My 2000 MGM used to start super-fast even when cold, but by last winter, it hasn’t wanted to start easily while cold, though it still does when warm. After fuel injector cleaner didn’t magically work, I found the #8 plug was fouled in a way that the online charts indicate is from fuel additives or burning oil (lots of ash on the vertical part of the ground electrode), though the others looked fine. The plugs were well on their way to .056" at one-third of their lives, so I gapped them to .052". I then put in a new set of COPs, plus a new battery since a cell happened to crap out. (For those who strip the plastic holes for the COP screws on aftermarket intake manifolds, I managed to drill through the holes for cylinders 1 and 2 using a hand drill and resorted to zip ties.)
The hard start when cold problem was still there, though it was obvious that the electrical side was working at or near its peak, so the car gods were happy with that. Multiple primes of the fuel pump haven’t helped, so I’ve been figuring fuel injectors. I think at least part of the problem has been not driving much and not occasionally driving the much longer distances that I used to. I also hadn’t used fuel injector cleaner in years since I never saw it on sale. I’m currently relying on fuel injector cleaner and driving with OD off, which might be doing some good. If things don’t improve further, my next step would be to check the injectors using the ‘9V battery and carb cleaner’ trick. I suppose I should make an effort to do compression testing too if it comes to that, though I don’t foresee myself trying to fix a compression problem.
I saw the same type of hard start issue raised in various other places where all kinds of other stuff was mentioned, but nothing else struck me as probably applicable. Unfortunately, I never saw anyone reveal what their problem ended up being.
If someone happens to know of a flowchart or something somewhere outlining the sequence of things that should be happening in the startup process, or doesn’t mind coming up with something like that, it would be very much appreciated, as would any other useful insights/suggestions. Dunno if I will ever figure out the problem, but I will certainly post a definitive fix if I find one.
The hard start when cold problem was still there, though it was obvious that the electrical side was working at or near its peak, so the car gods were happy with that. Multiple primes of the fuel pump haven’t helped, so I’ve been figuring fuel injectors. I think at least part of the problem has been not driving much and not occasionally driving the much longer distances that I used to. I also hadn’t used fuel injector cleaner in years since I never saw it on sale. I’m currently relying on fuel injector cleaner and driving with OD off, which might be doing some good. If things don’t improve further, my next step would be to check the injectors using the ‘9V battery and carb cleaner’ trick. I suppose I should make an effort to do compression testing too if it comes to that, though I don’t foresee myself trying to fix a compression problem.
I saw the same type of hard start issue raised in various other places where all kinds of other stuff was mentioned, but nothing else struck me as probably applicable. Unfortunately, I never saw anyone reveal what their problem ended up being.
If someone happens to know of a flowchart or something somewhere outlining the sequence of things that should be happening in the startup process, or doesn’t mind coming up with something like that, it would be very much appreciated, as would any other useful insights/suggestions. Dunno if I will ever figure out the problem, but I will certainly post a definitive fix if I find one.
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