Sudden Hard Start issue

1565 Views 9 Replies 6 Participants Last post by unkamike, Sep 19, 2011

unkamike

Discussion Starter · Apr 18, 2011

Yesterday for the first time since I have my car it did not start in under three full revolution's except for when the fuel pump went last June.

All winter the car was away with the battery tender on but I have been using it and stoped using the tender.

Well yesterday I got in and no start.
I tried a few times and nothing.

So I checked for spark first with a test jumper between each plug on all 4 plugs and had no spark.

I wait a few minuts and try one last time before giving up and it started and ran fine.
Took it for a spin came home pluged in the tender and today after work I went out and it started just not as fast as it always did.

Now I will follow the Bosh L Jet info here but wondering if anyone can think of what will cause this.

The coil looks quite old I will be going through the service records tonight as have about 22 years worth but just do not want to guess at swap parts tp see what happend.

Any thoughts would be great.

Thanks
Mike

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86spider

· #2 · Apr 19, 2011

slow starting

Start with the battery, put the tender back on or jump it and see if your starting issue goes away. the ignition (i think) controller needs a minimum voltage before it will turn on. below that you still have enough power to crank over very well, but no start.

good luck,

Wayne

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ghnl

· #3 · Apr 19, 2011

By 'nothing' do you mean it would crank but not start or it would not even crank?

First thing is to make sure all electrical connections between the battery & starter (including & especially grounds) are 100%. Don't assume - remove, clean & secure each one.

Next measure voltage during cranking. (connect a voltmeter directly to the battery). With everything off it should read ~ 12.6V. During cranking it must remain above ~ 10.5V (>11.5 is way betterer). If cranking voltage is low the computers will not wake up to send the spark/fuel signals.

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unkamike

Discussion Starter · #4 · Apr 19, 2011

Eric
It cranked away just did not fire.I put a spark tester between the plugs their was no spark.
Then a few tries later it fired right up with not touching anything.
As far as the battery,cables and grounds they are all new and clean.
Yesterday and today it started no problem.I will go the grounds and etc.My question is could something be slowly be going bad like the coil?
I will report back.
Thanks

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bianchi2

· #5 · Apr 19, 2011 (Edited by Moderator)

bosch car... no spark , check the flywheel sensors

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60sRacer

· #6 · Apr 20, 2011

Modern fuels do not store well. Too much ethanol blended in - as much as 10% without even telling us; store the car and the alcohol evaporates, and also absorbs water which collects right at the tank pick-up. I'm surprised it started after a few tries.

Robert

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ghnl

· #7 · Apr 20, 2011

unkamike said:
As far as the battery,cables and grounds they are all new and clean.

Don't assume. Remove, clean & secure. I like to apply a smear of dielectric grease to the cleaned areas before reassembly. It helps stave off corrosion. Keep in mind aluminum doesn't turn rusty looking with corrosion. Instead it develops a thin layer of oxide - that oxide is a good insulator.

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unkamike

Discussion Starter · #8 · Apr 20, 2011

Will do Eric.
We are going up to Vt tomorrow for the weekend I am going to leave the Tender on and start cleaning connections and applying dielectric grease next week.
I will keep you informed.
Oh and I always use Sta Bil.
Mike

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jmaz

· #9 · Sep 10, 2011

This thread just saved me a lot of work by pointing me to the "low battery voltage" explanation. My '87 spider has seldom had any hard-start problems, but in this case after sitting for a couple of weeks, she wouldn't start even though the engine cranked over strongly. A quick check of the battery voltage showed it to be just over 12V. An overnight charge brought that up to about 12.8V. And problem solved!

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unkamike

Discussion Starter · #10 · Sep 19, 2011

That is exactly what happened.
The car was not used for a couple of weeks and I did not plug the tender in.
I pluged it in overnight and been fine ever since.
Thanks
Mike

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