So far, 2 no starts in the first month due to the cold. Jeep roadside assistance to the rescue in both situations. Anyone else having this problem?? I'm about to send it back.. the dealer has no answers. We were assured this wasn't going to be an issue.
Jeep Diesel in cold start situations
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I winterized the fuel. On the first occasion, it was 5 above, today was -15 here in Chicago. It's not the fuel though, the battery just seems to not have the cold cranking amps to fire the engine. When you go to start, everything goes haywire- wipers start going, lights com on, etc, but the engine doesn't turn over. Last time, I called road side assistance, they picked it up, took it to the dealer, warmed it up, charged it and it was fine. We'll see what happens tomorrow. My wife is the one who drives it, she's pretty tired of it already.
Were you using an engine block heater and if you were was it still plugged in when you tried to start the vehicle?
No, we don't have power available in the lot where she parks. Allegedly it was to have it from the factory, however it doesn't, even if we had power. Jeep roadside assistance has yet to pick up the vehicle, still waiting on a call back. I've been on the phone for over 30 min this morning, still on hold trying to get a status.
Definitely seems odd that the electric system went haywire when you attempted to start it. The battery not being able to turn over the engine could be caused by the viscosity of the oil, which is what an engine block heater helps with, but that doesn't jive with the other issues you are having. I've seen a fair number of reports of people not using engine block heaters and not having issues in the -10-20 range.
I saw one reference to the engine heater being on and another to DEF being out.... one to WIFI interference and others to just "because".... Results seem to be the same.... Personally I think it's a software problem.... perhaps software condition .... I'm no expert... just trying to understand. Me ... I am not overfilling my DEF and making sure it has time to thaw. I'm kinda leaning that way until something better comes up.
the def fluid is about 75% now. I actually checked it this weekend. I did inquire about the block heater the first time it was towed. I was informed that the first ones coming off the line do not have a block heater standard and that the later ones will. The dealer today informed me that they still don't have any with block heaters. Keep in mind, this car is fully loaded and it's not an option to even add it according to them.
After almost 24 hours, Jeep roadside assistance is finally picking it up in time to sit at the dealer. I would imagine we will know more tomorrow.
I ordered mine with the heater... It's my understanding that Canadian Standard and US optional. But I will probably never use it. I lived on the corner of Archer and Kedzie when I was a teenager and I know how cold Chicago can get. Wish you luck.....
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I live in michigan cold starts where no problem, I used some anti-gel product with the fuel and I do have a block heater but I didn't even plug it in to use it! Temp with windshield factor got -30 degrees pretty freaking cold, but your as far as your electrical problem it sounds identical to the problem I had with mine, they traced the problem back to a loose ground wire in the right front wheel well. It didn't start or anything and all my electronics went all out of whack but as soon as they found the loose ground wire and it was tightened it solved everything. Hope this helps
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Yes, that loose ground strap is part of the recall that I posted about in another thread.
And just a heads up to all salty road drivers out here...
I was refilling my windshield washer reservoir yesterday. While doing so I did a quick inspection under the hood. Everything was still nice and clean in the engine compartment except right in the area where that ground strap connects to the frame, adjacent to the right front wheelwell. It was crusted with road salt. Couldn't figure out where that came in from but you may want to check that out on your Jeeps as well. It's bad enough having a loose ground strap without adding corrosion on top of it.
I mentioned it to the dealer, I appreciate your idea. The dealer is informing me that it's a bad battery, only 200 cold cranking amps. We'll see.
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218 Posts
While it's certainly possible to simply have a bad battery, a loose ground connection will prevent proper charging of the battery and show the same result your dealer saw. You should insist that your dealer also inspect and tighten the ground connections as specified in recall Loss of ABS/ESC & Instrument Cluster Display (13V483000)
Good luck!
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Why is nobody talking about glow plugs, just fuel. I am having to crank for 20 seconds before it fires up. All other diesels i owned first port of call is gkow plugs.
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