well the starter will start the engine. If cold winters are common in your region, take care of replacing the battery with a more powerful fellow in due time. The average battery life is about 3 years. Particularly scrupulous drivers for the night pull out the battery and carry it home. However, this operation will take some time, and in the cold it becomes also very problematic.
- Candles. The quality of the engine start depends on them, therefore it is necessary to change the candles in a timely manner.
- Butter. Quality oils of world brands will help to significantly simplify and speed up the process of starting the engine. It is best to use semi-synthetic or synthetic oil in the winter; it is resistant to low temperatures, unlike mineral oil, which is heavily thickening in extreme cold.
Organizational recommendations
- Место стоянки. Если вы хотите, чтобы случаев, когда in cold weather the car will not start, было как можно меньше, то подойдите к вопросу выбора стоянки для авто со всей серьезностью. Авто лучше припарковать поближе к дому и по мере возможности расположить его рядом с крупногабаритным автомобилем. Это поможет вашей машине немного «согреться».
- Frequency of use. During the cold weather you need to reduce your car as simple as possible. For example, if you parked your 4-wheeled friend on Friday evening and are not going to go anywhere on a weekend, you need to get out and warm the car before going to bed and early in the morning.
- Fuel. It is better to refuel more often, but less. This tip will reduce the formation of condensate. Ideally, the level of gasoline in the tank should not exceed half its volume.
Of great importance is the right choice of parking space.
Start of the engine in a frost
This principle is painted for a manual gearbox, although it is suitable with minor adjustments for an automatic one. First press the clutch several times, shifting gears while doing so. This will allow a little warm oil in the transmission. Next, you need to turn off all devices that consume auto energy. Do not forget to turn off the seat and rear window heater, the fan and the audio tape recorder. Before starting, you can blink the high beam a couple of times, which will give a signal to the battery to start and prepare it for the start.
The recommended list of consecutive operations how to start the car in the cold:
- Insert the key and engage the handbrake.
- Move the gearbox to neutral speed.
- Turn the key and wait until all the indicator lights on the dashboard go out (pay special attention to the injector light bulb).
- Squeeze the maximum grip and start the starter for a few seconds (the maximum recommended allowable time is 10 seconds). If the engine starts, then the first seconds to stabilize its work, it is better not to remove the foot from the clutch pedal. To avoid hitting the box, you need to remove your foot from the clutch pedal with a smooth movement.
- If the first attempt was unsuccessful, it is recommended to take a short break of about 10 minutes. Then the launch is repeated in accordance with the above points. Most often, when the starter rotates, the engine starts. If not, then push the gas pedal exactly halfway before starting, but in this case there is a risk to fill in the candles.
Before starting the engine it is better to turn off all devices that can consume battery power
In severe cold, there may be the effect of "sticking candles", which will not allow you to start the engine. Here you need to press the gas to the maximum during start-up and let the starter work for 5-7 seconds. Then again go to item number 4. If after all these manipulations a fiasco has befallen you, and the car has not started, then you have nothing left to do, like:
- leave your car before the warming;
- take the battery home;
- look for alternative ways to start the engine.