Why Won’t My Car Start in the Cold?
It’s 6am in the middle of July and you dart through the cold morning air to your vehicle to begin the drive to work. After removing the frost from your windscreen and windows (using cool water, of course, as hot water has the potential of causing a costly crack!), you jump into the car and turn on the ignition? only to find that your vehicle stutters to a halt before it can start purring. If you have an older vehicle, you’re probably used to these types of winter blues. In this article, we’ll take a look at why cars have a harder time starting in the cold, and we’ll also look at a few mechanics‘ tips to fix the problem.
Why won’t it start?!
Generally, if you’re experiencing this problem there are three things that may be going wrong. These are as follows…
- Petrol needs to be vaporised in order to burn. When it’s very cold, however, evaporation doesn’t take place as quickly as when its warm. This is a fairly basic concept; think about how much quicker the ground dries after a summer’s rainfall when compared to a winter’s rainfall. Petrol is no different from water in this sense; when it’s very cold, it will evaporate slowly, making it harder to burn.
- Oil is much thicker when the weather is cold. This makes it harder for the engine to function, as the engine parts will need to push their way past thicker and gooier oil. To put it into perspective, picture the difference between warm honey and cold honey, for example; as you know, the warm honey is going to flow easier.
- The battery could also be the problem. Inside every battery, chemical reactions take place in order to produce the electrons that provide energy to the starter motor and other areas of the car. When it’s cold, these chemical reactions don’t occur as quickly and, as such, less electrons are produced. Without sufficient electrons, the engine cranks more slowly, making it harder to start.
How to combat these problems
The best way to combat all three of these potential problems is to eliminate their common factor: the fact that the car is being kept in the cold. By keeping your car in a garage, you’ll eliminate many of the potential problems associated with your car not starting, as the environment will be warmer.
In the case where thick oil is causing the problem, your mechanic would recommend using synthetic motor oils, which are better able to maintain their flowing properties in cold climates.
You can also try using anti-freeze products in your petrol tank. This works by adding a chemical, Methyl Hydrate, to stop your gas line from freezing. Of course, this is only really necessary in bitterly cold conditions — a holiday at the snow fields, for example — where your gas lines are in danger of freezing.
