frozen engine or frozen diesel?

i run on veg oil, and with the very cold spell, i had to increase the mix of petrol (to 10%) to aid starting.....once running it was fine.

a 50/50 mix of diesel was fine.

yes warming the pipe up helps, as very low temps change the viscosity. Its why the germans had major problems when invading russia in WW2, as the russians knew what to expect, so engines, wheel bearings, guns etc anything with oils, diesel etc didnt have a problem.
 
If you're near power, running a hair dryer into the air intake has marvellous results, reduces the reliance on compression to raise the temperature to cause ignition.

Also agree, a heater plug out makes it difficult to start, two out and it can be almost impossible unless you live on a big hill like I do.

Did it last winter when the Movano was a pig to start.

Last resort, use easy start.
 
In the Peugeot Partner, I know straight away when the glow plugs need changing as it won't start first time and it is a really reliable starter even in really low minus temperatures. So as soon as that has happened a couple of times in succession, I get new ones and there's a big difference immediately. The tip about letting the glow plugs heat up a couple of times before switching on the ignition has worked for me in the past.

However, strangely, I find that if I have had the ignition switched on for more than about 30 secs, it doesn't start nearly as well as when starting from cold, it needs to turn over for much longer before it fires up :confused:

I need to switch the ignition off completely, wait another 30 secs and then try again as if starting from cold, and then it starts normally, with just a quick turn of the key.

Is this a pecularity of my van or is this normal for diesels?
 
whitevanwoman said:
However, strangely, I find that if I have had the ignition switched on for more than about 30 secs, it doesn't start nearly as well as when starting from cold, it needs to turn over for much longer before it fires up :confused:

I need to switch the ignition off completely, wait another 30 secs and then try again as if starting from cold, and then it starts normally, with just a quick turn of the key.

Is this a pecularity of my van or is this normal for diesels?
Click to expand...

It's probably down to the engines computer switching the glow plugs of after a set maximum time to prevent battery drain, damage to the glow plugs etc.
All that modern stuff is very clever. Too clever sometimes....
 
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Teutone said:
It's probably down to the engines computer switching the glow plugs of after a set maximum time to prevent battery drain, damage to the glow plugs etc.
All that modern stuff is very clever. Too clever sometimes....
Click to expand...

That makes sense but it's a 2001 van, I didn't think it had any computerised stuff in it.
 
If you can put some sort of skirt around the base of the van then the ground underneath becomes a radiator. It could be near frozen but it is still a lot warmer than the -12C we have been seeing.

Richard
 
al n sal said:
thank you kind sir, actually thank you everyone. I will hopefully have a go this weekend.

al
Click to expand...

You'll find all the heater plugs connected to each other, so you must remove the nut on the top and release the cable from the thread otherwise you'll only see the resistance of the good ones.
 
My glow plugs also switch off after about 25 secs and thats on a 1986 engine !!
 
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