j.kenzie@sbcglobal.net

Hi,
It's -10* F. in Chicago today. My car had sat outside all day, and I went to start it. It turned over with the starter rather slowly, but started OK. It idled a little fast, maybe 1100 RPM. As soon as I stepped on the gas the car would sputter and die. This cycle repeated 4 or 5 times. I almost gave up but finally it started and developed throttle response. I let it run about ten minutes before I drove home. It was not completely normal for the first 15 minutes of driving. BTW, I think all the ignition on/off cycles broke the plastic cable in my radio antenna.
Any ideas what was wrong and how to avoid it? I had a full tank of gas and had added a bottle of Heet to it.

1984 L-jet

Vlocity

Dave,

It was probably on the verge of flooding itself. I don't know that there is really anything that you can do.

Are the plugs, wires and caps relatively fresh?

There aren't many 25 year old cars that would sit outside in that weather and be happy about it.

You may have to let it set and warm up a little longer before trying to add throttle. If you get to a no start situation, hold the throttle to the floor and crank to help eliminate the flooding.

Good luck.

Ken

Vlocity

Two other quick observations....a 5 w 40 oil will help a lot in these cold temps....and make sure that your battery is 100%. The cold temps really drop the cranking amps.

K

GregBBRD

How old is the fuel filter? The water trapped in the filter could have frozen...restricting the flow.

j.kenzie@sbcglobal.net

Thanks for the advice. Today is -15*F. I'll let you know what happens. BTW oil is 5W40 and fuel filter is about a year old.

hacker-pschorr

Sounds similar to the problem Rod and I are having with our L-Jets:

https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...uns-great.html

khalloudy

Check the Temp II Sensor..... could be messed up which was a big problem with my car that could not be traced... only showed in freezing temps.

no doubt

You want a clean/new air filter in hyper-cold weather (humidity/condensation can freeze on top of an air filter, limiting the air that gets through when the car first starts). A simple/free test is to see if you get the same behavior out of the car with the air filter removed (i.e. will it rev without dying).

You also want new (lightweight!) oil and a sludge-free engine (e.g. via an engine oil flush at the most recent oil change), too. Less engine friction, the better.

But really cold weather can simply freeze a lot of electro-mechanical components like idle air valves and throttle body butterflies (even fuel injector nozzles), so just letting the engine warm up the rest of the engine compartment will help free a lot of stuck components and frozen air filters. This is where an engine block heater comes in handy.

You can speed up the warm up period with cardboard ducktaped to your radiator, but hey, that's not exactly practical or aesthetic.

For quicker cold starts, you can spray a little starter fluid into the intake tubes, but your problem seems to be post-start rather than getting started.

Perhaps you just need to use your remote engine starter!

hacker-pschorr

I played with the temp II sensor to correct the same problem on my car. I tested six different temp II sensors, picked out the ones at the extreme's of the working range.
Using the sensor with the most resistance on the cold end caused my car to run too rich once warmed up. It did improve the cold starting issue, not completely.

Landseer

Dave, how did it work today?

Crazy thing is my car just cut-out a few times on the highway, like the ignition switch (new) turned off. This was the 84 5spd.

Its 19 degrees here right now. Did it this morning a couple times on the way out of the neigborhood *15 degrees.

Jumped the fuel pump, got it started, cut out again (possibly a bubble in the fuel line??). Started it again, ok. I think it was the fuel pump relay not working right at low temp. Drove home 30 miles, no more misses at all. Just a data point.

Keep us posted.

(BTW, my car would not start at temps below 55 degrees until I changed the temp/time sensor.
My temp/time had been installed with wraps of teflon tape, which might have impaired its ability to ground, so the new one went-in without teflon tape. Probably not relevant to today's issue, but thought I'd mention it for the next poor soul that has similar problems and is searching threads)

j.kenzie@sbcglobal.net

Thanks for your replies. Tonight it was up to 0*F. Car started on the second try. I let it idle for 5 minutes and the throttle was then fine. I have a new temp/time switch but it is bypassed so the cold start injector comes on when and only when the starter runs. I have tried it this way and normal, but this works best for me. Tried both ways last night, too. I have a post on it somewhere.
I am probably due for a new air cleaner so I 'll probably try that too.
Thanks

Landseer

Dave,
Mine felt like the ignition was interupted. But, the switch was replaced sometime during the last year. The key feels funny, though, with a lot of motion possible when its in the run position, like 20 degrees rotation with no resistance. Weird. Thats my other possiblility. Nobody has gotten-into a bad batch of ignition switches, have they?

It might be fixed by jumping the fuel pump relay again, but that just seemed too easy. Nothing is that easy on this car.

Another is the coil wire, coil, or energizing wire --- will probe around that stuff tomorrow (its 9 degrees now).

WallyP

Chris,

Was the link connecting the lock to the switch replaced when the switch section was replaced? They sometimes wear or bend.