SC1 99 is frozen

Hi, I am sure this question has posted before but I could not find it. I am
new in northern Michigan, and with temperatures near or below 0F my SC1
don't start anymore. I come from southern Az so I am no used to this
weather. I have read about people who put hot plates below the engine or
that plug some electric device under the hood. Maybe someone knows the
best way to start this car. BTW it is automatic and spends the night in
the street.

Thanks

 

You need to fill us in a little here. What oil are you using? Straight
40 viscosity oil that you might of used in AZ? Whats the car doing?
Clicking without enough umph to turn the engine over or no sound at all?
How olds the battery and are all the contacts clean?

 

And, probably even more important, is your antifreeze good to -40 or -50
degrees F since this is what you will need in Michigan?

If not, you will have a frozen (and very cracked) engine block!

Bob

PS I agree with Blah blah, that you need to give us a clue to have any idea
what might be wrong here.

 

It gets to -50 in Michigan?!!!

later,

tom @ www.URLBee.com

 

Just get the biggest DieHard battery you can fit in it. Pay no attention to what the recommended cold-cranking amps
(CCA) are for the battery. Get the highest CCA rating you can possibly get. Between that, and keeping it tuned up and
keeping the correct oil in it, you'll be fine. Also - don't start it then drive it 5 miles and shut it off - you need to
give the charging system a chance to do its job.

 

Use 5W-30 synthetic oil.
Make sure you have a good battery. The cold here (MI) is as rough on
batteries as the heat is in AZ.
Go to a local auto parts store and see what kind of engine heaters
they recommend. You have to be able to plug it in to an outlet (might
be a problem parking it in the street). Using a heating pad around
the battery is a good idea, too.

Ken
Clarksville MI

 

I live near Chicago and have seen -26 F without wind chill. I know I've
also seen -40 up just North of me in Wisconsin. I figure Michigan gets just
as cold and some of Michigan (UP) gets pretty bad. Better safe than sorry.
I'd mix to -50 to be safe.

Bob

 

Bob, you seem to have forgotten Christmas Eve about twenty years ago
when the temp was -50 F (wind-chill -75 F)! That made the temperature in
Detroit when we left for Chicago, -25 F (-50 F wind-chill) seem balmy by
comparison, and Detroit is WAY south of northern Michigan.

 

My '94 SC2 went about 7 years parked outside during Wisconsin winters with
years where the temp stayed around zero for weeks at a time, with occasional
dips as far as -40 (and that's without the windchill figured in). During
that time, gas-line antifreeze additive, synthetic oil, fresh coolant
anti-freeze, and the most powerful CCA battery that fits in the car did the
job. Started up every morning with no problems, and I never had the need
for a block/battery heater.

Make sure you also have a relatively new thermostat so the inside of the
vehicle heats up as quickly as possible once the car gets running. And
you'll probably want to replace your battery every 2 to 3 years as
preventative maintenance. I've had two batteries out of 3 die in the middle
of winter right at the 3 year mark, and I cannot stress how much it sucks to
have to replace a battery with the car outdoors when it is that cold.

Lane [ lane (at) evilplastic.com ]
(Has changed the oil outdoors at zero degrees. Bring it on.)

 

I have a saturn sl2 with about 60k miles. I started it up and drove
it in 9F weather. The car sounded a million years old, creeking just
about everywhere. Took a long time of driving to finally warm up. I
can't imaging my saturn in -50 weather.

later,

tom @ www.URLBee.com