-30 and wont start

Title says most. 89 renix. New pluggs, wires, cap, rotor, grounds, tps. Car started fine last week in colder temps, wont now. I am at wits end and ready to torch it. Battery is only 2days old, died the next morning.

Won't crank enough to start???? You need to get a good charge on the battery or jump start it. Then check across the battery terminals while running, with a voltmeter. You need at least 13.5 volts. If not, it's a bad alternator, voltage regulator, or wiring. If 13.5 is good, the new battery could be bad.

Been my experience starting gets iffy below around -15, real iffy below -20. Figure out someway to heat up the motor and battery, I used to use a drop light, I now have a heating blanket. The heating blanket is rubberized (waterproof) and about the same size as the motor compartment. It rolls up for easy storage. I also throw an old moving blanket over the top of the hood.

Putting a pulse charger on the battery with it switched to the maintenance position (constant trickle charge) helps keep the battery warm and fully charged.

Minus thirty and your oil gets real thick, the starter has trouble turning the motor over. It has been so cold here on occasion, that when I pulled the oil dipstick the oil left a string attached to the dipstick tube, kind of the consistency of Honey. The motor turns over really slow, you need to heat and thin the oil out some.

If mine won't start in the first 15-20 seconds I figure I'm pretty much beating a dead horse, more fuel isn't going to help. That is when I give it a shot of ether (quick start). You really want to avoid flooding the motor. Easy on the quick start, it can explode if you over do it.

I drilled a 3/8" (10 MM) hole in the elbow over my throttle body and put a rubber plug in it. Open the throttle by hand, a 2 second squirt of ether through the hole and it most always pops over.

A trick I learned in the military that really works. Don't let it sit the whole night, go out and start it about halfway through the your down period (day or night), usually around 2 A.M. or 12 P.M. and let it run until it is at operating temp. and the volt meter has settled in. The neighbors may not like it, but when their cars won't start the next morning (or after work) you can laugh at them, then offer a jump.

The heating blanket and in extreme cold the ether, most always works.

Any sort of charging system or ignition system issues really show up when it gets seriously cold out.

Brand new die hard, cranks fine, but just as it starts firing the battery dies.

And i even had the battery in the house overnight last night and have been recharging it inside (helped alot on cranking)
It seems like electrical issue somewhere, but too damn cold to be outside checking crap out.

Pretty much a rule, as the starter slows down the voltage to the ignition module falls, the spark gets weaker. The longer you crank the better the chance the plugs will get fuel fouled.

I *always* wipe down the battery posts and the inside of the battery clamps ever time I have them off. Wipe them down with solvent, polish them with a 3 M pad and wipe them again with solvent. It is to small of a thing not to do and can cause big issues if not done, once in awhile.

Try to keep the engine warm, use starting fluid to avoid long crank times.

Seriously, the longer you crank the less likely it is to start.

Don't forget to turn the key from stop to run a few times before trying a start, to make sure the fuel rail is primed.

Fuel system in new front to back. I have tried short cranks and long, both seem to pop as i shut key off. I am leaning towards ignition switch.

Check the voltage to the larger yellow wire at the ignition module. Check it with the key in run and during a start. It will typically be a volt lower than battery voltage with the key in the run position. Voltage during a start varies on how good your battery is and how much current your starter sucks.

I'm thinking either something is sucking your voltage way down and/or a bad connection someplace.

I've had some crazy stuff happen when it gets really cold out. I once pulled about five pounds of ice out of my fuel tank. My guess is it had been accumulating in there for years and never caused any issues until a really nasty freeze. I typically refuel at half a tank. I now add gas tank deicer before winter hits.

Full tank with heet... And i concur on some electrical draw.

Agree with the full battery charge and I charge my 89 4L at least once a week during extended sub zero weather here in Anchorage. In addition give it at least 5wt-30 Mobil or 0wt-30 for really long sub zero temps. Also a freeze plug block heater, mine is 500+watts on a timer for about 4 hours only before work will make a world of difference. Hope this helps.

heshhash said:

Brand new die hard, cranks fine, but just as it starts firing the battery dies.

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The motor dies, or the battery won't crank the motor any more? If it starts then dies when you release the key to run, check the ballast resistor. And the ASD relay.

It sputters and dies when i release the key.

Gotta rule the ballast resistor in or out. A faulty resistor will inhibit fuel pump operation. By design, the ballast resistor is "out of circuit" when the key is in the full to the right START position. So if the resistor is bad, you'll get fuel when the key is full right, but as soon as you release the key and it goes to the ON position, the ballast resistor will be back "in circuit" and the fuel pump will stop operating.

Try a small piece of wire to jumper this cream colored resistor on the fenderwell somewhere. Jumpering is not of any danger as this resistor is only there to reduce noise on the fuel pump circuit.

You may have other issues (flooding, cold related) but 5 minutes and you can rule ine ballast in or out.

And get some heat on that engine any way you can. I have a propane torpedo style heater that can really be helpful in an emergency like this.

If i wasnt parked out in the open, i would. I tried an electric heater, but with 20mph winds it was useless.
I will try jumping the resistor next.

Check your CTS.

With all that cranking, I bet the plugs are wet fouled. Swap in a cheap set of Champions, charge the battery, and when you first try to start it, hold the gas pedal all the way to the floor. I grew up in that kind of weather. The wind chill is supposed to be -60 tomorrow.

Like OldMan said. I've made a skirt of cardboard around the sides and front, piled some snow to hold it up, put another piece in front of the grill. Put a drop light into the engine bay and threw a blanket over the top of the hood. It actually gets toasty in there. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do.

Liquid gas doesn't burn well if at all, the vapor is what burns. If it gets cold enough the fuel stays liquid. That is why they use ether to help with starting, it vaporizes at a lower temperature and ignites easier.

I really hate screwing around out there when your fingers freeze in minutes and you are trying to to do something with a couple of numb lumps instead of hands. I really try to plan ahead and avoid that.

Just a piece of general information the newer pulse battery chargers are way, way, better than the old style. The pulse chargers aren't all that good for a quick charge, but are superior for a deep charge.

All really good responses to your dilemma. I will add that HEET is the usual stuff to use in the gasoline tank in order to try to absorb water in the tank, but ACETONE is 'mo-betta. Use a 'turkey-baster', insert long tube end into the tin gallon container that the acetone comes in, squeeze the bulb end, and you should have about a couple of ounces there-in in which to squirt into your tank filler tube. If you have ice in the tank, well then, not much will help except for manually removing said.., yeeech, or allowing fuel/ice in tank to warm up totally somehow. Not really your problem, perhaps, right now, but it is a preventative measure to anticipate water/ice in tank, or in your fuel line somewheres plugging things up.

At minus forty-seven degrees f., I've placed a pot full of nails, and old motor oil into it, i.e., full up, and lit it off. Shoved it under the oil pan for a half hour before the crankcase oil was warm enough to allow the starter to turn over easily enough to gain a start-up. The 258 engine I did that to was free of any oil, just oem paint. However, my 4.0 engine is oil-mud coated, and I dare not allow a flame to burn down my XJ. Now that I have electricity. I use: http://www.moroso.com/catalog/categorydisplay.asp?CatCode=15014 At the bottom of the page click on the instruction button(s). (get 2, if possible.., as they do die). I'd rather use an engine block model that goes to one of the freeze plugs, but that's too much a hassle straight away. However should you ever have to do some major work in that area, that's a good time to introduce said model, as they are bullet proof. There are some models that splice into your coolent line(s), but I refrain from them. one of the moroso heating pad models has a short lead from it, so you will need to have, say, a shorter extension cord that you can tie off somewheres up front of you XJ, in which to utilize another extension cord from your main(s). outlet. The model with the longer 36 inch lead is just about right. Call around to your auto parts stores and see if any has them. Push come to shove, you can order from say; summit racing, and have it sent to you next day delivery via FedEx, or UPS, for examples.

Once you have that done, you might consider a battery tray ceramic heating pad, and maybe even a battery electric blanket that surrounds the battery in conjunction with all the other great ideas given you to overcome your issue.

-30 f. is nothing to mess with, so you might try alternate ways to get around. No point in getting second, or third degree frost bite, in which means losing a handful of digits in the third sense.., which makes no sense at all when it comes to dealing with a vehicle that is down. That is why God invented taxi's, buses, and friends. However if you torch your '89 XJ, it will keep you warm for a while.

8-MUD: Really like the idea of drilling a hole into the intake rubber tube for the introduction of starting fluid, and so when it warms up enough to play around, that is something that is a handy technique for us all should such a need arise. I have not seen too many rubber plugs lately, but I am sure they exist, lol.., are the rubber plug owners moving the factories over to china, and we have to wait for production to produce them, and to ship them Stateside? Whatever, lol, we in Alaska do not have the variety of pieces and parts the rest in the lower 48 share, so we have to do a lot of inter-net shopping in which to obtain just about anything. Here, NAPA took a month and a half to shuffle a part through their 2,000 mile, (plus), logistics system to get it to me. Would've been faster else where via the net, and U.S.P.S.

Alaskan89XJ said:

8-MUD: Really like the idea of drilling a hole into the intake rubber tube for the introduction of starting fluid, and so when it warms up enough to play around, that is something that is a handy technique for us all should such a need arise. I have not seen too many rubber plugs lately, but I am sure they exist, lol.., are the rubber plug owners moving the factories over to china, and we have to wait for production to produce them, and to ship them Stateside? Whatever, lol, we in Alaska do not have the variety of pieces and parts the rest in the lower 48 share, so we have to do a lot of inter-net shopping in which to obtain just about anything. Here, NAPA took a month and a half to shuffle a part through their 2,000 mile, (plus), logistics system to get it to me. Would've been faster else where via the net, and U.S.P.S.

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I save those stoppers they stick in the end of copper refrigeration tubing and other assorted caps and plugs from plumbing stuff. Never can tell when something like that is going to come in handy. I come home with a pocketful of possibly useful odds and ends most every day.

I got my motor heating pad on Amazon (manufactured in Canada), a little pricey ($60) but built to last. I gave up on block heaters, on two different occasions I had them leak and the last one I had, the electrical cable rotted in a few years. I do have a magnet pan heater I haven't tried yet.

I used that small fire trick once, a shallow pan (actually an old hub cap) filled with sand and gas. Happened in the most unlikely spot, Death Valley. Some sort of freak weather event, Mt. McKinley and China Lake swapped air masses. The small waterfall next to our campground froze solid overnight. I was driving a stripped down CJ with no heater, I drove a couple of hundred miles in my sleeping bag.

I feel for you guys, you have our normal winter. We are having the warmest winter around here in 25 years (so far), the grass is actually growing.

On a side note if/when you get it started park up close to a building out of the wind, every little bit helps.

It periodically gets really cold here, when I worked for Coca Cola we had the heating in a warehouse go out overnight and a few hundred tons of Coke exploded.