V70 tdi cold starting probs

[willi]

Hi Guys...With all this heavy snow its been between -8 and -10deg at night. My tdi is generally fantastic at starting from cold, but when the glow plug light goes out (which i sometimes do for 3 times in a row) before starting, it still doesnt want to know. On the third attempt if i can keep the engine turning and turning it will eventually fire up. From then on not a problem. Its only been since this severe weather. Anyone got any ideas please.
All though the battery is 600amps its quite old, its now turning the engine slower and slower so i now have it on charge.

[timbo_1975]

Well, for a diesel, cranking speed is no.1 priority. Either your battery is getting weak, or the starter lazy if she is sluggish to spin. Perhaps even a corroded connection. Check all of these first. Pull off ALL the connections and clean them, even if they look good.

Even with a million glow plugs it's not going to start if it's not being flung over fast enough.

See if you can find a garage with a drop tester (aka heavy discharge tester) to ascertain if the battery is weak, or the starter lazy.

[Baj]

Cold weather kills batteries. Period.
If it is old then it is probably past its best and the sustained cold weather is doing it no favours.

As mentioned any decent auto factors should be able to test it.

[MrMopp]

Check the glow plug relay , if you're having to turn the key 2-3 times 100% either the relay has gone or you have glowplugs down :-)

[t5 stealth]

Check the glow plug relay , if you're having to turn the key 2-3 times 100% either the relay has gone or you have glowplugs down :-)

i would say check the glow plugs aswell as mr mopp says,if 1 is not working it will affect the others & affect the starting,if u hav to put the light on & off a few times then the glow plugs arnt doing much...
usualy the only thing that stops a diesle is the glow plugs...
i change loads as winter gets nearer,1st thing people have grief with lol

[willi]

Thanks guys...Looks like 3 options then. Battery,glow plugs or relay.
Had the battery on charge all night so i will try that first. If not then its going to be one of the others..
I will keep you posted.

[willi]

Just put the re-charged battery on the car, let the glow plug go out and she turned over fast and fired straight away. :-)
Having said that the temp gauge was 3deg C and not -8 to -10deg C... So i will do the glow plugs and relay after xmas as they prob have not been changed before, and with 191k on the clock i think its about time.
Thanks again for all your help.

[timbo_1975]

When she fires, does she immediately catch on all 5?? If so, then the glow plugs are fine.

[v70torslanda]

Battery performance varies as the temperature, the colder it gets the more the peformance degrades. It could simply be that the temperature has dropped outside the range at which the battery can perform. It may simply be that the battery is old.

Does your battery match this spec?

'Voltage 12 V, Battery Capacity 77 Ah, Cold-test Current EN 760 A, Length 278 mm, Width 175 mm, Height 190 mm'

If not I suspect it's not big enough!

[timbo_1975]

Someone could have swapped it for the petrol engine spec, which is only 55 or 65Ah ??

[willi]

Yes she fires on all five when starting, well she did this morning as the battery was fully charged,but when i had probs at a lower temp i had to floor the throttle and keep turning the engine which spluttered a bit before firing.
The battery on the car is 12v 70ah, 600amp.

[timbo_1975]

New battery is the cheapest first option then....

[willi]

Yes it certainly looks that way. :-(