im having an issue with my 02 and cant or the life of me figure it out.

extremely hard starting issue
in cold conditions (Northern Alberta Canada) can only start if i holdd the key for bout half a second at a time and can takee a few dozen attempts to start.
put in a new block heater to help wit the issue but that has seemed to go wrong on me too. after the truck being warmed up it has a much less hard time to start. changed plugs and has a brand new fuel pump and filter.

any ideas???

 

any check engine light codes? you mentioned you turn it over for only 0.5 seconds at a time 12 times? Don't you turn it over and have the thing spin and spin and spin until it catches? Do you give it a bit of gas too if it doesn't start while its turning over?

For me, hard starts are a result of the stupid emissions control system with a P code?

Starter is still good eh?

Hope this helps.

 

Sorry should mentioned I have no codes. Starter still seems good cranks in the cold. Could it be it doesnt spin fast enough?? If I hold the key down all it does is crank. Doing it half second at a time it sputters and wil catch eventually.

 

So it's the starter acting up?

 

That does sounds like an interesting mystery for sure. If you wing it once which gives full cranking power it catches. But if you leave it cranking it never catches.

I've been there. Totally know what you're talking about. Just not on a newer efi vehicle.

Based on what you're saying, if you were able to have your starter and battery spin the engine as fast as possible would it start in that scenario?

How does one do that?

Can you hook up another car and boost it when it happens? I dunno just suggesting?

Or one of those portable car booster batteries from Canadian tire???

Has a shop tested that battery? You'll need a 1000 cc amps up there I'd assume. Would that even fit in the battery tray? I bought a replacement battery and it was 530 cc in Vancouver, BC, CANADA. Stock battery and stock starter always started in first 1-3 cranks in -20 in Calgary Alberta 2 years ago.

Hope this helps?????

 

Just throwing this out there, really don' know if it even applies to EFI. Use to have a MG that did that. After much knashing of teeth etc. it turned out that when I had it in the start position it disconnected from the run position and there was no available spark when it was turning over.As soon as I released the key it would start ,providing it was close to the right position in crankshaft rotation. Turned out to be in the ignition switch
Perhaps this is happening here as well, unfortunately, someone more familiar with your ignition system will have to chime in to let us know how to test.

 

I had this exact same problem with my Jimmy - just tweaking the ignition over and over again for barely a second at a time and eventually it would catch; but if I held the key in start, I could crank the thing until the battery dried up and it would never start.

In my case it turned out to be the fuel pump. It seems tweaking the ignition over and over eventually allowed the weak pump to build up enough pressure to get fuel through the injector and start the engine. Since I replaced the pump it's been golden - engine starts right away, every time.

You say you've already replaced the pump; but the way you say your ignition-tweaking trick is working still leads me to suspect it's fuel-related (though of course I may be wrong). If you know for sure that the pump is working good and your fittings that way are tight, I'd check the fuel pressure at the rail and see if you're bleeding pressure - maybe your pressure regulator is shot?

 

Could it be the switch?

 

When boosted it does the same thing. And if it was the fuel spider (thinking this might have something to do with it) why would it be easier to start when its warm out?? The switch sounds like a good scenario but hows does one test that??

 

I can only tell you how I found out on the MG. I hot wired the coil, so that there was power to it all the time. It was a distributer with points etc. Before attempting anything like that, I would want to be sure I would not do damage to the computer. The best way may be to provide 12v to the start side of the ignition switch wiring. Do our steering columns still have the ignition switch wiring located 1/2 way down the steering column like my old pickup?