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  #1  
Old 01-10-2009, 09:26 PM
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Cold starting procedure for a 617?

My 1985 300TD has a hard time starting in the cold. I have done many things to help such as getting a new battery, synthetic oil, aftermarket oil pan heater. I haven't adjusted the valves as I don't think I am capable to do it. These things have helped, but I still have to crank it for 15-30? seconds to get it going. I have tried several differant methods but I would like to hear what works for other people.

What I used to do was push the pedal to the floor 3 times in a row, glow then start without giving it any fuel. I don't know where I learned to do this. I might have read it here. Recently, I looked in the manual and it says I should glow then start with the accelerator deppressed. I have tried this but it seems to be no better and I end up letting off the fuel until it starts to fire. So I am curious what I should be doing with the accelerator?

Thanks, -13C tonight!


Last edited by Mistel; 01-10-2009 at 10:04 PM.
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  #2  
Old 01-10-2009, 09:35 PM
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new glow plugs
valve adjustment
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  #3  
Old 01-10-2009, 09:46 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mistel View Post
My 1985 300TD has a hard time starting in the cold. I have done many things to help such as getting a new battery, synthetic oil, aftermarket oil pan heater. I haven't adjusted the valves as I don't think I am capable to do it. These things have helped, but I still have to crank it for 15-30? seconds to get it going. I have tried several differant methods but I would like to hear what works for other people.

What I used to do was push the pedal to the floor 3 times in a row, glow then start without giving it any fuel. I don't know where I learned to do this. I might have read it here. Recently, I looked in the manual and it says I should glow them start with the accelerator deppressed. I have tried this but it seems to be no better and I end up letting off the fuel until it starts to fire. So I am curious what I should be doing with the accelerator?

Thanks, -13C tonight!
No single element of the starting process is more important than the glowplugs. Let it glow much, much, much longer than the light indicates on the dash and then try starting it.
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  #4  
Old 01-10-2009, 09:52 PM
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Here is what I would do up in New Paltz.

1) Glow it with the door open. When the dome light gets brighter the glow plugs have clicked off (It could be up to 45 seconds) If it is REALLY cold, glow it twice.

2) Push the accelerator down 1/4 of the way

3) Crank it. Keep cranking it until the engine is really running. It could take a few seconds after it starts firing to really catch.


I would suggest that you do the valves as soon as possible. If you do not feel up to it or if it is too cold to work on the car, take it to either the dealer or to your indy. It is really worth it.
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  #5  
Old 01-10-2009, 09:59 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LAbioCars.com View Post
new glow plugs
valve adjustment
Oh ya, I checked the resistance on first 4 glow plugs and it looked good. The last one is a bit hard to reach and since I changed them last year I figure they are all good.

About glowing, do the plugs contiue to glow after the light goes out, or should you turn the key off then on again? I like the idea of a digital voltmeter that fits in the cigarette lighter so you can see when the glow ends. I am looking for one locally.

I really want to get the valves done and a proper block heater installed. There is a good indy I know of but he is very busy and a bit far so it is hard to get the car out to him.
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  #6  
Old 01-10-2009, 10:02 PM
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Adjust the valves.

On my '81 300SD I had continuous trouble starting in cold weather. Went to 5 wt oil and that helped a lot for say two years. Then it got harder to start again; I would run the starter maybe two minutes before it would start. Then it got hard to start even in warm weather.

Got the valves adjusted and bingo, instant start, even in cold weather. (First time the valves had been adjusted in 235,000 miles.) Have 253,000 miles on the engine now and it starts like new. I glow the plugs and then push the accelerator about 1/4 way down when I hit the starter. Starts just like a new car.
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  #7  
Old 01-10-2009, 10:04 PM
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Got my digital voltmeter on Amazon for $15. Oil pan heaters are a waste of money in my experience. I used to live in Toronto and wouldn't own a diesel there without a block heater of some kind. A lower radiator hose heater on Ebay (1 1/2") will cost about $15 and take half an hour to install. Did you ream the holes when you replaced the glow plugs? Reaming can help cold starting a lot.
You can check glow plug resistance at the harness on the relay if reaching the 5th plug is a problem. Cold resistance is not always a reliable test. I've had a glow plug read fine when cold but go infinite after voltage is applied.
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  #8  
Old 01-10-2009, 10:11 PM
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If all five plugs are only a year old, they should still be good as long as good ones were installed (Bosch or Beru).

The synthetic oil is 5W40 or 0W40, right?

It sounds like mostly likely a valve adjustment is in order. They really aren't that hard to do, but if you have to work outside in Canadian winter weather, I can understand letting a shop do it.
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  #9  
Old 01-10-2009, 10:24 PM
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bring your battery inside on very cold nights - or keep it warm.... in addition to regular maintenance items.
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  #10  
Old 01-10-2009, 10:42 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mistel View Post
Oh ya, I checked the resistance on first 4 glow plugs and it looked good. The last one is a bit hard to reach and since I changed them last year I figure they are all good.

About glowing, do the plugs contiue to glow after the light goes out, or should you turn the key off then on again? I like the idea of a digital voltmeter that fits in the cigarette lighter so you can see when the glow ends. I am looking for one locally.

I really want to get the valves done and a proper block heater installed. There is a good indy I know of but he is very busy and a bit far so it is hard to get the car out to him.
The plugs will glow for around 45 seconds. If you leave the door open like I said in my previous post you can tell. When the dome light gets brighter the glow plugs have shut down. I would glow it for the full cycle, turn it off, then glow it again until the dome light got bright, then start it.
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  #11  
Old 01-10-2009, 10:52 PM
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As they say on the VW forums:
Get a 2.0T (Gasser)
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  #12  
Old 01-10-2009, 11:07 PM
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My 300D with newish Bosch glow plugs, 5W40 synthetic in the pan, valves recently adjusted, and a good strong battery has started with little effort into the high single digits (F). I have yet to plug it in. (The 240 with 15W40 and loop plugs of unknown age is a different story.)

The OP's vehicle seems to be suffering some ailment. Valve adjustment seems to be the first thing to eliminate. If that doesn't take care of it, I might begin to suspect a weak starter causing low cranking speed, or wrong viscosity oil. Other possibilities include low compression and timing being off due to timing chain elongation.

BTW, my 300D has better cold weather starting than my gasser.
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83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
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88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.
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  #13  
Old 01-10-2009, 11:19 PM
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This week is going to be the true test of all our cars starting.....0F or less in the morning for several days. With a daytime high around 5-10F...

All our cars have new batteries in the last year....so that part is good. We'll see what happens....
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  #14  
Old 01-10-2009, 11:41 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pawoSD View Post
This week is going to be the true test of all our cars starting.....0F or less in the morning for several days. With a daytime high around 5-10F...

All our cars have new batteries in the last year....so that part is good. We'll see what happens....
I hear you on that one! Even down here in Central Il, we'll be seeing negatives overnight and low singles at the end of the week. Luckily, I don't need to drive myself to work (but it'll be a cold walk / bike ride!) although I do enjoy taking the car out every day.
I'm considering pulling my intake off tomorrow to ream out the glow plug holes..didn't get to when I replaced them.
My car might just have to take the week off, I can't use my block heater where I live It should start fine, but I don't like to subject it to that kind of abuse if I don't have to.
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  #15  
Old 01-11-2009, 12:29 AM
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It takes some getting used to, but the full two glows(around 40 seconds X2) and cranking until it's firing on all 5 cylinders. IIRC the duty cycle for the starter is around 30 seconds.

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