Ten below, Plugged in 3 Hrs; Now what?

wolfman · Jan 16, 2009

Ten below zero at daybreak, stayed at 2 or so all day; Plugged the coolant heater in for three hours, have some kerosene mixed with the diesel fuel-still no start. Even gave her a little mist of starting fluid. Battery recent and on normal days seems strong. Now what shall I try?

Hoss In ME · Jan 16, 2009

A space heater? Hoss

Anonymous-0 · Jan 16, 2009

Did your fuel gel?

MN Scott · Jan 16, 2009

Make and model?

onefarmer · Jan 16, 2009

Did you run it with the kero in it, so it is in the system? What oil (30W, 15W-40, 10W..) are you using? How fast is the engine turning over? Try putting a charger on it set to boost for a little extra spin.

My MF265 has 10W oil and with a bit of batt boost and either, it will start. At -20 we also plug in the block heater. Hasn't been that cold for several years here in mid-Mich.

buickddeere · Jan 16, 2009

Take the battery into the house. Warm and charge the battery.
What size engine, what size heater, what type of heater? Is the tractor parked out in the wind or in a shed?

glennster · Jan 16, 2009

if it has glow plugs, dont ether it!!! not sure if you have a truck or a tractor by the post but, you got to get er warmed up to start. if you can get your hands on a torpedoe heater and canvass or tarp, cover it the best you can and get the heater to warm up the engine area. get the battery fully charged, cycle the glow plugs 3 or 4 times before you try and start it. if all else fails, you need to get in inside a warm building to thaw.

wolfman · Jan 16, 2009

Tractor is in a shed-open end shed. Its a 684 International with the 239 cu in Diesel. This weather is extremely cold. The tank coolant heater works but is old and likely not so high in wattage. I keep thinking it deserves a new heater, but regretfully I put the job off.

Heat Houser · Jan 16, 2009

If you have decent cranking speed you can try a large hair dryer blowing into the intake stack while trying to start it. Provided you are getting fuel to the injectors, it sounds like you don't have enough heat of compression to ignite the fuel when it sprays. By raising the incoming air temp, you may get enough compression heat to get it to fire. Is your coolant heater working? Is the block getting warm? Had one that was getting the thermostat open and thermosiphoning thru the radiator and not the block. Needless to say, it was cold blooded.

wisbaker · Jan 16, 2009

co-worker of mine told me when working up near Regina Alberta they had to use a bulldozer to keep the road open in the winter, the only way they could insure it would light would be to drain the oil and coolant out when they were done running it. they'd keep the oil and coolant in the heated building near the wood stove and dump the warm fluid back into it next time they wanted to start it. Maybe drain your coolant get it warm and stick it back in warm?

Anonymous-0 · Jan 16, 2009

Probably need to do all the steps suggested here. Take the battery inside and charge it up. Put more kero or even gasoline in the tank to break up the gelled fuel. Leave the fuel mis set overnight. Leave the block heater on overnight. If you have a torpedo heater, cover the tractor with a canvas tarp and warm it up. If your battery charger will boost the battery use it, otherwise use jumper cables from a running vehicle with a good generator. Use a blow dryer or heat gun to heat the air into the air intake.
Remember the transmissison, rear end, power steering, and hydraulics are as cold as the engine. Hold the clutch down while cranking.

ericlb · Jan 16, 2009

all these posts should get you running, but i would like to add that in this situation when you do get it fired up engage the clutch very slowly and carefully the first time to see if the tractor will move, in reverse if possible just incase the tires are frozen to the ground [ in reverse the tractor wont rear up on you, makes the heart beat more regular], also slow engagement will allow you to make sure that water hasnt found its way into the rear end or tranny and made it one solid lump of ice,

Anonymous-0 · Jan 16, 2009

GOT to be out of the wind. Get an in-block heater not a rad hose heater. Keep the battery up. Do not rev when it starts and don't dump the clutch after it starts.
15-40 oil.
This works for our Ford 5000.
I wish you luck because everything in this weather is difficult.

paul · Jan 16, 2009

'Summer oil' can be pretty hard to turn over.

Cold battery will lose power - I will put a booster jumper on mine to help it spin the engine over faster. Be aware this can be hard on glow plugs tho, too much juice for some....

Did you put the fuel thinner/conditioner in _before_ the cold snap? You got any water frozen in the filter? Probably just change to a new filter, put #1 or anti-gel along in with fuel into the filter.

Should fire up if the heater heated the coolant at all; you have fuel flow through the filter; the oil is thin enough & the battery is warm & charged enough to get it spinning fast enough.

--->Paul

olgentdc · Jan 16, 2009

, All are good ideas . I need to get a magnetic block heater for the Yan-murray here //// It has taught me that ///:By parking a running engine next to yawnmar, Running a aluminunm dryer flex pipe from running exhaust pipe to engine compartment , preferably manifold side , I call It HOT PIPING ,.......... after at least 10 minutes, It will take Me that long with jumper cables , prepping , and just warming myself before the startup , Usually I am getting my cattle feed buckets filled ect,lol.. If you have a thumb primer ,, Push that until firm resistance and or good overflow is observed.. then , Put flex pipe over AIR inlet to cold tractor and Start . Sometimes I will give it a whiff of ether,if it fails to start , But lots of times Simply by sucking in warm exhaust that Yanmar will Wake Up and go to Work for Me. best of luck , jim

John B. · Jan 16, 2009

You need to keep the block heater plugged in longer at that temp. If you were trying to heat up a piece of steel with a torch you would need a bigger torch or keep heating longer to reach a desired temp, Right??

Also batteries are only at half capacity at 32 degrees. So your way below half capacity, a trickle charger would help.

Paul Janke · Jan 16, 2009

Heat on the oil pan should help a bunch. I have used a magnetic heater which I put on the SIDE of the pan instead of the bottom so the heat will cause thermosiphon of the oil instead of burning it. I think a heat lamp on the pan would also do a pretty fair job because it tends to be radiant heat, that is it will heat what the light shines on more than the air it is in. In cold weather my Dad used to put a pan of gasoline under the engine and light it off. Watch for wires which could burn. Not a good thing, but it got the cows fed.

IH2444 · Jan 16, 2009

Stand on one leg and spin around whiule singing the barney theme song. It will start.

MN Scott · Jan 16, 2009

OK, you have a cold blooded german diesel. Do you have your kill/start lever in the start position? Having it in the start position to add extra fuel is about the only way a german will start in cold weather. Also you need a good high powered block heater. Also need fully charged batteries with heavy cables and clean conections on both ends. Is your starter in good condition? Germans need full cranking speed for any hope starting in cold weather. Also a low viscosity 10W oil helps a bunch. Good Luck!

Anonymous-0 · Jan 17, 2009

If I had a tractor that had to start every day in winter I would build a heated insulated garage, costly but the only way to go.A miller furnace and an inside tank so you can use # 2 fuel.A low temp thermostat can keep the building at 40 degrees.An SS chimney that starts at the ceiling will do.

Nebraska Cowman · Jan 17, 2009

Yeah, Anytime I think it's gonna be that cold I leave the tractor pluged in as soon as I get done using it in the afternoon for the next day. And a battery charged hooked up to keep the battery warm helps too.

billonthefarm · Jan 17, 2009

Depends on how big the heater is on each particular tractor how long I have it plugged. The cowman hit the seceret to getting them started, a battery charger set to 2 amp or something like that will keep the batteries up and warm and makes a big big difference.
bill

showcrop · Jan 17, 2009

One more thing to eliminate as a problem. You can take your battery to the parts store and get it load tested. A battery can read that it has a good charge by specific gravity but not have the cold crank amps needed for this weather. Also last Sept. I had one that wasn't cranking well and I was boosting it from the pick-up when I noticed the ground was heating up. Tightened the ground and it spun right over. Had the same thing happen to my dump truck. Worth Checking.

gitrib · Jan 17, 2009

Many years back while in Iowa we had a dairy and had to start a tractor everyday. We had the tractors equiped with thermostatic controled tank type heaters. When thw tractor was done for the day and put in the shed the heater was plugged in while still warm so all the tank heater had to do was maintain the tempeture. Never missed a day,We always disincaged the clutch so you were not turning over the transmision with heavy gear lub. Some times it took a little time to get the old rear end turning. Have seen engine killed just getting it to move. That was back when they run 140 SAE gear lub and you got lazy and did not change to 70 SAE.

gitrib

Lou · Jan 17, 2009

Yes a good space heater and a good tarp over the tractor, safely , tractor thinks its in Miami

JiminIA · Jan 17, 2009

Not sure what tractor you have, but if the 3pth arms have settled down, make sure you lower the control lever so they are not trying to come up when you crank it, it makes a bi difference esp. on the older tractors...Jim

Brian Jasper co. Ia · Jan 17, 2009

I used to bring the battery inside on my old Chevy LUV years ago in sub 0 weather. If I did that, it would fire right up in -30. I have used a torpedo heater to warm engines up to get them started in cold weather. It worked great on my old Cub Cadet to get it fired up to blow snow.

wolfman · Jan 17, 2009

Thanks, all, for all the good ideas. Plugged tank heater in at daybreak (11 below zero), put trouble light over fuel filters with insulation under & around them; starter charger on trickle charger on the battery; fed the cattle with a gasoline tractor. Round bale customer came around 11 with his trailer to be loaded, cranked the 684 loader tractor & it fired quick, no ether. Block was a bit warm. Ran at high idle a few minutes and started to flutter & soon died like the fuel was shut off. Loaded the trailer with the spear on the gasser. Tried to bleed the fuel filters, no fuel. Tried to drain bottom of filters, no fuel. Sounds like not enough anti-gel.

Ten below, Plugged in 3 Hrs; Now what?

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