Table of contents: General recommendations ↓ Petrol engines ↓ Diesel engines ↓ Note for all engines ↓
General recommendations
Be careful when starting the engine in closed spaces - risk of carbon monoxide poisoning!
Before starting the engine, set the gearshift lever to neutral and apply the parking brake. Press the clutch - the starter should only turn the engine. As soon as the engine starts, release the key to its original position, the starter should disengage.
When starting a cold engine, there may be a short period of increased noise due to insufficient primary oil pressure in the hydraulic system. This is normal and should not be a cause for concern.
Do not warm up the engine while parked. Drive away immediately! Until the engine warms up, do not allow high revs, avoid driving at full throttle.
When the catalytic converter is hot, towing the vehicle over a long distance is not permitted. Unburned fuel may enter the catalytic converter, ignite there and damage it.
Petrol engines
Engines of this type are equipped with an injection device, which, depending on the operating mode and outside air temperature, automatically calculates and supplies optimally calibrated portions of the fuel-air mixture.
To start the engine, lightly press the accelerator pedal and engage the starter. Do not release the pedal during the starting process.
If the engine does not start within 10 seconds, interrupt the start and try again after half a minute.
If the engine still doesn't start, the electric fuel pump fuse may have blown.
Diesel engines
Pre-heating
The engine is equipped with a preheating device. The time required to reach the operating glow temperature is indicated by a control lamp.
Accelerator/increase in idle speed when starting a cold engine
Starting a cold engine is facilitated by a special accelerator device built into the high-pressure fuel pump.
To turn it on, pull the handle to the right of the steering column toward you. This rod can also be used to adjust idle speed, thereby reducing engine vibration when starting.
Starting a cold engine
Regardless of the air temperature, fully extend the accelerator rod towards you.
Turn the ignition key to position 2, and the preheating indicator lamp should light. As soon as the operating temperature of the glow plug is reached, it will go out.
To avoid intensive battery discharge when turning on the preheater, disconnect all major power consumers from the network.
As soon as the control lamp goes out, start the engine. When starting, do not add gas.
If the engine starts with uneven ignition catches, help it with the starter, but not more than 30 seconds.
If the engine does not start, wait half a minute, turn on the pre-heater again and try starting again.
If it still doesn't start, the preheater fuse may have blown.
Once the engine has warmed up to operating temperature, return the idle speed accelerator rod to its original position.
If there is excessive engine vibration, use the same rod to adjust the corresponding idle speed and eliminate it.
Starting a warm engine
If the preheat temperature indicator lamp does not light, the warmed-up engine can be started. Do not pull the accelerator rod or add gas.
Note for all engines
After a long engine load - do not turn it off immediately. Let it run for about 2 minutes at idle speed. This prevents local heat accumulation and ensures its uniform distribution.
Attention: If the engine is hot, the fan will continue to operate for some time after it is switched off - sometimes up to 10 minutes. Under certain circumstances related to a change in the temperature regime in the engine compartment, the fan may spontaneously turn on, including when the engine is not running and even when the ignition is off. Therefore, be extremely careful during repair work or inspection of the engine compartment!
(The original article is located on the online resource AUDImanual)