wrote:


Since you live in central Wisconsin, you know how cold can sap a battery's
charge, particularly if left idle for a few days. But when you say it "ran
out of juice after 4 attempted starts" I am wondering (a) what you mean by
no juice,

I mean that the battery would no longer turn the engine over. The
instruments were still powered.

and (b) what constitutes an "attempt."

An attempt was about 30 seconds of turning the engine over in attempt to
get it to start.

If you mean that the
battery is discharged to a point where the prop will no longer turn with the
starter, that could mean a lot of things, including a defective starter.

Hmmm, how does one determine if the starter is the problem?



Four prolonged start attempts with a very cold engine could easily drain a
very cold battery. How, if at all, do you preheat?

I pre-heated with an external forced air heater under the cowl and a
warming blanket on top of the cowl. This was done for about 2 hours in
advance of the flight.





I presume that you have studied the
start procedure shown in the manual.

Yes, I followed the procedure as descrobed in the POH, including the one
you described.


By the way, thanks so much for taking the time and energy to offer your
good advice here. I am so impressed by just how generous folks are with
their willingness to share their experience and expertise on this forum.

-Sami