fonetico

I park the car on the driveway. When the weather's cold and wet I regularly have problems with the first start of the day.

It often falters on start up causing an uneven idle. If I drive conservatively it will probably clear after 10 to 15 minutes. If at any time I give it some gas, it will falter and become more and more lumpy until eventually cutting out completely.

It will always restart but it takes 4 or 5 restarts before the unevenness disappears and the car drives normally.

Any theories?

davek9

How old are the ignition wires, caps and rotors ?
Spray all electrical down w/ WD-40, old cars and dampness is never a good combo

Cheers!

RFJ

It does not want to go out in the cold!

davek9

Nor do I it's 16 deg F here today and the sun is out

docmirror

IACV, temp sensor, MAF, LH, vac leaks.

MainePorsche

This would be a good starting point for a car parked outside in the dampness of England, and with the symptoms you describe. If you have these symptoms, you have already crossed the line (IMHO) and should just get a new set of Beru ignition cables. Taking off the rotors to give a good mechanical cleaning and deoxidation is a to do without doing a big tear down (manifold removal). Also there is a ground cable (black) that goes from one of the ignition coil housings to the front of the engine block high up. It is on the Left side in LHD cars, so it may be different on yours (or not). Give it a good cleaning.
This is some quick servicing you can do to address your symptoms in light of the conditions they're exposed to.
Sounds like your next job is the intake removal.

EMan 928

Can you explain what this WD40 is that you speak of? Haven't heard of this before.😃

dr bob

The engine management systems rely on the coolant temp sensor (temp sensor II) to decide how much fuel and how much spark advance the engine needs when it's at different temperatures. The workshop manaul tells us the expected resistance at different temperatures. I recommend testing at the EZK and LH brain connectors, so that wiring and connection resistance are included when you test. If you get readings that appear to be too high, then go check the two loops at the sensor to decide whether the problem is the sensor or the wiring/connections.