Car won't start cold without many cranks

[blue thunder]

By cold I don't mean weather. I live in Florida. Any way starter turns over every time but it takes many cranks for ignition to happen. The car idles and runs fine once it starts up. The car will again start up right away if it does not get to cold. It could be six or eight hours later with no problem. But overnight it takes a lot more effort to get started. I fear I'm going to wear my starter out at this point. It is about three months new BTW. Some one I know mentioned maybe a temperature sensor issue. Any ideas appreciated in advance.

Mike

[Blacky]

That was my guess. Any check engine light or codes?

[92 SVX]

yes coolant temp sensor is most likely, it always thinks the engine is warmed up to temp and so never "chokes" for cold starts.

The sensor is under the back of the intake manifold on the drivers side USDM LHD car, it will be the 2 wire brown I believe connector.

[blue thunder]

Thanks, will reply back when I get a new part installed.

Mike

[blue thunder]

Hello, still have not resolved this issue. Sorry in advance for my lack of technical knowledge on this. I had an issue with the plug that connects to the coolant temperature sensor and did a solder repair on it and suspected that the connection was still bad. I did a test where I turned the key over without starting the car and then I pulled the plug going to the sensor and the cooling fans would come on. Plug it back in and they go off. Does this show that the sensor is connected and likely working? When I do get it started and running the gauge in the car shows its not overheating at all. I'm not sure the fans are coming on when I am driving around. Also the idle is low and steady right from the start from a cold engine. Shouldn't it be higher until it warms up? Could I have a vacuum leak issue causing this cold start issue? One more question someone had for me does this sensor when working with the ECU control when the cooling fans come on or is there another sensor for this? Sorry for the long reply. Trying to narrow down what is causing this. Thanks for any direction on this in advance.

Mike

[oab_au]

Originally Posted by blue thunder

I did a test where I turned the key over without starting the car and then I pulled the plug going to the sensor and the cooling fans would come on. Plug it back in and they go off. Does this show that the sensor is connected and likely working?
It shows it is connected, but doesn’t show that it is working correctly. If you measure the resistance of the sensor, it should be about 2k to 3k ohms at 20*C, 68*F, going to 300 to 400 ohms at 80*C, 176*F.

Also the idle is low and steady right from the start from a cold engine. Shouldn't it be higher until it warms up?
The Auxiliary Idle control should keep the idle speed up for a minute or so when it starts, but this unit is timed by an electrical element that starts heating when the key is turned on, so if the key is on for a while before it starts, it may have already turned off.

One more question someone had for me does this sensor when working with the ECU control when the cooling fans come on or is there another sensor for this?

The temp sensor is part of the control for the fans, other factors apply.
Sorry for the long reply. Trying to narrow down what is causing this. Thanks for any direction on this in advance.

Mike

It does look like the temp sensor is the problem