No start when cold; battery is okay.

[dlundblad]

I had a no start last week in my Blazer when we had sub zero temps. When I got home, it was sunny and maybe high 20’s and it started normally.

My first thought was a bad battery. I took it to Rural King for an exchange while it’s under warranty and per their test it was 100%. As a result, there was nothing that could be done exchange wise. My next thought is a weak starter. Could 30 degrees make that much of a difference?

 

[stormgol]

what kind of engine oil do you have in your vehicle ?

 

[tc1446]

Is the ground wire tight on both ends?

 

[Sequoiasoon]

Battery, starter, bad connections, bad corroded cables internal under insulation, bad grounds at fender etc (rust).

My son's Forte had weird issues, radio cutting out, no horn, lights flicker and a couple others. Battery was good with clean terminals. His had a copper braid flat strap under covering. Looked like a green fuzz science experiment under the covering. Ground bolt at fender snapped it was so rusty. Drilled and tapped a new bolt, new ground strap and paint cleaned around it, light coat of Kopr-Shield. All issues gone.

 

[Escape08]

Does it crank or just click and no start or nothing at all?

 

[Lubener]

I had a no start last week in my Blazer when we had sub zero temps. When I got home, it was sunny and maybe high 20’s and it started normally.

My first thought was a bad battery. I took it to Rural King for an exchange while it’s under warranty and per their test it was 100%. As a result, there was nothing that could be done exchange wise. My next thought is a weak starter. Could 30 degrees make that much of a difference?

There should be a class teaching the difference between no starting and no cranking. Knowing the difference makes diagnosing much easier.

Before blaming the starter, ALL B+ and ground connections should be removed and cleaned.

 

[repairman54]

2x I'm an admin on a couple vehicle forums. I stress cranking vs firing up to the rookies.

 

[supton]

Was going to say, how does it sound like when cranking? Was it the same cranking speed, slower, or faster? [I had one time a no-start and it cranked too fast--gas had washed down the cylinder walls and it made no compression, hence the no start.]

30 degrees is a fair swing for a battery. Combine in oil getting thick and it can be a compounding problem. But... doesn't sound like it here. Unless if you're using straight 30W or something--some cars today get really small batteries. [Speaking of which, what's a Blazer? I think of those as having 350's and a carb. And being prone to not wanting to start in the cold.]

 

[dlundblad]

No crank. Sorry for my lack of clarification.

This is on my 1997 Blazer with the 4.3 V6. The SUV version of the S10.

 

[supton]

Wonder if it's a park/neutral switch. Gets real cold, something in the switch winds up being off. Try shifting into neutral next time, and wiggling the shifter while trying to crank.

And to be clear, the dome light and dash was on, right? If you flip the headlights on, are they on full? or dim? I don't know why they all would have issues--and resolve by warming up 30 degrees--unless if you got lucky and picked a battery that can somehow test good when warm but be a dud when cold.

Kinda stuck waiting for this to repeat. In the meantime I'd pick up a cheapo jump box and stash in the car. If it is a bad battery, that should get you moving.

 

[Marcozi]

Def check connections and connectors. Is there a relay in the starting circuit. It could have a weak coil that closes the contacts.

 

[edyvw]

No crank. Sorry for my lack of clarification.

This is on my 1997 Blazer with the 4.3 V6. The SUV version of the S10.

First check all ground connections.