Cold start in calgary:( (1 Viewer)

[Scud1373]

well got a taste of the cold start this morning. and it was not a savory taste at all.

yesterday had to crank a few times but it started up fine. lat night it got to about -24 ish in the NW and I didn't think to much of it. Went out this morning and noticed I forgot to plug the dang rad hose heater in last night. DOH...

so I plugged it in and tried to crank the beast over about an hour later. she fired up on the 3rd crank and ran smooth.. about 2 min later she started to cough and then died.

has anyone had this issue with cold starts where it runs then dies? I have not been able to get it to fire back up yet. she's plugged back in and I plugged a battery blanket in as well.

so questions.....

1) how long do people plug their lower rad hose heater for? I've read most people just plug it in for 2 hours.. should I leave it plugged in all night?

this makes me miss the old gas 4 runner. :|

thanks

JOhn

 

[ducatiman81211]

block heater

Mine has the block heater; I plug it in about 2 or 3 hours before planning to drive it from dead cold. If it gets crazy cold, I will plug it in overnight. My truck lives in a garage, not outside in elements.
Once started, does not die. I have hand throttle, so I usually keep rpm's about 1000 until I take off, then I turn it to 850 rpm's, and when warm.

 

[Scud1373]

yeah I wish I had a garage right about now.

well AMA is coming over to give me a boost cause my damn battery is now ca-poot from cranking. I think I'll just start leaving her plugged in all night.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

Just curious....when it sputtered and quit....did you notice if the fuel filter light was illuminated? ..... 1978HJ45 ( 1990 LJ78 )

 

[lumpy70]

That's what I was thinking, moisture in the fuel line.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

Water or some other type of contamination would be my guess. ...........1978HJ45

 

[T0Y0TA]

Hey,

I didnt have any problem to start my Bj74 in -24 and I dont have plug in on my Bj74.
All I do is just turn the key on and let Pre heat do thier work then I use hand throttle to 1500 rpm
then turn it on then it started no problem

P.S. I live in NW Calgary too

 

[Scud1373]

Hey Toyota!

really that's cool to know there's another cruiser near me, I'm right on the corner of Kensington and Crowchild. where abouts are you?

no lights came on when it sputtered.. kinda choked for 3 chokes then just stoped.

I did do an oil change yesterday, a rad flush and a transmission flush, and also changed all the filters, refuled last night... she purred after that.

 

[Scud1373]

I think the fuel may have gelled which may contribute to the not re-firing back up. Gonna try to heat the injector pump up a bit with a hair dryer since AMA is so slow.

 

[Scud1373]

Alright. found my problem.... somehow the wire that connects to the rad hose heater unit died on me.... weird?? went to Canadian tire and they did not have replacement cords for the unit but had whole units for 35 dollars. Said what the heck i guess I'll have a extra rad hose heater as a spare now. plugged the new Cord in and the unit get's hot instantly. YAY!!

I also ended up buying a battery boost/charger unit incase I have a run in with draining the battery again.

 

[crushers]

take the new heater back with the old cord and tell them it don't work.

an hour should be lots with a lower rad hose heater, they heat up fast. what truck is it?

 

[Scud1373]

Oh Wayne I though the exact same thing with returning it... you know my truck!! it's the good old 91 lj78!!! haha

the truck started up fast and smooth this morning! it was GREAT!!!

well that's good to know that it only needs about an hour. I left it plugged in all night last night in case.

 

[crushers]

gotta love the lower rad hose heater...
<and here i was bitchin about -1C yesterday ... there are a lot of things i really miss about Alberta and a couple i don't>

 

[Ratpuke]

At -40C my HZ froze up on me. It stalled and when I could get it to fire up again it ran really rough. I shut it off and had a buddy come pick it up and haul it to a heated shop. I added more diesel fuel conditioner and a small bottle of water remover suitable for diesel applications. Truck ran without a problem the rest of the winter.

Mind you.... I have a webasto so that makes life a lot easier.

 

[fzj75macka]

I also have a battery blanket and a cold front they make a huge difference on the cold days.

 

[lumpy70]

Webasto, Webasto, Webasto

That's all I can say.

 

[crushers]

wabasto is nice if you have tons of cash. (i love them)
a lower rad hose heater is the next best thing, cheap and works like a danm.

 

[Scud1373]

ok back to the drawing board... 2 problems after the -30 last night. I found that the lower rad hose heater did not kick in last night again my rad was stone cold (are the chords to the rad heater prone to failure???? what the heck is going on with this?) though she did start perfect even stone cold but I am sure that my diesel is gelling. after she started again after 3-4 min of idling she started to choke so I tried increasing the hand throttle and nothing.... pulled the throttle in the engine bay and nothing... BLAH then she stalls.

 

[fzj75macka]

Crappy Tire carries power diesel products and they make an antigel+cetane booster which is the cat sass and about the only additive I will use on anything.

 

[Scud1373]

the bloody cord just keeps coming loose. I fidled with it and lone behold it heated up super fast and I burnt my hand.

this little unit is just a royal pain in the you know what. I saw somewhere that somone used a long zip tie to fasten that cord but I think that might melt off pretty fast. does anyone on this forum use some type of fastener to clamp that cord on tight?