Brrrrrrr - 20 below now.

josh · Post by **josh** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 10:57 pm

Lost,

Does your's still start well in the cold weather out in Quebec with the original battery? Just curious, as I am in Smithers by the new year.

Josh

Now I am thinking of getting a new battery also... paranoid? *grin*

Jungle Jon · Post by **Jungle Jon** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 8:45 pm

I replaced my battery during the cold snap we had a few weeks ago, and it made a huge difference. My original battery was also quite weak for it's size, but it was probably pretty old too. For the $150 to get a quality battery, the peace of mind is worth it to me.
I used one of those magnetic heaters too last winter. Seemed to make a difference, but got tired of having to slide under the van to pull it off when I wanted to drive. This fall I installed one of these peel-and-stick oilpan heaters http://www.canadianpolarpad.com/ for around $100. Not sure I believe their claim that it heats the whole engine due to 'heat rises' but it definately starts easier when it's been on for a few hours.

Adrock · Post by **Adrock** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 11:33 am

Speaking of cold weather, I just got to eastern BC this week and it is just about -23 right now. My van will not start, I am going to replace the batteries (apparently it is the cold weather edition) since I have not replaced them and they still say mitsubishi and have japanese writing on them. Hopefully that will help things along, but I also need some sort of heater. The peel and stick oil pan one looks pretty good and there is a canadian tire about half an hour from where I am, what kind of temperatures do you use it in? Anybody fitted an actual block heater yet?

Jungle Jon · Post by **Jungle Jon** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 9:14 pm

Hi Adrock, and welcome!
I've started in down to -28 this winter with the peel-n-stick heater, although at that really low temps like that I have to crank it for 10-15 seconds before it will stay running on it's own. I have one of the Temro inline coolant heaters too, but it was installed too high in the engine bay so it doesn't circulate properly. Maybe next year I can get a Webasto, *SIGH*.

docsavage · Post by **docsavage** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 8:11 am

Well, -23 is pretty warm :D

I was able to fir eup my Delica at -30 yesterday morning - Here's my procedure:

- new freshly charged batteries - I keep them on a charger below -20
- magnetic oil pan heater
- 1500 W electcic heater under the 'hood' - I lift the seats, put a blanket over the seats to make a tent, then put in the heater blowing over the head and rad hoses if possible.

After 6 or 7 hours she fired up hesitatingly but ran.

NOTE: Check your antifreeze - most of them are not set up for minus 20 weather and could thicken or freeze in your lines. Pour boiling water over the radiator to loosen it up before starting if it is thick or else she runs really hot and does not dethaw the heater cores.

Just my experience so far.

James

Adrock · Post by **Adrock** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 12:26 am

thanks for the advice.

i bought 2 new batteries and the polarpad peel and stick heater. Seems to do the trick. It took some coaxing yesterday as it had been sitting for a couple days because I couldn't get it started. This morning after having the heater on all night it started up relatively issue free. I'm not here for the long term so the $120 solution was the right one. and the batteries were necessary anyways.

Man, were those batteries fun to get out in this weather though.