re: Help Please, Camry V6 rough-hesitation...

[sfjen]

Aloha Folks-

Been having a situation where sometimes when I start the car it cranks then dies. Or will turn over but it is rough, like trying to get air or something so if I put my foot on the pedal and rev-it it will come up to speed as they say and all is good. Sometimes the first start of the day is just fine and if I am running multiple errands-stops this will happen in between shut-offs and start-ups.

This is an 89 V6. In the past 3 months I have replaced the cap, rotor, plugs, plug wires, fuel filter, air cleaner and I think the EGR valve. Could it be anything with the above?

Or since this is a 21yr old car with low mileage and was sitting for a while, could it be a sensor that needs to be replaced or a dirty injector?

Again, once I get it started and it smooths out, she runs just fine.

Any and all advice much appreciated. Thanks again.
Mahalo!

[white90dx]

It sounds like the cold start injector time switch has stopped working. (or possibly the cold start injector itself). Its a 7th injector (or 5th injector on the 4 cylinder) that sprays extra fuel into the engine on cold starts (until the engine reaches a certain temp) and for a very short bit on warm starts.

I don't know the specifics on the V6 for checking the system though...

-Charlie

[sfjen]

Aloha Charlie-
Thank you for your reply. I called my friend at Toyota and he said a new cold start injector would run about 160.00 and he also spoke about a "cold start valve" that would cost 460.00!

Do you think I should take a chance and get a used cold start injector from my local salvage yard?

I also remember Greg (Grego) doing something with the injectors, maybe he had they cleaned-rebuilt including the cold start injector.

Thanks again. Mahalo!

Originally Posted by white90dx

It sounds like the cold start injector time switch has stopped working. (or possibly the cold start injector itself). Its a 7th injector (or 5th injector on the 4 cylinder) that sprays extra fuel into the engine on cold starts (until the engine reaches a certain temp) and for a very short bit on warm starts.

I don't know the specifics on the V6 for checking the system though...

-Charlie

[dem2757]

try cleaning yours first, its bolted to the passenger side of the manifold.

youll see two lines going to it, a metal line (fuel) and then the electrical connection for it. there are two bolts holding it to the manifold, and a bolt holding the fuel line to the injector itself.

its easy to clean, something i havent done yet, but i have taken them off on multiple junkyard cars so feel free to practice on those first. (i would )

[sfjen]

Aloha dem2757-
Thanks so much for the info, I am going to go to the salvage yard and try my hand at taking it out.

Do you think carburetor cleaner would do the job, just not spray it on the electrical connection but everywhere else? I could use some of my electrical connection spray-cleaner to make sure that the contacts are good clean. I am curious if there is another cleaner that is used for these types of parts that is suggested.

Thanks again!
Mahalo!

Originally Posted by dem2757

try cleaning yours first, its bolted to the passenger side of the manifold.

youll see two lines going to it, a metal line (fuel) and then the electrical connection for it. there are two bolts holding it to the manifold, and a bolt holding the fuel line to the injector itself.

its easy to clean, something i havent done yet, but i have taken them off on multiple junkyard cars so feel free to practice on those first. (i would )

[white90dx]

I would start with the Cold Start Injector Time Switch, not the Cold Start Injector itself. When I had a problem with mine, the switch literally was broken in half (not exactly sure how that happened). Do some searches on here to find more info - The V6 system is the same as the 4-cylinder, but the parts are in slightly different locations.

Oh, and don't buy new ones... you should be able to get a couple at the junkyard for cheap (injectors or switches)!

-Charlie

[dem2757]

to clean the injector i would just use seafoam spray.

[sfjen]

Aloha Charlie-

On your 4 cylinder is the Cold Start Injector Time Switch nearby? I figure I could try to trace wires from the injector itself and then try to find the Time Switch.

When I asked Toyota they could only see on their screen the Cold Start Injector and something called a Cold Start Valve. Curious about that too.

Again, thanks so much.
Mahalo!

Originally Posted by white90dx

I would start with the Cold Start Injector Time Switch, not the Cold Start Injector itself. When I had a problem with mine, the switch literally was broken in half (not exactly sure how that happened). Do some searches on here to find more info - The V6 system is the same as the 4-cylinder, but the parts are in slightly different locations.

Oh, and don't buy new ones... you should be able to get a couple at the junkyard for cheap (injectors or switches)!

-Charlie

[white90dx]

The official Toyota term for it is "SWITCH, START INJECTOR TIME" and is part number 8946220020.

From the parts diagram, it looks like it is located on the top of the water outlet neck on the transmission side of the motor. It should have a two wire connector with a Black wire and a Green wire going to it.

In the wiring diagram it says the switch should:

START INJECTOR TIME SW:
POINTS OPEN ABOVE 35°C (95°F)
2–1 : APPROX. 20–40 Ω BELOW 30°C (86°F)
2–1 : APPROX. 40–60 Ω ABOVE 40°C (104°F)
2–GROUND : APPROX. 20–80 Ω

Really, what that means is when the switch is cold, current flows through it (to energize the cold start injector) and when its hot, no/low current flows and turns the injector off.

-Charlie

[Grego 92]

Test the switch like charlie said before you start swapping parts out. Out of convenience I had mine cleaned when I had my injectors cleaned, you could do it at home with seafoam or something.

[sfjen]

Aloha dem2757, Charlie and Greg-

Thank you all. I went to the salvage yard and worked on a couple of cars including an ES250 from 1991. I purchased 2 Cold Start Injectors ($4.99/pc) & 1 Time Switch for $7.99 + fees. Thanks Charlie for the part number and the color of the wires that connect to it, that made my job easier. I am amazed that that time switch thing that installs into the water rail cost new at Toyota, $189.00! Out of the 3 I pulled today, all had some type of rust sediment-coating on it so I picked the best of the 3 and cleaned it off. Then in regard to the Cold Start Injectors, I was amazed how dirty those things get. They were covered in crud, so I cleaned them off with the Seafoam additive. I used a rag and poured some of that stuff onto it then clean the parts. They came out very nice. The parts I pulled today came off of cars with 140k and 170k on them. I wonder what my parts look like after only 82k but I have to remember that this car also sat for some time.

I am letting the parts completely dry then thinking about installing them. Do I need to worry about about the torque on these bolts? If so, what would they be (one being the switch the other the injector)?

Lastly, does the Seafoam additive help to clean out the system at all or would it not matter since the car is 20+ years old?

Thanks again for all of your help.
Mahalo! Shinnen Omedetou Gozaimasu (Happy New Year)!

Originally Posted by Grego 92

Test the switch like charlie said before you start swapping parts out. Out of convenience I had mine cleaned when I had my injectors cleaned, you could do it at home with seafoam or something.

[dem2757]

seafoam burns with no ill affect, so its not a big deal if its damp when bolted back in place

i havent seafoamed my car, im too worried about the what if of possible downsides haha. but it is fine to burn, and the bolts should just be tight, nothing loose as it will be holding vacuum for the intake.

[sfjen]

Aloha dem2757-

oh...oh, I use about half of the can of Seafoam to clean the parts off then I put the other half into the tank? I'd better go through it quick and pray all will be well.

I must say, the vehicle seemed to like it.

Mahalo!

Originally Posted by dem2757

seafoam burns with no ill affect, so its not a big deal if its damp when bolted back in place

i havent seafoamed my car, im too worried about the what if of possible downsides haha. but it is fine to burn, and the bolts should just be tight, nothing loose as it will be holding vacuum for the intake.

[dem2757]

i meant seafoaming through the vacuum lines. the gas ill do but not the direct seafoaming of the car. im a what-if guy

hows it start now?

[sfjen]

Aloha dem2757:

To be honest I have not yet taken out my cold start injector and cleaned it. I have cleaned the ones I picked up at the salvage yard. I am sure that my injector is pretty dirty too. I have not had the rough starts lately but I know I need to service it soon as well as the time start switch.

So, I hope to get to it after tomorrow.

In the meantime I am a little bummed out as all of this was happening a person in my area had a 1990 V6 Camry Sedan for sale. Original owner with a little over 110K all the service records from the local Toyota Dealer. It had all the bells and whistles: sunroof, leather seats and they were powered on both sides! I have not seen that, usually power on just the driver's side seat. They also had the nice Toyota alloy rims. No dents, never in an accident just amazing - garaged kept. I was the second caller, and this would have been a great car for my mother. The seller was very principled because I lived closed to him and could have seen the car right away and the first caller lived almost 2hrs away but he promised they could see it first. Well, they saw it! All I can say is shucks! He even had the original window sticker! I have to let it go and hopefully will find another one for my mother. In the meantime thanks to you, Charlie, Greg, DoctorJ and everyone for helping me with my wagon.

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou & Shinnen Omedetou Gozaimasu (Happy New Year)!
Mahalo

Originally Posted by dem2757

i meant seafoaming through the vacuum lines. the gas ill do but not the direct seafoaming of the car. im a what-if guy

hows it start now?