Cold day "fix" worked twice for me, try it?

[Hey_Moe]

I live on the Minnesota/Manitoba border and my MME has pulled the electric brick trick on me three times this winter. The first time, my husband showed up intending to jump start the car, but instead just fired it right up with no problem. We thought that maybe it had been sitting in the sun and warmed up just enough. The second time, there was a lot of frost on my windshield so I thought maybe a sensor was frosted too and I just cranked up the defrost and fans and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. It changed it's mind and the collision assist and all wheel drive and park assist warnings were all resolved and I drove away with plenty of battery. Just this morning, we had more extreme cold and I left the vehicle sit for about 4 hours unplugged. It did the same silly song and dance like it couldn't possibly go and everything was broken, but I turned up the fans and left it running while I ran an errand (in my crappy old Honda minivan - intolerable!). When I got back to it, the fans and everything had automatically shut off. I got in and it fired right up, easy peasy.

I'm thinking focusing on the battery might be the wrong rabbit hole to go down to fix this issue. Maybe some others can try my fan trick and see if that works for them and we can get closer to a practical solution?

In the meantime, think spring, my northern friends! Winter never lasts forever, even though it feels like it does!

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[chrisGT]

It can be a sensor that warms up with the fan air but another reason can be the electrical current that runs the fans warms up a circuit/module somewhere else.

 

[aamyotte]

My WRX has been having issues with the cold this winter when it's -20C or colder. I can start the car when it's cold, drive in town and then shut the car off. If I try to start it over 15 minutes later it cranks but doesn't start. If I try 15 minutes later it will staet. Turn out the fuel injector relay freezes. Sitting a little longer let's the engine heat thaw the relay. There's a fix to apply .5V to the relay to keep it warm and freezing.

The MME could be having a similar issue based on what you describe.

 

[Tom L]

I live on the Minnesota/Manitoba border and my MME has pulled the electric brick trick on me three times this winter. The first time, my husband showed up intending to jump start the car, but instead just fired it right up with no problem. We thought that maybe it had been sitting in the sun and warmed up just enough. The second time, there was a lot of frost on my windshield so I thought maybe a sensor was frosted too and I just cranked up the defrost and fans and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. It changed it's mind and the collision assist and all wheel drive and park assist warnings were all resolved and I drove away with plenty of battery. Just this morning, we had more extreme cold and I left the vehicle sit for about 4 hours unplugged. It did the same silly song and dance like it couldn't possibly go and everything was broken, but I turned up the fans and left it running while I ran an errand (in my crappy old Honda minivan - intolerable!). When I got back to it, the fans and everything had automatically shut off. I got in and it fired right up, easy peasy.

I'm thinking focusing on the battery might be the wrong rabbit hole to go down to fix this issue. Maybe some others can try my fan trick and see if that works for them and we can get closer to a practical solution?

In the meantime, think spring, my northern friends! Winter never lasts forever, even though it feels like it does!

Warroad, you say? Gets cold, you betcha! (That's a favorite Minnesota colloquialism for those who don't get the whimsy.). I lived in Minnesota for 40 years before moving to Wisconsin and I know Warroad and how resourceful you folks way up there can be with your cars in winter. You are to be admired for your endurance to true extreme cold and giving the MME a shot. Thanks for sharing your experience.

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