Very Cold Car Needs To Get Moving! Help
filed in 1999 Honda Civic
Question: I am not car savvy at all…so please bear with me and my terminology – hopefully I’m not too far off base.
My car has been sitting dead in the cold (-30 to -40C) for three days…it won’t start…when the tow truck came today to boost it, it was cranking, but not turning over…the sound was right, but that last little jump to running didn’t happen…
Now, what do I do? Do I wait for warm weather to warm the engine up? I don’t know if that could be the problem…or would it be helpful to disconnect the battery and bring it inside to warm up?
A friend suggested I get my space heater from inside the house and place it on the engine beneath a tarp to “thaw” the engine…HUH? This sounds sort of wacky to me…but then again, I know jack about cold starting my car.
Info: Honda Civic, 1999 – same battery from purchase
Thanks in advance for your anticipated insight into my distressing situation.
Answer: I’m in Minnesota and have started cars successfully at -40 (C or F, take your pick). Where are you, the Yukon?
You have multiple things working against a successful start when temps are that low.
#1- the battery has a lot less current capacity when cold. I used to remove the battery and bring it inside overnight when I lived in an apartment and couldn’t plug the car’s block heater in. If you’re in a hurry you can fill the sink with hot water and let the battery sit in it, but beware of the thermal shock, hot water might just crack that ice cold battery.
#2- the oil is very thick and that makes it hard to crank the engine over. Any way you can get the engine heated up (but DON’T put a charcoal fire underneath the oil pan!!!) will help. Folks around here buy their cars with block heaters installed at the factory, there are other types of engine heaters available, but in my opinion a freeze plug block heater is the best option. You should always use the correct oil as specified by your owner’s manual for the temperatures you expect to encounter. I’d use Mobil 1 5W-30 or even 0W-30 if I regularly had to start a car in -40 weather without a block heater.
Probably the best way for you to get it started is to bring the battery inside and borrow a a portable kerosene torpedo style (forced air) heater to blow at the engine. Otherwise have it towed to a warm garage…
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