difficult starts on cold mornings

[stephen p]

so my 87 t, does not like to start on a cold day after it's been sitting all night. when i got it, it was running e85, and i was told that's what the issue was. yesterday, i changed my chip and injectors back to 93 octane. and this morning it still took a solid 3 tries at about 15 seconds apiece to get it to finally start. i don't think it's an ignition issue, because the tach (buick motorsports, not stock) is reading rpm, and i started it off a squirt of ether the first morning, when i had to be somewhere.. i don't believe there is a cold start injector on these? anyhow. where should i start looking? car runs great otherwise, and after it's been started once, it starts fine the rest of the day



EDIT: i don't know how not to sound like a complete smart ass, but please assume i'm not a total idiot. voltage is there, it turns over just fine, and it has plenty of fuel pressure, per the gauge.. it turns over, has spark.. will fire right off and run great with a shot of ether, and turns over fine, not a low voltage issue. and once the car has started, it's not really an issue again, until several hours later.

 

[salvageV6]

Try priming the fuel system first, key on in run position not start, after fuel pump primes and stops (3-4 seconds) turn key OFF, wait 12 seconds after it stops, and then try to start it.

Works for me when it's below 15 degrees or so.

I know any blowby or oil from leaky valve seals doesn't help the ign. either when cold.

 

[stephen p]

priming the fuel systemis the first thing i did.

 

[texasterror]

What about your battery? Mine did that recently and it was the battery.

 

[stephen p]

it turns over just fine.

 

[turbo87adam]

Do you have a scan master? Sometimes a coolant sensor can cause cold start issues.

 

[turbo87adam]

Never mind i assume you have a chip that runs in open loop all the time.

 

[stephen p]

i do not have a scanmaster yet.. not sure on the chips. it did it with the e85 chip, and does it on the old atr pump gas chip.

 

[TexasT]

What is your base fp? Does it hold there when you turn the key off. Might be the fpr. Do you have a fresh fuel filter? The sock in the tank in good condition? Does the fuel pressure rise with boost? Might have a weak fuel pump.
Coil have good resistance between the post pairs?
Plugs new?

 

[stephen p]

car has been sitting for 3 hours or so.. fuel pressure was at zero. turned the key on, jumped immediately to 43-45 lbs..fired right off, pressure went to around 33 lbs at idle. that's enough to tell me it's not a fuel pressure issue. but once it sits for a good 10 hours, it's going to take turning it over forever..

haven't checked coil resistance, but it runs great once it fires off. it's not an ignition issue, and when coils start going bad, they run shittier the warmer they get, not the opposite.

 

[TexasT]

Run a leakdown. You might have a compression problem.
Only three things needed to make it run and you are convinced two are in good condition.

 

[stephen p]

lol. it's a lot more likely that there's something causing the car to not enrich the fuel mixture on a cold start. the motor is brand new. it is NOT a compression issue. i do appreciate the help, but if it were ignition or compression related, it would not immediately fire off with a shot of ether.. and the fact that once it's started, it runs excellent other wise, and the fuel pressure gauge, tells me it's nto a fuel pressure issue. could it be a cam sensor not adjusted properly?

 

[bison]

I would verify the cranking fuel in both chips. Its possible both are wrong. Assuming coolant temp is reading correctly. If you suspect it's lean unplug the coolant temp sensor on the front of the intake. It will go rich on cranking fuel.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TexasT]

I've had a lot of old stuff that runs good once it gets running. Just because it is "new" doesn't mean the rings are seated.
You seem to make a lot of assumptions without doing the testing.

 

[TurboBuRick]

If it pops off with starting fluid it would seem to be a fueling issue. First verify the coolant sensor is reading correctly. Like mentioned that will throw off cranking fuel if it's reporting wrong temp. Need some type of scanner to verify.

Next I would look at the injectors. Maybe sticky or lazy when cold.

Rick