Cold Weather making hard to start car

[2gTurboSpyder]

I'm currently driving a 1998 GST Spyder. I just bought the car in Febuary totally stock with no mods. I replaced the battery around June with a heavy duty battery and also replaced spark plugs and spark plug wires. I only use Synthetic Mobile 1 and have changed oil every 3K.

With all the general info aside here's my problem. It just snowed last night and got really cold. When I went to goto work this morning it had a real hard time starting. Since I just replaced battery, spark plug, and spark plug wires I really don't think it would be a spark issue.

Do I need to replace my starter? Anyone else having or have had this same issue and what fixed it? Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[unior]

is your car throwing and check engine codes?

one culprit in the cold is a bad coolant tempature sensor

if the computer dosnt know how cold out it is...then it cant compensate the fuel/air ratio properly for the weather - that would cause a hard start in the cold and the car would not idle properly until warmed up

EDIT: forgot he obvious...is the car turning off fast like normal..but just not firing up? or is the car turning over slow then its just a weak battery

 

[2gTurboSpyder]

The car is not throwing any error codes and the check engine light is not on.

The car is chugging as soon as you try to start it and giving it gas when your trying to start it doesn't seem to help at all. I don't think its the battery tho because I just replaced it in June with a $120 kick ass battery.

 

[yoshimitsuspeed]

You don't want to pump the gas at all on a fuel injected car.
Is the starter turning over slowly, or is it turnig over normally but not firing up?
Did you gap your plugs?
I don't know, just a thought
If it is turning over slugishly check your battery connections.
If it is turning over normally but not starting I would probably suspect a coolant or other temp sensor.

 

[2gTurboSpyder]

Its turning over, but slowly. It starts up a lot faster in warm weather or after I have been driving it for a while.

I took the car to checker today to see if maybe the battery I bought was bad or if maybe the altenator was going bad. The guy checked both and said my battery and altenator are in good shape.

The spark plugs I bought were NGK's and came pre-gaped so that shouldn't be an issue.

Could it actually be the starter? Coil Pack?

Thanks for all your info guys.

 

[yoshimitsuspeed]

What weight oil are you running?
Check the connections from your battery to your starter.

 

[2gTurboSpyder]

Oil Weight is 10w-40.

The cables to the battery we're nice and snug.

 

[yoshimitsuspeed]

Well I am beat. Maybe your starter is dying.
Check the wires on the starter.
If not I hope you can find someone else who can help you more.

 

[river]

im from alaska...cars ALWAYS start hard in the cold. after its running is it fine? does your starter sound weak? does it start fine after being warmed up and then shut off and started again? if so, its just the cold weather! the best thing you could do is get an engine block heater!

 

[unior]

run 10-30 weight oil or a synthetic oil

that should make a difference - also make sure the battery terminals are not only tight but clean and free of corrosion

imho it could also be the starter - i havn't seen them act like that in dsms personally though - only in f bodies

 

[Game Over]

I have a similar problem, my car turns over fine when cold or warm and starts up quick when warm out or when the car is warm, but the first start on a cold morning the car turns over fine and tries to start up but will die. It always starts fine on the second try though. It doesn't really bother me. Could the oil lifters have something to do with it because mine suck?

 

[2gTurboSpyder]

I'll go get the starter tested and see what happens. Everything looks good under the hood. All connections are clean and tight. This is gonna drive me up the walls.

The weird thing is that I used to have an '93 Nissan Altima with 220K miles on it and it would start in 0 degree weather no problem. It didn't hesitate or anything. The DSM seems to take a second or two longer to start.

When I tested the starter I will post the results. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow.

 

[SlowSpyder]

Doesnt matter what kind of battery you have even your kick ass $120 battery, the battery loses 60% of its power when temps are at 0 degs. Also any engine will require more fuel to start when its really cold, basically once the engine warms up a bit then it should run fine. If you are seriously seeing 0 deg temps all the time and your car stays outside then think about getting an electric warmer for your engine and battery

 

[unior]

i learned the other day that there are differences between the batteries sold in the southern states vs the northern versions

apparently my friend sold tons of batteries to tourists from florida/georgia etc - eventually he found out the southern versions are just poopy in cold weather

 

[yoshimitsuspeed]

i learned the other day that there are differences between the batteries sold in the southern states vs the northern versions

apparently my friend sold tons of batteries to tourists from florida/georgia etc - eventually he found out the southern versions are just poopy in cold weather

If they were the same brand same model they would have the same cranking power.
If they werent the same brand same model then it is irrelevant.
If he sold them to southern folks how did he learn the southen batteries sucked?

 

[unior]

If he sold them to southern folks how did he learn the southen batteries sucked?

yeah i didnt explain that - he worked at a service station up here in pa

and when the tourists would visit pa in the winter...all the sudden their battery would konk out on them - they just didnt handle the cold weather

 

[yoshimitsuspeed]

yeah i didnt explain that - he worked at a service station up here in pa

and when the tourists would visit pa in the winter...all the sudden their battery would konk out on them - they just didnt handle the cold weather

Ha ha ha ha
I am glad he is not working on my car.
It's not that batteries sold in the south are any different, it's just that you can use it longer because it doesn't have to contend with the cliamate.
As your battery gets older it gets weaker. as someone said, in colder weather your battery looses a lot of power. Put the two together and what seemed like a perfectly fine battery at 80 degrees can't turn on a dome light at 10 deg.
It might be a good sales ploy though, start sending your better batteries down south.

 

[erc's_gsx]

2gTurboSpyder, have u gotten that cold start problem fixed yet? i live in alaska, and mine has been acting the same way since last year, now that winter is here. idk what is wrong, but it might just be because of the freezing temperature? i think its kind of odd because my other cars dont seem to do this

 

[2gTurboSpyder]

I have a feeling that it’s actually the starter. Nissan's and Acura's/Honda's all seem start in really cold weather with no problem. I have friends with these cars and have owned a few myself.

Even in the warmer months my GS-T did not start as well as my old Altima did.

I haven't had time to get the starter checked, but as soon as I do, I will let you guys know what they say.

I've checked every aspect of the situation and I really know how to take care of my car. I use 91 octane gases and up, premium spark plugs and wires, synthetic motor oil, good battery with really clean terminals and the ground wire is solid.

I might just have to accept the fact that my car is different. But it'll take a lot of convincing that my car can't start as well as others.

 

[unior]

I've checked every aspect of the situation and I really know how to take care of my car. I use 91 octane gases and up

boo hiss - 94 octane every single tank! (at least one good thing about living in pa)

 

[Slipstream]

I honestly think you're just experiencing mitsubishi's reluctance to start in cold weather, during cold winters in the mountains my talon did the same thing. An engine block heater worked wonders for the problem.

 

[unior]

I honestly think you're just experiencing mitsubishi's reluctance to start in cold weather, during cold winters in the mountains my talon did the same thing. An engine block heater worked wonders for the problem.

ehhh i dunno have owned 4 dsms now 1g and 2g - and every single one has never given me trouble starting in the cold...i see down to -10ish in the winters

 

[erc's_gsx]

ehhh i dunno have owned 4 dsms now 1g and 2g - and every single one has never given me trouble starting in the cold...i see down to -10ish in the winters

not even a slight hesitation? i envy you

 

[ibarfly]

I honestly think you're just experiencing mitsubishi's reluctance to start in cold weather, during cold winters in the mountains my talon did the same thing. An engine block heater worked wonders for the problem.

Where did you get your engine block heater from and what model is it. I have a 97 spyder with the same cold starting problems.

 

[ibarfly]

I honestly think you're just experiencing mitsubishi's reluctance to start in cold weather, during cold winters in the mountains my talon did the same thing. An engine block heater worked wonders for the problem.

Where did you get your engine block heater from and what model is it. I have a 97 spyder with the same cold starting problems.