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Cold start ?electrical problem

Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 9:35 am
by the edmundator
I've had nearly every part of the carb and autochoke system replaced and cleaned out and I still have a problem with poor cold starting.

I wonder if it is an electrical issue rather than fueling, as the car runs absolutely fine when it's properly warmed up... perhaps some condensation somewhere in the electrics.

When I start up on cold mornings the car sounds like it's not firing properly on all cylinders until it's fully warmed up, although it drives reasonably well. I've also noticed (perhaps coincidentally) that the electric windows work intermittently first thing in the morning (but fine the rest of the time).

The waxstat also seems to kick in only when the car has started warming up.

It all sounds a bit of a mess, but any thoughts on this being an electrical problem rather than blaming the carb?

Re: Cold start ?electrical problem

Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:40 pm
by FuzzyEdges
I had a similar problem many moons ago on a DX engined car when the mornings got cold.
It turned out to be a hairline crack in the distributor cap.
This crack allowed moisture to gather between two of the posts and short them out.
The engine ran fine when warm because the crack either closed up or the moisture dried out.
Worth a look?