Lawn Tractor Will not start in cold

[Murpheeee]

I have a 8 year old Simplicity lawn tractor that will not start when temp gets down below 30 degrees.

Starts first time when its milder, but in cold it turns over a couple of times, then dies and dash lights go off.

Anyone have any idea what to check?

I thought it may be the battery needing replaced but I just put a multimeter over terminals and its still holding a 10-11 volts.

Any suggestions appreciated

Murph

 

[gistech1978]

too heavy of an oil?

the oil change place put some heavier oil in my car
and when it gets below say 10 degrees it takes about 5-6 cranks to get it started in the mornings

 

[jurzdevil]

its probably the battery.

10-11 volts may not be enough to turn the engine when its cold out.

jump it to a car and see that it gets at least 12 volts and it will probably start or at least turn over.

 

[Passions]

Sounds like my car.

 

[Murpheeee]

Originally posted by: gistech1978
too heavy of an oil?

the oil change place put some heavier oil in my car
and when it gets below say 10 degrees it takes about 5-6 cranks to get it started in the mornings

okay, this is a possibility.....can you drain cold oil to change it?

I just cleaned battery terminals and retested and am getting 12.2V

 

[etech]

12.2 v is still low. A fully charged battery will read 12.6 volts. Anything lower than that indicates a low battery charge.

 

[Eli]

Make sure the choke is working properly.

 

[Murpheeee]

Originally posted by: gistech1978
too heavy of an oil?

the oil change place put some heavier oil in my car
and when it gets below say 10 degrees it takes about 5-6 cranks to get it started in the mornings

get that man a beer!

Just switched the oil to 5W30 which is recommended for use under 30 degrees and it started first time.

I did not even think the oil might be the problem. Thanks!

 

[arcenite]

Originally posted by: Murpheeee

Originally posted by: gistech1978
too heavy of an oil?

the oil change place put some heavier oil in my car
and when it gets below say 10 degrees it takes about 5-6 cranks to get it started in the mornings

get that man a beer!

Just switched the oil to 5W30 which is recommended for use under 30 degrees and it started first time.

I did not even think the oil might be the problem. Thanks!

:beer:

 

[TechnoKid]

My guess is that it had straight 30wt oil in there, which is fine in the summer.

You can continue to use the 5w30 year around, or maybe even 10w30 if it still starts up ok. Also consider a synthetic or synthetic-blend, which has much better cold start properties than conventional oil.