Car has trouble starting!!!!!

[imagine3163]

Ok guys this is totally annoying me and I do not know what else to check out. Yesterday, I try to start up my car and I have to crank it over 20 times and pump the gas pedal a little (like starting an old truck) in order for it to start up. And, when it does start up, it runs really rough for a couple seconds and then everything is normal. If at this point I turn off my car and restart it, it fires right up. It only has difficulty starting when it has been sitting for an hour or so. Once the car is warmed up, it drives like a champ. It is only having these problems when I try to start it.

I have an afpr and the gauge shows around 40 psi (with vacuum line attached) so I know I am getting fuel. I checked out the spark plugs and wires and they all look to be ok. I also checked my ECT sensor and was reading around 1.9 kOhms at room temp so the sensor appears to be ok. The wires for the harness to connect the sensor look to be intact as well. I really do not know what else to check and this is really bothering me that my car is so difficult to start.

Also, the car smells like raw gas after I do this.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[imagine3163]

*UPDATE*

It seems that the engine is flooding when it sits over night. This morning I disconnected the fuel pump and cranked the engine until the fuel was gone. Then I reconnected the fuel pump and the car started right up. So, is there a specific way that I can test to see whether the injectors are leaking?

I also installed an FPR a month ago. Could that be the problem? I haven't had any issues with it up to this point.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[imagine3163]

*UPDATE*

I pulled the injectors out and let them sit on top the valve cover for a couple hours and none of them were leaking. I also tested each of the injectors resistance and they were all around 3-4 ohms which is good. Also, I pulled the spark plugs out after the car sat all night and I figured that if the car was flooding, I would see some fuel puddled on top the piston right?

The weird thing is that I can leave the car sitting all night and it will start right up in the morning. But, if I drive my car for about an hour and try to start it back up in less than an hour, it will give trouble starting

I also checked the compression today and it was 180 across the board. It still smell like fuel in the car though, but not in the engine bay. I am also getting about 21-23 mpg, so I really do not know what to check next. Any ideas?

 

[imagine3163]

Nobody has anything? I feel like I have been very detailed so I am hoping someone has an idea. Wisemen!?

 

[imagine3163]

*UPDATE*

Well, I am almost certain it is not the fuel pump or injectors now. I tested the fuel pump through link and it turned on and held pressure the entire time (I checked the fuel pressure gauge on the FPR). I also pulled the spark plugs with the system pressurized and I did not see any fuel puddling on top of the pistons so I do not think it is flooding over night.

So, now that I have fuel and compression, I am leaning more towards the problem being spark related. When I pulled the spark plugs today, 3 of them were soaked in gasoline while the other one was fine. So, this also makes me think that the problem is ignition related.

The first thing I tested was the coil pack. While the secondary resistance was fine at 13,100 ohms, the primary resistance on the coil pack was 2-3 ohms. Both my haynes and chiltons manual say that primary resistance should only be around .7 - .8 ohms. So, could this be the problem? Would that much discrepancy on the primary resistance of the coil pack be my problem?

 

[imagine3163]

*UPDATE*

Well I can definitely rule out injectors now because I put my friends in and I am having the same problem. Once the car is started it will run fine. Then, once it is fully warmed up, withing 30 mins it will not start again. I am now leaning towards some sensor malfunctioning. I have already checked the coolant temp sensor manual and in link (the ecu sees the correct temp of the coolant). So the other culprits that I know of are the cam angle sensor and the crank angle sensor. Any other sensors I should check out?

 

[imagine3163]

*UPDATE*

I checked the camshaft position sensor and it appears to be fine. The power to it has a constant 12 volts, the signal output supplies .4-3 volts during cranking, and the ground has less than 2 ohms resistance. Any ideas?

 

[imagine3163]

*UPDATE*

Well, I had the use of my friends car today so I was able to swap quite a few things. First I swapped the power transistor, coil pack, and wires and the problem still occurred. Then, I swapped his afpr and walla the problem disappeared. There must be something majorly wrong with my fuelab afpr because the gauge was holding the correct psi while starting. So, tomorrow morning fuelab is getting a call from me and hopefully they will honor the warranty and replace my regulator.

 

[imagine3163]

Well the new diaphragm and spring for my regulator arrived yesterday. I swapped out the parts and have not had trouble starting the car again. I have even let it sit for over 6 hours and it will still start right up. With the old diaphragm, I noticed that the fuel pressure would drop to 0psi within 15 seconds. With the new diaphragm installed, it will drop to 20psi almost instantly and then slowly bleed down to 0psi in a matter of minutes. I am so glad I finally got this figured out. It is weird to think that all of this was from a regulator that was holding the correct pressure. Anyways, thanks for your help guys!

 

[weegee411]

have you replaced your fuel filter? It might be getting clogged every now and then.

 

[Hubbell91Tsi]

i am having this exact same problem. After i have the car running for a while it wont restart. But if i leave it sit for a long time it will fire right up... But im on stock fpr.

 

[crash89]

same problem here.. stock fpr also. could that be going bad? Ive got another stock fuel rail with the fpr, and injectors. should i switch that and see if the problem goes away?

 

[Boosted90TSIAWD]

Im having that same problem and I also have a fuelab afpr, must be a problem when they are first made...

 

[crash89]

hey i just swapped my injectors and fuel rail and the car started up right away and idled just fine.. i must have had either a pressure issue in the rail itself or my injectors were takin a s@#t.. hope you can get yours figured out alright..