Hard COld Start

[cexodusk]

Its been in the high 20's and low 30's overnight here in WA recently. Yesterday morning the car started right up when I went to work that morning. This morning it wouldnt start for shit. I had to crank and crank and eventually had to hook jumper cables up. Than it got flooded which made it even worse. I eventually got it to start, it stumbled and had a low idle but eventually went to normal idle.

This is happens all the time also.

Ive changed the spark plugs and wires, the coolant sensor on the Thermo housing.

Any ideas on whats causing this?

 

[RayBan GST]

check your crank pulley and your crank sensors , check the pulley for signs of separation

 

[BrandonDSM]

Get a block heater. Living in Alberta, Canada, where it snows half of the year and its constantly -20 degees celcius, you learn very quickly, a block heater is a gem.

The one on my car is an inline coolant heater, which goes in your lower rad hose and warms the coolant so everything stays warm. Makes cold starts very easy. Only cost me 30$ at my local dealership. Then again, I work at the dealership so I got employee prices . But, It wont be too much money.

 

[cexodusk]

IT was doing this before it got cold out, but it got worse when it did get cold. I will check the crank pulley and sensors.

Also when sometimes when I start it the first time for the day it has loud valve noise and goes away when it gets warm.

 

[cexodusk]

anything esle to check

 

[DSM90AWD]

The stock 1G batteries are very small and tend to give up easily when the weather gets cold. I'd put yours on the trikle charger overnight and see if that helps and/or get it tested/replaced if necessary.

Hard starts can also be caluse by a leaking fuel pump outlet o-ring, clogged fuel filter or bad gas.

Valve noise is lifter tick which is "normalish" for 1G DSMs. When the oil pressure in them regulates, after startup.. it gets better.

good luck

 

[steve]

What does the engine coolant sensor read on your logger before you try to start it?

 

[redyute1]

I'm curios about the sensor you changed,make sure it was the one at the bottom of the thermostat housing cause the one on top is for the ac,but yeah those syntoms do sound like a faulty coolant temp sensor,maybe post up a pic so we can see which one you changed

 

[cexodusk]

Its the one at the bottom, it has 2 connectors on it, the plug looks something like | -- however when I got the new one from schucks the brass threaded part was longer than the stock one.

I am almost certain I replaced the right sensor.

Going to get a new fuel filter and pcv valve anything else cheap I can check or fix?

I also need a 7 bolt oil pan if anyone has one

 

[brownfinger]

Coil or fuel pump are possibilities. Harder to "check", though. The coil is easier to just try a different one and see if it changes anything. I had one that checked-out OK with the VOM, but still didn't work right.

 

[MY1GDSM]

Get a block heater. Living in Alberta, Canada, where it snows half of the year and its constantly -20 degees celcius, you learn very quickly, a block heater is a gem.

The one on my car is an inline coolant heater, which goes in your lower rad hose and warms the coolant so everything stays warm. Makes cold starts very easy. Only cost me 30$ at my local dealership. Then again, I work at the dealership so I got employee prices . But, It wont be too much money.

Any Ideas on where else to pick one up?
A block heater that is, I've been looking into getting one
it's 20°-30° Out now and it getting to be a bit of trouble starting the 1g on real E85
Been thinking about going back to gas for a bit(Really Don't feel like it though) since I don't have a heated garage any more Well at least one the stays heated all the time

 

[DSM1G90]

Granted, our DSM's are getting some serious age on them - mine being over 20yrs old (build date 1989) and we can do what's necessary to keep them going strong with proper maintenance and tuneups..but still, the weather elements are always against us and sometimes they do get the best of us.

I also experience hard starts to where I've flooded practically every time on attempt when it really gets cold in this part of the country.

But, I've found a nice seasonal cure to this hard start issue: When you get in, push the gas pedal all the way to the floor then swing the key to "START". Then, as soon as the motor catches, get the foot off the gas pedal immediately and let the system finish the startup procedure. What this does with the pedal to the floor is it opens up the butterfly on the throttle body to allow a full rush of air in the cylinders right before the injectors being firing fuel in the bores and mix the fuel more evenly than being a rich mixture with the butterfly being fully closed and causing the classic flooding problems in these cold times.

This eliminates the sudden rich mixture that will give us flooding problems. I tried this with it being 4 above zero tonight (and this was my first start of the day after sitting all night outside) and it caught immediately, yet knowing that if I didn't do the gas pedal trick prior to startup, I'd be flooded in a quick and have to do the usual trick of starting a flooded car with the gas pedal to the floor while cranking over the motor..which could be a while before it would finally catch.

Some little tip to share with fellow DSM owners that live in cold weather locations....see if it works for you.

A cheap block heater is to have a trouble light with a 100w clear bulb in it lying below and close to the oil pan and leaving the light on overnight. And if you got any of those moving blankets (or any heavy durable blanket), cover the front end of the car while doing this trick..it does keep things warmer....

Good luck all - DSM