truck won't start
Just when you thought it couldn't get any better...
posted by Jenna at 7:44 AM
Monday, January 24, 2011
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- Name: Jenna
- Location: Jackson, New York, United States
Enjoy the story of a young writer living in Washington County with her fancy dogs, sheep, lots of chickens, fiber & meat rabbits, geese, ducks, turkeys, a hive and a garden. Expect to hear a lot about mountain music, the civil war, local food, and my friends along the way. It's a big time folks.
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15 Comments:
Sorry
you've got a big case of the Mondays!!
ditto that....but its gonna take all day to dig out anyway! I'm not calling uncle yet, but I am calling in late once again. It'll be blooming green soon. Keep your chin up!
Oh how I feel for you this morning! As suggested yesterday by one of your commenters save up if necessary and get a good (highest starting amp you can find)portable jump starter. Keep it charged all the time. Ours has both 110 outlets and a 12v port. In a power failure it can charge a cell phone, run a radio if the batteries fail as well as jump start our car, truck and even backhoe! It was around $100 and well worth it just for the peace of mind. Think of it as an insurance policy!
Try bringing the truck battery inside and let it warm slowly, it's worked for us before.
This spring/summer some pipe insulation might be a great investment as well. We used normal faced batts to wrap our waste pipe while we were still working on insulating our walk out basement wall and it worked well.
Best of luck!
I have no useful knowledge to give you but I hope things get better! *hugs*
You can also use the Power Dome to run your computer and WIFI during a power outage. Then you don't feel completely cut off from the world. Best $149 I ever spent.
Is your basement heated? I would think the only place you would have standing water that could freeze in a drain pipe - like under the tub - would be the trap. Heat the trap? Pour boiling water down it?
Have you considered having an engine block heater installed on your truck? When we lived in SD where the temps routinely are below zero for the entire winter all vehicles had engine block heaters. You simply plug in the cord when you get home and the car/truck starts up the next morning. All the business lots and shopping lots had posts at the end of the parking space where you could plug in your truck while at work or running errands. They aren't very expensive so you might look into this. On a side note, when we moved to Texas with our SD vehicles everyone wanted to know if they were electric because of the cord hanging outside the hood.
I'm a certified master truck mechanic with 30 years experience and can give you some advice on getting reliable winter starting.
Batteries lose available cranking amperage on a steep curve as they get colder. In areas where it gets extremely cold, you need a battery with a high cold cranking amperage (CCA). You will see this labeled on top of the battery. Your Ranger uses a group 58 battery and I would recommend around 800 CCA. You could add a trickle charger, but with a battery that has enough CCA reserve, it isn't really necessary.
You should have your fuel filter replaced at least once a year, preferably in the late fall.
The state of tune will effect cold starting. Fresh spark plugs and wires will greatly aid cold starts. As spark plugs wear, the electrode gap increases making it difficult for the spark to jump the gap.
Correct starting procedure is to turn the key to run, wait 5 seconds for the fuel pressure to build up and then crank the engine over. Keep your foot off the gas pedal.
If it turns over very slowly or just makes a clicking sound, stop cranking because you will damage the starter and battery. If necessary, charge the battery with low amperage because high amperage charges will cause battery damage.
If it turns over fairly normal but won't start, hold the accelerator to the floor while cranking. This shuts off the fuel injectors and if the engine is cold fouled, they will usually start. If it starts under this circumstance, it indicates that a tune up is order.
Once the engine starts, leave the lights and fan off for a couple of minutes so the alternator has a chance to charge the battery back up. This will extend the life of the alternator and battery.
Periodically run a can of fuel injector cleaner through the fuel system. Deposits on the tips of the fuel injectors will cause the spray to become droplets and that can cause spark plug wet fouling and a no start in cold weather.
Hope this helps.
Ugh-- Sorry jenna. No wonder your body is demanding rest. Call in, take some pressure off yourself if you can.
Do you have the option to work from home? If you could do that a couple days a week it would save on some of the truck travel trouble and allow you a little extra time to be on the farm. Just an idea, I know I am just a far off reader, but I think about this as a possibility that might help when I read about your truck and the snow etc. Good Luck!
I do feel your pain and wish I could help.
Odie
Another affordable option is to go to Autozone or Napa and get a heated dip-stick. You plug it into a extent ion cord on the cold nights and it slightly warms your engine by warming your oil. This will ease some of the load on the battery. This is a pretty cheap fix.
Glenn, I'm taking notes.
Engine block heater, easy install: http://www.jcwhitney.com/tank-type-engine-heaters/p2000837.jcwx You just plug it in when you get home from work, and unplug it in the morning. Unless your battery is old, you'll never have starting problems again.
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