My 2014 Kia Rio does not like to start easily in the cold, and the behaviour is really wierd. There is a problem that is not obvious.
In temps colder that -22C the car will not start. There is just a click with no cranking. The odd thing is, that as soon as the car warms up past -20C, the car starts like its summer.
Obvious first step was the battery. I charged and problem persisted. I then replaced the battery with a new one.
I then replaced the starter with a used one from a wrecker that I bench tested, and the problem persisted.
I have found a trick to get it to start. When -22C or colder, I have to continually turn the key from full off to cranked many times in a row quickly. For the first handful it just clicks, but then it starts to very quickly crank for a split second, and then more, and then after many turns of the key it starts perfectly fine. This reliably works everytime.
I thought for sure this is a starter problem, because it just seems like in extreme cold, the material shrinks such that the starter components are not close enough to engage, and as I crank more and more it starts to very slightly engage....maybe like a starter flat spot. But after replacing the starter, and the problem persisted, it seems very unlikely that the same problem would occur with the exact same starter (maybe I should just go get a third brand new one to be sure).
I am really perplexed what else this could be? Could it be the anti-theft protection acting up in the cold? Or some sort of other circuitry acting up in the extreme cold?
In temps colder that -22C the car will not start. There is just a click with no cranking. The odd thing is, that as soon as the car warms up past -20C, the car starts like its summer.
Obvious first step was the battery. I charged and problem persisted. I then replaced the battery with a new one.
I then replaced the starter with a used one from a wrecker that I bench tested, and the problem persisted.
I have found a trick to get it to start. When -22C or colder, I have to continually turn the key from full off to cranked many times in a row quickly. For the first handful it just clicks, but then it starts to very quickly crank for a split second, and then more, and then after many turns of the key it starts perfectly fine. This reliably works everytime.
I thought for sure this is a starter problem, because it just seems like in extreme cold, the material shrinks such that the starter components are not close enough to engage, and as I crank more and more it starts to very slightly engage....maybe like a starter flat spot. But after replacing the starter, and the problem persisted, it seems very unlikely that the same problem would occur with the exact same starter (maybe I should just go get a third brand new one to be sure).
I am really perplexed what else this could be? Could it be the anti-theft protection acting up in the cold? Or some sort of other circuitry acting up in the extreme cold?