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why is it difficult to start a car during winter?

There are 3 prevelant reasons why cars are hard to start when it is cold.

Reason 1 - Gasoline, like any other liquid, evaporates less when it is cold. When it gets really cold, gasoline evaporates slowly so it is harder to burn it (the gasoline must be vaporized to burn).

Reason 2 - Oil gets a lot thicker in cold weather. So when you try to start a cold engine, the engine has to push around the cold, gooey oil and that makes it harder for the engine to spin. In really cold places people must use synthetic motor oils because these oils stay liquid in cold temperatures.

Reason 3 - Batteries have problems in cold weather, too. A battery is a can full of chemicals that produce electrons. The chemical reactions inside of batteries take place more slowly when the battery is cold, so the battery produces fewer electrons. The starter motor therefore has less energy (CCA Cold Cranking Amps)to work with when it tries to start the engine, and this causes the engine to crank slowly.


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