Well I'm a bit of a noob and very ignorant so for me this was great advice.
I haven't had any trouble yet starting my '06 TD5 110, but after reading this post I thought better safe than sorry.
The wife is currently knitting a little jacket for the battery (with mittens on a string for when it's really cold), and luckily the dog bed is just the right size to fit over the engine. After all I've never had trouble starting the dog when it's cold so her bed must be good.
I printed out the post and nipped out for a test run. One thing I can't really get my head round is how to turn the key without touching anything. In the end I used a hanky to hold the key. Probably not ideal, but I'll keep working on that bit.
Next challenge was turning the engine over once the light went out. Finally managed it with a bit of help from a crow bar and the wife. Is it bad that all the oil poured out?
Anyway, I pushed in the clutch and heard some loud bangs and a few bits dropped off the open end of the gearbox.
So I turn the key and nothing happens. What am I doing wrong?
When do we get lesson two?