mysterious cold start on 98 s14

[Jason240sx]

hey guys , finally i got my first kouki . minor problem poped up after 1 day of owning it. it always have problem with cold start i need to crank it hard(3-4sec) for 2-3 times with a little throttle then it will start. i thought its the old plugs which i replaced with new ngk iridiums but it never go away. the car starts fine when the engine is already warmed up.

anyone ever experience this before? not much thread about this topic. this is on a relatively stock KA with optima red top and IHE and auto tranny( if that matters)

thanks

[markyboi]

maybe fuel injectors

[s13gold]

take off the terminals check the battery leads.

[DisEpyon]

might have something to do with your water temp. sensor plug. ive know some people having a hard time getting there cars started up because of that plug.

[Vinny]

I had the same problem, I didn't pay any mind to it...next thing I know it got colder out and my car cranked soooo slow and didn't wanna start. Just replaced the battery and it starts without any problems.

G'luck

[ryguy]

Could be the battery. Cold will do that to a battery.

[Jason240sx]

it's a red top optima battery. so i should go to autozone to test it out?.... i didnt know weather affects the battery that badly although it snows here =\.

any other thoughts to this? cause i've read similar threads before but no one actually came out with a conclusion what happened

[aznpoopy]

assuming everything else is fine

yes cold will do that to a battery
cold cranking amps (CCA)
look it up

anyway try cleaning off your electrical grounds and battery terminals.

i wouldn't be too worried about it. when it was about 5 degrees out here my 05 civic had a crappy slow crank start morning.

[redsuns3838]

I had this exact same problem as well with my optima 680 battery. Thought there wasnt enough CCA. Id crank it and gas and sometime it would start right away, sometimes I had to crank for 5 seconds. let the car sit, and try again. Anyways: it ended up being lack of fuel pressure. When you start the car do you wait for the Fuel Pump to build up pressure or are you turning the key and cranking right away? It could be that you arent building up enough pressure at first and thats why you need to try twice. I kept thinking it was the battery but now I just turn the key and let the car sit for 5 seconds while fuel pump brings up pressure, then I crank it. starts every time.
You might want to replace your fuel filter and maybe the filter on the pump in the gas tank as well. Just as a tune-up sort of procedure if anything else.

try letting hte pump build up pressure for 5-10 sec and let us know if it helped.

[Jason240sx]

since i just got the car , i guess i should do a tune up on it first before diagnosing it. but the freezing -10C here is really making work hard without a garage BRRRR......

but anyone can explain why if the engine is warmed up then the battery will be alright to start it just at 1 crank?

it couldnt be a bad headgasket/bad compression will it?

[redsuns3838]

thats what im saying...it mite not be your battery.

engine is warmed up, = pressure in lines.
after a night of sitting pressure reduces and there is none in the line sin the morning.

I doubt its headgasket issues bro.

[Jason240sx]

i shall update soon again...... heading to autozone =)

[Jung918]

I had the same problem with my kouki. The headlights would also dim at low rpms. I got a redtop battery and added some ground wires. So far so good.

[HalveBlue]

More likely then not it's your battery.

Check the easy and cheap things first. Go to NAPA/Autozone/Pepboys etc. and get your battery checked.

If that's not the issue, check your fuel pressure.

[Jason240sx]

alright , the battery and alternator checked out fine and it's a red top optima already. =\ , can grounding lead to problem like this ? cause id ont understand yet again why the temp will affect the grounding points

how do i check the fuel pressure? does that mean its a faulty fuel regulator or the fuel pump?

[HalveBlue]

Ground can definitely cause problems, although I don't think there would be a corelation with outside temperature. But, you never know, and it's always a good idea to check your grounds. Besides, it's free and easy!

To check fuel pressure you'll need to get a hold of a fuel pressure gauge ($15 or less at Harbor Freight). The steps outlining how to perform a fuel pressure check are contained in the FSM. If you don't have a copy of the FSM you can get one at various places online; just check around.

Testing for fuel pressure should only take around 15-30 minutes.

If your fuel pressure is weak it could be a number of things (FPR, fuel pump, leaks/kinks in the fuel lines). It's up to you at that point to figure out what the problem is.

Good Luck!

[Jason240sx]

I guess I need all the luck i can get , =) . if only it wasn't for the snow i'll be troubleshooting from top to bottom =\

for the ground , since u said its free an easy. i belief it involves a wire brush and a multimeter? cause i dont know other ways how to make sure its a good ground? any pointers?

[HalveBlue]

Nope, you got it.

Snow = shit for working on cars.

I need a garage dammit.

[Jason240sx]

so with the multimeter you check for the least ressitance frmo the grounding point to the -ve battery terminal? or should i check all the grounding points on the car?

[HalveBlue]

Check the FSM. It will tell you to check for a proper ground.

Since it only takes a few seconds you might as well check all the ground you can.

[Jason240sx]

hmm time to dig around for a FSM again ,
thanks guys

but if there is anyone of u who found a solution pls post em up

[Jason240sx]

help guys , got a new battery in and it is still doing the same thing. so i doubt its the battery.

i can hear the cranking sound but it seems from strong to slower and slower and i drained my entire battery after several attempts.

will it be a starter problem? cause i did the alternator check( pulled out -ve of battery while car was running and it held fine)

i tried to wait for the fuel lines to build up pressure no dice also.

could a bad headgasket/ bad compression in one of the cylinder lead to this?

i even swapped out new plugs and wires.

hope to hear some advise from you guys

thanks a lot again

[Jason240sx]

anyone? , fsm aint much help

[Jason240sx]

will it be engine flooding?

i've heard my friend said that starting the car in WOT will trigger a anti-flood diagnostic on the ecu. is it true?

need help on a daily driver

[s14sx]

broken sensor can cause cold start too. cuz My car cold starts too! hehe

[eastcoastS14]

+1 for this i was just outside shoveling my car out went to start it and got nothin tightened up wires to battery and got a jump and it cranks normal speed but wont turn over..i can hear the fuel pump working and it seems like it wants to turn over but wont wondering what it could be...especially because it ran fine last weekend when i dropped in my optima now nothin :confused:

[wannabe-silvia]

someone needs to solve this mystery my car does it as well. crank about 3 or 4 times and then start fine, and once warmed its fine.

[StaticX27]

I have the same problem, though I'm mostly living with it for now. Shop that I spoke to said possibly the TPS, MAFS or the Coolant Temp sensor.

[Jason240sx]

yes if someone comes up with something do post it up

[ma71supraturbo]

*bump* I've searched ~1 years worth of threads and have seen many people offering suggestions, but no one saying if anything worked.

My problem:

Car takes 3-4 tries of cranking for ~3-4seconds each before starting. Battery is not a problem as the starter is turning the engine over just fine -- even after the 4th cranking attempt. Car starts right up when warm.

Knock sensor is new, no new codes since installing it. plugs/wires etc are new.

[emersonLP]

Did you check fuel pressure like the guys suggested in this thread? FPR might be the culprit. If it goes bad, the FPR will let the pressure in the lines drop slowly when the car isn't running, so you dont have pressure when you try to cold-start the car.

[ma71supraturbo]

Did you check fuel pressure like the guys suggested in this thread? FPR might be the culprit. If it goes bad, the FPR will let the pressure in the lines drop slowly when the car isn't running, so you dont have pressure when you try to cold-start the car.

Haven't checked fuel pressure, but I have sat with the key on "on" for 10 seconds prior to starting and it makes no difference (that is more than enough time to prime the rail)

[sbc]

Get a block heater and leave it plugged in for a day?