Cranks but won't start when cold

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Bdaniel4
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Joined: Thu Apr 09, 2015 7:53 pm
Location: Nashville

Cranks but won't start when cold

Postby Bdaniel4 » Mon Nov 28, 2016 1:32 pm

Now that the cold weather is upon us, I am having the same issue that arose last Winter. I'll give you a brief synopsis:

The issue began on a cold morning last October. I went to start the truck (2008 V8 ), lights came on like normal, vehicle turned over but ultimately would not start. The starter sounds fine, turns over and over and sounds strong, but the truck will not start.

I scoured the internet forums looking for a reasonable diagnosis and found a little bit of everything (nothing helpful, in other words)

I did see on one post that it could be the battery. I discounted this considering the starter engaged and turned over fine. I finally took the truck to Advance Auto and had the battery tested. Low and behold, the battery read "end of life." I replaced the battery and everything was fine for most of the winter. It was not until a visit to Chicago (-10F) that the issue arose again.

Once again, I have no issues at all when the weather is warm, but now that its starting to get cold, I am seeing the problem come back up.

My temporary fix to this issue has been to jump the vehicle off (every. single. morning.) when it gets cold. I can hook up jumper cables and it starts right up and gives me no more issues the rest of the day.

My question: Has anyone else experienced this? Does anyone know what the issue may be?

Any help at all would be appreciated. Thanks!


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eieio
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Re: Cranks but won't start when cold

Postby eieio » Mon Nov 28, 2016 2:15 pm

Bdaniel4 wrote:Now that the cold weather is upon us, I am having the same issue that arose last Winter. I'll give you a brief synopsis:

The issue began on a cold morning last October. I went to start the truck (2008 V8 ), lights came on like normal, vehicle turned over but ultimately would not start. The starter sounds fine, turns over and over and sounds strong, but the truck will not start.

I scoured the internet forums looking for a reasonable diagnosis and found a little bit of everything (nothing helpful, in other words)

I did see on one post that it could be the battery. I discounted this considering the starter engaged and turned over fine. I finally took the truck to Advance Auto and had the battery tested. Low and behold, the battery read "end of life." I replaced the battery and everything was fine for most of the winter. It was not until a visit to Chicago (-10F) that the issue arose again.

Once again, I have no issues at all when the weather is warm, but now that its starting to get cold, I am seeing the problem come back up.

My temporary fix to this issue has been to jump the vehicle off (every. single. morning.) when it gets cold. I can hook up jumper cables and it starts right up and gives me no more issues the rest of the day.

My question: Has anyone else experienced this? Does anyone know what the issue may be?

Any help at all would be appreciated. Thanks!
Yes.
I have 2 R51 Pathfinders, and the symptoms are the same as yours when the batteries get weak.
It is worse with cold, and after not running, such as overnight.
Recommendations:
Load test battery, replace if necessary.
Check battery post clamps for corrosion or for being loose.
The (-) cable clamps often are not tight on the post even though the pinch nut is tight (clamp will pivot on post).
Replace clamp if necessary.
Test charging system output (in your case it's probably OK, since the truck re-starts readily after running, but check it anyway).
I can't say that this is your solution, but I can say that it is a common complaint every year as the weather gets colder.
:)


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