Having woke up this this morning to be greeted by snow on the mountains and my in-laws 17 grand Honda 4x4 with the bonnet up and a "mystery starting fault" that still hasnt been fixed i wondered what can be done to get my 1996 LPG Disco V8efi through the long cold wet winter with as little fuss as possible, im going to make sure the antifreeze/screenwash are all topped up, im gonna spray litterally everything with WD40 to try to prevent any damp/electrical faults, ive read quite a few threads where discos seem to refuse to start if left for any period of time so im gonna try to go out in it at least once a day but if i dont go out 1 day should i just start it up and leave it running for 10 mins? any other dos and donts? cheers
Whenever you try to start any vehicle in cold weather, you need to bear in mind that the drop in temperature has several effects:
1. The capacity of the battery to deliver power is reduced by the lower temp;
2. The oils will all be much thicker, so the engine will require more effort to turn over;
To alleviate this, try the following:
1. If no garage is available, try parking in a winded shaded place (reduces wind-chill);
2. Before turning the engine over, ensure that all non-essential electrical stuff is turned off (eg radio, fan, lights etc)
3. Use the heater plug cycle twice before turning the engine over.
We regularly get down to -15° through winter and the vehicles are parked outdoors, but still start ok.
If you plan to leave your vehicle unused for a bit longer, why not connect an Optimate battery charger permanently, to keep the battery in 'optimum' condition