Cold starting a little tough
- MrWampus
- Posts: 207
- Joined: Sat Sep 17, 2011 11:55 am
- Your car is a: 1981 Spider
- Location: Charlotte, NC
Cold starting a little tough
Now that the weather has turned cool for the first time this season, I have noticed that my little mistress is reluctant to get out of bed on cool mornings (below about 55 degrees). I did a quick search on the forum and found lots of references to the cold start valve. I looked at my downloaded shop manual and see that it looks pretty straight forward to replace the valve. My question is, do I need to replace it entirely or can it just be cleaned and reinstalled? She fires right up immediately when it's warm or on cool days after she has run a few minutes. I also noticed that if I turn the key to on and leave it there for 15-20 seconds before trying to crank it, it does a little better but it still takes a few tries before firing. Thoughts?
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1981 Spider "The Mistress"
http://s1088.photobucket.com/albums/i329/mrwampus1/
"Because a 30-year-old sports car is cheaper than a 30-year-old blonde."
1981 Spider "The Mistress"
http://s1088.photobucket.com/albums/i329/mrwampus1/
"Because a 30-year-old sports car is cheaper than a 30-year-old blonde."
- MrWampus
- Posts: 207
- Joined: Sat Sep 17, 2011 11:55 am
- Your car is a: 1981 Spider
- Location: Charlotte, NC
Re: Cold starting a little tough
HOLY MOLY! I just went to IAP and found out the cold start valve is $297! I hope this is something that can be cleaned and reinstalled if that is indeed the problem.
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1981 Spider "The Mistress"
http://s1088.photobucket.com/albums/i329/mrwampus1/
"Because a 30-year-old sports car is cheaper than a 30-year-old blonde."
1981 Spider "The Mistress"
http://s1088.photobucket.com/albums/i329/mrwampus1/
"Because a 30-year-old sports car is cheaper than a 30-year-old blonde."
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- Posts: 672
- Joined: Sun Nov 14, 2010 1:13 am
- Your car is a: 1982 131 Superbrava warmed 2.0 litre.
- Location: Tasmania, Australia
Re: Cold starting a little tough
Do a search, you can get them for less than half that, whether they're any good is a different matter. Work out if yours is stuffed before throwing cash at it.
Mick.
'82 2litre 131, rally cams, IDFs & headers.
'82 2litre 131, rally cams, IDFs & headers.
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- Posts: 3996
- Joined: Sat May 23, 2009 1:23 pm
- Your car is a: 1971 124 Spider
- Location: Texas, USA
Re: Cold starting a little tough
Have you actually diagnosed that it is faulty? It could be a wiring problem, or the Thermo Time Switch, which turns on the CSI, may be bad. You can connect power directly to the CSI and see if it clicks, if it does it is almost certainly good.
For what it's worth, we still have a few cold start injectors at the old price of $99:
http://stores.auto-ricambi.net/-strse-1 ... Detail.bok
For what it's worth, we still have a few cold start injectors at the old price of $99:
http://stores.auto-ricambi.net/-strse-1 ... Detail.bok
Csaba
'71 124 Spider, much modified
'17 124 Abarth, silver
http://italiancarclub.com/csaba/
Co-owner of the best dang Fiat parts place in town
'71 124 Spider, much modified
'17 124 Abarth, silver
http://italiancarclub.com/csaba/
Co-owner of the best dang Fiat parts place in town
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- Patron 2022
- Posts: 4211
- Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2008 8:32 pm
- Your car is a: 1982 2000 Spider
- Location: Granite Falls, Wa
Re: Cold starting a little tough
Have you checked that the cold start valve is bad? Plus, remember that it's a two part system, it and the thermo/time switch, which signals the ECU. First you should check that you're getting the signal from the ECU via the thermo/time switch. Plug a noid light into the connector (a test light or VOM would work, but not nearly as well). You can borrow one from the auto parts stores that have the program for loaning tools. If you're getting the signal your thermo/time switch is good. Next, pull the injector, point it toward a container and have a helper crank the engine. See if it's spraying a fine mist. Of course, these diagnostics need to be done when it's cold.
Ron
Edit: I see Csaba beat me, but I'll just add this anyway.
Ron
Edit: I see Csaba beat me, but I'll just add this anyway.
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- Posts: 3996
- Joined: Sat May 23, 2009 1:23 pm
- Your car is a: 1971 124 Spider
- Location: Texas, USA
Re: Cold starting a little tough
Just to clarify, the ECU provides +12V to the CSI and TTS while the starter motor is running.rlux4 wrote:Have you checked that the cold start valve is bad? Plus, remember that it's a two part system, it and the thermo/time switch, which signals the ECU.
Csaba
'71 124 Spider, much modified
'17 124 Abarth, silver
http://italiancarclub.com/csaba/
Co-owner of the best dang Fiat parts place in town
'71 124 Spider, much modified
'17 124 Abarth, silver
http://italiancarclub.com/csaba/
Co-owner of the best dang Fiat parts place in town
Re: Cold starting a little tough
I'll have to look at a diagram, but usually, the ECU does not provide the 12 volts, the ECU grounds the circuit. Have to find a diagram in the AM and take a peek.
Ketih
Ketih
- MrWampus
- Posts: 207
- Joined: Sat Sep 17, 2011 11:55 am
- Your car is a: 1981 Spider
- Location: Charlotte, NC
Re: Cold starting a little tough
Update:
First thing this morning, I did the really simple stuff first. I took a can of electronic contact cleaner and sprayed both contacts (the wire and the CS valve). I noticed that the connection didn't feel really tight and that could be part of the problem. After I sprayed and dried the contacts, I snapped it back together tight as tight as I could make the connection. Then I tried to start it and it fired right up without hesitation. The temp this morning is 52 so that's not really all that cold, but I think it had difficulty starting over the last several mornings at a very similar temp. Could be I have fixed it, but I'll check it again on some cool mornings and see.
Thanks for the advice and the series of next steps in case this doesn't do the trick.
First thing this morning, I did the really simple stuff first. I took a can of electronic contact cleaner and sprayed both contacts (the wire and the CS valve). I noticed that the connection didn't feel really tight and that could be part of the problem. After I sprayed and dried the contacts, I snapped it back together tight as tight as I could make the connection. Then I tried to start it and it fired right up without hesitation. The temp this morning is 52 so that's not really all that cold, but I think it had difficulty starting over the last several mornings at a very similar temp. Could be I have fixed it, but I'll check it again on some cool mornings and see.
Thanks for the advice and the series of next steps in case this doesn't do the trick.
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1981 Spider "The Mistress"
http://s1088.photobucket.com/albums/i329/mrwampus1/
"Because a 30-year-old sports car is cheaper than a 30-year-old blonde."
1981 Spider "The Mistress"
http://s1088.photobucket.com/albums/i329/mrwampus1/
"Because a 30-year-old sports car is cheaper than a 30-year-old blonde."
Re: Cold starting a little tough
if the connection isn't good, you can always replace the pigtail.
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- Posts: 3996
- Joined: Sat May 23, 2009 1:23 pm
- Your car is a: 1971 124 Spider
- Location: Texas, USA
Re: Cold starting a little tough
In this case it's 12V. Actually the connection that has the wire from the ignition switch (hot during start) goes from one pin on the ECU straight to another, that goes to the TTS and CSI.majicwrench wrote:I'll have to look at a diagram, but usually, the ECU does not provide the 12 volts, the ECU grounds the circuit. Have to find a diagram in the AM and take a peek.
Csaba
'71 124 Spider, much modified
'17 124 Abarth, silver
http://italiancarclub.com/csaba/
Co-owner of the best dang Fiat parts place in town
'71 124 Spider, much modified
'17 124 Abarth, silver
http://italiancarclub.com/csaba/
Co-owner of the best dang Fiat parts place in town