Cold starts

[Hawkeye Pierce]

I'm hoping some of you real car guys can give me some advice as I'm just a novice. I put in a remote starter for my 2000 ranger and it works fine but in order to start it on cold mornings you have to give it some gas, which would require me to be in it thus defeating the purpose of having a remote starter. My question being: Where should I start to correct this problem? I read that the air charge sensor does this function, should I change that or is more likely something else? Any ideas?

 

[MAKG]

Run the self tests. You'll need a scan tool for this on a 2000.

It's REALLY not worth it to guess.

-- B.J. Hunnicut

 

[Hawkeye Pierce]

ok

I'm guessing I can find that scan tool at an Autozone or something?

 

[MAKG]

Yes, but for that price, a mechanic will be worth it.

Those $40 code readers will get you a code, but your next question is going to be (or should be) "what do I do now?" If you go right to a part, you're wasting money again, as no code is authoritative and virtually all have multiple potential causes (including the often-overlooked wiring).

And your fault may not set a code, but might instead show up as an incorrect sensor reading. Code readers won't show you that, but that's what scan tools are really for. Though you can get most of the data with a labor-intensive program of backprobing computer wires and looking up signals on the Web (not something I recommend to a novice).

 

[Hawkeye Pierce]

Hmm, well the idea was to avoid the mechanic as they have a habit of padding the bill.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Those remote starters (esp the cheap ones) can goof stuff up, the dealership that my brother works at has an outside company that specializes in them come in to hook them up and work on them, they don't even want to mess with them.

At his dealership it is $25 to plug your truck in, then it is by the hour after that, it is worth a shot IMO, at least then you will have a better idea of what is going wrong.

 

[Hawkeye Pierce]

No, my remote starter works fine. I might see if they'll run the diagnostics for me to tell me why my engine has a hard time starting when it's cold but runs fine otherwise. It sputters a bit when it's cold after that first start but after that there's no hesitation in performance.

 

[Will]

I have had cold start problems, but nothing stepping on the gas would fix. There's no accelerator pump so you really aren't doing anything with your foot that I can think of.

On my truck the coolant temp sensor failed twice a year apart. Both times the truck thought it was already warm so didn't go into cold start mode which enriches the mixture. The sensor was easy to test. It changes in resistance depending on how cold the coolant is. If you onplug the sensor and put your ohmeter across the sensor terminals you should see 40-60k ohms when it's cold. When it's warmed up to operating temperature it should have gone down to about 2-3k ohms. If it's 0 ohms its shorted. Mine were both shorted.

 

[MAKG]

There are a number of things that might be affected by throttle position.

Like incorrect MAF readings, a dead spot at idle on the TPS, just about anything that causes rich mixtures (e.g., a blown fuel pressure regulator, dead cylinder, or shorted oxygen sensor). This is not a particularly easy diagnosis, and I really would suggest going to a professional if you've never done a systematic diagnosis before. They are not all crooks.

FYI, a bad CTS shows up right away on a scan tool -- even stone cold -- as a reading of -40 deg, which you will usually know to be flaming BS.

 

[Will]

Yeah, but it runs well after it's warmed up.

There's nothing wrong with trying to make a quick strike down the field on first down.