# anyone else using a diesel cruze in extreme cold?



## mountainmaxman_2810 (Oct 20, 2021)

Hey guys, I recently bought a 2015 Diesel cruze and i love it, but when the temp goes below -30c (-22F) outside it wont' start. I have a new 800 CCA battery (biggest physical one that can fit) a battery maintainer and a base pan oil heater (GM don't offer an engine coolant heater) and a battery blanket (electric) and it's always plugged in. no engine codes, glow plugs all good. What else can I do? has anyone else experienced this? anyone else maybe put in a coolant hose circulation heater? it's the last thing I can think of doing other then gutting out my garage and trying to squeeze it in there lol


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

When you say it won't start, do you mean it won't crank at all, or it cranks but won't fire?

We had a night where it was down to -16F here and the fuel gelled and it wouldn't start until I went and got some Diesel-911 to ungel it.


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## mountainmaxman_2810 (Oct 20, 2021)

MP81 said:


> When you say it won't start, do you mean it won't crank at all, or it cranks but won't fire?
> 
> We had a night where it was down to -16F here and the fuel gelled and it wouldn't start until I went and got some Diesel-911 to ungel it.


cranks over slow, we use winter diesel fuel here all year long so it never gells, if i remove the battery and warm it up and boost it it will start


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

@boraz is operating in similar climatic conditions.

My guess is that your fuel is gelling. 

Questions:

1) How many KM on your odometer?

2) What diesel fuel are you using?

3) When was your fuel filter last changed?

4) Are you using an AGM battery?

5) Are you using a battery maintainer with a program for AGM batteries?


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

its -40 here currently

last jan i couldnt start the car in -40, 2yr old battery,slow crank, winter fuel

i dragged it in the shop at work, let it thaw, added fuel antigel, changed fuel filter (was close to being due and i hadnt drained it in awhile) and got new battery....it started after that and continued to in the coming days -30 and -40

in november i put in new glow plugs, dunno if old ones were bad or not, couldnt hurt right?

ive got antigel in the car now, never used prior to last yr (in 2014 car started in -51 unplugged) but fool me once...

will try to start it later today to drive home 900 kms....im not expecting easy start, hasnt ran in 2wks, but i have ability to jump it

i bought lower hose circ heater, will be installing when i get home to see if that helps

up until last yr, she was reliable in any temp, but last winter and this winter, not so much


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## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

I'd think keeping the oil warm would work better then water. 

What are the semis doing that shut down for the night? They don't have glow plugs.

Fuel SHOULD be treated for the climate. I Can't imagine very good business if people had to antigel everytime they fueled up. Those that fueled in the south and ended up north would have more problems then the locals.

Like semis.


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

snowwy66 said:


> What are the semis doing that shut down for the night? They don't have glow plugs.


They have either glow plugs or a grid heater.


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

snowwy66 said:


> Fuel SHOULD be treated for the climate. I Can't imagine very good business if people had to antigel everytime they fueled up.


Around me (Central Illinois) we had one -25F stretch recently. After that, lots of places put signs on the pumps saying the fuel was winterized to -10F and if you wanted better you can buy additives in the store.

Don’t use anti-gel? 
That’s between you and God ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

mountainmaxman_2810 said:


> cranks over slow


Something is going on with this battery. Even if you have it with a warmer and tenderr, if it's cranking slow and won't fire (but will crank right up if you warm and boost it) that means the battery is suspect.


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## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

Barry Allen said:


> They have either glow plugs or a grid heater.


Do you have a link?


Cuz I see nothing. 

They don't have glow plugs and the oldest I've driven was 88. 

Not finding anything on grids except for pickups. And those are smaller motors.


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

Starting a Diesel engine is more of an art than a science, but it's a combination of the two.

Engines with pre-combustion chambers definitely benefit from glow plugs. They screw in so the hot tip is in the swirl chamber (Ricardo chambers) where a very crude pintle injector squirts the Diesel fuel in at comparatively low pressure (maybe 3,000 psi) than you find in modern engines. The design of the chamber is such that the fuel begins combustion and it's a swirling whirlwind of tumbling air that does the best it can to atomize the fuel and then expand the flaming air into the main cylinder for as complete combustion as is possible. These engines have glow plugs because the air gets squished into a combustion chamber that is cold soaked and latent heat from compression immediately soaks into the metal of the cylinder heat. You need glow plugs for an easier cold start.

The much higher compression ratios of older diesel engines definitely help, because when you are running something like 21:1 you get a lot more heat from compression to start the engine. With modern engines that are lower compression (my Cruze engine is 16:1 and the Mazda Diesel engine is 14:1) you will definitely need glow plugs.

Direct injection engines are easier to start because the larger size of the cylinder means less heat wicks away into the cylinder wall and the cylinder head. When the air in the cylinder is swiftly compressed, you typically get an easier start because some heat might be soaked away around the edges but the center of the combustion chamber still has enough heat to light off some Diesel fuel injected. This is even easier with glow plugs or a heater grid.

Some older Diesel engines like the Detroit Series 71 had optional intake air heaters. It was a heating element in the air filter box and you flipped a switch to do some heating, waited a little bit, and then cranked the engine to fire it off. The air warmed in the intake box helped light off the engine.

What you will find with modern semi tractor diesel engines is probably one of a few things:
1. Engines that have a block heater, so you can warm them to start.
2. Engines that have glow plugs, so you can easily start them.
3. Engines that have intake heaters, so you can easily start them.

If you don't have any of those three things, the engine starts because it benefits from being a big-bore engine where it has enough heat from compression to fire off some cylinders to start.


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

mountainmaxman_2810 said:


> glow plugs all good


Did you check them or replace them?


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## mountainmaxman_2810 (Oct 20, 2021)

Barry Allen said:


> Something is going on with this battery. Even if you have it with a warmer and tenderr, if it's cranking slow and won't fire (but will crank right up if you warm and boost it) that means the battery is suspect.


I changed my battery to the 800CCA one and no issues since. the one in there was the larger size one but only 725CCA and it tested ok, I guess it needed that little bit more


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## mountainmaxman_2810 (Oct 20, 2021)

Thanks for all the replies guys. Seems like the 725cca battery was not enough (even though it tested ok) i put in an 800 one and she started the next morning (and since) with the temp at -37c (not windshill) plugged in so im happy with that.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

That makes sense, as the vehicle comes with the higher CCA battery.


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

how i started my car in -40 unplugged, one hour with heat and tarp, fired up like summer


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## onerpm49 (Feb 26, 2017)

mountainmaxman_2810 said:


> Hey guys, I recently bought a 2015 Diesel cruze and i love it, but when the temp goes below -30c (-22F) outside it wont' start. I have a new 800 CCA battery (biggest physical one that can fit) a battery maintainer and a base pan oil heater (GM don't offer an engine coolant heater) and a battery blanket (electric) and it's always plugged in. no engine codes, glow plugs all good. What else can I do? has anyone else experienced this? anyone else maybe put in a coolant hose circulation heater? it's the last thing I can think of doing other then gutting out my garage and trying to squeeze it in there lol


Try putting some kerosene in it about half and half


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

onerpm49 said:


> Try putting some kerosene in it about half and half


Oh God, don't do that. Kerosene almost never is ultra low sulfur as is required with Diesel fuel. You will get a huge amount of sulfur in most kerosene that you buy at a pump.


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