Cold start saab 9-3 [NO PREHEAT\GLOW PLUGS]

This was a 3-in-1 test, for the starter which had been failing recently plus battery, but allso the coldest possible good start with no glow plugs.
If I knew all the plugs or fuse was blown, any colder than this would be "no-go". It was -11*C (12*F) that morning, -15*C that night. Gas pedal was never touched, and sorry for the sun glare... Engine is a 2.2TiD

Doing this seemed to help with the reliability problem with the starter motor.

New ESPAR 5kW water heater\parking heater mod. Original 3kW one was apparenty dead\broken ever since I got the car. It would sometimes run only a couple minutes then stop. Now its working perfecly, 30mins of run time (timer) both the engine and inside of the car is warm!

Exhaust view will be uploaded if anyone wants it.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• cold
• start
• no
• glow
• plugs
• saab
• 9-3
• 2.2
• tid
• diesel
• fuse
• removed
• door
• cranking
• crank
• starter
• battery
• key
• test
• blown
• broken
• pumping
• espar
• eberspacher
• webasto
• heater
• knock
• smoke
• exhaust
• view
• lock

[cipmars]

@Da9eI I've started it at 1*C and the heater wouldn't start, but the glow plugs light didn't light eather. Could it be a bad water temperature sensor? The engine fires right up, but with white smoke smelling like unburned diesel fuel (for a couple of seconds) and it takes 10 minutes of idleing for the temperature needle to rise 1mm, it's a little too long, isn't it? I'd love to see a vid like that if you would take the time to make it, thank you.

[Da9eI]

@cipmars Probably a bit messy writing here in the comments field, but... hell with it.. On my car, the fuel\metering pump for the heater is placed in the same place as the fuel filter\tank, or near the front of the back right wheel. You should hear it ticking\clicking around 3-4 times a second under normal operation. I'll se if Im able to post a vid of the heater when its on at some point.

[Da9eI]

@cipmars as you probably know, I were never able to fully start the original 3kW heater because of bad ECU on it. And when it started, it would suddenly stop, whithout running the stop\cooldown cycle. Filling the engine bay with white unburnt diesel fumes. Normally it should be hard to see any exhaust coming from it, but if it has a "flame-out" it will produce lots of white smoke. The exhaust should be warm (burn your hand-warm).

[Da9eI]

@cipmars It should start when the enine starts\is running, and you should hear it running after about 2 or so minutes. Usually, lots of starts and stops and short drives "kills" the heater, as it never gets fully started before it has to shut down. It can be hard to hear while the engine is running, but you should be able to hear a turbine-like noise coming from it. Normally, if you stop your engine it should continue running the "cooldown\stop" cycle for a minute.

[cipmars]

@Da9eI It's not programmed, but I'm gonna sort it out in a couple of days. It's 5*C right now, but it's gonna be colder in a few hours when I'll be leaving for work, so I'm gonna check it. I guess it should buzz or something, so if it doesn't there's a problem for me to sort out. When should it start doing something, when I turn the ignition on, or after the engine fires up?

[Da9eI]

@cipmars If its the SID1 Im not really sure, but I think it would be the same. If you have it programmed it should kick in with engine off as well, but if not, it wont. As you probably know, the 3kW one didnt work on my car. Im not sure what will happen if you manually start it, without the program. If engine\ignition is off, it (on SID2) is enough pushing one of the +/- or Up/Dn and you should see the menu for starting and stopp and timer settings.

[cipmars]

@cipmars I've read more and I've found out that I should have an entry in the menu for that. I need to go to someone with a Tech interface to enable it, and then I can see if it's working.

[cipmars]

@Da9eI I've got the SID1 and that doesn't have +/- buttons, it has Up/Dn. If it's programmed, it should kick in if I hold them both?

[Da9eI]

@cipmars Do you have the "parking heater option" installed? (Water pump, relay box+relay and SID re-program) If colder than 5*C the heater should start automatically when engine is on. If warmer it can be manually started holding both +/- keys on the SID (SAAB Info Display). It takes about 2 minutes for the heater to start and run, and if you open the hood\bonnet you should be able to hear it running. The white smoke tells me that the combustion chamber is sludged up and needs to be cleaned.

[cipmars]

How can I check if the original 3kW heater works? I've bought the car two days ago and it blows some white smoke on startup. I wanna make sure I don't get in trouble next winter. How do I get the heater to start?