MSSLGECKO Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 Remember that television show from way back when (Kids Do The Darndest Things)? My Subaru watched those darned kids and took notes. The Wonder-Beast decided not to catch and run when i turned 'er over yesterday after it had been sitting for about 15 minutes in single digit (F) temps. Then it wouldn't fire later either. Went to meet the tow truck this morning and just to confirm that it wasn't running I tried to start it. And wouldn't ya know, there she goes. Here's my "HELP" thread from yesterday: http://ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=28067 If anyone has a good idea as to what it was that was wrong and most importantly how to fix it in a jiffy next time, let me know! I would say frozen gas, but our pump gas has the same thing as HEET in it already and it had just been running like a top (I hadn't driven it enough to get it warmed up) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canajun2eh Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 There could still be water in the fuel. The amount of gas line antifreeze added by the oil companies won't handle excessive condensation. I'd say you should still treat your fuel with additional gas line antifreeze, just to be sure. You could also consider using Ethanol blended fuel. My cars like this latter option very much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSSLGECKO Posted January 8, 2005 Author Share Posted January 8, 2005 So, maybe some HEET would be a help? Can anyone give me a guage on how much I should put in since there is already some of this 'anti-gasfreeze'? Its been fine all day long, but it has been warmer too. (still below freezing) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canajun2eh Posted January 8, 2005 Share Posted January 8, 2005 I live in a "metric" country; quantities have been "americanized" for your benefit. Around here, gas line antifreeze can be bought in bulk (1 qt, 1/2 gal, etc.) or in handy but relatively expensive single-unit (4 fl. oz.) containers. I don't know about that "HEET" stuff, but gas antifreeze is usually made of methyl alcohol. In small quantities, that shouldn't cause any problems. To keep things running, it's generally recommended that you add 4 fl. oz. of antifreeze to each fill-up of up to 15 gal. Add more antifreeze if you're filling more than 15 gal. Pour the antifreeze into the fuel filler before filling up to ensure proper mixing. To avoid condensation (the source of most problems), NEVER let the fuel level in the tank fall below half full. If your system has frozen (contaminated fuel, perhaps), adding LOTS of antifreeze and then waiting an hour or more sometimes works. Add up to 6 of those 4 oz. containers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Vickaroo Posted January 8, 2005 Share Posted January 8, 2005 Let me tell you about darndest things the subbies do... DRTYGRL wont go into "R" when she is cold.... Has to warm up about 15 miles!!!! So while she is warm I either have to back her in or put it in "R" Awwwww she has a mind of her own... But I LOVE HER!!!!! Vicky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. RX Posted January 8, 2005 Share Posted January 8, 2005 There are a couple of things that aren't being stated here that might have a bearing on why. First, what time of day was it when you first tried to start it and what time of day was it when the tow truck arrived? Second, how fast was it turning over? At those temperatures, oil gets thick, and therefore would cause the engine to turn over slowly. Also at those temperatures, batteries are not up to their best as far as cranking power. It could have been that the combination of the thick oil and poor cranking power of the battery didn't provide enough juice to create a good spark. It might have been warmer (just enough warmer) later when the tow truck came, and there was just enough juice to get a good spark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSSLGECKO Posted January 8, 2005 Author Share Posted January 8, 2005 Dr. RX - The outside temp. was 7 Deg. F when it wouldn't start and about 20 Deg. F when it did. The engine seemed to be turning over perfectly fine (normal speed) but wouldn't catch and run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted January 8, 2005 Share Posted January 8, 2005 the coldness tends to eat batteries alive, even the ones that are "made" to handle the cold weather. It probably had enough juice to turn it over fine but not enough to also give it enough spark. Another thing is that I've heard about coild going bad in colder weather or their problems tend to arise more so when its cold. Depending on how old your battery is and the coil, my suggestion would be to replace them both. Another thing since you're replacing your battery is to do a voltage drop and/or resistance check on the battery cables with a DVOM. Sometimes, they'll drop enough voltage to give it some problems, especially when the cold is getting to the battery as well.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. RX Posted January 8, 2005 Share Posted January 8, 2005 Dr. RX - The outside temp. was 7 Deg. F when it wouldn't start and about 20 Deg. F when it did.The engine seemed to be turning over perfectly fine (normal speed) but wouldn't catch and run. I think that was enough of a change in temperature to help with the supply of electricity. At 7 degress, like Caboobaroo stated, there probably wasn't enough juice in teh battery to supply energy to everything, but later, when it was warmer (if you can call 20 degrees warm lol ) there probably was. There are several things that you can do. You can get a new battery that has great cold cranking power, or you can try to insulate your battery from the cold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSSLGECKO Posted January 8, 2005 Author Share Posted January 8, 2005 Insulate - Any good ideas/ways of doing this? Are you thinking just bundling it w/ some sort of insulative material? Or are you talking an entire contained system w/ a heat supply and a satelite uplink w/ cool neon lights. EDIT: (if you can call 20 degrees warm lol ) The difference between 20 and 7 is that w/ 20 you're talking short sleeved shirt possibility for short periods of time; whereas with 7 it's more like long sleeved breaching on sweater territory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tin Soldier Posted January 8, 2005 Share Posted January 8, 2005 The difference between 20 and 7 is that w/ 20 you're talking short sleeved shirt possibility for short periods of time; whereas with 7 it's more like long sleeved breaching on sweater territory. 7 is deffinitely long sleeves and shorts weather. It's a Pennsylvania thing... you wouldn't understand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torxxx Posted January 9, 2005 Share Posted January 9, 2005 my car did the same thing today... I drove it all day.. went out start it about 5 pm, and it would idle but thats it. the fuel lines froze that fast.. I rolled it into the shop for a half hour while I went and got some HEET and it started when I came back.. Temp. being at like 10 F and then going to up 30 F or so is enough to make them freeze up.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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