Car does not start during cold weather

[litpost]

This is very strange situation. 

 

I have Avensis T25 2005 years old, 1,8 gasoline engine.

At winter time here we have usually -10 C and sometimes -15 C or even -20 C outside temperature. Problem starts approx. at -5 C when 5 starter cranks is needed to start engine.

At -10 C its needed to do 10-15 starter cranks.

At -15 C it goes up to 20 times or even not possible to start because the Battery gets depleted.

 

Two car electricians have tested it and did not find any problem. One of them suggested to take ECU out (when outside is warm) and place it in fridge for a night and then put it back in the morning and try to start the engine. I did that as he told (ECU cooled down to -12 C) and engine started without any problem on first crank.

Here is important to say that problem does not depend on engine temperature at all. It depends only on outside temperature.

[flash22]

It's the fuel any moisture in the fuel will freeze the engine will crank until it can combust the fuel, i suggest you get an engine heater fitted

Extreme temperatures will kill a weak Battery

outside temperatures will be a lot lower with wind chill -10 can be up to -25 degrees

[litpost]

@flash22 I think this can be possible cause.

Instead of buying engine heater maybe it is cheaper to drain fuel tank?

[Stivino]

It’s 100% not moisture in the fuel.

[litpost]

@Stivino any thoughts what it can be?

[Stivino]

21 minutes ago, litpost said:

@Stivino any thoughts what it can be?

Nope. Without seeing it I wouldn't like to hazard a guess.

[Cyker]

Might be dodgy contacts on e.g. the starter motor? Metals contract in the cold which may be enough to stop enough current flowing if the contacts are already a bit iffy.

Does the starter sound weaker when its having trouble, or sound the same no matter what?

One thing you can do to see if it is the fuel is spray some Easy Start into the intake while the engine is cranking; It's basically spraying highly volatile fuel into the intake to help it to start. If that helps it might well be a fuel issue, if not I'd lean more towards some electrical issue, maybe spark plugs, corroded HT leads or coil packs or something?

 

[litpost]

@Cyker Thanks for trying to help 🙂

I have changed starter brushes recently, have cleaned contacts etc., so it is not a starter. Starter sounds the same as usual and do its job really well.

 

You have directed me on one issue I need to check maybe - it is fuel pressure at injectors. It can be that the fuel pump is too weak to supply enough pressure. Can be fuel filter in tank issue as well.