Cold Start Problem

[rtp373]

This is a first... it was in the 30's, 02 OBW was in the garage, went out to make a quick trip and the car cranked normally but didn't didn't start right up like it usually does.

 

I let go of the key for a couple of seconds, and tried again, and after 15 sec of continuous cranking, I could hear the engine trying to fire more and more, the cranking sped up and then it sputtered to life.

 

Very similar to flooding.

 

It then ran fine from that point on. Idles great, has all of its power.

 

The only thing I can think of is that yesterday I moved the car out of the garage without warming up the engine. It was in the low 20's yesterday. At the end of the day, I put it back in the garage, again without warming it, and this time since I put a load on it, it revved up on its own and when I got into the garage, like 20 seconds later, I shut it off again... is it possible that since it was cold and was running at a higher idle, it flooded out when I shut it off?

 

Curious what any of you thought.

 

RTP373

[OB99W]

If this ever happens again, and you suspect flooding, hold the gas pedal to the floor and crank. It should "unload", just like in the old carb days.

[rtp373]

That's handy to know... just curious if anyone thought that starting/shutting off a cold engine, down in the 20's outside, could lead it to flooding out when it is shut off.

[ron917]

I've had the same thing happen with my Subaru and with other cars, and not necessarily when it's cold. Running the car for just a few seconds to move it in/out of the garage, or to another spot in the driveway, is the common factor. It doesn't happen every time, just every once in a while. Cars run very rich when first started, and I guess they don't always fully "clear out" the extra fuel when run for just a few seconds.

[porcupine73]

Anyone think engine coolant temp sensor could cause it, or does that just cause warm/hot start issues?

 

Or maybe you have a little water in your fuel system that started to ice up?

 

I've had what you describe happen sometimes when cranking the starter but accidentally letting off the key before it starts. Then sometimes it takes a goodly amount of cranking to actually get it to start.

[nipper]

SInce this rarely happens i am guessing its just operator error.

 

The car starts cold, so the puter gives the car extra fuel to start and warm up. The car is moved 20 feet then shut off. There is still extra fuel in the cylinders. Now the car is restarted again and gets extra fuel again by the ECU. Nothing in the engine has had a chance to warm up, and this can even make it worse (condensation).

You end up with a flooded condition. The car should run at least a minute to get the cylinders warmed up. If it happens again i would look at the temp sesnor, but only if it happens repeatedly.

 

nipper