 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Maintenance and Repair / January 2008cold start
Hi there, I have a question for you experts here. Starting several months ago, I sometimes can't start my car when I first try it in the morning. If I turn the switch on and wait for a few minutes, then I can start the engine. It only happens in the morning when I first try to start the car in the day. If I get it started, I can start it with no problem the rest of the day. I only drive this car averagely 20 miles per day. Does this matter? Or is it because it is too cold in the morning? Thanks in advance. Evan Jou > Hi there, > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Evan Jou Change the fuel filter and check the pressure. > > Hi there, > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Change the fuel filter and check the pressure. I agree. Had that same problem. They found a bad check valve and low pressure from the pump. Replaced pump and everything worked fine afterwards. >Hi there, > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > >Evan Jou What make model and year? Steve B. Hi Steve, Toyota 2001 corolla S. Thank you! :) Evan Jou > What make model and year? > > Steve B. I sometimes can't start my car when I first try it in the morning. If I turn the switch on and wait a few minutes, then I can start the engine. It only happens in the morning when I first try to start the car in the day. It starts with no problem the rest of the day. I drive the car an average of 20 miles per day. Evan Jou ______________________________________________________ What make, model and year? Steve B. ______________________________________________________ What do you mean by "can't start?" What happens when the key is turned? Nothing at all?? Cranks but does not run? Cranks and coughs but doesn't catch? Rodan. Dear Rodan, Nothing happened except the electricity seemed to be on. :) Evan Jou > What do you mean by "can't start?" What happens when the > key is turned? Nothing at all?? Cranks but does not run? Cranks > and coughs but doesn't catch? > > Rodan. Evan, Rodan asked the right questions. You are still not describing your symptoms very well. "the electricity seemed to be on". Well I guess that means the dashboard lights came on, but the engine did not crank over. It is important to know this. Possibilities include: 1. Old battery, misbehaves in cold weather, just needs to be replaced. 2. Corrosion or bad connection on battery terminals or the main leads between the battery, starter motor, and engine ground. 3. Contacts or brushes in starter motor starting to break down. More information would help. When the car does not start: 1. When you turn the key to Start, do you hear any clicking sounds from the engine area? 2. When you turn the key to Start, do the dashboard lights or the dome light go out or stay on? 3. With the key off, what happens when you turn on the headlights? Normal, dim, or off? --Dave > Dear Rodan, > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > > > Rodan. Dear Dave, Thank you for your reply. > 1. When you turn the key to Start, do you hear any clicking sounds from > the engine area? no clicking sounds. > 2. When you turn the key to Start, do the dashboard lights or the dome > light go out or stay on? I didn't notice. should be go out. > 3. With the key off, what happens when you turn on the headlights? > Normal, dim, or off? Normal > --Dave Okay. You're down to two main problem areas. Try one more test. Turn on headlights, low beam, so that you or an assistant can see them. Turn key to start. If the car does not start, then: 1. If the headlights go out or extremely dim, then it is probably an old battery or corrosion or bad connection on battery terminals or the main battery wires, BEFORE the connections to the rest of the electrical system. 2. If the headlights remain bright or only dim a little, then it is probably one of the following faults in the starter circuit. a. Corrosion or bad connection on battery terminals or the main battery wires, AFTER the connections to the rest of the electrical system. Sometimes the starter wire and the feed to the rest of the system are both bolted directly on the same battery terminal. You can build up corrosion in this area and get intermittent connection to either one. You may have to unbolt the connections to find and clean out all the corrosion. If you find *any* corrosion inside battery connections, consider this your prime suspect and clean the heck out of them, down to bright bare metal. b. Contacts or brushes in starter motor starting to break down. c. Bad ignition switch. This can sometimes be discovered by repeatedly turning the key to Start and twisting it differently each time. d. Bad or misadjusted starter interlock switch on clutch or transmission. There are other more remote possibilities with faults in the related parts of the wiring system. For a better diagnosis, you will need to connect either a voltmeter or a 12 volt test light between battery negative and several points in the starter primary and control circuits, and see where you are losing voltage. If you know what you are doing, then even with a really inexpensive voltmeter you can rapidly find the exact failure point and save yourself some trouble. Cheap alligator clip test leads can be very helpful by making solid test connections while keeping your hands free for other things. If you detect a good ground at the starter motor case, plus a solid 12 volts on both the starter positive terminal and the starter solenoid terminal (when you turn the key to Start), and no crank, then you have just proved that the starter motor is bad. HTH. --Dave > Dear Dave, > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > > --Dave Dear Dave, The car can be started now. I'll try your suggestion next time it won't start. Thank you! Evan Jou > Okay. You're down to two main problem areas. Try one more test. > [quoted text clipped - 47 lines] > > --Dave > Dear Dave, > > The car can be started now. I'll try your suggestion next time it won't > start. Thank you! Oh, I mean the car can be started when the headlight is on as you suggested. > Evan Jou > [quoted text clipped - 49 lines] >> >> --Dave >Hi there, > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > >Evan Jou If I were gussing, It sounds like a fuel delivery problem where the system is losing pressure overnite and taking longer than it should to recharge. First thing to do in this case is replace the fuel filter as has been indicated by a prior response. If that doesn't correct it, it may be time to do a fuel pressure and delivery volume test to see if the fuel pump is up to the job. Lugnut |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.