Diesel car can't start in cold

[Mavrick007]

My car is stuck out in the middle of a parking lot at the mall in the cold and it will not start (after seeing TTT last nite).
The diesel engine is too cold and I can't plug it in cause there are no outlets nearby.

There's only a couple of things that I can think of, rent a generator and plug it in for awhile, or try to tow the car and get it home to where I can plug it in.

Any other options or tricks which shouldn't cost me much to get the car started?
The glow plugs don't seem to be working as well as they should on the VW Golf.

 

[iamwiz82]

all i have to add is why buy a diesel car in a cold climate?

 

[StageLeft]

This MAY work - get one of those adapters for your lighter socket and plug your car heater cord into those. Only thing is you may need a strong one to handle the wattage that the heater asks for, and it may hurt your battery too. Not sure how long you normally plug those in for. But with that and a jump you may be working...

 

[Bignate603]

Do you think the battery is a little low and that's why the glow plugs aren't working? You could try jump starting it with a running car and just leave the jumpers attached and let the glow plugs go for a while.

 

[Antisocial Virge]

If your gonna try towing it you could always jumpstart it before you get too far if its a stick. I would advise against "starter fluid" They can cause more harm then good in the wrong hands.

 

[radioouman]

Start a fire under it!

Just kidding. I'd look for a small heater and run it from a different car to see if you can get it warmed up. How cold is it?

 

[Mavrick007]

Heh It seemed to work pretty well last winter, but it wasn't as cold as it has been so far this year.

Skoorb, I was thinking about that too. It would cost me quite a bit though to buy one of those (probably around $100 at Crappy Tire) cause it has to convert to AC doesn't it? Not positive if that's exactly what you're thinking.

Bignate, yes, I do think the battery is low now cause I kept trying it over and over last night before saying screw it and took a cab home. I did try jump starting it in the parking lot with just the slope of the lot, but it didn't work, and I was also told that you should not try jumpstarting a diesel when it's cold cause it could damage the engine since it creates so much compression when turning over. It shouldn't be a bad battery cause it was replaced last winter and it's a heavy duty one, but who knows.

I was reading somewhere that the VW glow plugs are quick on and off so leaving the ignition on doesn't seem to help any.

Antisocial-virge, it is standard, and I don't know if it's a good idea to try to jump start it.

I just talked to security at the mall and they said that if I could get it to Sears, then I could probably get it going by plugging it in or whatever there, but that's on the other side of the mall.

My cheapest bet so far is to either tow it to Sears or rent get generator for $21 and get it started that way.

 

[JupiterJones]

Get a can of starting fluid. Use sparingly. Too much (which isn't very much at all) can destroy the engine. Try a half-second burst into your breather nozzle.

 

[Antisocial Virge]

I don't know if it's a good idea to try to jump start it.

I lived in New Brunswick and drove a 1980 diesel rabbit. Its no prob jumping it. I had it die at school once and the AAA towtruck guy just gave it a big shove across the parkinglot with his truck.

 

[Mavrick007]

It's 34 F right now (according to Yahoo), but it is supposed to go down to 15 tonite.. brrr!!

I know that it was wickedly cold last night and the open parking lot on top of the hill makes it all the more colder cause of all the wind.

 

[StageLeft]

Got any friends who could bump the car from behind in sort of a screwed up toe, to get it over to sears? Or they could tie it with a long rope...

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: Mavrick007
It's 34 F right now (according to Yahoo), but it is supposed to go down to 15 tonite.. brrr!!

I know that it was wickedly cold last night and the open parking lot on top of the hill makes it all the more colder cause of all the wind.

Heck it may work now since that's above freezing. You should try and get the bitch over to sears though.

And yeah that AC convertor will cost a bit to get a high wattage one

 

[Mavrick007]

My roommate might be able to tow the car to sears with her pos Shadow.
I will try after work cause I have to go out to set up a computer system later tonite too and I need my wheels.

 

[Mavrick007]

I can't believe that it wouldn't start last night cause it was only off for like 5 hours and it was really warm before stopping.
Maybe the battery or the glow plugs are bad then. I need to check them out when I get home over the holidays.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Put a quad Xeon computer under the hood for a bit.

 

[incallisto]

Glow plugs working? It's usually the glow plugs from my experience.

 

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE use starting fluid, this will destroy the diesel engine.

Turn the key to on, wait for the glow plug light to go off, turn off the ignition and turn it right back to on, do this several times and then try starting it.

In the winter you should be using antigel or 5% kerosene with the diesel.

 

[Mavrick007]

Originally posted by: axiom
Show your car some pictures of Richard Simmons in a bikini. That should get it HAWT!

Must.. get that.. vision.. out.. of my head!!! Gahhh! Uck!!!




I wish I knew someone with a generator, it would make things so much easier.
A friend of mine said he would tow me with his ranger tomorrow but I'm going to see if I can solve it tonite cause I need to drive across town.

 

[Mavrick007]

Originally posted by: Roger
DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE use starting fluid, this will destroy the diesel engine.

Turn the key to on, wait for the glow plug light to go off, turn off the ignition and turn it right back to on, do this several times and then try starting it.

In the winter you should be using antigel or 5% kerosene with the diesel.

I did turn the ignition on and off like 5 times in a row at least several times and it didn't help any, but it was alot colder than today. The trouble is the quick on and off plugs that VW has in their cars.

 

There is most likely a problem with either the glow plugs or the relay(s) that control them.
Do a full diagnostic on them when you get the vehicle home.

 

[Analog]

glowplugs were invented for this purpose.

 

[PsychoAndy]

Roger, would this solve the problem?

-PAB

 

[JupiterJones]

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE use starting fluid, this will destroy the diesel engine

I should have given more info. If you use starting fluid in an engine with working glow plugs you risk damaging the engine if the starting fluid is prematurly ignited by the glow plugs.

Get a can of starting fluid, otherwise known as ether or diethyl ether. Disconnect the glow plug wire from the glow plugs, or pull the glow plug fuse. Open the air intake box so that you can shoot the ether right into the intake hose.

Spray the ether into the intake hose (short burst).

Get in the car and turn the key right to "start". Go all the way to "start" in case you failed to disable the glow plugs.

If the engine will run at all, it will do it with the ether. You can ALWAYS start a cold diesel engine with ether, as long as it doesn't have a mechanical problem that prevents it from running in the first place. This even goes for engines with far-below-spec compression figures, which often run fine when warm, but have a hard time starting.

 

When starting a diesel engine with ether, you must crank the engine first, then spray the ether in, this is a very dangerous procedure.

If you spray the ether into the intake first, you will destroy either the starter and or the ring gear along with the possibility of cracking a piston.

I strongly recommend that you DO NOT try to start your diesel with starting fluid, it is too easy to cause damage.


Go back to school JupiterJones.

 

[Antisocial Virge]

I have to agree with Roger on this one. I've been around diesel engines a long time and its a fine line between the engine starting and locking right up when using ether. Best not to take the chance.