Cold Starting Issues!!!

Hi,

I have been reading a few posts on here to do with cold starting issues on td5 defenders as mine has decided it doesnt enjoy starting on cold mornings!!

My first thought was glowplugs.. then i read a few posts that they arent really needed in this country even on cold days and that the most likely cause was leaky injector washers?

This does seem feesible as i do get a cloud of smoke that smells like burnt oil upon starting then once started runs absolutely fine.

The symptoms are.. turn the key..glow plug light goes out.. turn to crank and turns over fine.. then runs on what sounds like 3/4 cylinders for 5-10 seconds followed by the smoke then runs fine all day... untill the following morning then same again..?

Can anyone help shed any light on this issue?

Thanks.

PS. its a 2004 td5, 50,000 miles

It's normal in cold weather. The td5 only has 4 glow plugs and cyl5 gets it's heat from cyl4. Mines been very lumpy/smokey in this cold weather but it's fine once warmed up

have u tryed cleaning the injectors?, i dont have a td5 but it cured the exact same problem on my 200tdi
jake

Sounds OK. If it runs fine after 5-10 seconds then nothing to worry about. Mine smokes like a chimney for a mile or so but then it is running on used engine oil
Always starts first turn after the glow lamp goes out. Cyl 5 takes a few seconds to kick in when its really cold.

Mines the same, but i hadn't ran mine for a week when i first started it in the cold, was a right pain in the arse!

Starts first time now, runs lumpy for 5 mins till it gets some heat into it, time to scrape the windscreen...

Thanks for that...sounds like everythings ok then!!

Incidently i have used some injector cleaner and it was after that i started getting these syptoms... but i guess that was just coincidence!!

Thanks again!!

This is the last time i'm going to say this - Diesel only explodes when HOT and compressed a LOT. (THIS IS NOT AIMED AT PEOPLE IN THIS THREAD, BUT HOPEFULLY PEOPLE WILL SEARCH IT IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS)

It's fecking freezing outside so it will take more effort than normal to start your diesel engine. - Just think what its like in other places in the world.

So to get it started you need to following:-

1) Good quality fuel - veg oil needs to be diluted with diesel in this weather (or have a very good pre-heating system which does not rely on th water system to heat it up)

2) A decent battery which can crank the thing over at a GOOD speed to get the compression high - Slowly turning it over will result in gasses bypassing worn piston rings

3) HEAT - you battery also needs to be able to heat up the glugs properly - This can be upto 30-40 seconds on some old engines - It helps not just to get the plug glowing but also the surrounding metal being heated a few degrees help - MAKE SURE ALL YOUR PLUGS ARE WORKING - Obviously in the TD5 it is even more important that No4 plug is working - They are easy to take out, so TEST them - hold them in a pair of mole grips and hook it up to the battery

4) Make sure your alterator is working well, and that the fan belt is set to the correct tension - it should get your battery voltage up over 13.5 volts when running. If it does not then it proabaly nackered - GET A NEW ONE NOW before its too late.

5) Don't be too concerned if it take a few seconds to get the engine running smoothly, as the whole engine needs to warm up - the only way to get a solid lump of steel from -8 to + 86 degc is to wait a bit and let some of that now exploding fuel (which is mixing with freezing air at -8 comming through your intercooler) do its thing. The glow plugs won't be enough on there own to allow it to run smoothly until the entire cylinder is running at a reasonable temperature. - If it does not warm up completly and your thermostat is working then put a bit of cardboard over part of the water radiator (not the intercooler)
Hope this helps

Right on :clap2:

Most helpful! Thx.