Rough Start...

S

SpaceAce

New member
The day after I washed my car, it was very hard to start. It was a chilly day, but not real cold. It only has about 13,000 miles on it and has run perfect since day 1 and has had regular maintenance, garaged, same brand and octane gas, etc... I really had to pump the gas and on about the 3rd attempt it started up. Once I got it started, it ran rough for about 30-45 seconds then smoothed right out and has been fine since (only driven twice since then but fine so far). I do remember accidentally spraying a bit of the hose stream into the tailpipe (not directly, but in the course of rinsing some collected soap suds out) and wondered if that could be a cause. I mention that because all else was exactly the same as every other wash. I don't know if I got water somewhere that it shouldn't be and it just needed to be run a bit to work it out or what.......not familiar with intricacies of cars...thanks for the input/help.
 
There is so much space between the exhaust pipe and anything that could possibly have anything to do with a rough start that it isn't even funny. Sounds like some water got on the distributor or something like that. I don't know if you detailed under the hood or anything, but I can't think of anything you could have done on a standard wash that would have had anything to do with the car starting.
 
I have BIG doubts that the water in the tailpipe is the problem. The water would have to go from the rear of the car, thru the tailpipe , thru the mufler, thru the CAT, up the downpipe and to the engine. Also your engine would have to be hot. So I feel you can rule that one out. I am not sure how cold you are talking, but your oil could be getting thick and causing a drag of the engine. Just my .02 worth.

Brian
 
no idea why you're car was starting hard but I'd recommend that you don't pump the gas peddle. With 13K miles you car is obviously pretty new and "pumping the gas" went out the door with carburators. Pumping the gas will only make it harder to start .... take a look at the owners manual.

Any FI engine should start with a bump of the key and start on the first crank of the engine. Not much more is required.

My Accord starts on the first crank 99.9% of the time and when it doesn't it's because I got a bit lazy with the key ..... then, without touching the gas peddle, it'll take about 5 seconds of engine cranking the 2nd time for it to fire.
 
Not knowing where you are located, I don't know if the fuel is changed for the winter months or not. In our area, it is and it will sometimes cause a few problems for people. Bad enough for the "Check Engine" light to come on. I use a gasoline treatment, (Sea Foam), about every 5 or 6 tankfulls and it seems to have stopped the problem. My mechanic says they get a lot of complaints this time of year. :dunno

Charles
 
Thanks for all the thoughts and help. I was hoping it may be a simple "water in the wrong place" type of thing, but I was very doubtful (wishful thinking I guess).
IT was just so odd. I did change the oil that day (day after washing it) so that is fine, plus I always change it on time. I did not detail the engine that day but that was a good thought. I guess it boils down to not knowing for sure what happened....the only other slight possiblility was that it had not been run in about 1 week. I dont think that would be the cause, but it just came to mind as I was writing this. I am storing it in a garage this winter so it will be interesting if I have any starting problems after storage. It started up perfect last year after storage and has always started on the first crank until this one episode.
 
Since you store it over the winter there is a good chance that water is getting into the gas. Before you store it get some Stabil (sp?) at Auto Zone. It helps keep the moisture out of the fuel and fuel lines.

Good luck,
Brian
 
I guess there could have been condensation in the fuel line or something like that. Also, oil and other fluids will thicken in the cold and will create issues like you described when you start the car for the first time in awhile. I would chalk it up to not having started the car for awhile. As long as its not happening on every start up then you should be fine. You might want to have PepBoys or someplace like that do a diagonstic on the starter or ignition if you think that there is a problem there. More than likely it was just fluid viscosity that is to blame.
 
Another avenue could be that the Cold Start Injector is plugged or not doing what it is suppose to be doing on a cold morning. If it is the Cold Start Injector it will be hard for a mechanic to call because they usually only see the vehicle when the engine is warm and the problem only occurs when cold. Just a thought.
 
Or if he cleaned the inside of his car he may have left the doors open and the dome light on and run down the battery just enough so it wouldnt crank right away and then it ran rough because he pumped the gas pedal.
 
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