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1G Hard Cold Start! Frustrated!

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uberstrafe

15+ Year Contributor
69
0
May 18, 2005
Ft. Collins, Colorado
So I have tried everything, I have switched out the temp sensor, done a boot leak test and fixed the boost leak I did have, swapped out a dead clutch slave, going to rebuild the master clutch cylinder, checked the isc, checked the tps, and I think thats about it. I just cant get this car to idle well and can not get it to start easily when the motor is cold.

Every time I try to get the car to start I have to pump the gas to get it to start firing and then it will continuously die until the motor is nice and warm. Also after driving the car a bit hard the idle goes up to about 1500 and stays there for awhile. The car idle dips below 700 and almost stalls sometimes when I push in the clutch coming up to a intersection. Also I think the master clutch cylinder is making a screeching noise when pushing in the clutch, it only makes this noise when the car is running, the slave was pretty loud until i replaced it with a rebuilt unit.

I just need some new ideas about where to look, I try not to post unless I get completely frustrated and almost ready to take the car into a shop so let me know if you have any ideas on how to fix this!
 
Solution
[RESOLVED]

So it did turn out to be the wiring harness that the person hacked up and then covered up with electric tape. Car starts perfectly now!
All BOV's should be recirculated unless you are using the MAF-T setup. If your intake pipe will not allow you to recirc, you are using the wrong intake pipe.
 
no, im running open atmosphere with a eids box. i know its not the top choice but its what the guy had in it hooked up when i bought it. I think that it has to do with the start problem, but when i unhook the box, loop the box, car wont run for shit. and i recirculated the bov when i unhooked the box. So i dont know. I dont think its a clutch problem, and i dont think i have a boost leak, i didnt test it with a tester, but i pressureized (sp?) the pipes and sprayed with soapy water and didnt see any bubbles.
 
do a boost leak test, they are real easy to make and u can use a bike pump if you had to. I found leaks at spots I never would of thought of (like the top of my aeromotive fpr). I have no idea what the box thing is that you are talking about but that would be my first guess for the hard starts.
 
Update!

I put in the new clutch fork and fulcrum ball and the car shifts beautifully, I thought that I might have to rebuild the tranny soon but now I dont think I will have to do that for awhile. The car still has the starting problem but I think I figured out the problem. The electrical connection for the temp sensor was just tapped to the line... it fell off when I plugged it back in. Who ever had this car just taped it back to the line with electric tape! :mad: . SO does anyone know if you can just buy a new electric connection? The old one just has 1/4 inch of wire coming off of it.
 
[RESOLVED]

So it did turn out to be the wiring harness that the person hacked up and then covered up with electric tape. Car starts perfectly now!
 
Solution
I'm having cold start problems too. I have a '97 GSX with the turbo recirculated. It takes sometimes upwards of 15 seconds of cranking before it finally catches and stays running after a long sit. Also when I'm driving at 3k rpm's and push the clutch sometimes it drops all the way down and stalls out. From what I've read the coolant sensor may be the cause of these problems. I'm going to check this week and update when I can.
 
comin in a little late on this one i'm havin the same problem with cold starts. when i got the car i was told it was the maf that was causing it. i was also told the car had alot of ground and electrical problems that were "fixed". takes about 10-15 cranks in the morning in about 30 degree weather until it runs on its own and starts up the first time every time when its warmed up. the car just recently started missing until i unplugged the maf. i tried the maf out of my brothers 95 gst and it ran perfect but still didn't wanna start in the cold. i beleive it is electrical for everyone still having this problem.
 
I've been having the same problem with cold start. It was getting worse and worse as it got colder. I spent 30 minutes one morning trying to start it up. Finally decided to hook a hair dryer up on the ignitor and after just a few minutes it fired right up. The next day I took the ignitor off and keep inside over night and put it on when I got ready to start the car. It fired up the first time. It could be a coincidence, but it seemed to take care of my problem. May be moisture setting up and freezing inside the ignitor which would cause you to not have any spark.
 
Junk yard or if it is either temp sensor on the lower housing you can use female spade conecotrs whic can be found at any auto part store. Thats what I had to do for my 90 tsi all the conectors have broken.
 
Does anyone have another idea ?? i have 2 eclipses GST 2G.

One of them i bought from a collector, it has only 23k miles, everything original, a perfect car, like brand new. Some weeks ago i have this cold start issue, 4 or 5 times cranking.

I have dsmlink on both cars.

- I´ve already changed plugs, checked wires.

- I checked the coolant temp sensor, when pluged shows 27ºC when unpluged shows -40ºC on dsmlink, and when car is hot shows around 90ºC, so my sensor is fine.

- Changed the fuel pump, checked the fuel pressure regulator on the rail.

- Changed my injectors from 450cc to 550cc and ajusted that on dsmlink, then injectors is not the problem too.

- Removed the ISC, tested all coils, everything fine (around 30ohms).

- I logged the MAF on dsmlink, seems to be perfect too.

Another good thing from dsmlink is that my fuel pump starts when key is on, then when i crank i already have full pressure from pump available.

When hot, idle is perfect, car runs perfect and mileage is very good, only first start of the day is the problem.

I noticed one thing: When car is in idle, i unpluged the cam sensor and nothing happened, engine continue runing fine, then i put it back. When i unpluged the crank sensor, engine died.
Is it normal ?
 
Will having these cold starts and cranking the engine for sometimes upwards of 15 seconds have negative effects on any parts?? :confused:
 
I found my hard start problem - danged vacuum hose from the EGR valve had a hidden split close to the nipple on the intake manifold. Cut that bad section off and cured mine. It was sucking in more air causing me to flood all the time.

Check for simple vacuum leaks - funny how these simple things can pull hair at times.

-DSM
 
Difficulty starting a cold motor is also symptomatic of a bad o-ring at the fuel pump. Sometimes if not installed correctly or old/worn, all fuel drains back into the tank if the car sits for a while. It will take a few extra cranks to start the car up if this happens.
what o ring at the fuel pump..mine doesn't have one..?!
 
There is an O-ring on the pump outlet that fits inside the metal pickup pipe that seals the two.

https://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/2g-fuel-pump-install.403987/

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If you don't have one or it doesn't seal well you'll have problems maintaining your fuel pressure
 
Thank you.. This was very informative.. I was confused because both my 90 and 93 didn't have one..but I see that this is a totally different set up.. But I love to learn... My cold start problem is better but still there.. The wts helped as did adjusting the CAS .. Thinking I'm having a bit of problem since I've sealed a 2nd gen motor into the 93 .. Hell of a lot of work... It runs well but for the intermittent cold start problem... And can get clutch bled right yet..work in progress..thank you again for this info!!
 
So I have tried everything, I have switched out the temp sensor, done a boot leak test and fixed the boost leak I did have, swapped out a dead clutch slave, going to rebuild the master clutch cylinder, checked the isc, checked the tps, and I think thats about it. I just cant get this car to idle well and can not get it to start easily when the motor is cold.

Every time I try to get the car to start I have to pump the gas to get it to start firing and then it will continuously die until the motor is nice and warm. Also after driving the car a bit hard the idle goes up to about 1500 and stays there for awhile. The car idle dips below 700 and almost stalls sometimes when I push in the clutch coming up to a intersection. Also I think the master clutch cylinder is making a screeching noise when pushing in the clutch, it only makes this noise when the car is running, the slave was pretty loud until i replaced it with a rebuilt unit.

I just need some new ideas about where to look, I try not to post unless I get completely frustrated and almost ready to take the car into a shop so let me know if you have any ideas on how to fix this!
I just want to say I just fixed my issue which is exactly the same as yours and since the coolant temp wires tend to get hot & cold, all the time the wires get brittle so I had to completely replace the wires into the loom about 8 to 10 inches. The one thing which pointed me to it was my fans would kick on right away as soon as I could finally get it started. But maybe try that?!?
 
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