Preheat diesel on Qashqai with faulty glow plugs

[TomAnderson12]

Hi,
My 2012 Nissan Qashqai is now stuck in the mountain in -15C weather and it has faulty glow plugs, so it won’t start. I am unable to change glow plugs before I need the car up and running. Any ideas on alternative ways of heating up the diesel/engine block? I was considering gently using a blow torch to the cylinders. All ideas are appreciated!

[pinchmeimdreamin]

Wait until no flames, slide it under car

[paul_c123]

Can it start on petrol? (Spray it into the air inlet with a squirty bottle)

[IJWS15]

pinchmeimdreamin said:

Wait until no flames, slide it under car

That is more to deal with cold engine oil. My father tells of lorry drivers lighting small fires under the sump in the 40s and 50s.

The fire needs to be in the air intake!

Some big diesels in the US do just that.

[stevieturbo]

TomAnderson12 said:

Hi,
My 2012 Nissan Qashqai is now stuck in the mountain in -15C weather and it has faulty glow plugs, so it won’t start. I am unable to change glow plugs before I need the car up and running. Any ideas on alternative ways of heating up the diesel/engine block? I was considering gently using a blow torch to the cylinders. All ideas are appreciated!

Quite an unusual post.

How did it get there with this "sudden" major problem ?

And most diesels, even without glow plugs, will eventually start, although cranking for long periods not ideal either.

Or if a mountain....it should easily bump start down a hill.

A flame, BBQ etc etc.....would all seem to carry big risks.

Some easy start if you can spray it into the inlet path would be a safer option if it must be started on the key.

Assuming of course if what you say, is the actual problem.

[TomAnderson12]

stevieturbo said:

Quite an unusual post.

How did it get there with this "sudden" major problem ?

And most diesels, even without glow plugs, will eventually start, although cranking for long periods not ideal either.

Or if a mountain....it should easily bump start down a hill.

A flame, BBQ etc etc.....would all seem to carry big risks.

Some easy start if you can spray it into the inlet path would be a safer option if it must be started on the key.

Assuming of course if what you say, is the actual problem.

I drove up from warmer weather in the city, so the engine started without any problems. Currently the earliest I can get a tow to a mechanic is on Monday, and I need to be back to catch a flight on Sunday. So that’s why I need to try and improve something. I will try to bump start before lighting a fire;) but I’m unsure if that will change anything since cold fuel seams to be the problem.

[paul_c123]

Cold fuel isn't the problem. Well, its part of the problem, maybe 1/40 of the problem. The issue is cold air, because even with cranking at say 150rpm, the compression stroke doesn't heat up the air sufficiently that once fuel is injected, it auto-ignites. So taking a scientific approach, there's x things you can do:

1 Heat up the fuel
2 Heat up the air coming in
3 Heat up the environment the combustion will hopefully occur in
4 Increase the time/speed of "cranking"
5 Lower the temperature auto-ignition occurs at


Option 3 is how the engine normally does it - it uses glow plugs to heat the cylinder/piston/head area. Option 4 is achieved with bump starting (maybe downhill) or tow starting or a healthy push. Option 5 is the Easy-start (ethyl di-ether) squirted into the intake. I'm offering 5b, which is to substitute easystart with petrol, because it kinda does the same thing. Even for a diesel.

[Richard-D]

A squirt of ether and you're going. Anything else seems like too much faff to me.

[paintman]

Another vote for Easy Start, Start ya bd or any of the various similar stuff.

Alternative would be to fit one of the coolant heaters, such as an Eberspach diesel burner or a plug in electric one, but that is gong to be a lot of work & if you can't change the glowplugs then I can't see you being in a position to fit one.

[TomAnderson12]

Tried the ether thing, it did not work. I’ll probably try a bump start, and if that does not work I don’t know what to do.

[paul_c123]

Are you in the AA? Or have similar breakdown cover?

[Maxdecel]

A bump start will take a while to generate anything like sufficient heat, you'll need some tools and a blowlamp ! FFWD 3:20.
EDIT - MAKE SURE THE EASY START HAS EVAPORATED !!

[GreenV8S]

When https://www.youtube.com/@M.BJOERNSTROEM needs to get a frozen diesel running, he piles tarps around it to form a tent and then points a propane heater into it for a couple of hours. If cold start spray and fresh batteries don't do the trick, and you can't get it recovered, that would be your last resort.

[TomAnderson12]

Finally got it started. A combination of ether and a bump start ended up doing the trick.

[stevieturbo]

TomAnderson12 said:

I drove up from warmer weather in the city, so the engine started without any problems. Currently the earliest I can get a tow to a mechanic is on Monday, and I need to be back to catch a flight on Sunday. So that’s why I need to try and improve something. I will try to bump start before lighting a fire;) but I’m unsure if that will change anything since cold fuel seams to be the problem.

Cold fuel and glow plugs are two different issues. So which is the problem ?

If the only issue is glow plugs, it should still easily start on a bump.

[stevieturbo]

TomAnderson12 said:

Finally got it started. A combination of ether and a bump start ended up doing the trick.

But now....can you stop it again ? lol


Or at least park somewhere with a big hill, ideally at the top of it pointing down

[TomAnderson12]

stevieturbo said:

But now....can you stop it again ? lol


Or at least park somewhere with a big hill, ideally at the top of it pointing down

Yup, did just that!