Mav outside in single digit temp's. Got check engine light and car wont start

[kkgg]

Ooooook,

As I said, truck started in the morning with out doing anything(but the check engine light is still on)

Started it again this evening and it started and check engine light is gone .

Opened the Ford pass app and all the alerts are also gone.

Sooooo, is that it.
Am I good

Should I wait for next time to consider seriously

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[S. fisher]

Out of curiosity where did you get your transmission heater and oil pan heater? I ordered the block heater on mine because we do get some below zero stuff here. Always like to plug stuff in when it starts getting close to 0.

If you are going to do it yourself you can get them at Napa, even Amazon caries them, usually they are 4x5 silicone pad that you glue on w/ high temp rtv silicon.
just About every shop up here offer’s winterizing for about 500$.
It is cheaper to do it yourself but you Have to run the wires so they don’t get pinched or rub, otherwise they’ll short out.
I‘m having Seekins Ford (Fairbanks) do it to mine before I take delivery.

 

[S. fisher]

Ooooook,

As I said, truck started in the morning with out doing anything(but the check engine light is still on)

Started it again this evening and it started and check engine light is gone .

Opened the Ford pass app and all the alerts are also gone.

Sooooo, is that it.
Am I good

Should I wait for next time to consider seriously

What was the temp outside? Up here we usually plug in at 20° above, that said it should still start in single digits. You should let ford know if it is giving a check engine light after only a few days in those temps. If it’s a glass mat battery or sealed battery, they do not like cold temperatures. Lead acid battery’s tend to do better in cold temperatures. But both benefit from a battery tender or trickle charger if you are not driving it every day.

 

[IdahoDirtFarmer]

If you are going to do it yourself you can get them at Napa, even Amazon caries them, usually they are 4x5 silicone pad that you glue on w/ high temp rtv silicon.
just About every shop up here offer’s winterizing for about 500$.
It is cheaper to do it yourself but you Have to run the wires so they don’t get pinched or rub, otherwise they’ll short out.
I‘m having Seekins Ford (Fairbanks) do it to mine before I take delivery.

Thanks! I was wondering if that's what you meant or if there was an actual oil heater on both with a heating element installed. I picked up one of the plug ins that installs in the bumper instead of having to pop the hood as I've heard you have to on these. Won't take much to wire them all into the same spot. I'm a stickler for prewarming as much as possible on vehicles in cold temps. The salesman looked at me like I had a hole in my head when I wanted block heater on both the Maverick and our Bronco Sport. Kept trying to talk me out of it. Apparently he's never spent his life starting cars and equipment all winter in temps below 20 outside of a heated garage.

 

[S. fisher]

Thanks! I was wondering if that's what you meant or if there was an actual oil heater on both with a heating element installed. I picked up one of the plug ins that installs in the bumper instead of having to pop the hood as I've heard you have to on these. Won't take much to wire them all into the same spot. I'm a stickler for prewarming as much as possible on vehicles in cold temps. The salesman looked at me like I had a hole in my head when I wanted block heater on both the Maverick and our Bronco Sport. Kept trying to talk me out of it. Apparently he's never spent his life starting cars and equipment all winter in temps below 20 outside of a heated garage.

Once the temps get lower than -10 you start to actually cause damage to the engine if it’s not pre warmed. Most will start but at those temps even a 5-30 full synthetic oil turns to molasses.
At -42° which we had this morning the block needs to be heated as well.
It should also warm up at least 20 minutes before you try to drive it.

I’m really surprised that dealers in the northern states don’t offer winterization.

 

[Bob The Builder]

To the OP, I see you have a garage. Even an unheated garage will be 15-20 degrees warmer than the outside air. My advice would be to use the garage, unless of course Mrs. wifey has first dibs. Then I would say all bets are off.

Weather ain't gonna be pretty over in the Twin Cities area over the next few days. Brutal is a word that comes to mind. We're expecting as much as a 70 drop in temps flash freeze. There's that brutal word again.

 

[IdahoDirtFarmer]

Once the temps get lower than -10 you start to actually cause damage to the engine if it’s not pre warmed. Most will start but at those temps even a 5-30 full synthetic oil turns to molasses.
At -42° which we had this morning the block needs to be heated as well.
It should also warm up at least 20 minutes before you try to drive it.

I’m really surprised that dealers in the northern states don’t offer winterization.

Nice to see someone else actually understand that. We are nowhere near what you get each year, but still better to be prepared. Normally we get a week or so of lows from 0 to -10. Maybe a spike or two lower but not much. Every piece of equipment I may ever actually use outside of summer has a block heater. The only thing that doesn't is my 1/2 ton pickup but if it gets below zero I've got a magnet oil pan heater and I'll throw a couple big halogen shop lights under it aimed a couple inches from the sides of the block. We did have some -35 temps for about a week 5 years ago. Frozen radiators and non starting vehicles were common enough to actually make the news. My area is a magnet for folks moving here from Southern California. The majority get a decent education on winter the first year.

Winterization like you're talking about is unheard of here as far as dealers or even independent shops offering it. Most people just start and go in winter. Never even wait for anything to drop off of high idle.

 

[commadorebob]

Oof. Thank God I live in the South. You people are talking about temperatures I complain about without the minus symbol in front of it.

It does sound like the first upgrade people need to make is a real battery. Seems Ford put the bare minimum in the thing.

 

[IdahoDirtFarmer]

Oof. Thank God I live in the South. You people are talking about temperatures I complain about without the minus symbol in front of it.

It does sound like the first upgrade people need to make is a real battery. Seems Ford put the bare minimum in the thing.

I'll take cold winter over summer humidity like you have though. That stuff isn't something I'm willing to put up with. We get 100-110 in the summer but basically zero humidity. Not fun, but doable without humidity. We have trouble even getting hay put up sometimes because there isn't enough humidity overnight to bring a de w in.

Agree about the battery issue. Seems to be a common theme in a few different threads.

 

[CSmith]

Thanks guys.

I tried again now, is started after few attempts by itself.
So I went for a drive (20 miles) and came back(hoping that would charge the battery).

The check engine light is still on. Can I do anything for it to go away ?

Don't clear the error code! You still should take it to the dealer, explain what happened, and let them look at it. They may find something else causing the issue.

 

[commadorebob]

I'll take cold winter over summer humidity like you have though. That stuff isn't something I'm willing to put up with. We get 100-110 in the summer but basically zero humidity. Not fun, but doable without humidity. We have trouble even getting hay put up sometimes because there isn't enough humidity overnight to bring a de w in.

Agree about the battery issue. Seems to be a common theme in a few different threads.

Too each their own. The Army sent me to Ft. Drum in upstate NY and I spent a few lake effect, -35 degree winters up there. No thanks.

Though, I will admit, we purposely took the scouts to the mountains of North Carolina this past summer to escape the heat.

 

[IdahoDirtFarmer]

Too each their own. The Army sent me to Ft. Drum in upstate NY and I spent a few lake effect, -35 degree winters up there. No thanks.

Though, I will admit, we purposely took the scouts to the mountains of North Carolina this past summer to escape the heat.

Once acclimated I'm sure it wouldn't be that bad, but I don't really even want to try. Until I hit my mid-30's I loved summer heat. Hotter the better. I'd take 110 over 20 any day of the week. Now, I much prefer winter temps. Couple extra layers and it's great being outside in it. Summer I just sweat profusely. Other than breaking ice for all the critters three times a day it isn't bad. No flies, no mosquitoes, no ticks, no bicyclist on the roads, etc.

What scouts do you have? I'm a massive binder fan. Had a few over the years but my current one is a '66 1100a pickup.

 

[commadorebob]

Once acclimated I'm sure it wouldn't be that bad, but I don't really even want to try. Until I hit my mid-30's I loved summer heat. Hotter the better. I'd take 110 over 20 any day of the week. Now, I much prefer winter temps. Couple extra layers and it's great being outside in it. Summer I just sweat profusely. Other than breaking ice for all the critters three times a day it isn't bad. No flies, no mosquitoes, no ticks, no bicyclist on the roads, etc.

What scouts do you have? I'm a massive binder fan. Had a few over the years but my current one is a '66 1100a pickup.

Clarification: boy scouts. My daughter and son are both involved and so I am a scoutmaster for one and an assistant scoutmaster for the other, respectively. We were camping for a week and decided central Alabama in June was a no-go.

 

[IdahoDirtFarmer]

Clarification: boy scouts. My daughter and son are both involved and so I am a scoutmaster for one and an assistant scoutmaster for the other, respectively. We were camping for a week and decided central Alabama in June was a no-go.

Ah, that makes sense. Didn't give that a thought. My brain immediately goes straight to vehicle related things some times. Good on ya for helping with Boy Scouts. Great organization that needs to become popular again.

 

[commadorebob]

Ah, that makes sense. Didn't give that a thought. My brain immediately goes straight to vehicle related things some times. Good on ya for helping with Boy Scouts. Great organization that needs to become popular again.

Makes sense. I should have been more clear. That whole "one hour a week" thing means scouts takes up a lot of my time and so I assume people are on the same wavelength.

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