cold start issue. ideas would be appreciated.

scoobylover57 · Post by **scoobylover57** » Wed Aug 29, 2012 9:11 pm

it cranks over just fine and has spark and fuel. when the car is cold it takes a lot of cranking of the motor to get it to start. its take in me 40 minutes before to get it started, but after it fires up and is running it doesn't seem to run any different than when i didn't have issues starting up. after it is warm and i start it, it takes a few more cranks than usual to start but it is way easier to start.

just looking for some ideas before i start tearing into it cause i wont get a chance to look at it till the weekend.

oh and its a 20g with a rob tune in a 94 tw.

IAC valve? coolant temp switch?

thanks for any ideas.

turbo970 · Post by **turbo970** » Wed Aug 29, 2012 9:18 pm

hows the compression ?

scoobylover57 · Post by **scoobylover57** » Thu Aug 30, 2012 1:21 am

Not sure. it was good 6000mi ago though when the motor was put in. But ill check it.

Post by **Legacy777** » Thu Aug 30, 2012 5:43 pm

I would suspect and recommend replacing the coolant temp sensor.

Are there any codes stored in the ECU? Instructions on how to pull the codes are on my site if you need it.

scoobylover57 · Post by **scoobylover57** » Thu Aug 30, 2012 7:01 pm

It has no stored codes. That was the first thing I tried hopeing to get pointed in a direction. I put a brand new coolant temp sensor in when I put the motor in, but i guess it is an aftermarket one. So maybe it went out already?

Post by **Legacy777** » Thu Aug 30, 2012 8:40 pm

Well it shouldn't go bad in 6,000 miles, but you could try checking/testing it.

If you've confirmed you have fuel & spark, then I'd check timing.

Has this problem slowly gotten worse, or did it just show up one day?

scoobylover57 · Post by **scoobylover57** » Thu Aug 30, 2012 10:23 pm

Yea i got fuel and spark.

I noticed one day it took some extra cranks to start and the next time it took a lot of extra cranks. So it happened pretty suddenly.

rallyak · Post by **rallyak** » Thu Aug 30, 2012 11:11 pm

Mine did the same thing and for some reason the alternator would be energized a drag the engine slightly, if I unplugged it started fine.

94SS_Canada · Post by **94SS_Canada** » Mon Sep 03, 2012 7:16 am

That's something new^^.

Anyways where do you live? Because when you say cold start, how cold do we mean?

What oil are you using? Have you inspected your IACV yet?

scoobylover57 · Post by **scoobylover57** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 9:32 pm

i finally had sometime to work on my car a little bit.

i still have no idea whats wrong with it though. it starts fine now though. so i don't know why it was so hard to start before.

i have a whole nother set of problems though the tachometer stopped working along with the temp gauge.

i can't get the check engine light to come on at all either. no matter what i do. when the car is in the on position before you start it or if you plug in the check connector. its also a rob tune ecu so the check engine light use to blink if it detected knock.

i thought all this stuff might be an ecu thing so swapped out to a different 20g ecu and it didn't make a difference.

i really have no idea whats going on with it. its starting to piss me off.

Post by **Legacy777** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 11:27 pm

It sounds like the bulb is either burned out or something is up with the wiring.

scoobylover57 · Post by **scoobylover57** » Fri Sep 14, 2012 12:37 am

Yea i got the whole cluster out and checked the bulbs. They were all good so im thinking its a wiring issue. I think i want to find a full 5spd t leg harness and swap it in cause the previous owner did some weird crap before i baught the car and i thaught i fixed them all but who knows.

scoobylover57 · Post by **scoobylover57** » Sun Sep 30, 2012 7:59 am

I had some more time to play with my car. So i figured why half my gauge cluster wasnt working. It was just a loose connection. That was a relief.

Now back to the cold start issue. Now by cold start i dont mean cold outside just the engine being cold. It starts just fine if it has been running and you go do something for an hour or two. If it sits over night or the 8 hours while im at work. it will take for ever to start if you can get it to start at all.

Im pretty sure its flooding its self with fuel. I just dont know why. I just changed the coolant temp sensor today hoping that would fix it but no luck.

When you finally get it to start it also throws a check engine light code 12 for starter switch. Which makes no sence cause it turnns over just fine.

Any ideas now?

scoobylover57 · Post by **scoobylover57** » Tue Oct 02, 2012 1:54 pm

So i figured the trick out on how to start it. The throttle has to be slightly pressed and after a few trys Then it idles rough for a second or two and then smooths out. Any idea what causes this? And im still getting the cel #12.

wtdash · Post by **wtdash** » Wed Oct 03, 2012 8:55 pm

For reference:

CEL # 12 Item: starter switch Diagnosis: Abnormal signal emitted from starter switch Fail-Safe Operation: Turns starter signal switch OFF

I'd say you need to spend some more time behind/under the dash looking for wiring issues??

Since you've go the EJ20G, you have a cold start issue...it's common. Go over on NASIOC and search - you'll find plenty of posts w/out a whole lot of answers. Rob has a few, too.

I had the issue on mine, but it got MUCH better when I replaced the pistons due to a cracked ringland on # 2 cylinder.

GL,
Td

91Beater · Post by **91Beater** » Sun Oct 14, 2012 2:55 am

Check compression cold.

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