So, it is a very chilly night out in the wastelands surrounding Chicago. My 300SD is telling me that the outside temperature is -0.4 F (-18C). There are few things like that cackle of delight by beating your best cold weather start by half a degree.

For the curious it was three full glow plug cycles, 2 seconds of cranking, and 30 seconds of foot on the accelerator before the RPM's increased.

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1977 Red 240D ( Squished by a 18 Wheeler )
1976 Black 240D ( Sold )
1991 White 420SEL ( Sold )
1987 Black 560SEL ( Sold )
1983 White 300SD ( Sold )
1984 Blue 300SD ( Sold )
2014 Red Chevy Cruze Diesel ( New Hotness )

Hmm that's cold

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Are you sure it's not dimensa setting in from the frigid conditions?

Seriously though... Glad it started, but it shouldn't be difficult at that temp, verify all your glows are working.

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

I'd consider rigging up a block heater to help the starting and not put such a strain on it all

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Had an similar cackle this morning. about 12 degrees F. A 1993 2.5 t with a a blend of Wvo. I didn't think it would start. The blend my friend described this way- 1/4 tank was 50/50 Wvo and diesel and he added 10 gal Wvo and 1 gal gasoline to that as his last fill up. I figured no way. But it started with one good long glow and refer up. You could see air bubbles in The clear line for a minute.

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What Would Rudolph Do?
1975 300D, 1975 240D, 1985 300SD, 1997 300D, 2005 E320 , 2006 Toyota Prius

Wednesday night it's supposed to drop in the single digits here... Possibly twoF.... It was 16 this morning, and the 190 didn't hesitate after a good 30 second glow... We'll see on Thursday morning...

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

I love cold starting my 190 D. The four cylinders start eaier I think.

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What Would Rudolph Do?
1975 300D, 1975 240D, 1985 300SD, 1997 300D, 2005 E320 , 2006 Toyota Prius

THat's the way to do er when that cold. Two to three glow cyles, and two slow floors of the throttle before the cranking - while holding that foot feed on-the-floor until it can hold it's own idle.

Worst part of Winter in the eastern South from Mississippi River east through Tennessee is the extreme cold weather and snow/ice that sticks around.

I usually don't have any problems unless the temperatures go below 0 F. I should use the block heater but the end fell off and my hack job plug replacement always seems to shock me. Especially when covered in salty slush.

__________________
1977 Red 240D ( Squished by a 18 Wheeler )
1976 Black 240D ( Sold )
1991 White 420SEL ( Sold )
1987 Black 560SEL ( Sold )
1983 White 300SD ( Sold )
1984 Blue 300SD ( Sold )
2014 Red Chevy Cruze Diesel ( New Hotness )

Sympathies sent. Glad I got out of that upper Great Plains winter nightmare in my early 20s.