My car struggles to or doesn't start in cold and wet weather? Why?

Question

I think it might an issue with my battery? Should I get a new one? Especially as we are entering the winter months! Would a service help? I don't know much about cars so any help appreciated! Thanks!

Answer 1

It is only an issue with your battery if it slow in turning over. Batteries don't actually "go bad" for quite a number of years if maintained. Sealed batteries don't last as long as you can't service them. You should get yourself a battery charger. They are relatively cheap and can come in handy. If your alternator isn't working your battery would have died by now. However to ensure proper charging look at your gauge usually somewhere next to the speedo. If it shows above 12v when running that is not the problem. Make sure your battery post are corrosion free, you can get a special tool or a wirebrush works too. Wear glasses as corroded battery acid in the eye is painful. Make sure clamps on battery post are tight, then smear in vasiline is ok, but I prefer coppercote. If your battery is not sealed gently pop the caps and look inside, you should see no visible corrosion, if you do the battery may need to be changed, you should the water level, if you don't then add pure distilled water, not tapp water, not mineral water, pure distilled water, until the level covers the fins inside the battery. Next problem could be rotor cap, this should be changed once a year anyway and is cheap to replace. Make sure you follow the plug arrangement, that is important to the firing sequence for the engine. Next inspect your spark plug cables, if there is any cracks, change them out, if not unplug the first on from the spark plug, check for corrosion on the lead, if nothing it's ok. If something clean it. Next pull the plug, the plug should be dry and unscorched, there should be about a 2mm gap. If the spark end of the plug is wet, then it is not burning effectivley, change the plug, if it is scorched and covered in carbon (black dust) then clean it, you may not be getting propper fuel mixture to that cylinder.(that's another problem) Note if you change one plug you don't have to change them all but it's recommended. Check all plugs one at a time don't mix up cables again is important to firing order. If it a fuel injected engine you may want to run a tank of premium high octane fuel with some injector cleaner. It won't be the starter, when this starts to go you'll know, it makes a terrible noise. You could also change to a slightly less weighted oil, if you are running 15-40, change the oil to 10-30, you could even go to 5-30, but 10-30 should be suffecient, it doesn't get that cold in the UK. Your oil and filter should be changed every 5000 miles. Check you air filter, an easy way to check this is to hold it up to sky, if you can see daylight through it, it's ok, if you can't it's not. You should change this when you change your oil anyway, it's cheap. Another thing you could do it when you have your plugs out look into the cylinder with a flashlight, if you see scorching on the piston, this is a clear indication of a timing and or fuel mixture problem. You may want to have you timing belt/chain, changed. Get a professional, to long an explaination. You should have a complete service every second oil change or 10000 miles, unless you car is brand new, then go by manufacturers recommendation. You can change your oil nand filters your self it is easy. Warm you car up, shut it off let it sit for 10 min. In the undercarrage there is an oil pan, you can't miss it, it on the bottom of the engine, it will have a drain hole, put a pan(make sure it's big enough to accomodate the oil in the engine, I use a five litre basin, this is pretty much suffiecient for all cars, except a few american muscle cars and pickup trucks) underneath and take out the plug, let drain, be careful the oil may be a bit warm. Locate your oil filter, usually looks like a fat coffe cup, they come in a multitude of colors, you'll know if you got it when you unscrew it. You will need a tool for this, I prefer the cloth filter wrench, but chain ones are more common, and are also effec tive. If it has been on for ages or was put on too tight previously it may be a nightmare to get off, and you may buckle the filter, if this happens don't dispair, get ready to get a bit dirty and drive a screw driver thru it. It's messy but you'll get better leverage and it will come off. You may experience an urge to curse at it, I find this releases tension. Get your new filter, smear a light film of new or used oil(doesn't matter) on the gasket(black rubber thing on the filter) screw it on hand tight, usually that is all I give it but I don't know how strong you are, so you may want to give it a quarter turn with your filter wrench, no more, do not overtighten, unless you want to have a fight getting it off next time. Fill you engine with perscribed volume of new oil and start car, check for leaks, if none after 5 min, shut off engine let it sit for a couple of minutes, pull dip stick, wipe it, put it in and pull it again, check level is in full/safe area, if not add as required, and voila done. Any automotive shop will be able to help you with making sure you get all the right parts for your vehicle. Hope this helps. By the way WD40 is not the fix all, I would not recommend sraying this on any electrical components that are housed, ie, spark plug wires, WD40 is highly flammable and evaporates slowly, get the hint. Sparks, flammable, confined space... Use a certified solvent based contact cleaner, cleans contacts very well and evaporates in seconds. Also if you only use your car in the city puttering around you may want to take it on a good run for a 100 miles or so help burn off some of the carbon build up.

Answer 2

Depends on what the symptoms are. If the car doesn't turn over as quick when you turn the ignition, it may be tome for a new battery. If the car turns over OK, but just doesn't fire, it could be electrical. As the winter draws in, cars get damp overnight which affects the electrical contacts on the leads etc. Get some WD40 and spray all the cables connecting to the spark plugs. Put vaseline on the battery terminals too. Other than that, you should get your car serviced at least once a year at a minimum.

Answer 3

How old is your battery? If its 3 years old or more it may be time to bite the bullet and get a new one but you can get it load checked to see how it works under a load. If you need a new one get one with a lot of cold cranking amps CCA. Also what weight oil are you using. A 5W30 would be a good weight oil to use in the winter time as the thicker oils make it that much harder for the engine to turn over. Synthetic oil flows real well in super cold weather. Have you tuned up your car lately? That will help too.

Answer 4

Suggestions:
1) New battery- they last around 3 years on modern cars and can fail in wierd ways.
2) (If Petrol)- New spark plugs leads. They break down electrically with time and are fairly cheap to replace. Replace ONE AT A TIME so you don't mix them up.
3) (If Petrol)- New spark plugs. They aloso break down electrically with time and are fairly cheap to replace. When refitting plugs thread them in at first by hand and finish off with a plug wrench to avoid cross-threading the things into the cylinder head like I did once on a Astra GTE.
4) Air filter- When blocked (not always visually obvious) the vehicle is starved of air. Cheap to replace.
5) Buy big can of WD40 and spray on every electrical wire and connection you can find. 'It is a Water Displacer'. (If Petrol) remove the distributer cap (usually two clips or screws) and soak it inside with the WD40. Check for any hairline cracks in the cap. If you find any replace it immediatly as moisture gets in and screws with them in wet weather.
6) Check your battery is charging OK. Start car and put full headlights on. Rev car and lights should brighten. If you have a cheap voltmeter you should register around 14.5V across a battery when the engine is being revved. Much less and the alternator isn't charging properly.
Finally sevicing or at least changing the oil is always a good idea and often improves running.

Answer 5

If its petrol its one of three things.

1) Spark plugs have too wide-a gap resulting in spark going anywhere but into piston (new spark plugs required)

2) Spark leads are corroded and not connecting to plugs properly resulting in insufficient power to generate a spark accross gap (new spark leads required)

3) most commonly on Fords and Vauxhalls the distributor cap has damp getting in. Again results in spark going everywhere but where its supposed to go. remove distributor and wipe clean, then replace. If it starts ok then you need a new distributor cap.

None are major problems but unless you eliminate the distributor cap you can't detect the other 2.

Once distributor cap is eliminated remove a plug lead, put a spark plug into it and get someone to turn engine over while you watch it but don't touch it. Secure it on engine and just watch. If you see a spark jump across and your not using spark plugs in engine you probably need new spark plugs. if you do use spark plugs in engine and it sparks, you may have a problem with the fuel pump having a slight break in the wiring, but one of these three will almost certainly be the cause. The fuel pump not being powered properly is really just a last ditch theorey that gets little more than talked about

Answer 6

Is the car diesel or petrol ????? If it diesel, then I suggest getting the glow plugs checked. If your car hasnt been serviced in a while this may be worthwhile as the fuel system may be blocked. If your car is petrol it may be producing a weak spark, due to leads, plugs etc. If it was your battery your car would just click and not start or wind over very slowly. Is it doing this ?? or is it winding over normally but just not starting ??

Answer 7

Is the car a petrol or diesel model? What is the age of the car? What model?
Some of the answers already given will be helpful depending on the car.

Don't go to a garage and tell them "I don't know much about cars" unless you know and trust the mechanic. Find out first what the problem is likely to be. Most common faults are quite simple to sort out and can be done at home.

Answer 8

During the winter months in alaska, we needed a heater for the battery and one for the oilpan. Usually only needed for severely cold climates. I would try a service first, have the problem diagnosed by a pro before you start buying things you may not need.

Answer 9

This is a tricky one as you do not give really much information. If you can tell us the following you will get better more exact answers.
1. Is the vehicle a petrol or Diesel
2. What do you mean by not starting, will it not turn over or turns over slowly or turns over ok but will not start.
otherwise people are shooting in the dark and if you take any advice it could waste you money.

Answer 10

Damp may be a problem. Give the leads/distributor cap (inside if you can) a good spray of WD40.
Batteries are more powerful warm. Cold weather - at or below zero - lowers their capacity. Go to Halfords and ask them to test it.