What To Do When The Car Doesn’t Start In Cold Weather
Freezing cold weather can take a toll of the car battery, oil and fuel. This explains why you should be prepared for the winter season and any car problem that may arise.
Read the following article to learn what to do when your car will not start in cold weather.
· Turn off all electrical accessories
Begin with closing all the car door and turning off all electrical accessories including the radio, heater, headlights and defroster. This helps to maximize the starting power
· Turn on the key to start
If the engine starts immediately, great but if it does not, do not hold the key any longer than 10 seconds as overworking the starter can make it to overheat. If the engine does not crank, wait for a few minutes before trying again.
· Allow the battery to recover if the car still fails to start
If the car does not start after 10-20 seconds of cranking, wait for about two minutes before attempting again. This allow the battery to recover, mostly, it allows the starter motor to recover.
If the car is getting close to starting but is a little sluggish, allow it to rest for a while then try again but if the battery does not make any effort to turn the engine, it maybe be discharged and you need to jump it.
If after trying several times the starter is still sluggish, you will need to heat up the batter. Warming the battery sufficiently to increase its available amperage can take up to 2 hours.
· Jumping a dead battery
If the battery fails to start completely, the battery is could be dead and you will need to jump start it. To do this, you need a set of jumper cables and a running car to complete the jump.
Position the running car close to the car with the dead battery with the front ends facing each other.
· Hook the jumper cables to the right terminals
Connect the + symbol on the jumper on the prospective terminal on both cars and attach the – symbol to the negative terminals.
Let the dead battery charge for a few minutes and when starting the car with the dead battery, rev the running car a bit.
· Try to start the car with the dead battery
If it starts great, if not, check to ensure the jumper cables are connected properly before letting the running car run again and try restarting again.
Now disconnect the cables with the engine in the both cars still running for a few minutes to make sure the both batteries charge enough for another start.
Consider replacing the battery
Car batteries have a lifespan usually about for years, therefore, it fails to start after the above two attempts, consider replacing it.
