Cold weather can effectively ruin your car’s system, leaving you with an engine that refuses to crank up.
But, do you know why your car won’t start in cold weather?
And what can you do to restart your car?
In this article, we’ll go over eight reasons why a car won’t start in the cold weather and then show you what to do about it. We’ll also drop some expert tips to prepare your car for the winter and answer a few cold car FAQs.
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Let’s get started.
Your car may refuse to start in the cold for so many reasons.
Sometimes it could be a dead battery, and sometimes a faulty coolant temp sensor is to be blamed. Needless to say, it’s always best to have a professional look into the problem.
To give you a heads up, here are some common problems behind a no-start in cold temperature:
A cold battery is the most probable reason why your car fails to start in the cold. If you get a whining noise at ignition, a dead battery may be preventing the starter motor from turning over.
But why?
When a car is kept in an unheated garage, the cold weather slows down the chemical reaction inside the car battery. A cold battery will fail to produce the same amount of power as a warm battery.
The engine oil also becomes thicker in the cold weather. As a result, it requires twice as much power from the battery as under normal conditions.
Colder temperatures can cause the engine oil, transmission fluid, antifreeze, etc., to thicken. It requires more effort to pump them through the engine block.
This extra effort to pump the oil also strains your battery.
And if your battery is not holding an optimum charge, your car won’t start.
If you drive a diesel engine, bear in mind that diesel fuel also becomes gel-like in extreme cold and can take longer to pump and power your engine during ignition.
Getting fuel to the engine requires more than just filling the gas tank.
The fuel system includes a fuel injector, a fuel pump, a fuel pump relay, and several fuel lines that transfer fixed amounts of fuel from one point to another.
In some cases, moisture in a fuel line can freeze and result in a lower fuel pressure or blockage.
But how does the moisture reach the fuel line?
The gas or fuel in the fuel tank needs to vaporize first before it can burn.
When the level of the gas in your fuel tank drops, it gives more room for condensation. This condensation moves from the gas tank to the fuel line. When the temperature drops, it freezes and prevents the gas from reaching your car’s engine.
Thick oil like 10W-30 can make it difficult for your engine to crank when the temperature goes low. To counter this, most of the new cars today use a thinner oil like 5W-20.
If you are unsure which engine oil to use, check with your vehicle’s user manual or visit your nearest auto parts store, where someone can guide you.
If you drive a car manufactured more than 30 years ago, it’d likely have a carburetor fitted inside. The carburetor mixes fuel coming from the gas tank with air to make it combustible in the engine block.
The small nozzles on carburetors are highly susceptible to dropping temperatures and can easily get clogged with ice, preventing the engine from powering up.
In this case, here’s a possible solution:
Note: Most cars today don’t have a carburetor and use a fuel injector to eliminate this hassle.
If you have a new battery and it keeps going flat, it could be the car’s alternator.
You can find an alternator replacement at an auto parts store. However, since the alternator is connected to the engine and your car’s battery, we recommend contacting a mechanic to come over or calling roadside assistance to get the alternator fixed or replaced.
More often than not, a car won’t start due to a bad starter motor. When there’s a faulty starter relay, you’ll hear a clicking sound on turning the ignition switch, followed by the engine refusing to turn over.
Even jump-starting your car won’t work with a bad starter. In such a situation, it’s best to head to an auto parts store or call a mechanic to diagnose and replace the starter motor.
The spark plug in your car ignites the air-fuel mixture in the fuel system that helps your engine to produce power.
If your spark plug is aging or if its wires are worn out, it may fail to do its job.
Ideally, you should get your plug inspected or replaced every 30,000 to 90,000 miles.
Now that you know what may be giving your engine a cold start, let’s see how you can address these issues and restart your cold car.
Here are some options you could try to crank up your engine when your car suffers a cold start.
The headlights, car heater, and other electronics use the car battery to power up. If you live in extremely cold weather, it’s best to turn them off before you try to start the car.
This’ll help direct the battery’s charge to power up the engine. Once the engine starts, let it run for a few minutes before switching on the heater or any other electronic accessory.
Corrosion around the battery cables or a battery terminal can lead to poor battery voltage, causing transient current flow that prevents your car from starting.
Locate the battery and check the negative and positive terminal as well as the battery cables for signs of corrosion.
Disconnect the battery terminal and give the crusty substance a solid cleaning with a mixture of baking soda and water. Even if the battery cables are corrosion-free, tighten the clamps before turning on the ignition switch.
If your car is low on engine oil, it can lead to friction between parts and can damage vital engine components.
Low engine oil also puts additional strain on your car battery as the engine takes more time to crank up. And if the battery is already cold, it’ll fail to power your car. To prevent this, use a dipstick to check your engine oil level and, if needed, fill it up.
Dipping the clutch as you turn on ignition disengages the gearbox. This way, the battery only needs to power the starter motor.
This reduces the load on the battery and improves the chances of your engine turning over even if you have a cold car. However, this cold start trick only works with manual transmission vehicles.
In case you have a dead battery, you can try to jumpstart your engine with the help of a running car that’ll work as a charger.
To jump start a vehicle, you’ll need a jumper cable to connect your car’s battery to a running car.
Turn on the running car and let it run for a few minutes before turning on your vehicle. Avoid turning on the heater or other electronic accessories, as it will lead to an unnecessary drain of the battery. For details on jump-starting, check out this Dead Car Battery guide.
Unless you’re well-versed at auto repair, you shouldn’t attempt fixing your car issues yourself.
Ideally, you should get hold of a mobile mechanic that’ll come to your home when you can’t start your car on cold mornings.
In that case, your answer is RepairSmith!
RepairSmith is a highly convenient and affordable mobile auto repair and maintenance solution with ASE-certified technicians.
With RepairSmith:
For an accurate cost estimate of car starting repairs, just fill this online form.
Knowing how to troubleshoot is one thing, but it’d be better to avoid having a cold car in the first place, right?
Here are a couple of tips for car owners to prepare their car for the cold weather:
It’s advisable to get your car battery, tires, and engine oil checked before the winter sets in. You can also get winter tires from an auto shop to brave the icy roads and bad weather conditions.
Turn on the ignition and leave your vehicle idle for 30 seconds at least. This gives your engine enough time to warm up and avoids putting unnecessary strain on the engine block.
If the temperature in your area falls below -15°C, getting a safe engine block heater from an auto shop is a good idea.
A block heater warms up the coolant and the engine, allowing the engine oil to flow freely through the engine block.
If your car uses diesel fuel, you may need a block heater even before the temperature drops that low.
Besides using an engine block heater, diesel fuel cars also have glow plugs that work as a heater to warm up the incoming fuel and air for efficient fuel combustion. Glow plugs have indicators that show when the car is warm enough to start.
If you don’t have a block heater or glow plugs, you can park your car in a heated garage or buy a battery blanket to cover the battery.
Before winters start, get a thorough battery health check from a professional car repair service like RepairSmith.
If your battery is more than three years old and you only use your car for short trips, charge your battery once every week. And if it still fails to hold a charge, it’s best to get a new battery.
Since starter fluid is more combustible than your car fuel, it ignites easily from the spark plug and generates more force for your engine to turn over.
Car owners can remove the air filter and spray a very small amount of starter fluid into the air intake. Then, replace the air filter and turn on the ignition.
Note: We strongly recommend calling a professional mechanic to look into the problem before you try this method, or you can end up causing severe damage to your engine block.
The job of the coolant is to prevent the water in your car’s cooling system from freezing in cold conditions. Besides that, it also provides lubrication to the moving parts of the engine. If the coolant level is lower than the full line, you must top it up to prepare your car for the cold.
Replace your windshield wipers as they can develop cracks due to above-freezing temperatures.
Also, remember to lift up your windshield wipers at night to prevent them from freezing onto the windshield and breaking on cold winter mornings.
Now that we have all the causes, solutions, and care tips sorted, let’s go over some cold car-related FAQs.
Here are some common questions that car owners have when their car won’t start in cold conditions:
The cold and other adverse weather affects your vehicle in many ways:
A fully charged new battery will only freeze at -57°C. However, if you have a dead battery, it can freeze at around 0°C. Even if you thaw the battery, the charge will be weak and won’t last long.
The engine oil doesn’t freeze but becomes highly viscous in the cold.
It’s advisable to use engine oil with a lower W rating, like 5W-20. The freezing point of petrol is below -50°C, so you can rest assured that the gas in your fuel tank won’t freeze any time soon unless you hit arctic temperatures.
There are a few things you can try out when your car won’t start in the cold.
But as always, it’s best to avoid this situation from happening in the first place. Use the tips we mentioned to prepare your vehicle for the winter to avoid struggling every morning, trying to crank up your engine.
And if you’re wondering who you should contact when your car won’t start in cold weather, give RepairSmith a try! Their ASE-certified technicians will get your cold vehicle up and running right in your driveway!
