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Heavy equipment are the life line of a construction business. If we ask a person who has been in this industry for long, he will claim that without the help of heavy equipment, doing business in the construction segment is almost impossible. We understand that all the heavy equipment that is meant to work in a construction site is very essential. However, there are some machines that are so important that if they do not work for a day, it will lead to severe loss of money. Equipment like bulldozers, excavators, back hoe loaders fall under the “most important” category. There have been instances wherein these machines have failed to work, especially during the winters, they just do not start. The main reason for failing to start is improper maintenance of the machine or increase in viscosity in the engine oil leading to losing oil pressure.

It has been seen more in the case of excavators that they simply do not start in the cold. Excavators as the name suggests excavates soil and in this process, a lot of dirt gets attached to the machine. At times, you will find the excavator in the middle of a ditch excavating dirt. By this, one can clearly understand the attachment this machine has with dirt. As a result of this, there are high chances of the dirt particles to enter the region close to the engine and hence can become the reason why it will not start.

Other than this, when the mercury goes down, it directly impacts the thickness of the engine oil. Cold weather and machine not maintained properly can be the two possible reasons why the viscosity of the oil increases. Just in case, one does not pay heed to the problem and still try to start the engine, then it may also affect the filter and may even ruin the system. Therefore, when one finds the problem, an alarm is to be raised and it should be fixed in no time. Simultaneously, also check few very simple things that may skip one’s mind. Check if there is fuel in the tank, check if the valve at fuel tank is on or off. There shouldn’t be any water in the cylinders and things like that should be checked first before you suspect anything wrong with the engine.

Once you have finally found that the excavator is not starting due to increase in the viscosity of oil, you have to change the engine oil and the filter. This is the only fastest solution that you can take to avoid any further complications. To add more on this, during cold weather, it has been witnessed that diesel fuel develops fungus that clogs the filters. The user needs to take extreme care to avoid such fungus from growing inside the machine. He can use several additives that help to prevent the fungus from growing.

Other than this, it is highly recommended to get the excavator checked by a mechanic. Cold weathers causes lot of dampness and the user has to be ultra-careful to keep the excavator up and running.

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