Easier cold starting

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Steviecops

Steviecops

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Is there any tips people can give for easier starting of my 300 tdi Disco on these freezing mornings? I have been running on a bio/dinosaur diesel mix, but I've run the tank down as low as I dare and topped up with shells finest super duper diesel. I also covered my engine and battery with a blanket last night to keep them warm, (aah) :). But it still took a bit of starting this morning. Three glow plug heats and four or five seconds cranking with foot to the floor before it kicked into life. Once its started, it starts all day with half a turn. It was -10 here last night, but if it gets any colder, I'm nervous that it won't start at all.
 
always easy start - but this is like Crack for a diesel engine.

Could fit a hot start kit - this warms the water in the cooling system, but you will need a garage or a drive as you'll need a plug socket and 40mins wait before you start your car
 
and at -8 this morning mine started fine and I'm running Veg oil from costco mixed with around 15% petrol

so poersonally I'd just add petrol in the mix to make sure everything stays nice and thin - make sure you'r plugs are working and can't see any reason why you would have any starting issues??
 
JohnnyCrash said:
always easy start - but this is like Crack for a diesel engine.

Could fit a hot start kit - this warms the water in the cooling system, but you will need a garage or a drive as you'll need a plug socket and 40mins wait before you start your car
Click to expand...

Would it be worthwhile using just a bog standard coolant preheater? I was gonna knick one off a peugeot at a scrappy and it would have been a doddle to wire in but mine starts perfectly and warms up great thanks to a decent thermostat. Might be useful to the OP

Just a thought...
 
my 300 fenders been fine, one shot plugs and fires pretty much straight away, Im running 100% bio with about an 8% mix of unleaded, I stick 2L into the 25L drums.
Id suggest the glowplugs may need attention, either a bad connection or one or more suspect ones.
how quick is it turning over, bad battery??
 
It turns over OK, just takes a while to fire. Like I say, about four of five seconds cranking which can't do the battery much good. If you reckon it's glow plugs, I'll replace them. Any particular ones recommended? I know that some are silly cheap and others are pretty expensive, are there any in between that are decent enough?
 
Yup, from Handbook ...

"Cold weather starting ..

In cold climates or where the temperature has dropped below -5 deg c fully depress the accelerator pedal while operating the starter"

You don't depress the pedal for normal warm or cold starts ... In practice I've found it works better, at temperatures where there is a decent frost about, to fully depress the pedal.
 
I was always told to not touch the throttle now matter how cold on startup. You learn something new every day.

:banana:

Paul D said:
Yup, from Handbook ...

"Cold weather starting ..

In cold climates or where the temperature has dropped below -5 deg c fully depress the accelerator pedal while operating the starter"

You don't depress the pedal for normal warm or cold starts ... In practice I've found it works better, at temperatures where there is a decent frost about, to fully depress the pedal.
Click to expand...
 
Hi,
I have a disco 300 that’s become been a pain to start. The old owner said to always turn on the glow plugs twice before starting.
Been trying to find out why it always takes ages to start when cold , but always starts when hot.

After noticing that glow plug #4 was pumping up and down when the engine was on I replaced 2, 3, & 4 glow plugs. Can’t get to #1 easily.
Then have put a meter on the glow plugs and noticed that there was no voltage when the glow plug light was on in the dashboard.
On the timer relay under the bonnet (PRD 6913) there was no voltage on the Orange/Brown wire which is supposed to come from the fusebox or battery when ignition was off.
Have fixed up a wire from battery to the terminal on the Orange/Brown wire under the relay, and now when glow plug light is on the glow plugs actually get a feed from the relay, but, when the engine has started and the glow plug light is off in the dashboard, there is still a feed from the relay to the glow plugs. This stops when the engine is turned off.

So, could I ask you all , should there be a voltage reading on the glow plugs after the engine has started, and the glow plug light has gone out? Kept a meter on for 30 secs and there was still a reading on the plugs while the engine was on.

At least the glow plugs are actually warming up now, so the acid test will be tomorrow morning in the freezing cold ! :)

So, is the relay faulty or is this a normal feature?

Many thanks for any help you can give me.
 
yes, it keeps the plug on for a few seconds, supposedly to reduce cold start smoke, on my fender, you can hear it click off if you dont start the engine,.
 
Kezza0 said:
Thanks for the replys.

So they go off after the engine is warm and not just after a set period of time?
Click to expand...
as tim said, after a set period. if their on after 30 seconds of the dash light going off, i suspect theres summat amiss somewhere.

as a referance my disco when cold can give 10 seconds or so of dash light, dont start engine, another 10 seconds or so and you can hear the relay click.
if you do this with interior light on you can see it get brighter as plugs turn off.

considerably shorter time if engine or ambient temperature is warmer.
 
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