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chrishill

cold starts

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this has probably been covered a million and six times by now, but....

 

(prepare for complete lack of understanding of the correct tech terms!)

having real problems starting in the current very cold climate, engine seems to 'crank' ok, as in it sounds like its trying to start, but wont actually fire up until the third or fourth try. I've read a few posts like this were people have suggested checking the 5th injector and the HT leads, but ihave no clue what they are, where to look or how to check them! would these be expensive to replace? is it worth taking it to a garage and asking them to have a check?

 

its a 1.8 16v if that makes any difference?

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and to check to see if its working undo the 5th injector,think its a 13mm nut put it in a clean jar and turn her over,if theres any petrol then its working

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What spark plugs do you have? I had this problem on my scirocco scala 1.8i It was traced to non bosch plugs. As soon as i replaced them with the standard (cheap) bosch ones form GSF then it went away. alternatively try disconnecting the plug on the 5th injector and giving it a bit of throttle when you crank the engine. This seemed to have the same effect for me when i had the (expensive) performance plugs fitted. The 5th injector is located at the front of the inlet manifold on the right hand side.

 

Jim

 

1.8 16v

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and to check to see if its working undo the 5th injector,think its a 13mm nut put it in a clean jar and turn her over,if theres any petrol then its working

There is more than likely going to be fuel at the feed to the injector anyway. To see if it is working you need to undo the allen bolts and fie it into a jar.

They only trigger for a few seconds which is governed by the thermotimeswitch. IMHO the 5th injector does nowt much really. I had it disconnected for years on my 2 litre mk1 and that never failed to start in all weathers

 

When you turn the key and get the ign lights on, can you hear the pump prime? I often flick the key a couple of times on and off. That will build up the pressure in the lines if you have a dribbley injector.

 

Gavin

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the pump priming just sounds like a short dull 'hum' doesn't it? I've heard it before, but i've not specificly listened when i'm having problems starting it, i'll have to check.

 

as for the plugs, they were replaced at the last service, 4000 miles ago by a VW dealer so i 'assume' they're bosch? I'll check on that too.

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You've got it Chris. Flick the key on and off a coupke of times just for the hell of it. See if it is any better.

 

Do you dip the throttle a touch as you turn the key? Not all cars will start when you just turn the key.

 

Gavin

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this has probably been covered a million and six times by now, but....

 

(prepare for complete lack of understanding of the correct tech terms!)

having real problems starting in the current very cold climate, engine seems to 'crank' ok, as in it sounds like its trying to start, but wont actually fire up until the third or fourth try. I've read a few posts like this were people have suggested checking the 5th injector and the HT leads, but ihave no clue what they are, where to look or how to check them! would these be expensive to replace? is it worth taking it to a garage and asking them to have a check?

 

its a 1.8 16v if that makes any difference?

 

Hi there. it's getting colder over here now and the C is having problems starting in the cold mornings. hasa happend twice now pretty much as described above.

 

it will turn over, make a funny Wheezing kind of sound and then appear to stop and then start winding over again. it winds over fine but no firing..

 

i can keep doing this untill it starts to flatten the battery!! But i can crash start it straight away no problems, run it around the block, 2 mins tops. stop it and start it straqight away!!! and it will be fine for the rest of the day....untill the next morning.

 

so this has got me to think that i need to check my cold start up system my warm up regulator, functioning of the cold startinjector. etc.....only i don't have any info about this.

 

 

Does anyone have and info about the 1.816v Kjet injection system? perhaps in a PDF format.??

 

any help appreciated.

 

regards

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No I think that the fueling is fine. it seems to me that the car does not know that it is cold and that it does turn on the choke to make it go.

 

only i don't know how to check it all, where the sensors are and what the voltages should be etc......hence the need for some info about the 16v kjet engine.

cheers

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temp/ox sensor yeah - not too much help but do a google search for something like: corrado +16v cold sensor problem

 

should help a bit

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Talking to someone the other day, he explained a possible cause to the cold start problem as this. he told me this when I said that it normally happens on damp,humid days.

 

when a car is cranking over, especially when cold it requires a lot of juice to do so. As so much of the batteries juice is being taken to crank the engine, there is not too much to provide the 'spark'. and especially when the distributor is leaking oil, and a bit humid, the connections are not all that great and the spark can get 'lost' or what spark that is there is weak..

 

seems all very plausible, especially seeing that when i'm having problems starting it, I can crash start it no problems at all, drive around the block(500M) 2 mins tops. I can then stop it and it'll fire up all ok no problem.

 

I've got a 16v kjet engine.

 

anyone have any thoughts on this??

 

I

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PM henny or Kevhaywire as they know their KR engines pretty well.....so should give you an idea as to where to look and check

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I've not got that much written data on the KR engine, I just tend to be able to take a damned good guess at the problems with 'em 'cos my old MKI Golf 16V was a shed when I first built it and had most of the problems you could have! :| See if you can pick up a Haynes manual for an 88 to 91 Passat (big pink book!) which has a lot of details in it for the KR engine.... that's where I learnt most of my KR stuff from when I was fitting my MKI golf with the 16V engine... 8)

 

The oil in the dizzy problem sounds like quite a plausable reason for the problem... the seals on 'em are known to fail after a few years resulting in oil leaking into the dizzy cap area which could well stop a spark from being fired properly as nzgti suggests... I'd also check the earth strap from the battery to the block (via the chassis) as this can oxidise and gives a higher resistance (and thus a worse spark) when damp AND oxidised but this won't be used as much if you bump start the car as the Alternator will be providing some of the juice to fire the engine up...

If it'll bump start (crash start to you!) every time with no problems, and the earth strap is OK, then I'd be tempted to get the injectors cleaned... it could well be that you've got one that's not quite opening enough until it gets warm, so it won't start off the starter onto 3 cylinders, but will bump onto them and then get the pressure up enough to open the 4th one... Dunno about that one, just doesn't ring right in my head, but may be worth looking into... :?

 

You may also be onto something with the fuel pressure regulator... it's possible that this has gone tits up and thinks that the engine is permanently hot so isn't opening the choke as you suggest... I'm not too sure on why this would allow the car to bump start, but not start off the key, but it may be worth you getting hold of an Audi 80 or 100 one from a local scrap yard and trying that to see if it's any better...

 

Kev may have some better ideas... it's been a few years since I played with a KR block in anger! ;) :lol:

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If it'll start from bumping and not the crank, that kind of suggests an electrical fault to me. Perhaps during cranking, the battery is taking such a beating from the starter motor that is unable to sustain the other accessorys?

 

I haven't got much to add, all the common things have been covered by you guys already. Next step is to bite the bullet and put the car into a workshop for some professional diagnosis.

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