Mother Nature won this morning

[pleopard]

Alberta seems to be left out of the sub-groups. There's west coast and central Canada? Not sure where Alberta fits in...

My 2010 Jetta wouldn't start this morning. It was steady around -30C last night. I attempted to start it at around 11am by which time the temp had risen to -22. However, she just didn't have it in her. Cranking was slow initially and only got slower. Dash lights flickered and dimmed, relays clicked... I tried a couple times but there was no life left. Even if I had a coolant heater I have nowhere to plug it in.

The morning before it was -28 and she started, but just barely. Glow plug light flashed after starting and it felt like it was on three cylinders. I drove a block down the road before realizing it actually was running on three cylinders (major vibrations). I shut it off, restarted, and all was fine. Either an injector wasn't firing or a glow plug hadn't activated? I don't know. This morning I just needed more battery power.

 

[Ski in NC]

Up there, I'd consider buying a new battery every fall!! -30 is COLD!! And I've been in it, but not for a long time.

 

[pleopard]

-30C is damn cold alright. Thankfully it doesn't stay that cold in Calgary for long. Chinook winds roll through off and on raising the temperature by 20 degrees. That doesn't do me much good now though. Had to take the fiancés Honda Civic. It started...

 

[Mike_04GolfTDI]

Would it help if you had a generator and you started it up about an hour or two before you need to start your car? You could plug in a coolant heater and a small battery charger.

Might be worth a try.

 

[peteman]

Check your glow plugs! Any fuel additive? New battery? These cars can sit over night and start at -40 without being plugged in no problem. Do you run the glow plugs for 2 cycles?

Perhaps you need to invest in a diesel burning coolant heater? Wabatso.

Just my thoughts as I own two of these beasts and never have trouble starting in sub -30 without plugging in.

 

[oilhammer]

Your glow plugs are fine, the ECU is checking them at every start up. If there was a problem with them, the MIL would be on.

Sounds like you may have a combination of a weak battery, and maybe some minor fuel gelling.

 

[pleopard]

Oilhammer, yeah it's unlikely there's any problem with the GPs themselves, but the day prior it was -28 and it did start but with "Check Engine!" displayed in the MFI. The glow plug light was also flashing and the engine shook as though one cylinder wasn't during right. Maybe an injector wasn't operating normally, maybe there was a bit of fuel gelling (seems unlikely - I add Power Service winter formula)... Who knows. After restarting all was back to normal.

Mike, the generator idea is a good one but I park on the street and would worry about someone swiping it...

My battery may need replacing soon, as it would barely turn over the engine at -30. Maybe the weak battery resulted in some control modules not activating properly the day I had the rough and unstable start w GP light flashing. I'll try adding a double dose of PS White in case fuel gelling was the cause of that.

One last thing. My new location came with a much shorter average trip. I used to take regular 300 mile trips, so maybe the battery isn't being fully re-charged between cycles.

 

[pleopard]

Peteman, didn't know anything like that existed. That would be ideal, but sounds expensive. What did this cost you with installation?

There are folks around here running extension chords to their street-parked cars. I'm just concerned someone walking down the sidewalk (not many do) will trip over the darn thing.

 

[pleopard]

Anyone know if the 80Ah VW battery will fit in my 2010? The original battery is a 72Ah unit. The 2006 MkV I had came with an 80Ah.

 

[oilhammer]

It will but you may have to change a couple things. For US-market cars, you'll have to raid the Eos or B6 Passat parts bin. IIRC it is just the battery cover that is longer.

I'm not 100% sure about this, though.

 

[SkyRyder55]

the battery will be fully charged from normal day to day driving. short trips. you do not need long hauls to charge the battery unless it is totally drained. even then an hour or two and its fine.

 

[macoombi]

I'm not sure my battery is getting a full charge on cold days when I'm running the heater fan, rear defroster, heated mirrors, headlights, radio, wipers, etc. Especially considering my short 9km commute. That's why I try to minimize the use of electrical accessories even going as far as using the handbrake to kill the daytime running lights when stopped at a light. I also let my foot off the brake pedal when I'm stopped in traffic. That might be excessive but if it means the difference between a successful start and being stuck somewhere, I'll take it.

 

[993cc]

Peteman, didn't know anything like that existed. That would be ideal, but sounds expensive. What did this cost you with installation?
There are folks around here running extension chords to their street-parked cars. I'm just concerned someone walking down the sidewalk (not many do) will trip over the darn thing.

I think the correct spelling is Webasto. Try a search of the forums, but I suspect they are no longer available in North America.
When they were available, they were expensive. But, they gave you a toasty warm interior instantly.

Another company that make a similar product is Espar

 

[SkyRyder55]

I'm not sure my battery is getting a full charge on cold days when I'm running the heater fan, rear defroster, heated mirrors, headlights, radio, wipers, etc. Especially considering my short 9km commute. That's why I try to minimize the use of electrical accessories even going as far as using the handbrake to kill the daytime running lights when stopped at a light. I also let my foot off the brake pedal when I'm stopped in traffic. That might be excessive but if it means the difference between a successful start and being stuck somewhere, I'll take it.

a 9 km commute is more than enough to charge a battery that has had a normal starting load placed on it. even running every accessory in the car. your alternator can handle it.
If you are having to crank for 15 seconds a couple times to get it to fire, then maybe it wont fully charge. but being a electrical miser really will not make much of a difference how fast it charges. your alternator is capable of 120 amps. thats alot.

 

[macoombi]

120 amps, eh? I wasn't sure of the output. I had an old k-car that could barely keep up with the headlights, wipers and my basshead stereo system (I was young and dumb). The battery light would flicker on big bass hits when it was cranked.

I was running an old Hifonics Hercules to a pair of JL 12's (about 400w @ 2ohms) and a Phoenix Gold ZX200 (75x2) to my components (just some cheap Pioneer 6.5" woofers and 1" tweets). Not big power by todays standards but some of the old school stuff is still in demand.

 

[SkyRyder55]

enjoy the modern luxury of electrical goodies in your car. You could run everything you want and not have any issues unless you are having very long cranking periods at start up.