Car won't start in the afternoon ??!! :/

K

kalibwenm

Member +
hey y'all...i've noticed that each time i startup my engine, especially in the afternoon, i keep getting a hardtime to get it running, yet in the morning it starts up in one go...i find that really strange...so i'm just wondering if any of you have experienced this before, i'd be very grateful for your advice on how to deal with the problem.

Apart from that the engine runs fine, except for a fuel smell from the inside of the car from time to time, especially in the morning.
 
Jay

Jay

Admin
If I was going to guess it could be a coolant temp sender issue possibly? If the ECU thinks the engine is cold (as it is in the mornings) it injects more fuel to aid starting. When the engine is warm this extra fuel will make starting difficult. Depends on how hot your days are I guess.

Jay
 
dark_knight

dark_knight

Member +
do you have aftermarket temp monitoring tools/gauges? this may help verify what Jay is saying here if you are able to see specifically at what temp the issue seems to manifest itself.. :)
 
K

kalibwenm

Member +
Jay you're right, that could be it, cuz i live in the tropics, and in this time of year it's pretty hot down here...where is that sensor located in the engine? is it simple to replace, cuz i want to do it myself...

cheers
 
K

kalibwenm

Member +
Don't have any aftermarket temperature gauges yet, i only have the stock temp guage in the clock, i guess i better get one soon. (Y)
 
weeJohn

weeJohn

Lifer
It works by resistance, low resistance when cold, higher when hot. You could measure the resistance in the morning and then the afternoon to see what the difference is, pretty sure the norm figures are in the the tech sections.

Sensor is used in a lot of 4E models so would not be hard to get a second hand replacement.
 
K

kalibwenm

Member +
i was inspecting the engine's wiring lastnight, and i found that the sensor, near the coolant pipe that goes into the engine, was disconected, due to a damaged connector. So i replaced the plastic connector, and the engine starts in one kick now... :D but there's this issue of very low idle when slowing down, or stopping the car, which seems to persist, and it goes as low as 450rpm...what could that be? :(
 
weeJohn

weeJohn

Lifer
That could the the tps, there is a tutorial for checking and setting both types in the awesomely helpful section.
 
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