[DA X 6]

Recently my car has not been starting the first time I crank it about 80% of the time (the other 20% it starts just fine). It'll ALWAYS start on the 2nd attempt.

I replaced the plugs 1000 miles ago, and it ran and started fine immediately afterward, but then this issue cropped up. The post hoc, ergo propter hoc logical fallacy points toward me having done something wrong when replacing the plugs, and maybe I did, but WHAT?

What could this be, and what should I be checking?

 

[Charger007]

Mine was hard to start for about a week and it went away on its own

 

[Venom187]

I had this problem for a long time over a period of two months.

The first problem was caused by the crank sensor and it didn't sense that the crank was turning so it won't start the car for safety reasons

The second time it was caused by my HID lights (I had 3 pairs of em) the extra voltage burned up my starter and alternator and eventually the alternator failed completely and there was no electricity charging up in the car, I had to jump start my charger for the first time
Even when I jump start it, it will only last for as long as I'm driving and if I come to a complete stop the car would die and I have to jump start it again

 

[TripleTransAm]

Look for cracked hoses underneath the engine cover. One of mine was cracked and along with a small fuel mileage dip, I noticed that the startups were not as crisp as before. No non-starting situations, though.

Have you had a drop in fuel mileage recently?

 

[wickedchargerrt]

like charger 06 said it may go away on its own. When old plugs are in the car the adaptive strategy of the pcm adapts to wear in the plug by changing ingnition voltage and pulse width of the injectors. If you put new plugs in without resting KAM (keep alive memory) it will still be using the old set up in the programming until it realizes that it doesnt need it and will start revamping the voltage down again. Shouldnt take longer than a week to do this though.
You didnt use platinums did ya?

 

[TripleTransAm]

Isn't startup happening in open loop? Why would there be an adaptive strategy for startup?

 

[TBY1695]

My 06 Daytona doesn't start on the first key crank. The dealer said they flashed the computer, but it didn't help. It seems to be getting worse, only have 15k on the car. When I take it in for next oil change I will get them to check it again.

 

[DA X 6]

Look for cracked hoses underneath the engine cover. One of mine was cracked and along with a small fuel mileage dip, I noticed that the startups were not as crisp as before. No non-starting situations, though.

Have you had a drop in fuel mileage recently?

Haven't noticed anything WRT mileage, but when I went to change my oil today, I noticed that the hose going into the air box wasn't attached. Post oil-change, with the hose re-attached, the condition persists.

 

[DA X 6]

You didnt use platinums did ya?

Nope. The OEM copper Champions...

 

[TripleTransAm]

My 06 Daytona doesn't start on the first key crank. The dealer said they flashed the computer, but it didn't help. It seems to be getting worse, only have 15k on the car. When I take it in for next oil change I will get them to check it again.

Eek! Not normal! Up here we get the swing of temps from -40F to 100F, and all my FI cars start up right away on the first crank. (okay, at -40F some of them won't crank quite as quickly )

If your dealer can't figure this one out, find another dealer or escalate it. No reason for a modern car of any sort to have a problem with startup.

 

[wickedchargerrt]

Isn't startup happening in open loop? Why would there be an adaptive strategy for startup?

It is in open loop but i dont think that differs any on the ignition circuit. I know it does with the o2's and fuel but i think the same ignition signal is given no matter what idle condition it is. Maybe? The day the realease pcm strategy's is the day i have to retire. :smile:

 

[wickedchargerrt]

has anything changed with the battery or cables? The biggest components of slow starts are batteries, or electric corrosion. Is it a slow crank that finally kicks or just a normal speed crank.

 

[HemiChemi]

Look for cracked hoses underneath the engine cover. One of mine was cracked and along with a small fuel mileage dip, I noticed that the startups were not as crisp as before. No non-starting situations, though.

Have you had a drop in fuel mileage recently?

Were those vacuum hoses, Steve? My mileage has gone down 0.5 – 1 MPG recently.... :nervous s

 

[wickedchargerrt]

yea he means vacuum. Any hose that leaks unmetered air in can screw up the mixture. Although i think we run map sensor and not maf. Map is less likely to get screwed up by cracked vacuum hoses as the hoses are pre sensor. But if you have leaking fuel evap hoses that can deteroite gas mileage for sure.

 

[HemiChemi]

My car starts first time, every time, in just a couple revs of the crank, though. VROOM! For 1.75 years now... :smoke:

 

[TripleTransAm]

Were those vacuum hoses, Steve? My mileage has gone down 0.5 – 1 MPG recently.... :nervous s

PCV line, I think... (you know, I really SHOULD go read that LX manual...)

Cold startup and mileage improved the moment I got the hose replaced.

 

[HemiChemi]

Holy cow! Are you washing it with acid and carp? :jeez: That's a lot of corrosion on there... :smoke:

 

[TripleTransAm]

Looks worse under the camera flash. The only surface corrosion is on the top of the fuel rail. The car is an all season family hauler, so some salt contact during winter is to be expected. I don't see this as any worse than on any other of my modern winter-driven cars, but it's miles above the way my Marauders corroded under the hood!

The rest of the crap on there is dust... lots of it.
(when I changed my plugs 2 months ago -when the photos were taken-, it was honestly the first time I had pulled my engine cover!).

 

[HemiChemi]

Looks worse under the camera flash. The only surface corrosion is on the top of the fuel rail. The car is an all season family hauler, so some salt contact during winter is to be expected. I don't see this as any worse than on any other of my modern winter-driven cars, but it's miles above the way my Marauders corroded under the hood!

The rest of the crap on there is dust... lots of it.
(when I changed my plugs 2 months ago -when the photos were taken-, it was honestly the first time I had pulled my engine cover!).

I drive mine all year in MI, too. They must use TONS of salt there in Royal Mountain, because they sure don't skimp on it here! :smoke: My car isn't anywhere near that "bad"...

 

[DA X 6]

Hmmm...

I just got my car back from the dealer today; they replaced the outer tie rods and the lower strut arms. I never mentioned anything about hard starting, but they recommended "fuel induction service" for $249.95. This sounded a lot like what a friend of mine refers to as a [INSERT YOUR OWN ETHINC GROUP HERE] tune-up: a can of Gum-Out carb & intake cleaner shot through the throttle body at WOT. I think I'll give the latter alternative a fair trial before opening my wallet for the former...