Cold engine starting procedure

   / Cold engine starting procedure #21  
AchingBack, my Mahindra manual says the same as yours, start at idle and that’s what i’ve been doing. However after getting 3 different Mitsubishi SL3/SL4 manuals, Services, Maintenance and Operation that are extremely detailed and well written it’s the Mahindra manual I question. It tends to be pretty basic and lacks a lot of detail. If you’d like copies of the manuals I think I can attach them in a pm or I can I try and find the links to where I found them

Pumpguy, don’t know how to tell if it’s inline or rotary, the only other info in the manual other then settings is under type it’s listed as PFR. Seeing that the manual says to go to full throttle prior to starting makes me think it’s rotary.

And lastly I’m not trying to start a debate on which is right or wrong. I’m was trying to clear up conflicting information between the tractors OEM and the Engine OEM.

You have to remember. That the folks making the manuals are sometimes not tractor people. A lot of that is job'd out, probably to the lowest bidder. There is also a cultural and language barrier. The people actually making the motor, the folks placing it into a tractor, the manufacturer of the tractor, and the company that puts it's name on it/sells it to you.... is a long process. Low idle, high idle, low RPM, wide open RPM, must also mean different things to different folks. Effluent happens ... common sense wins out.
 
   / Cold engine starting procedure
  • Thread Starter
#22  
Ok last post unless there痴 a question. Decided to start the tractor this morning using MHI procedure. It was 20F. Put the throttle at full open, turned the key one notch, when the glow plug light went out cranked it over and brought the throttle down to idle at around 1000 rpm. It was probably the smoothest start since I got the machine. No stumbling or roughness as it starts firing and less black smoke than I知 used to even when it痴 warmer out. The rpms did not take off uncontrolled rather smoothly came up as I brought the throttle back down. I will be starting it this way in the future.

For those that question the manuals and language issues. The SL series engine is made in Japan by Mitsubishi. It is used in many applications worldwide. The 3 manuals on the engine I referenced earlier cover 400 pages and are extremely detailed. No language or interpretation questions. My Mahindra manual well it mostly covers safety, disclaimers and warning stickers and has very little detail.
 
   / Cold engine starting procedure #23  
Lol.. a PFR pump is an animal unto itself.. theres an inline, a rotary & PFR's.. IDK why I didn't mention that..
ON SOME PFR's they have a start "helper spring" but its a hair wound spring.. meaning the coils are about as thick as a human hair..
& are easily overcome by the starter rpm's..
So u did it correctly.. full to 1/2 & after it started, pull it back to just above low idle for warm up..
 
   / Cold engine starting procedure #24  
I do exactly as the Op Manual suggests. Throttle to half throttle, depress the clutch, turn the key to "on", wait for the glow plug light to go off, turn the key to start. 38 years - starts every time. Hot wx( 105F ) or cold ( -20F ) - - every time.

Length of glow plug being on is temperature dependent. Once the tractor starts - back the throttle down to 1000 rpm. Let it run until there is obvious movement of the temperature gauge - off I go to do work. I make dam good & sure the tractor has come up to full temperature before I do any work.

This is usually no problem. Most "work" seems to be quite a distance from where the tractor is stored.
 
   / Cold engine starting procedure #25  
Well my Mitsubishi likes full throttle + glow plugs (twice when real cold) and I throttle back once it fires up to idle.
I also have it plugged in 24/24 so as to have it cosy warm.

OK, to save a couple of $$'s I could simply power up the heat 3-4 hrs B4 using it but compared to a snow contractor it is a minimal cost and always ready to go.
Note, more times over the years I've had calls for 'emergencies ' that I've had to wait 1 hr preheating, so problem solved.

Now, my worst situation was when my block heater burnt out at about -30 deg's,
All kinds of heaters, cold fingers, booster cables, cussing etc but I made it happen.

Note, I always use an additive to prevent fuel gelling,
You only have to experience gelling once to understand why.
Simple insurance.
 
   / Cold engine starting procedure #26  
Having a block heater plugged in all the time is a gross misuse of energy. It only took the lower rad heater plugged in near 30 minutes at -22 F one time in Vermont to start our 220D instantly.

No doubt you burned out the block heater element. It just wasn't designed to run all the time.

Ralph
 
   / Cold engine starting procedure #27  
Actually it was corrosion that ate up the block heater, it literally crumbled when I removed it.

Also my radiator cap spring was eaten by corrosion as well.
While I have flushed and replaced cooling fluid at proper interval with approved coolant some corrosion still occurred.

As to energy I don't care as a contract is much more than any energy that I'll consume, besides here in Quebec our rates are the best.
I bet it costs me a mere $30/40 per year for a hot ready to start tractor at any time compared to the local $1000(+/-) current contract snow removal prices.
(my hydro bills confirm this)
 
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   / Cold engine starting procedure #28  
My 2540 started in minus six °F temps, after being outside (where it lives), with no problem. Took a while to warm upæ´‹aybe 20 minutes before I was ready to plow snow. We got five inches of white stuff last night, but the driveway was warm, so not enough to scrape off.
 
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   / Cold engine starting procedure #29  
I also have it plugged in 24/24 so as to have it cosy warm.
I would be concerned with, having your block heater on all the time, condensation forming at the far extremes of the engine. The heat would taper off the farther away from the heater and the cooler sections would start to sweat. However, if you are a contractor then I'm sure that when you do use your tractor it would get hot enough to vaporize the moisture. Dutchy
 
   / Cold engine starting procedure #30  
I also have it plugged in 24/24 so as to have it cosy warm.
I would be concerned with, having your block heater on all the time, condensation forming at the far extremes of the engine. The heat would taper off the farther away from the heater and the cooler sections would start to sweat. However, if you are a contractor then I'm sure that when you do use your tractor it would get hot enough to vaporize the moisture. Dutchy

Yep, I agree...an hour or two is quite sufficient even on the coldest days. I plug mine in about an hour or so, even on below 0 F days (or nights) and I don't even need my intake heater (Deere's equivalent to glow plugs). Starts like Spring time...
Some folks wrote their tractors start with just glow plugs even in single digit weather...that's true...and so will my Deere. The block heater just makes it so much easier on the engine.
 

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