Still having a starting problem

[cj80cruiser]

Been having a starting problem for about a month now (engine hot or cold) and not able to figure out the cause yet. It takes my truck quite a bit longer than normal to fire up...like say around 4 seconds or so. One interesting observation is that it seems to crank faster after just putting more gas in. The other day I removed my gas cap and felt/heard a slight "ping" inside the cap...this could have been imagined but wondering if it's possible that a bad gas cap could in some way cause a slow start.

 

[cj80cruiser]

anyone?

 

[LittleCaesar]

Members such as Bajarunner and Quicksilver seems to be having the same problem.

There was a thread on YT concerning hard starts after sitting for some time. One member was brave enough to change the fuel pump and the fuel pressure regulator but it did not help in solving his problem. He actually read the fuel pressure and got a good reading at around 41psi.

The idea of a battery being weak was tossed around but Baja put a new one in but still had the long start problem.

Another idea that was thrown around was that the igniter was not working correctly/fast enough to spark the fuel when the fuel pump was primed. How to test it was the question no one seemed to answer. Or possbily the EFI relay was going bad (known to do such in Hondas and Acuras) slowly.

Someone else said they would pull their injectors to be sent to witchhunter for testing but I do not know if that was ever followed up by action of the OP.

In short, I'd start with testing the fuel pressure (not easy with no rail access port) and go from there. It does seems as if you are in the same boat as the others. A OEM gas cap is a cheap plausible fix, so it would not hurt the wallet if it did not solve your problem.

 

[cj80cruiser]

As long as its a plausible fix then I'm willing to try it.....if there was no way that it could fix my problem then I didn't want to spend money on a part for no reason. I'm going to try cranking with the cap off tomorrow to see if that helps.

 

[quicksilvr]

Yes, I'm having the exact same problem. I've been able to narrow it down to a specific set of circumstances though, so that's helped me figure it out in my head a little. I'm getting ready to pull the truck in and start taking a bunch of stuff apart, I have a huge list that I'll be working on.

Back to the circumstances. My truck long cranks if it has sat for at least 10-15 minutes. Hot or cold engine, hot or cold ambient air, doesn't matter. If it has sat for less than 15 minutes, it fires right up.

Also, say I know it's going to long crank because it's been sitting for a while. Instead of just cranking and cranking until it catches, I crank it the first time for about 2 seconds, and then let off. Then "usually" when I crank it the second time, it starts immediately. Also, I definitely get a fuel smell in my exhaust after a long cranked start.


All that leads me to guess injectors are the issue.



The first thing I'm going to do is take the IAC apart and clean it real. If it's super dirty, then that might be the issue. Second thing I'm going to do is take all the injectors out and test the resistance. From what I understand I should get between 12-15 ohm's. Then I'm going to send them all to WitchHunter Performance - Injector Cleaning & Flow Testing Services and have them serviced and cleaned. After that, if I still have the problem...it's probably an ignitor or the actual ECM having issues. I hope it's not.

 

[cj80cruiser]

My issue came in gradually. Happened only after truck sat for awhile in the beginning. Over just a couple of weeks time it became an issue every time I tried to start the truck and yes, it seems I've tried the 2 second start then release the key and try again and truck starts right up.

 

[Jon]

I'm going all in with the fuel pump. I had the same issue and after tearing my throttle body down and cleaning everything it ended up being the fuel pump. These pumps go weak over time rather than just dying. That combined with the fact that it does not prime in the "ON" position as usual but gets power during and after the starting sequence is complete. It's not a very hard pump to replace. Good luck to all

 

[bamafanbilly]

Been having a starting problem for about a month now (engine hot or cold) and not able to figure out the cause yet. It takes my truck quite a bit longer than normal to fire up...like say around 4 seconds or so. One interesting observation is that it seems to crank faster after just putting more gas in. The other day I removed my gas cap and felt/heard a slight "ping" inside the cap...this could have been imagined but wondering if it's possible that a bad gas cap could in some way cause a slow start.

did you fix your problem? if so how?

 

[lekiboy]

I'm going all in with the fuel pump. I had the same issue and after tearing my throttle body down and cleaning everything it ended up being the fuel pump. These pumps go weak over time rather than just dying. That combined with the fact that it does not prime in the "ON" position as usual but gets power during and after the starting sequence is complete. It's not a very hard pump to replace. Good luck to all

how did you replace the pump? did you bring down the tank? i read somehwhere that there is an inspection hole under the rear seat...
thanks.

 

[Tomsriv]

It sounds like its an electrical problem to me.
I have one comment on checking the injectors. Don't bother pulling them, just pull the spark plugs and then crank the engine. If fuel shoots out the spark plug hole then you are getting plenty of fuel.
While you are at it, reconnect the spark plug to the coil pack but don't install it in the engine. See if it sparks when you crank it. I would disconnect the injectors before doing that test, you don't want an external combustion engine.

 

[cj80cruiser]

did you fix your problem? if so how?

No, I haven't yet but I've been posting on another thread about it.

Look at this thread

how did you replace the pump? did you bring down the tank? i read somehwhere that there is an inspection hole under the rear seat...
thanks.

AFAIK you have to drop the tank. I didn't know of an inspection plate on the 3rd gen....are you thinking 80 series landcruiser?

 

[Gomikie]

So did you figure out what it was? I'm having a similar problem with a '95 that I just bought. It starts, but idles real low and just dies for no reason. I also thought maybe it was the fuel pump but the car's getting gas going down the road. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[allwheeldrive]

So did you figure out what it was? I'm having a similar problem with a '95 that I just bought. It starts, but idles real low and just dies for no reason. I also thought maybe it was the fuel pump but the car's getting gas going down the road. Any help would be appreciated.

Yours sounds like an IAC problem. Possibly a MAF, but i'd lean towards the IAC first.