what is the coldest weather your tdi started?

[TDIJetta99]

Make sure the injection timing is in the upper half of the graph in VCDS too.. Really makes a difference in super low temperatures..

 

[baldwin_f]

Mine did not start at all. Glow plug harness is bad though. Jump started and it start after few cycles. Checked batteries and had 12v before starting. OEM batt is 5yo.

Tried again at noon and started right away. Bought DFS suspecting might have gelled up. Will see if it happens again tomorrow AM.

 

[Judson]

Make sure the injection timing is in the upper half of the graph in VCDS too.. Really makes a difference in super low temperatures..

Here are my stats:

Checked the injection timing (5.8 - 6.2) and injection quantity (6 mg/stroke). I think the timing was in the middle.

This seem about right, or low?

 

[snakeye]

Seeing a lot of eastern canadian posts. Yes it was fricken cold today. In the minus forties with the wind chill. Here's a video I made. -28 degrees celcius:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xca4C4gCC-0&feature=youtu.be

 

[Revpeach]

Yesterday it was -7F. Car started right up. Ran rough for about 2 minutes then it ran just fine except I was hard pressed to see 170 degrees F for coolant temp.

 

[powerfool]

Mine did not start at all. Glow plug harness is bad though. Jump started and it start after few cycles. Checked batteries and had 12v before starting. OEM batt is 5yo.

Tried again at noon and started right away. Bought DFS suspecting might have gelled up. Will see if it happens again tomorrow AM.

Volts are different than amps... if the battery is taking the cold hard, that could be a big problem, which seems apparent since jumping it took care of it.

Think of it... if the battery is weak, it won't heat the plugs as much and it will not push the starter as quickly and powerfully. Double whammy.

 

[TDIJetta99]

Here are my stats:

Checked the injection timing (5.8 - 6.2) and injection quantity (6 mg/stroke). I think the timing was in the middle.

This seem about right, or low?

5.8-6.2 isn't a timing number unless you're just looking in group 4, but that doesn't tell you where the pump is set... Go to measuring blocks, group 0, click basic settings, click "tdi timing" and a graph pops up.. You want it plotted as close to the green line as possible.. Do this at operating temperature..

Look here for more info http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-scope/TDIGraph.html

 

[Judson]

I remember accessing that graph at one point. I will double-check it this afternoon but I think it is up near the green line.

Thanks...

 

[TDIJetta99]

Here's mine this morning.. -5F.. Car has been sitting for 5 days.. LOL the door was a little frozen shut.. One bad glow plug, low compression pistons and a race cam..

This video is proof positive that you don't need 200rpm cold to get fuel...

http://youtu.be/jv24TNX50sw

Edit.. Here's how the 24V VR6 started 2 minutes prior..

http://youtu.be/oBkkt72ooNs

 

[TDI Convert]

Mine has started in -5 F and 1 F this week. New battery a month ago really helps. I did have a problem with gelling fuel when it was -5F but a new filter and Power Serve got her going again. I have blocked my radiator 99% with cardboard and this really helps with warm up for short 6 mile commute.

 

[TDIJetta99]

My commute is 9 miles.. half of it (first half) is downhill.. No fuel additives, no radiator blocking or anything and I was at 175 when I pulled in to the parking lot at work.. I let it run for about 20 minutes before I left and ECT was 125F..

 

[VeeDubTDI]

Commonrail @ 19°F http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSCwrWpEJZ4

 

[baldwin_f]

UPDATE: Did not have issue again this morning.

 

[PDJetta]

Here's mine this morning.. -5F.. Car has been sitting for 5 days.. LOL the door was a little frozen shut.. One bad glow plug, low compression pistons and a race cam..

This video is proof positive that you don't need 200rpm cold to get fuel...

http://youtu.be/jv24TNX50sw

Edit.. Here's how the 24V VR6 started 2 minutes prior..

http://youtu.be/oBkkt72ooNs

That's not too bad. My PD smokes much more than that when started cold at 25 degrees F. Has smoked like that when it was brand new with about 2000 miles on it by the first winter.

--Nate

 

[2footbraker]

My BRM started at -15F without being plugged in. Wasn't a very graceful start but it got going after a few seconds.

 

[nokivasara]

Volts are different than amps... if the battery is taking the cold hard, that could be a big problem, which seems apparent since jumping it took care of it.

Think of it... if the battery is weak, it won't heat the plugs as much and it will not push the starter as quickly and powerfully. Double whammy.

The only way to tell if a battery is good using a volt-meter is by measuring the voltage while cranking. It may well show 12V until you put some load on it, if the voltage drops to 10V one of the cells are dead.

My battery is 2-3 yrs old and is already loosing power during cold starts, won't buy that brand again. We've had about -15 to -20C every day for the last couple of weeks and in the morning it starts very nicely (plugged in 2-3hrs before start) but since I don't have any power outlets at work my car sits in the cold.
When the GP light goes out there's barely any power left to turn the engine over but it starts every time, I have good glow plugs and the timing is slightly advanced so the engine starts after 1-2 sec of cranking.
Hoping for warmer weather so I don't have to replace the battery yet

 

[TDIJetta99]

Temperature will affect cranking volts as well.. A fully charged car battery should read 12.65V with no load on it.. Typically you want to see 11V+ while cranking, but in bitter cold temperatures after a long glowplug cycle, 10.5-10.8 isn't terrible if it's cranking at a semi-normal rpm.. You won't get 200rpm in single digit temperatures (see the video I linked a few posts up), but you should get something..

 

[nokivasara]

Temperature will affect cranking volts as well.. A fully charged car battery should read 12.65V with no load on it.. Typically you want to see 11V+ while cranking, but in bitter cold temperatures after a long glowplug cycle, 10.5-10.8 isn't terrible if it's cranking at a semi-normal rpm.. You won't get 200rpm in single digit temperatures (see the video I linked a few posts up), but you should get something..

I agree. The older the battery the more the voltage will drop during a cold start. An old, tired, battery may still work perfectly fine a year or two if the temperatures are warm enough.
A battery in bad condition may fail to crank fast enough at just below freezing where a good battery is still good at -25C..

A good battery is #1 in cold climates.

 

[Ski in NC]

I think as starters age, they tend to drag and cause slow cranking. My 01 jetta has a batt new 18mo ago (oem, the right AH rating), and I've noticed cold starts (25F) have somewhat slow cranking. At 12yr and 200k miles and a gazillion starts, starter might be ailing. This happened on my old rabbit, and new bushings allowed starter to ZING the engine over on start. Maybe the tdi starter is ready for same fix.

 

[LiLredTDI]

Stumbled upon this thread and thought I would join the discussion.

Here is one for the record books. My TDI started at 18 deg F with NO glowplugs working! It took maybe 12-15 seconds of cranking but it started a few times and I even used it. Once it actually started and ran, it would start up easily time and time again even running errands on short trips with no problem. Pop in key, hit starter and vrooooom......... off I would go.

Here is the thread I started trying to figure out how to troubleshoot with VAGCOM as it was too cold to go outside and work.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=375172

Has anyone else had this happen with 4 confirmed, dead glowplugs???????????????

My car must have awesome compression to be able to start at these temps.

I also do not currently have any fuel additive in the tank. Forgot.........

 

[ittrad]

-50C. Yep. That was street parked, with no plugging in. It's just about 13 years old and started in -38C last week, but not without complaint. But I am sad to say her days are numbered. I have never been this upset about parting with a "thing". Maybe it's because she has a name, "Plucky". Drove a new gas model and a diesel today. Going back Monday to look again... sigh. I will miss this car.

Jamie

 

[VeeDubTDI]

-50C. Yep. That was street parked, with no plugging in. It's just about 13 years old and started in -38C last week, but not without complaint. But I am sad to say her days are numbered. I have never been this upset about parting with a "thing". Maybe it's because she has a name, "Plucky". Drove a new gas model and a diesel today. Going back Monday to look again... sigh. I will miss this car.

Jamie

Hey Jamie! Check out a Passat during your test-driving adventures.

-Lawson

 

[LiLredTDI]

-50C. Yep. That was street parked, with no plugging in. It's just about 13 years old and started in -38C last week, but not without complaint. But I am sad to say her days are numbered. I have never been this upset about parting with a "thing". Maybe it's because she has a name, "Plucky". Drove a new gas model and a diesel today. Going back Monday to look again... sigh. I will miss this car.

Jamie

It started at that temp with 4 dead glow plugs? Or it started with 4 working glow plugs and no coolant heater?

 

[nokivasara]

I forgot to run the glow plugs the other day, can't believie it after more than a decade with diesels!
Anyway, it was -8C and as I started cranking I knew that I hadn't run the gp's. Just to see if it would start I kept cranking and just a few seconds later it started spluttering on one cylinder, then they all joined and away I drove

Good tip about the starter getting slower with age, good to be reminded about things like that, I will adress it when it gets warmer.

 

[VeeDubTDI]

It started at that temp with 4 dead glow plugs? Or it started with 4 working glow plugs and no coolant heater?

No coolant heater plugged in. No way it would have started with 4 dead glow plugs - not without a blow torch or something.

 

[LiLredTDI]

No coolant heater plugged in. No way it would have started with 4 dead glow plugs - not without a blow torch or something.

That is why i asked for clairification. I have no idea bow mine started at 18 deg F with all 4 dead. When i removed them i figured maybe 1 was shot but not all of them. I wanted to know if anyone else has expirienced a start at that temp or lower with all 4 bad.

I think i killed mine when i removed the head to check for valve/lifter damage from a TB fail. I removed head and manifolds as one unit by hand and most likely bumped them hard enough to break element.

 

[CommanderShepard]

Since I just purchased my '13 Jetta TDI on March 21st, the coldest it's been so far when I started it has been around 28F and it started right up without any issue. I'm still on my first tank of diesel with just over 150 miles too. I'm so not looking forward to those cold Pennsylvanian winters though when it can get in the single digits or even hover around or below 0 every now and again.

However, with spring just around the corner and supposedly the last cold front of Old Man Winter coming on through this week I shouldn't have to worry about it until early November at the earliest I'd say.

 

[ZipiTDi]

+4℉ for the Passat, but it was a very rough one. Had to turn it on and off three times for the glow plugs to warm it up. Then, it blew a lot of black smoke out the tailpipe. I left it running for 5 mins. before hopping in to drive off and even then I was still limping down the road for at least 3 more mins. That same morning, the Jetta wouldn't start at all. Once the temps got to +20℉ (the next day), it started up. That was pre-glow plug recall and ECU reflash. Had the FrostHeaters installed the following week.

 

[TDI smile]

Around / between 30 F to 40 F below...when living in Edmonton, AB. Have no Block Heater, since I was ready to move to BC's Lower Mainland.

 

[daniel.]

-7C this morning.
The 1.7d lupo started up with no issues...