Zoltan Finks wrote: > Ah! thanks. Yeah, I read in the owner's manual a couple interesting things > on cold weather starting: They said not to interrupt the starting procedure, > otherwise you may not get it started, or words to that effect.
Yes. That's actually very important. Your best bet is to keep cranking it until it starts or until it becomes obvious the cause is hopeless. If you stop, you have to start the process all over, but with a weaker battery. I heard once from a VW mechanic that if the engine's going to start, it will fire within the first 15 seconds (though it may take more cranking than that to actually get it running.) 15 seconds doesn't sound like much, but it seems like a LONG time when you're cranking an engine. > Interestingly, the indy that did my engine swap said, when I asked > him the best way to start in the coldest conditions, not to touch the > pedal at all, period. That's probably true on a fairly new engine. My manual mentions pumping the pedal three times in very cold conditions, and briefly depressing it while setting the idle thumbscrew on 240Ds, but says nothing about depressing the pedal while cranking. HOWEVER, I find that my car won't idle when it's first started without a little pressure on the accelerator. For that reason I hold about 1/4 throttle while cranking. I think this is compensating for a degree of wear that Mercedes didn't envision when writing the manual. I'm sure a new car would never need this. I ease off as the revs pick up, then only hold enough to keep the idle above 700 RPM. I don't wait for any warm-up at that point, I just put my left foot on the brake, shift into Drive, and drive off. Within a block the engine is warm enough to idle on its own. > I discovered a few things in getting the old ill-fated engine to start, one > of which was to keep that starter engaged 'til the thing was running > adequately. This was counter to what I was used to. Yup, it's very different than a gasoline engine, where you let go the first time it fires. It takes some getting used to. A lot of people overlook it because the manual mentions it, but doesn't really call attention to it. David Brodbeck '83 300D Turbo
