What causes a running vehicle to shut down in extremely cold weather?

[Astro14]

They used Mopar 5-year coolant. HOAT I think.

Do you folks think my block heater is enough to keep things from freezing? I think it's 400 Watts maybe.

As long as the vehicle is protected from the wind, then the block heater can raise it several degrees, perhaps tens of degrees, above ambient and you’re good to go.

The vehicle won’t cool below ambient, but if it is sitting in wind, the heat is being pulled out of it quickly, perhaps as quickly as the heater is adding it.

 

[John105]

I think Im gonna start drinking,,,,,,,,,,,,, early

Isn’t this where we say it’s 8 am somewhere?!

 

[JWC86]

They used Mopar 5-year coolant. HOAT I think.

Do you folks think my block heater is enough to keep things from freezing? I think it's 400 Watts maybe.

Should be fine.

 

[eljefino]

So there are two different things ethylene glycol coolant does:

1: It flows as a liquid down to -37 in 50/50 mix and
2: It doesn't expand and break stuff at temps somewhat colder than that. It's sort of a slush.

I wouldn't go starting a car to see if it starts, pushing that slush around is no bueno. Thaw it out a little.

 

[BillyHW]

So there are two different things ethylene glycol coolant does:

1: It flows as a liquid down to -37 in 50/50 mix and
2: It doesn't expand and break stuff at temps somewhat colder than that. It's sort of a slush.

I wouldn't go starting a car to see if it starts, pushing that slush around is no bueno. Thaw it out a little.

Pretty sure I am shut inside until Tuesday given the forecast. I am "working" from home at the moment. I hooked up the block heater and trickle charger and left them like that. I may just check up on them occasionally.

 

[eljefino]

Can you throw a blanket over the front third of you car, and tuck a 100 watt shop light underneath? Saving 10-20 degrees of cold (sorry, 5.5-11 degrees ) could be really useful. I would even hesitate to operate the hood latch if you don't have to.

 

[JWC86]

I would even hesitate to operate the hood latch if you don't have to.

Funny you mention that, my neighbour broke his hood latch cable trying to release it in -40 last year.

To the OP, yes if you don’t have to be anywhere then don’t touch anything. Plug in the block heater so it’s ready in case of an emergency and wait this out.

 

[andrew_j]

Russians are clever and know cold:

 

[TomYoung]

Good morning!

View attachment 198000

Stay safe

 

[fantastic]

I've been seeing flat & blown out tires all over the place. We all know, or at least some, that cold air decreases the tire pressure. There's a general population out there that thinks they go until the blow. Add in no tire maintenance you have a car on the side of the road.

 

[ecotourist]

A friend's '59 Ford stopped while under way on a cold day in about 1965. A single small bottle of gas-line antifreeze got it going again right away.

I worked in the Athabasca oil sands in '71 - '72. We left our company vehicles running in very cold weather. Their radiator hoses generally stayed cold. The combination of air circulation around the engine and the heater core alone were keeping those engines cool.

The radiator on my '63 Chevy II froze one very cold day in about 1975. I thawed it by blocking the radiator and starting it every few minutes and letting the warm engine gradually thaw the radiator. It was a very cold day and probably had 50:50 coolant. In those days in very cold weather we put a piece of cardboard (with a small hole in the middle) in front of the radiator and watched the temp gauge to make sure it didn't get too hot.

I had to drive a long distance (Saskatoon to Edmonton, a 5 hour drive) in the 2007 Honda Accord in 2010, right after a blizzard. The car had been parked outside. It was very cold and not snowing that day. When we got to Edmonton I looked under the hood and the entire space in front of the radiator was packed with snow. There would have been no cooling from that radiator for the entire trip.

 

[ecotourist]

Even long ago I would imagine that most schools would close and give kids a "snow day" if it were that cold. Having kids walking to school and/or standing at a bus stop can easily turn into a dangerous situation at those temperatures.

I went to school in Saskatchewan. We never had snow days. The students came to school whether it was warm, cold, or stormy. School did let out early on a few rare occasions though. It's good to get home before dark on a very cold or stormy day.

We lived in the country when I was in Grade 1. I walked to the country school for just over a mile every day along a road that was impassable for 2 - 3 months a year due to snow drifts. If anyone was worried about us they never said anything.

The only times our school (the town school, for grades 2 - 12) was closed was when the furnace quite working, which happened a couple of times one year.

 

[dumkid]

Lol this is the exact opposite of what we Arizona people do in the summer. You start your car in the morning, the temp gauge is already off the needle a little bit. You crank the a/c and drive immediately because a/c works better on a moving vehicle. No need for warming up anything when your oils already 95f

 

[Sedin26]

I went to school in Saskatchewan. We never had snow days. The students came to school whether it was warm, cold, or stormy. School did let out early on a few rare occasions though. It's good to get home before dark on a very cold or stormy day.

We lived in the country when I was in Grade 1. I walked to the country school for just over a mile every day along a road that was impassable for 2 - 3 months a year due to snow drifts. If anyone was worried about us they never said anything.

The only times our school (the town school, for grades 2 - 12) was closed was when the furnace quite working, which happened a couple of times one year.

In the early 80’s in Saskatchewan, I remember lining up outside to get into school during recess. It was windy and -34C….I knew that was the temp because the rule was we couldn’t stay inside unless it got down to -35C. The principal was standing there with a thermometer

 

[gfh77665]

I went to school in Saskatchewan. We never had snow days. The students came to school whether it was warm, cold, or stormy. School did let out early on a few rare occasions though. It's good to get home before dark on a very cold or stormy day.

We lived in the country when I was in Grade 1. I walked to the country school for just over a mile every day along a road that was impassable for 2 - 3 months a year due to snow drifts. If anyone was worried about us they never said anything.

The only times our school (the town school, for grades 2 - 12) was closed was when the furnace quite working, which happened a couple of times one year.

Not a joke, Houston officials canceled school and other offices because it was "too dangerous to go outside at 32F". Not joking.