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Starting the engine at -25C

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2001 - 2007 V70
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2004 - 2007 V70 R

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oragex
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Re: Starting the engine at -25C

Post by oragex »

abscate wrote: 06 Jan 2018, 12:26 Vostok station , ANT

-89.2c

Anything else is a heat wave.

:-(
It's a good place to select future candidates for a journey to Mars
I think the eyes don't take long to freeze at such temps :shock:

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Post by oragex »

vtl wrote: 06 Jan 2018, 10:57 Friend reports his 05 starts at -54C routinely.
That may be an exaggeration, especially the routinely part. It's not a normal temperature even for the northern siberian cities. Or perhaps he meant the windchill factor.

This is the forecast of one of the coldest places in Siberia and also among the coldest on Earth

https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ru/14 ... a/oymyakon

I remember about 10 years ago watching the temperatures in Alaska on a daily basis. Several weeks in a row with -40 lows. I remember well feeling happy I was living in Canada and not in Alaska at that moment.

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Post by vtl »

Nope, thermometer breaks -50 C routinely up there: https://www.wunderground.com/history/ai ... reqdb.wmo= I was on a business trip once there, it was already snowing in the beginning of September.

I helped the poor guy to write a letter to Volvo HQ in regard to coolant temperature sensor that is calibrated only down to -48C. The car thought it is broken and was turning on the engine fan at full speed. At -50 C weather.

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Post by JimBee »

In weather down to around 10 degrees F and above, my '93 850 starts instantly, like when the first plug fires. Below zero takes a couple of turns of the crank. Coldest it has started here in Minneapolis is -14 F and barely. Oil is 10w-30 full synthetic. I think the starter is a little weak. Battery is good, 960 cca, new last summer. At -7 F and below, really struggles to turn over and sometimes stops turning approaching TDC, then retreats a bit. But after a couple of tries it fires up. Last winter was similar. That's my winter car. Summer maintenance will include an oil change and rebuilt starter.

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Post by ArchieBrown »

oragex wrote: 06 Jan 2018, 12:43
vtl wrote: 06 Jan 2018, 10:57 Friend reports his 05 starts at -54C routinely.
That may be an exaggeration, especially the routinely part. It's not a normal temperature even for the northern siberian cities. Or perhaps he meant the windchill factor.

This is the forecast of one of the coldest places in Siberia and also among the coldest on Earth

https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ru/14 ... a/oymyakon

I remember about 10 years ago watching the temperatures in Alaska on a daily basis. Several weeks in a row with -40 lows. I remember well feeling happy I was living in Canada and not in Alaska at that moment.
The super cold weather over there is making news during a stinking hot summer here in Australia. I had to look in the manual to know what the little yellow light was on my 850's instrument cluster. It was indicating that it was 2 degrees or colder. Still a novelty to see that little thing light up.
I'm struggling to imagine 25 below zero.

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Post by abscate »

JimBee wrote: 06 Jan 2018, 21:49 In weather down to around 10 degrees F and above, my '93 850 starts instantly, like when the first plug fires. Below zero takes a couple of turns of the crank. Coldest it has started here in Minneapolis is -14 F and barely. Oil is 10w-30 full synthetic. I think the starter is a little weak. Battery is good, 960 cca, new last summer. At -7 F and below, really struggles to turn over and sometimes stops turning approaching TDC, then retreats a bit. But after a couple of tries it fires up. Last winter was similar. That's my winter car. Summer maintenance will include an oil change and rebuilt starter.
Jim ..I harvested a like new one from my 99 parts car if you are interested. I'll check part number and pm you
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Post by oragex »

JimBee wrote: 06 Jan 2018, 21:49 In weather down to around 10 degrees F and above, my '93 850 starts instantly, like when the first plug fires. Below zero takes a couple of turns of the crank. Coldest it has started here in Minneapolis is -14 F and barely. Oil is 10w-30 full synthetic. I think the starter is a little weak. Battery is good, 960 cca, new last summer. At -7 F and below, really struggles to turn over and sometimes stops turning approaching TDC, then retreats a bit. But after a couple of tries it fires up. Last winter was similar. That's my winter car. Summer maintenance will include an oil change and rebuilt starter.
10w is really thick at temps below -10F and alike. Even though it's synthetic, the 10W grade realy isn't worth on a vehicle, I'm not sure on which circumstances such thick oil at cold would be ideal? Given the low temps in your area, I'd surely use a 5W-30 or even better a 0W-30 or 0W40 all in synthetic. The 0W grade oil is almost as fluid at 0F as is a regular 5W grade at 60F, with a fresh battery the engine will crank like a breeze. Plus, the engine warms up quite more quickly 8)

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Post by QUARKS40 »

oragex wrote: 07 Jan 2018, 07:24
JimBee wrote: 06 Jan 2018, 21:49 In weather down to around 10 degrees F and above, my '93 850 starts instantly, like when the first plug fires. Below zero takes a couple of turns of the crank. Coldest it has started here in Minneapolis is -14 F and barely. Oil is 10w-30 full synthetic. I think the starter is a little weak. Battery is good, 960 cca, new last summer. At -7 F and below, really struggles to turn over and sometimes stops turning approaching TDC, then retreats a bit. But after a couple of tries it fires up. Last winter was similar. That's my winter car. Summer maintenance will include an oil change and rebuilt starter.
10w is really thick at temps below -10F and alike. Even though it's synthetic, the 10W grade realy isn't worth on a vehicle, I'm not sure on which circumstances such thick oil at cold would be ideal? Given the low temps in your area, I'd surely use a 5W-30 or even better a 0W-30 or 0W40 all in synthetic. The 0W grade oil is almost as fluid at 0F as is a regular 5W grade at 60F, with a fresh battery the engine will crank like a breeze. Plus, the engine warms up quite more quickly 8)
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Post by Rattnalle »

Most people in Sweden who live where winter actually means winter buy the car with a engine heater installed from the factory. Fuel fired heaters exist for both diesel and petrol on the P2s. There are a lot of electric options as well even though Volvos OEM option with a heater pad stuck on the side the engine block doesn't do much good. Nowadays there are models with a circulation pump for the coolant as well.

A much better solution than running water-thin oil.

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Post by oragex »

Rattnalle wrote: 07 Jan 2018, 11:19 Most people in Sweden who live where winter actually means winter buy the car with a engine heater installed from the factory.
Are these the coolant warming heaters? I've found a video on internet. However this device only seems to me it fastens up a little the coolant warming by heating faster the coolant once the engine fires up. The way it's installed in the middle of the hose, it doesn't seem like it will warm the entire coolant around the block unless the engine is running and the water pump is spinning ?


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