Why Am I Hard Starting?
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Why Am I Hard Starting? - 8/15/2006 5:39:06 PM
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JohnnyWadd
Posts: 42
Joined: 1/12/2006
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Hey, guys. I've been having a bit of a hard-starting issue that has developed over the past few weeks, and I was wondering if I could get a little bit of input. I'm thinking it's a fuel delivery or fuel pressure problem. I'll try to explain what's happening as best I can, but in the next few days, I'm going to try hard to post a video of what's going on. In the mean time, could you give this a read and let me know what you think?
Okay, The car was performing beautifully once I got the cooling issues worked out of it. I'd done a pretty thorough tune-up on her. New plugs, new cap & rotor, new air filter, and I ran some Sea Foam through the fuel system. Then, a few weeks ago, I started getting a little bit of hard-start out of her. At first, it was intermittent, and seemed to only happen when the weather was hot and the car had just been run (i.e. restarting after only giving her a short break). But, she'd spit out whatever was ailing her and then she'd run fine. Over time, the problem's gotten consistently worse.
What she's doing right now is a little bit more acute version of what happened before. The hard-starts have gotten MUCH harder, and now it's happening even in the mornings after not having been run since the day before. The hard-starts in the morning seem to be a little bit less severe than those when she's just been run. Sometimes, in those hot-start situations, I'll even get a little bit of a backfire of sorts. It's sorta like the car coughs, or something.
The thing is, it's the same as before, though: once she spits out whatever's ailing her, she runs beautifully. No adverse affects at all. Only on start-up.
So, what do you guys think? If you have any suggestions, I welcome them. Like I said before, I'll try to post a video, and maybe that'll help. In the mean time, I thank you in advance for your input.
Thanks for reading.
Jon
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RE: Why Am I Hard Starting? - 8/16/2006 4:18:55 AM
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lightshow
Posts: 1775
Joined: 1/6/2006
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im not sure what car you have but it sounds like a main relay. especially if its a 90-93
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RE: Why Am I Hard Starting? - 8/16/2006 9:52:00 PM
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JohnnyWadd
Posts: 42
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Okay, first off, I forgot to tell you what I've got. I'm driving a 1994 Accord with a 2.2L VTEC and an automatic tranny. Sorry about forgetting that!!
Oh, and I may not have been specific enough as to what I meant by a "hard-start". I'm getting an extended crank. It turns over and turns over, and when it finally fires, it runs crappy for a few seconds, but eventually works everything out and runs fine. The problem is most severe when the car's been off for a little while. If I restart right away, it usually pops right off. Also, in the morning, it starts much easier as well.
Anyway, the overwhelming suggestion so far has been the MFR. I'll look into that, but I wanted to drop a quick post and tell you guys what another guy I know suggested and ask for some feedback.
First off, I'm convinced that it's a fuel problem. I smell fuel when I start up... well, when the starts are especially hard, that is. I thought maybe that it was running rich, since I can smell fuel. Also, a friend told me that it was puffing out smoke when it hard starts. I haven't seen that yet. I pulled the vacuum line off of the fuel pressure regulator, but no gas came out. So, I don't think the diaphragm is leaking there.
So, what this friend of mine suggested was a leaky fuel injector. He theorizes that when I shut off the engine, one of the injectors continues to leak. That would explain why the hard starts are hardest when it's been sitting a while. When I start it right back up, it hasn't leaked a bunch of fuel into the cylinder. When I wait until the next morning, it's dissipated and evaporated. Essentially, if there's a leaky fuel injector, I'm starting a car with one flooded cylinder. It runs like crap until that cylinder empties out, then smooths out and runs fine.
That's the scenario he presented. Let me know what you guys think. Oh, also, I'm still trying to score a digital video camera to post a video of what's going on. I'll let you know if I figure that out.
Thanks for the input.
Jon
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RE: Why Am I Hard Starting? - 8/17/2006 12:37:02 AM
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deserthonda
Posts: 3574
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if you smell fuel than it is not the Main relay,, if the relay were bad engine would not be getting fuel.........
is the chk engine lite on ?? sounds like it is too rich ,, plugs ok ??
almost acts up like a bad TW sensor ..
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RE: Why Am I Hard Starting? - 8/17/2006 2:11:04 AM
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lightshow
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desert whats a tw sensor?
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RE: Why Am I Hard Starting? - 8/17/2006 4:16:35 PM
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fireballer44
Posts: 203
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From: North Little Rock, AR
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I am 99% positive that the TW sensor is the Honda term for the coolant temperature sensor. I don't know what "TW" stands for or anything, I have just seen a lot about it when trying to diagnose my brother's Acura's coolant problem.
BTW, desert---are you familiar with the Acura Legend??
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1991 Honda Accord LX 5-Speed
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RE: Why Am I Hard Starting? - 8/17/2006 6:00:43 PM
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JimBlake
Posts: 3137
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quote:
ORIGINAL: JohnnyWadd
... I pulled the vacuum line off of the fuel pressure regulator, but no gas came out. So, I don't think the diaphragm is leaking there.
If you smell excessive fuel on startup, that was an excellent thing to check. To bad that wasn't it, but I figured I'd mention it for other people who find this thread.
I like the leaky injector bit. Except that you said it's starting hard even after being parked overnight. When that happens, do you smell gas the same way? I don't think a puddle of gas would survive overnight.
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'03 Accord & '07 Civic
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RE: Why Am I Hard Starting? - 8/17/2006 10:01:48 PM
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JohnnyWadd
Posts: 42
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Okay, I've got a video camera. Does anyone know how to post a video on here?
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RE: Why Am I Hard Starting? - 8/17/2006 10:20:14 PM
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mbo1985
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From: Florida
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i've been meaning to post video on here forever... I need to get to that, seriously.
Anyways, you need to host it somewhere. I think Youtube.com has hosting that anyone can use. You'll have to sign up for it and stuff, but I'm pretty sure it's free. Then link us the URL where the video is.
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RE: Why Am I Hard Starting? - 8/17/2006 11:29:32 PM
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deserthonda
Posts: 3574
Joined: 12/3/2005
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quote:
ORIGINAL: fireballer44
I am 99% positive that the TW sensor is the Honda term for the coolant temperature sensor. I don't know what "TW" stands for or anything, I have just seen a lot about it when trying to diagnose my brother's Acura's coolant problem.
BTW, desert---are you familiar with the Acura Legend??
you are correct on the TW sensor,
i know some about legends, what kind of questions do you have ??
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No Year No Model in Your signature
No Help from me
Take a look in the DIY section before asking for help
Always Diagnose First,,, Before Replacing Parts
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RE: Why Am I Hard Starting? - 8/17/2006 11:31:55 PM
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deserthonda
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it sounds to me as the engine is too rich on all 4 cylinnders ,,,you would ahve to have all 4 injectors leak down,,,ehhhhhh
one leaky injector will not prevent the car from starting or getting progressevely worse ,, it would start the car fine but with a noticable miss on that particular cylinder
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No Year No Model in Your signature
No Help from me
Take a look in the DIY section before asking for help
Always Diagnose First,,, Before Replacing Parts
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RE: Why Am I Hard Starting? - 8/17/2006 11:44:51 PM
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fireballer44
Posts: 203
Joined: 7/14/2006
From: North Little Rock, AR
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quote:
ORIGINAL: deserthonda
quote:
ORIGINAL: fireballer44
I am 99% positive that the TW sensor is the Honda term for the coolant temperature sensor. I don't know what "TW" stands for or anything, I have just seen a lot about it when trying to diagnose my brother's Acura's coolant problem.
BTW, desert---are you familiar with the Acura Legend??
you are correct on the TW sensor,
i know some about legends, what kind of questions do you have ??
Well, I am driving my bro's 90 Legend. He is gone for a while, so I am also working on it. Just got through with clutch master cyl. There is some type of coolant problem, I haven't found a leak as of yet, but it is losing coolant. No water in oil, no smoke, it does have a bit of a rich smell but that has been there since he got it a couple years ago. It is a very slow leak. Any suggestions on what to check (or a DIY that might help, etc...)
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1991 Honda Accord LX 5-Speed
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RE: Why Am I Hard Starting? - 8/17/2006 11:56:33 PM
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deserthonda
Posts: 3574
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fire,, have you pressure tested the cooling system ???? also pressure thest the radiator cap..
hook up the pressure gauge and let sit for a bit see if any coolant comes out,, chk the radiator drain plug as well
_____________________________
No Year No Model in Your signature
No Help from me
Take a look in the DIY section before asking for help
Always Diagnose First,,, Before Replacing Parts
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RE: Why Am I Hard Starting? - 8/18/2006 12:01:39 AM
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fireballer44
Posts: 203
Joined: 7/14/2006
From: North Little Rock, AR
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Nope, I haven't. I will take a look for a place to get a pressure gauge. I was going to just go pick up a new radiator cap when I get my car back tomorrow. I have worked a lot with coolant problems, they drive me crazy.... I idled it about 10 mins at operating temp yesterday, found nothing dripping.....so it must be an intermittent leak or something.
I will check those things and hopefully I find something. At least I get my car back tomorrow....
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1991 Honda Accord LX 5-Speed
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RE: Why Am I Hard Starting? - 8/18/2006 12:43:55 AM
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JimBlake
Posts: 3137
Joined: 5/31/2006
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quote:
ORIGINAL: fireballer44
... I idled it about 10 mins at operating temp yesterday, found nothing dripping.....so it must be an intermittent leak or something.
When it's hot, a small leak will evaporate before you can even see it. That's why it's good to pressure-check it by pressurizing it cold.
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'03 Accord & '07 Civic
'01 Saab 9³ & '05 9²x
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