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Hi,

I tried searching but didnt get any concrete directions.

I am planning to head off to HP for about 5-6 days starting tomm and wanted to check on any tips for the same.

I hear that Diesel freezes at subzero temps. I am planning to make this trip in my Getz D.

Just how should one start a cold vehicle in Snow....??

What care should i be taking while starting my car in Snow bound areas..??

Am a complete noobie at Tech Talk and hence any and all advise is appreciated.

Kindly specify the grada of engine oil used in your car.

The engine oil grade has a direct relation with the temperature in which the car is likely to be used.

According to me : nothing to be worried about as all the current manufacturer have atleast ensure that it caters to minus 15 degree centigrade & the temperature where you would be going would not be close to that so enjoy.

Rest the suggestion is switch on off twice in the morning before you start that mean at least twice you have switched the electric heater & that all that is needed

Rest enjoy your drive & drive safe.

In sub zero temperature areas you need to keep following point in mind

1) Try not parking your car in open space at night time.
2) This is absolutely true that the diesel freezes at night time, for this keep the tank full as much as possible, lesser quantity means easy freezing. Mainly the diesel freezes in pipes and fuel pump, if such situation arises you need to just wait for sun to come. :)
3) Regularly check you coolant, it should be proper, never try adding pure water in radiator.
4) If you go to some more higher altitude which has -ve temperature then check radiator if coolant has not frozen.
5) Run the car ideal for at least 3 minutes in morning.
6) Keep a rope and chain in case if you need to put on wheel ( you only put it on one wheel for anti skidding)
7) Do not run the blower continuous as it creates drowsiness
8) If you get stuck in bad weather ( snow) reduce tire pressures for better grip.

IF i remember something more will let you know.
Welcome to my home town and enjoy you stay :thumbs up

I dont know which oil is there right now. Am just leaving for getting the 10K service done, will check with the service centre and get back.

Thanks Pragya. Will definitely keep them in mind. Where do you belong from..??

In sub zero temps Safari DiCOR user manual suggests to mix kerosene with diesel. Here is the snippet from page#92 of Safari DiCOR user manual.



I think GetzD would have similar ambient requirements- check your user manual?

-BJ

One more piece of advice. Never brake hard or accelerate too fast on icy surface. The car will skid and one can loose control. I learnt it the hard way :-(

You will not see such low temperatures in HP. The vehicles are designed to take care of normal low weather conditions.

Coming to your point on diesel freezing, like most fuels, diesel is a mix of hydrocarbons, and the components have different freezing points. As the ambient temperatures drop toward 0 degrees C, diesel begins to cloud, due to the paraffin in the fuel solidifying. As the temperature drops the molecules combine into solids, large enough to be stopped by the filter leading to higher viscosity, turning into a non-flowing gel at temperatures as high as -19 °C (-2.2 °F). In colder regions special low temperature diesel contains additives that keep it in a more liquid state at lower temperatures.

Secondly starting a diesel engine in very cold weather may still pose considerable difficulties resulting in heavy load on your battery. Ensure that your battery is in a good condition, do note that batteries performing normally might not work properly as the chemical reaction in a battery slows down due to low temperature.

Use lower grade (viscosity) engine oil, refer to your vehicle manufacturers specs.

Normally morning temperatures can drop upto -2 or -3 in winters, rarely lower.
So do the following
1. At night before retiring for sleep, put couple of blankets in engine bay, one covering the engine from top, and other blocking the radiator. This prevents heat loss
2. Morning give 2-3 doses of glow plug before starting engine
3. Run engine on idle for around 10 minutes before marching.

10W40 instead of 15W40 engine oil also helps. Also ensure that your radiator has coolant, and not water. Some people fill water instead of coolant to save money.

If temperatures drop below -5/-6 or you expect them to drop so, add couple of liters kerosene to full tank of diesel. It will prevent wax formation and gumming of the lines.

^^^
Errr! Does Crdi does use glow plugs.??

Don't worry it will start. but don't give a long start, give two three start with gaps until it starts smoothly.

But do keep it idle for atleast 10 minutes before moving on.

It should! A 1.4 liter engine, even if direct injection may not start easily at sub zero temperatures if there are no glow plugs!

I am from Shimla.
i have experienced even -15 and that is point when everything freezes, the climate is unpredictable so be prepared.
We had fiat which used to have water cooled engine and one fine day when we were about to start the car we found that our radiator is blown out.
later out we found that our engine block had developed crack due to expansion of frozen water in it.
Thanks now to coolants and new car technology.
Do not travel at night times.

But Common rail does not use glow plugs. thats the point of direct injection.

It will start. believe me. All tata truck have been using DI from long ago. and When we had them it never gave any trouble in Darjeeling.

One thing we do regularly is that, we start our car and keep it on for 15 minutes morning and evening even on days we don't use them.

CRDi cars come with glow plug lights, so i am sure they come with glow plugs. The owner manual suggests you to wait for light to go off before starting the engine. In Direct Injection engines the light normally lights up for very short duration compared to relatively longer wait in IDI engines such as Indica and Safari TCIC.

Agree to the suggestion made by fellow Bhp-ians. As per my experience :

a. In order to prevent heavy load on your battery kindly disconnect the radiator fan.
b. Give atleast 4-5 doses of glow plug
c. Incase it fails have a bottle of petrol and cotton. Open the air filter and keep the petrol drenched cotton in the filter box without the filter for about 2 min.Then try giving a start.

:)

^^^
haven't opened too many hyundais. Will definitely check next time.

thanks