Cold start of the engine: the essence and important nuances

With the arrival of winter for the car, as, indeed, for its owner, black days begin: ice, icy glass, frozen locks of doors and trunk, frozen brake pads ... But the biggest problem is the cold start of the engine. And, if the air temperature falls below 20 degrees below zero, the engine is launched equally badly both on domestic cars and on foreign cars.

Why the car is badly started "on the cold"

Bad start of the engine "on cold" is associated with a number of reasons:

1. At temperatures below -20 degrees, a fully charged battery loses 50 to 80 percent of its charge, while the load on it, unlike the summer period, only increases.
2. The increase in the load on the battery is also associated with a change in the consistency of the oil in the engine. In the cold it becomes thicker. Therefore, the starter will need more effort to scroll the crankshaft, which in turn will require additional energy from the battery.
3. If the candles in the car have not changed for a long time, and have a significant output, then they need additional energy from the battery in order to ignite the combustible mixture.
4. Low temperatures lead to the fact that due to the tightening of the metal the gaps in the valve mechanism and the combustion chamber (between the pistons and the walls of the cylinders) increase, and this leads to a reduction in compression.
5. Due to the drop in compression, the oil enters the combustion chamber, which leads to an increased formation of carbon deposits, which, in addition to being deposited on candles, piston heads and valves, clogs the oil filter, significantly reducing its life.

As you can see, all the reasons that hamper the cold start of the engine are somehow related. And each of them contributes to the fact that the machine does not start.

How to prepare a car for winter operation

First of all, it is worth mentioning the fact that each cold start of the engine by the amount of wear can be equated to a run of 150-200 km, and this value grows in proportion to the decrease in temperature, that is, the lower the temperature, the higher the degree of wear of the engine. Therefore, in order to minimize wear and tear, care must be taken in advance.

To do this, before the onset of cold weather, you should check the level of electrolyte density in the battery and, if necessary, recharge the battery. Although this, of course, does not save the battery from loss of charge at sub-zero temperatures. Therefore, the best option is to do the same as drivers in the regions do where the average daily winter temperature is -30 degrees: remove the battery for the night and clean it in a warm room. Lost for its removal a few minutes in the morning will more than compensate for the problem-free start-up of the engine.

Oil for the winter is better to choose such that it does not change its viscosity in the cold, well, or at least not so much. Therefore, you should carefully read the description for the selected oil, paying special attention to the temperature range of its use.

Before the winter should also put new candles and filters (air, fuel fine cleaning, oil). Moreover, it would not be superfluous to carry one more set of candles with them, just in case.

Cold start of the engine

The sequence of actions when trying to start the engine in frosty weather, in principle, is universal for all cars. Small differences can be due to differences in fuel systems. Therefore, the cold start of the engine VAZ, GAZ or UAZ is exactly the same as for foreign cars.

So, after a long parking in the cold, you first need to "wake up" the battery. For this purpose, for 10-15 seconds the high beam is switched on, this will trigger a chemical reaction in the battery, and will heat the electrolyte.

The next step is to squeeze the clutch. This will disconnect the engine and gearbox, thereby removing the excess load from the crankshaft. This is important, since even on a neutral transmission the gears of the box will be cranked during start-up, and this will require additional energy from the battery.

More than 5 seconds for one attempt to twist the starter is not necessary, otherwise you can finally put the battery or fill the candles, and at low temperatures this is unacceptable. If the engine is functional, then it must start from the 2nd, 3rd attempt.

Until it began to work steadily, the clutch pedal should not be released, otherwise the engine may die out. After letting the car idle for 2-3 minutes, you can start smoothly (without jerks and accelerations), while the engine warms up faster.

A few tips for a carburetor engine

There is a popular way to ease the cold start of the morning. To do this, in the evening, half a glass of gasoline pours into the car's lubrication system, which will not allow the oil to thicken. However, this method is effective only if mineral oil is filled into the engine. For synthetics and semisynthetics, it does not fit. And again: after two glasses of gasoline in the lubrication system, the oil will have to be replaced, so this method is effective, but, rather, it is suitable for emergency cases.

Also for the cold start of carburetor engines, you can use ether, or, as it is also called, "quick start" (sold in auto shops). To do this, the air filter cover is removed and the air is injected through throttle valves directly into the carburetor, after which the filter cover is tightly closed. Aether vapor, mixed with fuel vapor, will improve its flammability. To ignite such a mixture, there will be even a weak spark.

It will also be useful to pull the throttle valve regulator ("suction") to the parking lot after parking the car, thereby blocking the access of cold air to the carburetor that has not cooled down yet. This will prevent the formation of condensate in it.

What should I do if the battery "died"?

If the battery is still discharged, then the simplest thing in this situation is to "light" it from another car. To do this, you need special copper wires with fasteners to the terminals ("crocodiles"). You need to be especially careful when lighting an injector engine, there are a lot of all kinds of electronics in it, which can fail because of the voltage drop that has arisen.

You can connect the batteries without stopping the engine of the donor machine, the main thing is to strictly observe the polarity and priority.

The connection starts according to the scheme from a weak battery to a charged one:

1. From the minus of the consumer to the minus of the donor.
2. From the plus of the consumer - to the plus of the donor.

You need to be very careful and do not mix up plus with minus, otherwise the battery may explode!

After connecting, you need to give the "donor" to work for another 5-10 minutes at idle, so he will recharge the battery. Then its engine should be muffled, and only after that to try to get the consumer. If this is not done, the surge in voltage generated by starting the motor being powered can seriously damage the electronics of the "donor".

When nothing of the above does not help, it remains only to pull the car in tow or push.

How to start a car with a tow

Starting a car with a tug is not a difficult task, but it needs to be done correctly. To do this, the ignition is turned on, the car is placed on the "neutral", and you can start driving. After dialing the speed (40 km / h), the clutch is squeezed out and the third gear is immediately engaged (so the load on the engine will be minimal) and the clutch is gradually released. If the engine is wound up, you can not stop right away, the car may stall. It is necessary to wait until the engine starts to work steadily (the turns will stop swimming).

The engine speed at start-up "to cold" usually ranges from 900 to 1200 rpm, and after heating down to 800.

Another problem of winter car operation is when after a cold start a whistle is heard from under the hood, which after the warm-up can disappear. Nevertheless, this can not be left without attention.

What can whistle under the hood after a cold start

If a whistle is heard from under the hood of the car when the engine is started on a cold one, there may be several reasons for this:

• Drive belts. Particular attention should be paid to the generator belt. From weak tension it simply slips on the shaft, hence the whistle, after warming up the whistle can disappear.
• Tensioner roller, timing mechanism (with time the whistle is strengthened and becomes permanent);
• Worn shafts (pump, generator).

It should be remembered that any extraneous sound under the hood is a kind of warning about some kind of malfunction, and if you can not determine the cause of the sound yourself, you need to turn to the specialists of the SRT, and you should not pull it. After all, "break" somewhere in the middle of the road in a severe frost - a dubious pleasure.