Questions and Answers
Hard Colder Start
Q. Vincent, Hope you had a happy holiday and Happy New Year. I contacted you several months ago and you sent me a response regarding "Hard Cold Starts". I need your assistance again.
This is what has been done to my car.
- Replaced new spark plugs and wires.
- New air filter
- New oxygen air flow sensor (Replaced last year at the dealership)
- New water sensor per your direction
- New air intake sensor per your direction
- Better gas
- Gas treatment to keep water out of fuel and clean fuel injector
When I replaced the water intake sensor valve and air intake sensor valve it started great and the car did not shake and isn't grabbing for power. When the weather was a bit warmer. As it gets colder in the teens and twenties, the car is having a much harder time starting.
When I start the car, I have to manually turn the key and pump the gas pedal several times for it to start. Then it will grab and run nicely. It will not start on the first turn. I have a remote starter and cannot use it when VERY cold. I have to go into the car, manually start it, run it for a minute, turn it off and then the remote starter will work. The car trouble has nothing to do with the automatic starter.
I'm at my wits end and would like to gets this fixed. I have had to do this for the past two weeks.
Does it have to do with the starter, distributor cap or gas filter? Something else. Please help so I can get this resolved. There are people around me that have older cars and starts with no problem. I need your help. We don't know what is going on here. My family is in the auto business and we hooked it up to a computer and it shows no default codes. It did show the air intake was bad and we did fix that.
I have a 1996 Dodge Stratus, 2.4 litre, 85,000 miles.
Please help. It's driving me crazy.
Thanks,
TonyA. I had a good holiday this year Tony, thank you. I hope yours was as good for you.
First off I want to clear up a common fallacy. Pumping the gas pedal on a fuel injected car doesn't do anything. It doesn't add fuel to the engine, it just moves a throttle plate to regulate air.
It sounds like you have all the bases covered as far as the engine goes. I would still like to see a fuel pressure test done overnight to see if you are losing pressure. This is a common cause of the symptom you describe. One way to check this quickly is when you go out in the morning, turn the key ON but not to START. Count to five and turn the key off. Repeat this three or four times and then try to start it. If it starts right off, then the fuel pump check valve is the problem.
What you are doing here is priming the fuel system so there is proper fuel pressure.
Another thing that may help is to give the throttle chamber a good cleaning. if you haven't done so already.
Outside of that, I think I hit the limit of what I can do for you. At this point a scan tool will be needed to check sensor input values at the temperature the problem occurs. That will pin point the problem under the trouble conditions.
Additional Information provided courtesy of ALLDATA
