engine and drivetrain Trouble Starting When Cold

[Utah02]

Hey guys,

Searched around for a bit but couldn't find any good answers. I live in northern Utah where weather is beginning to get really cold. It's snowing a bit and temperatures are staying below freezing most days. On days when it hasn't snowed and the roads are dry I still want to drive my 02. I park in the garage so it doesn't get too cold when at home and I can usually start it after two turns of the key and some cranking, but when I park somewhere outside it can take minutes of trying and it will not start at first, then start and idle extremely low and die, then start and idle low and I warm it up and it runs just okay but still runs poorly. I was stranded the other day after working a 5 hour shift until the end of the night with the car parked outside. Just wouldn't start. I have a Weber 32/36 manual choke that I switch too. Still no luck. Any advice on things I need to do when the temperature gets as cold as it is here? Any things helps!

Thanks in advance

Colby

[jimk]

Are you giving it a prime pump or two with the accelerator? Some cars like one pump, some two or more. You will have to find what it likes and depending on how cold, your technique will change. It should fire on the prime. But to solve the cold running issue the choke setting will need tweaking.

To tweak the auto choke, you would slightly increase the tension on the automatic choke (it sounds like you have one) to provide more running fuel. Find what it needs again by experience. If the tension is too much the summer starting may have too much choke. I used to have a winter and a summer setting on cars with an automatic choke.

It may still run too low an idle and the fast idle stepup cam screw would need to turned in to set the speed higher while the fast idle cam is on, again it's your call because depending on what oil you are using, the idle speed can be affected accordingly.

Edited December 3, 2015 by jimk

[bmdubl02]

A starter from a 320i would crank at twice the speed of the OEM 02 starter, and will help the engine fire quicker.

[percy]

Hey guys,

Searched around for a bit but couldn't find any good answers. I live in northern Utah where weather is beginning to get really cold. It's snowing a bit and temperatures are staying below freezing most days. On days when it hasn't snowed and the roads are dry I still want to drive my 02. I park in the garage so it doesn't get too cold when at home and I can usually start it after two turns of the key and some cranking, but when I park somewhere outside it can take minutes of trying and it will not start at first, then start and idle extremely low and die, then start and idle low and I warm it up and it runs just okay but still runs poorly. I was stranded the other day after working a 5 hour shift until the end of the night with the car parked outside. Just wouldn't start. I have a Weber 32/36 manual choke that I switch too. Still no luck. Any advice on things I need to do when the temperature gets as cold as it is here? Any things helps!

Thanks in advance

Colby

 

 

 

Aside from suggesting that you move with the 02 to the tropics, and in addition to the other good suggestions, here are a few random thoughts.

 

There is plenty of general advice for cold weather starting that would apply to your 02 and, if you have one, any other '60s-'70s carburetor equipped vehicle.  Even the owner's manual has advice on this subject.  That said, having everything in tip-top mechanical condition is a good start.  Insuring that you have the correct motor oil for cold temps is also a good idea.  Conventional wisdom suggests that the better synthetic offerings (Mobil1, Amsoil) with lower pour points than conventional offerings will help the engine spin faster in cold weather.  Having a battery with ample "cold" cranking reserve is always smart, as are some equally obvious things like turning off all accessories and lights (If possible) when cranking.  The list seems never ending, including things that have been covered before, e.g., engine block heaters, blankets and even good 'ol starting fluid.

 

 

[Mike Self]

Coupla additional thoughts:

 

1.  Make sure your manual choke is completely closing the choke plates when pulled all the way out.  Pop the top off the air cleaner, pull the choke knob all the way out and look.  the choke plates should be completely closed, but when you push on 'em with a finger they should open, then snap back closed when you release 'em.  On a manual choke, to make the fast idle faster, you must bend the rod connecting choke linkage to throttle linkage slightly.  But that will just speed up the idle once it's started and doesn't affect the actual starting from cold.

 

2.  Is your starter spinning the engine nice and quickly?  The OEM starter can develop a bad drag from a loose rear armature bushing so that it's turning only about half speed--exacerbated by cold.  If you have a slow starter and want to fix the bearing, drop me an e-mail as I did a column on replacing the bushing with a little better design.

 

cheers

mike

[Guy Cocquyt]

If that doesn't work, move to SoCal. :-)

['76mintgrün'02]

Although it sounds like your problem is related to the choke, make sure your timing is set correctly.

I have read that too much advance can make for hard starting.

Just a thought.

[Utah02]

Thanks everybody. I'll look into everything today!

Colby