hey guys my car had not started in the cold a few times and i put in a new coil and fuel pump relay. its been fine since...but it still takes a lot of cranking before it fires up. its a 89 camaro 305 tbi. any suggestions on what to check or replace so it will fire right up?

 

check engine light on, if not check fuel pressure

 

Well first off we need to define long cranking...Is it like 3 secs? or whats long to you? Also does cold mean like sitting over night or what? Typically in the morning mine will crank for about 3-5 secs before firing...Same year RS 305 TBI

 

ok. yeah in the cold it will normally be closer to 5 sec. if it sat over night. but now even when its not cold and hasnt sat over nite it usually cranks 3-5 sec.

 

Does your fuel pump prime the system?

 

3-5 Seconds Of crankin before start up is normal for cold...Idk about not being cold...what is the temp at when this issue comes up? It sounds about normal...If you dont think so then you can goahead and get you a fuel pressure gauge and make sure your FP is primin to 12-13 and holding when its running...if not you got a prob in the fuel system...Prolly fuel pump

 

My 350 TBI cranks about 2-3 seconds when stone cold winter mornings. Of course "stone cold" for me is about 35 degrees night time low. Hot restarts I just "tap" the start position and it fires right up.

Are you still working with a full stock setup, Induction, ECM etc?

 

yes its all stock. i will try to get a hold of a fuel pressure gauge and see what happens. the temp around here right now are 50's high and low in the 30's. maybe the fuel pump is the issue i dunno...but i think its the original one from factory.

 

may adjust ur timing and it may helps some

 

K check your pressure and let us know...I still think its normal...or at least my car does the same thing....But without being there in person its hard to say....

 

Five solid seconds of cranking is not normal.

 

Question :
Do you turn the key on ( one mississippi ) then crank, allowing fuel pressure to come up, or do you go from off to crank instantly ?

 

yeah ive waited before crank and not waited as well. same result. im trying to get a fuel pressure guage to find out the pressure, and i will post the results asap. again thanks for all the input so far

 

have you checked your plug wires cap rotor and checked the gap on your plugs

 

Check your Coolant temp sensor. My RS did the same thing until I replaced the coolant temp sensor.

 

Interesting.
Mine, which is admittedly not "normal" and I'm doing a bit more sophisticated logging than most, generally fires by the third compression stroke, and is very nearly up to idle speed by the end of the second full revolution. On VERY cold winter mornings, it's taken maybe two full seconds. Timing has a lot to do with it, but I always wait to hear the fuel pump stop before hitting the starter. Then too, I burnt out a starter a year or three ago, and the new one will spin the motor 350 RPM or so if it doesn't fire at all. ( but not for long. The battery won't keep up )
Here's a thot.....
You generally want absurdly rich during crank, so if you dump a teaspoon full or so of gas directly into the manifold, and crank, how long does that take ?
If it pops right off, you may have a fuel issue, but if it doesn't I suspect it's not fuel, and more likely static timing. Just a suspicion.....

 

For the most part it is for the earlier cars. With a wetflow system in the cold, the manifold has to be primed before the motor will start. The earlier ECMs didnt have the ability to prime the manifold with a large shot of fuel like the later TBI PCMs when cranking. Even those still take around 3 seconds to catch.

Its worthwhile looking to make sure there are no issues, but if it runs good otherwise, I wouldnt lose any sleep over it at this point and time.