While you may not need to warm up your car as much as you once thought, what should you do if your car won’t start in the cold weather?
If you do try starting your car and aren’t successful, it might be because the batteries aren’t completely charged.
“As the temperature drops, so does your car battery’s power. Before you break out the hot chocolate and curl up by the fire, make sure your battery is ready for winter,” AAA notes. “Otherwise, Jack Frost will quite literally be nipping at your nose while you’re stranded with a car that won’t start.”
According to AAA Automotive, starting a vehicle in cold weather can strain your car battery.
“It may need up to twice the amount of current than normal to start the engine when temperatures take a dive. AAA
Automotive Research Center reports that at 32°F, a car’s battery loses about 35 percent of its strength,” the agency states. “When temperatures plummet to 0°F, it loses about 60 percent of its power. If your battery is teetering on its last leg, a cold snap could be the crowning blow that leaves you stuck with a car that won’t start.”
Warning signs your battery may be dying
If you’re unsure if your battery battery could be in trouble this winter, there are some signs you can watch for.
AAA says if your battery shows the following signs, “it may be time to recycle and replace it”:
- The battery is more than three years old
The average lifespan of an automotive battery is three to five years. With the increase of electronics in vehicles, this number may skew closer to three years.
- Lights look different
If your headlights are dim and appear yellow instead of white, your battery’s power may be declining. You might also notice that interior dome lights appear dim or flicker, and warning lights may display on the dashboard.
- The car horn sounds strange
When your car horn sounds less emphatic than usual, your car battery could be on the fritz.
- Electronic accessories fail
Signs your car battery is failing include your radio, heated seats, or cell phone charger not working as usual.
- It doesn’t look or smell right
Sometimes, a simple visual inspection or smell test is all it takes to know your battery is in trouble. If you notice a sulfur or rotten egg smell, or your battery is swollen, cracked, or corroded, it may be time for a replacement.
What can you do?
There are a variety of methods you can use to get your car running again, according to JD Power.
Here are a few of the suggestions:
- Warm up the battery. You will increase the chances of starting the engine. To do this, you can flash the high beam for 20-30 seconds.
- Turn on the ignition. If you drive a car with an injector, wait a few seconds for the fuel pump to start working.
- Remember to pull the lever if your carburetor has no automatic choke.
- In cars with a manual transmission, before starting the engine, depress the clutch pedal to disengage the frozen transmission from the motor. In vehicles with automatic transmissions, skip this step.
- Try to start the car. The starter should be turned on no longer than 10-15 seconds, as it can overheat. Do it again after 1 minute passes.
- If the starter operates normally, yet the car does not start after three attempts, try depressing the gas pedal and then try starting again.
- If the starter does not turn, the most likely cause is a dead battery or the starter itself.
Should you warm up your car in the cold weather?
With single-digit temperatures and wind chills as low as -30 in the Chicago area — enough to cause frostbite in as little as 10 minutes — you may feel the urge to warm up the car engine before driving.
While that may keep you feeling a little more comfortable when you hit the road, it may not help your vehicle run better. And in some cases, it could hurt it, experts say.
AAA Automotive recommends drivers only allow their engines to warm up for a short period of time, saying it’s a “myth” that warming a car up in cold weather can improve its performance.
“Start the engine and allow it to idle only for the time it takes you to fasten your seat belt,” AAA said. “This ensures that lubricating oil gets to all of the engine’s vital parts. Driving the car normally and avoiding hard acceleration brings the engine to a warmer temperature faster, and also reduces wear and exhaust emissions.”
Frozen pipes? What to do if your pipes freeze and how to prevent it as extreme cold hits
AAA added that longer idle time in winter is typically OK, as drivers are often clearing snow and ice from the windshield and other car parts.
Excessive idling can take its toll on your engine, experts at Carfax say, affecting the cylinders, spark plugs and emissions system. According to Carfax, idling for longer than 30 seconds could reduce fuel economy and also cause wear on your car.
While warming up cars for a while during the winter used to be a common practice, that has changed in recent decades. When vehicles had carburetors, specifically in the 1970s and 1980s, it could take several minutes for the right blend of air and fuel to be delivered to the engine.
Without the correct blend, cars would sputter, stall and leave drivers stranded, Carfax said.
By the late 1980s and early 1990s, all car manufacturers had completed the transition to electronic fuel injection. That process uses sensors, which work with fuel injectors to ensure the correct air-fuel mix is delivered properly.
