To continue the thread of it is reasonable to expect the engine to start at colder temperatures...
MR is certainly helping out cold cranking by keeping the battery absolutely full. Even (especially?) for my diesel truck, I now keep a pair of solar chargers on it always. This means it now starts in seconds every time, whereas before sometimes you would have to crank for minutes after the glow plugs were warm. It was true for new or older batteries alike. Having the battery absolutely full can make a noticeable difference in starting power.
Idabe: A low battery won't affect your spark, but since you have two independent coils, and the engine runs OK, I don't think anything is wrong with the sparking part of your engine. (Unless your storage area is really damp.) A full battery will crank the engine at higher speed, which means the combustion gases get warmer, which increases the chance that they will ignite.
Idabe, I think you are right to be dissatisfied with the performance of the engine, but I also of the opinion that it should be fixable. (trickle charger, better tuning, float valve, etc.) Given all of your comments, I'd have a go at the carb first. I do know that they have changed the starter motor on these engines to a Hitachi; I have no idea if it works any better.
By the way, if you have an old wall wart, a number of the older ones put out 12-14VDC and can be used for trickle charging for the cost of adding battery clamps, or hook up wires. I have one from an old printer that puts out 14.5V @500mAuntil you load it with a battery, when it happily puts out 12.8V, rising to about 13.2V when it finishes charging. I use one to charge my trailer batteries up periodically.
All the best,
Peter
MossRoad said:
I have a 2001 Model year PT425 with the Kohler Command engine. I have never pre-heated it. I have started down below -10F (-23C) a few times each winter. At those temps, the cold hydraulics really put a load on the engine starter and you can hear it and feel it dragging until it starts, which is usually under 5 seconds of cranking. The only thing I do is keep a 500MW charger on the battery all the time in winter. The original battery lasted 5 years. I sometimes let it sit for weeks at a time in the winter.
