[Vwdiesel] Second rant on cold starts

[Val Christian]

Sorry about the second post on the same topic.  The battery indoors is 
very good thing.  Pulling batteries can be a pain, because of radios needing
reprogramming, and on some gassers, they loose their ECM and TCM programming.

But a battery at 0F puts out a small percentage of what it does at 80F.
And oil can be a real drag at 0F.  

A compromise is to keep a charger on the battery, which keeps it warmer, and
topped up.  Not as good as indoors, but batteries are hard to preheat.  Lots
of thermal mass (which is why taking them inside works so well).

When the oil congeals, I use a propane torch, worked gingerly over the 
oil pan.  When it's real cold, the propane won't vaporize well, and the 
torch needs heating.  But that's more of a problem below -15F.  Pulling the 
dipstick is an easy way of getting a finger on how you've heated the oil.
It's not as advisable in blizzard conditions because the snow will collect
on the dipstick when you inspect it.

Sorry about the second post, and I'll try to stop ranting.

Val






> Level three is in addition to the heaters......drain the oil, take it 
> inside and heat it in the sink by running hot water in a basin containing 
> the oil bucket. Level three also requires that the battery be brought 
> inside overnight and taken out and put in the car when it needs to be 
> cranked over, after the warmed oil has been returned to the engine.
> 
> Doyt