Starting/cranking issue

[nuron]

Recently, my car does not start with one crank of the starter. At first I thought it was the cold weather but it has been pretty warm lately so I'm thinking temperature is not the issue. I noticed it happens every morning after the car has been sitting for a while and every crank during the rest of the day is fine. It starts on the second try, guaranteed, everytime though. Even if the first time is for literally half a second, it will start on the second. The longest I've held it on the first try was four seconds and it was scary after that so I had to stop . I'm thinking of adding some fuel injector cleaner in there to see what it'll do. Let me know guys, thanks .

[TBayToyotaBoy]

Okay, I've given you false info before (remember the tach wire issue?), so I'll be careful in my wording here.

I drive a V6 not an I4 Camry so I can only relate with what's happened on my Corolla. The cold start timing injector on the intake plenum should be injecting a bit of fuel on cold starts to enrich the air/fuel mixture, but it may have crapped-out on you. Pull it out, crank the engine cold and see if fuel is released. Just a thought...

[DFBonnett]

In addition to what TBTB suggested, you might wish to consider an ignition issue. What is the age/milage on the plugs, wires, cap, and rotor?

[Mike Gerber]

If you have the 4 cylinder 3SFE engine, check the "cold start time switch" itself, with a DVM and the specs from any manual. They go out all the time on this engine and can cause the symptoms you describe. As you are standing in front of the car, it is located on a small water port coming out of the right side of the cylinder head. There is a green plastic connector and a brown plastic connector. The cold start time switch is the one under the brown connector. They run about $100 at the dealer. I believe this is a dealer only part.

Mike

[nuron]

Mike, is a DVM some sort of tool?



Where is that part you're talking about in this picture?

[Mike Gerber]

Originally Posted by nuron

Mike, is a DVM some sort of tool?



Where is that part you're talking about in this picture?

A DVM is a digital volt/ohmeter. It can also be called a multimeter. You can buy a cheap one at places like Walmart today for $10 - $15. It's a good tool to have for testing many electrical items. It can also be used to test your car's charging system, along with all different types of batteries, including 1-1/2 volt and 9 volt batteries found around the house.

The "cold start time switch" is the one on the top left in your picture. It is the one under the brown plastic connector. You will have to pull back that wire that locks it in place from each side of it, to pull the connector off. Then you can test the switch. The switch is what tells the cold start injector that the engine is indeed cold, so activate the cold start injector. The cold start injector itself makes the fuel mixture richer by squirting extra gasoline directly in to that plenum. This helps to start a cold engine. The cold start injector itself can also go bad, but more often it is this cold start time switch that goes out of range.

Mike

[nuron]

Well I followed your advice and bought a multimeter. I checked out the CSI itself and the ohms seem to be in the range my Haynes manual said it should. So it's still good, yay!
I can't for the life of me find the switch though, is it this thing on my finger?


I keep looking at the brown plug in the bottom middle but I dont see anything under the brown plug, if it is the right one. I also tried to find the range number in my Haynes and original manuals to test it but couldn't find it. Thanks for your help so far.

[Monkey123]

Originally Posted by nuron

Mike, is a DVM some sort of tool?



Where is that part you're talking about in this picture?

According to Mike Gerber, the "cold start time switch" is the top left of this picture. If you can't tell, look at the picture carefully. There is a bright green connector. This connector is the greenish of all. The "cold start time switch" is the left of the bright green connector. You have to take a wire from the connector. The actual part is seating in the housing. Compare your reading with your manual. Good luck!

Monkey123

[nuron]

So it must be this



i'll get on it right away and report back.

[88 LE]

^ No, thats the ECT (engine coolant temp sensor).

The cold start timing switch is right underneath it sticking forward. Brown colored plug.

[nuron]

Ok, so the CSITS was located in another section of the manual. It said the resistance should be 20-40 when the coolant temp is below 86 degrees F and I got 53. So I'm off to the yard to hopefully find a good one. BTW, it also said the resistance between the ground and the xxx connector. Does that mean I leave one tip of the multimeter on the engine block and the other on the pin connector?

[Mike Gerber]

Originally Posted by 88 LE

^ No, thats the ECT (engine coolant temp sensor).

The cold start timing switch is right underneath it sticking forward. Brown colored plug.

nuron,

Sorry for the confusion. I took a quick look at your picture. 88 LE is correct. The plastic connector in your picture looks so dirty, I thought it was brown, not green. It is the one right underneath it, as 88LE correctly pointed out.


it also said the resistance between the ground and the xxx connector. Does that mean I leave one tip of the multimeter on the engine block and the other on the pin connector?

That is a correct, but there is no need to check any further. Since the resistance is out of range, you already know the part is defective. Once you change it out, your starting problem should be cured.

Mike

[nuron]

Well I went to the yard and got a new one. Since it's off a new year Camry, the plugs are different. My brown one is more rectangular and the newer plug is rounder. I'll splice the wires then I guess. Or maybe the plugs can be swapped.

[TBayToyotaBoy]

So did you end up splicing the new switch onto your wiring? I'm curious because changing the length of the wire may affect the resistance...I'd like to know if it worked.

[nuron]

Wow, really? I didn't know that. Yeah I went through with the splicing and it's been working for two days now. I think it's longer than normal now, maybe in the millimeters.