RICHMOND is cold!!!!
 

okay so yea, it is 7 degrees F right now!!! coldest day in history for good ole richmond, VA.

i was gonna go get my haircut and my car wouldn't start. grant it, it is in dark cold parking deck. it cranked but wouldn't turn over even with glow plug delay and mashing the gas. i rolled it to a socket and plugged her in. ill keep my fingers crossed for tomorrow!

yikes! brrr. brrr......

This may not apply to your car. If I wait 40 seconds after the glow plug light goes out on my 77 300d it starts best. (It has the old style loop plugs). However, if I wait 40 seconds after the light goes out on my 85 300td it won't start. I don't know if the difference is the different style plugs. I would try starting it right after the glow light goes out.

Richmond ain't the only place it's cold!!!
 

I went out to start both of my cars this morning, the temp said -18' C on the MB and 3' F on the VW. Both cars started without being plugged in. I wasn't sure about the MB, but after the second try at heating up the glow plugs, it slowly began to fire. Thank god for 5-40 oil and good glow plugs!! The temp. tonight has already dropped to near 0' F so I thought I would be nice to the 300SD and plug it in.

On a side note I have changed both of my fuel filters twice this week. I think that with all the extra power service I have added to the tank this week, it has cleaned out all the crap that has been building up in the tank over the last 19 years. This car came from Florida and I don't think it has ever had power service added to the fuel before this winter. It died on a trip to town the other day and I thought it was running like the filters were plugged up, and I was right. I stopped and purchased more filters today, don't want to be caught without a spare!!

Keep warm everyone!!!!!

Chris in Indiana:D :D :D

Re: RICHMOND is cold!!!!
 

Welcome to the club!

my new sig..

83 Volvo 760GLE (needs a blockheater to start below 45F due to low compression)

83 MB 300D (wont start, no matter what, nobody knows why)

:mad: :rolleyes:

I just installed a 2000 watt coolant heater in the volvo to assist in cold startups. up until this arctic blast hit the area, a 1500 watt space heater strategically positioned under the hood would do the job in about an hour.

It wont start if it sits for more than 3 hours, so I carry my generator in the trunk just in case, and the space heater is now in the trunk, so if I need to use the generator to run the blockheater, I can warm up the interior also. :)

why didnt I just buy a gas car?

What a day - first thing yesterday morning the power company had a "glitch" that took our WHOLE plant down (big papermill). We finally got the boilers back on and were making steam between 6 and 7 pm yesterday evening. Started making paper on one of the machines around 8 pm. Had the second paper machine going around 12 midnight and then the powerhouse called and said we had to get off of the steam. This cycle happened a couple more times and then we lost the recovery boiler at 3 am this morning after which time I finally came on to the house. Called out this morning and it sounds like they have not run all night - the #4 turbine generator blew up around 5 am.
It is worth approximately $15k/hour/machine when the machines are running.

Oh yea - the car (300TD) took me three glows to start it at 3:30 this morning when I got in it to come home. Don't have a clue how cold it is/was but I feel like moving south right now. I'm taking the 240D into work this morning because it is parked in the garage right now:).

Keep in mind that if it truely is 7 degrees outside there is a good chance your fuel has gelled. If that happens you have to get the car in a garage or wait until it warms up outside before it will start flowing again.

On the other hand, I wouldn't wait 40 seconds to start the car after the GP light goes out. I would keep cycling the ignition key to keep them hot (maybe three times) and then try starting. If you wait 40 seconds, how do you know for sure they are still being activated? The could already be cooling off.

I know people say the GP continue to run after the dash light goes off, but here is my experience on an '85 VW (I had an auxillary dash light hooked up directly to the GPs): dash lights go out and GP still have power for about 3 seconds; crank car, and once engine is RUNNING, power to the GP is activated on and off for another 5-10 seconds; power to GP is then shutoff. Unless someone out there has an auxillary light hooked up directly to the GP to know how and when power is being applied, I wouldn't wait 40 seconds to try starting the car, maybe just 10 seconds.

Read your owners manual. There is a specific technic for starting these cars when the temp gets down this cold.

Your car is in such nice shape I doubt the problem is with the car (more likely fuel gelling).

Good luck,

GregS
'84 300D, 173k
'90 300CE, 161k

P.S. Is it legal in VA to have a license plate like that on the front of your car? If so, where can I get one? It looks very cool!

Greg

eric, assuming all else is well - it should only take about 3 hours of block heating to get your engine warm enuff to start right up.
bob in CT (presently at 9 deg F here...)

Eric,

My car used to not start when it dropped down into the teens unless it had been plugged in. I started it up the other night here in Richmond when it was 11 degrees and it cranked right over without being plugged in. The only thing differrent with my car between the previous non-starts and now is that I adjusted the valves and started using Stanadyne fuel additive. Don't know which one of those did the trick or if it was both but now I never have to plug in 'ol blue. Oh yeah, be careful about running your ignition switch through several cycles before starting as you will be more prone to blowing a fuse. I've seen it happen twice.

Previously I had used that PowerService crap from WalMart. That stuff was the biggest waste of money (this is just my personnal opinion) in that my injectors would still get dirty even though I used it with every fill up. I immediately noticed a difference when I switched to the Stanadyne fuel additive. You can get a case of it at Superior Diesel Service on Main St. for about $55. I still use Diesel Purge once a year though to make sure I get 'em real clean.

Scott

thanks for your tips guys!

gregS, yea my car is registered in NC so i have a rear NC plate and the german one on front. they only require a rear plate in NC. so yea, i am legal here. but what's funny is there is a 5 series BMW in my parking garage with front AND rear euro plates. i wonder how he gets away with THAT!

scott98, thanks for the tips, i may try that addititve out when i find out a little more about it. but i guess addititives really can only help. i do put in that expensive BG 44K every oil change and notice a nice difference- does a great job cleaning injectors too.

well my car has been plugged in all night and ill try to start her at noon and see what happens.

cheers!
eric

btw- i do believe i have low compression in one cylinder, that may be influencing it.

240D wouldn't start, batt too low to crank...
 

The first time in a LONG while she's let me down.

What got me to work? 30 year old VW beetle convertible that hasn't been started in three months. Remember that scene in "Sleeper"?

My (new to me) 240D started on second crank for me this morning at about 0 degrees F. Only because the starter slipped off the flywheel on the first crank.

My glow plug light is not working, but I can tell when they turn off if I listen carefully to the fan speed and look at the idiot lights. The lights will brighten slightly and the fan will pick up speed when the glow plugs turn off. This is when I can cycle the key and light up the plugs again.

Eric,

I've seen that BMW also. He passed me on the interstate one day. It looked like his turn signals were a different color too- maybe white. I began to wonder if that was a "real" European car being driven illegally. He was also driving fast - just like a German. I wish I still had my goat. He would have been toast!

scott98 - hahahha! that's awesome! yea he almost T-boned me on 14th and Main, actually in the alley. i laughed because he looked at my german plate and looked confused. ive looked his BMW over, it seems american spec because there is only room for a small plate on the rear, but that is more common in europe now anyhow, so who knows. if i ever see him walking to his car ill ask.

JimB+, i thought you had a 300CD? did you just get a 240D? or do you have both?

there was a great commercial for VW Bugs in the 60's said something like "Did you ever wonder how the snow plow driver gets to the snow plow?" and it showed him driving a bug.