1988 Pontiac 6000 2.5. 124,000 miles. Since I've known this car, it will have lots of problems starting at around 10 F and below. Last night it took two tries to get it to start. It cranked very slow, and when it started, it sputtered for about 2 seconds then died. Tried again, and it sputtered again, but I pushed on the gas a little bit to keep it running until it could go on its own. The temperature was 6 F. It's always done this, even though that we bought a new battery a year ago. (The battery is not just an "el cheapo" one) It would not start at all one time last year when the temperatures were about 5 below. Are there any other suggestions you could give? Is the 2.5 no good for starting in the cold? (I know the 2.5 isn't the greatest engine to begin with.) My mother once upon a time had a Celebrity with the same engine and amazingly, it started in the below 0 temperatures. They got rid of the Celebrity when the heads needed replaced. Someone bought it and fixed it up and from what I've heard, it's still running today.
Cold Weather Starting Problems
Dec 05, 2005
8 Replies
Thinner oil could help, like Mobil 1 0W-30.
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Lee
2000 SSEi
i agree too thick an oil can make it crank slow. 10w30 or 5w30 should work as well as the 0w30 mobile1 oil. has it ever had new spark plugs and wires? is the air filter clean?
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Funny, we put the charger on it overnight to keep the battery charge up, and it started without a problem this morning when the temps were at 3. The battery was around 60% when we plugged in the charger last night. (And the temps were around 14 then.) It was full within a few hours. I left the charger on overnight until I got ready to start it this morning. I went ahead and put the charger back on it tonight. We're supposed to see 4 below tonight. Again, it was not at a full charge, but it was probably around 80% or so. Probably tomorrow night will be the last night I'll have to worry about putting it on a charger before the temperatures warm up closer to December-like temperatures for here. Our average highs are supposed to be just below 40 F, but we've been lucky to see much higher than 20 for the past two weeks. We're getting January (or worse) weather. We're finally supposed to see the mid 30's this weekend. While I'm at it, I should get my oil changed. I'm using 10w30 right now, but I'll probably ask for 5w30.
By the way, the car still started a little slow, but not REALLY slow like it has been. The oil would probably take care of that problem.
What is the cold cranking amp rating on your battery?
Harryface
05 Park Avenue, 32,672 91 Bonneville LE 304,883
I don't know, I'll have to check in the morning. How's the "table" in the garage doing? Finally, the brutal Iowa temperatures are going to be into the 30's.
Travis,
The " tables " have turned. he Buick is now the table. The Bonnevlle is back to daily duty.
Harryface
05 Park Avenue, 32,672 91 Bonneville LE 304,883About time you started putting more miles on that BV...I guess in your case the "LE" stands for "Long Endurance".
Lee
2000 SSEi 48,150 2004 Volvo S60 11,875
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