SubzeroX

So this morning after driving a little spirited last night (couple of hard accels, nothing TOO crazy) i experienced my first white smoke at start up.. really thick and went away after about 3-5 seconds.


Saw it again after 14 hours but this time less smoke. I also noticed that when i started it a 2nd time, I had to hold the key in the start position for at least 3 seconds before the start fired and the car started normally. after some driving and a 45 min stop, it started up just fine..


any ideas? I recently changed my antifreeze (a tube was leaking) and got an oil change done couple weeks ago.



I'll let you know what tomorrow holds.

Shark Attack

do you smell anything are you sure it is smoke and not steam?

SubzeroX

UPDATE: Definitely white smoke not steam... It got less and less after a couple cold starts now doesn't smoke anymore.

Now when the car is cold, i have to hold the ignition in the "start" position for like 3-5 seconds before it starts to fire, then fires as usual. When warm, it'll fire right away. There is no straining, weird noises or anything like that. Just a 4-5 second delay from firing up when cold


Any thoughts

KrazyK

If youre sure its oil smoke maybe you overwhelmed the AOS with your driving.

SubzeroX

Also when at idle I took off oil cap, I could hear a sssssssssss sound and when I put my hand over the hole I could feel a very mild suction. The car didn't really rough idle as if it were misfiring but more just a gentle rough idle kind of just vibrating. Cap out back on and went away immediately

dallison28

I have noticed a slow delay to the starting in mine too. I haven't confirmed that it is still doing it.

jumper5836

You sure your battery is still good?

kpl

Seems about once a year mine does the same thing, white smoke and/or longer than usual cranking for a start or two, for no apparent reason.

dallison28

Mine starts fine now. I must have been doing something and trying to start the car at the same time and didn't pay attention to the time.

ChristopherG

Tiptronic or manual? What are the temps like there? A frozen or clogged pcv system can cause similar symptoms.

Macster

That's normal behavior. Generally if there's an AOS problem the cap is very difficult to impossible to remove against the low pressure in the crankcase.

The slow cranking would have me thinking battery. The times my Turbo has done this both times it proved to be the battery. One was just 7 months old when it finally was unable to start the car.

The smoking could arise from the extra cranking time that causes the oil that is on the intake walls or in the inlet ports to be concentrated in one or more cylinders and when they do fire off the smoke you see is the result. If the engine fired off quicker the same amount of oil would get burned just not all at once the smoking might not be that visible unless you were standing at the back of the car.

I'd get the battery checked out early in the day and then again late in the day to see if it is losing power over time.

SubzeroX

update: no more smoking at starts. also, starts are now as soon as i turn to the start position.. no more delay. The delay comes and goes.

Macster, what i mean by delayed start.. is not that the crank is slower... crank is fine. delayed meaning that when i turn the key to the start position (one more right after "on"), i have to hold it there for a couple seconds before the engine starts turning. but when it begins to turn, it turns as normal and turns on normally (not slowly turning like it's straining or losing power). its just that the START of the engine turning on is delayed, not the actual cranking.

Macster

Thanks for the clarification but I still suspect battery, or its connection to the car and its electrical system.

The engine starter should react right away when the key is turned to the start position.

If it doesn't and wiggling the key or pressing on the key in various directions affects this then the switch is suspect.

Now there is the issue of the car's security system. Whenever the key is inserted into the ignition switch and turned the car's security system causes an RF signal to be transmitted. The signal comes from the antenna located behind the collar or ring that circles the ignition switch. The RFID pill in the key head receives this RF signal and this energizes the RF circuit in the RFID pill and it in turn transmits its ID which is received and processed by the security system. If the ID matches one stored in the security system table the engine cranks.

If this RF signal is weak or if there is any issue with the antenna and its wiring this can explain the delay.

Not much you can do in this area other than ensure the battery is good and its connections are good. (A tech with a diagnostics computer can query the car's security system and from the codes returned know the response from the key was not received among other things.)

The techs I talked to the other day about some electrical issues related to the car's electrical system tell me that the electrical connection from the battery to the car the negative lead I think the short lead that runs from the battery to where it connects to the car develops light corrosion where it connects to the car.

To address this I was advised to use a wrench (13mm IIRC) to loosen the bolt (I think it was a bolt I have not had time to look) and just wiggle the wire around to abrade the surface corrosion then tighten the bolt again.

I have not done this yet for reasons I do not care to discuss, but I can assure you it is nothing sinister or mysterious my delay is related to my work on automotive test equipment.

Ahsai

Isn't that the symptom of a marginal ignition switch?