HELP, cold start problem, 90 tercel

[miker76]

Hi, I am having a pretty annoying problem with my 1990 Tercel, carb. My friend has the exact same car, and also has the same problem! Hopefully someone can help...

The cars run and start fine when the weather is warm, but now that winter is hitting, if you try to start either car, they do start but very poorly, running on what seems like 2 cylinders. If you hold the gas pedal steady at about 2000rpm, after a minute or two it clears up and runs fine. If you don't hold the gas steady, it eventually floods itself and dies.

Now my friend has tried a whole new tuneup and went as far as installing a brand new (rebuilt) carb, but no change at all in the condition.

Is this a common problem with these model tercels?

Thanks!
Mike

[miker76]

anyone?

[theman86_2]

i have heard that problem before but i am not sure what it is exactly and what the remedy is, but i have a 90 tercel too and luckily haven't had that problem before.

[miker76]

Anyone??????????????????????

[89tercelEZ4efte]

There is a cold start switch near the carb on the top of the engine on the left side. You probably need a new one. If it is not working or unplugged, it is much harder to start cold and the engine will idle rough until it's warm, and then have more power after it's warmed. Unplugging it is actually a trick to gain more horsepower after it's warmed up. If that doesn't fix the problem, there are several other things to check for.
Make sure your cap/wires, plugs and rotor are all good, as well as your starter--they do wear out after a while and make it harder and harder to start, and these cars don't take much to start (it should start in 1-2 seconds). Removing the air filter or replacing it may help get it started in the cold weather. Also replace your fuel filter. They're only supposed to last 10,000 miles. If none of this helps, your engine may be on it's way out. Unfortunately they put a LOT of emissions crap on these cars and so your valves may be getting stuck while the car sits overnight due to build-up. Try running cleaner gas. I only run Chevron 89 octane or higher. It's the cleanest and most fuel-efficient gas. I get 2-3 mpg higher than any other gas in my Camry and Stratus. Also try using gunk motor flush:
1. drain about 1/2qt of oil out
2. put in motor flush
3. run for 5-10 minutes
4. drain oil
5. run a quart of oil for about 30 sec. to clean out the motor flush--it's not good to leave any in your engine
6. drain oil
7. put in a new filter and fill with oil
I have an 89 tercel that clogged the catalytic converter so bad at 155,000 miles, it blew up the engine for the most part. This is because they run so dirty with all the emissions controls that give them 33-40mpg. After taking out the cat. the car still runs even though it's probably running on 2 cylinders, and still starts in about 1/2 sec. Don't let it happen to you. If you've got over 100,000 miles, replace the cat with a high-flow cat. You'll see a very noticeable difference in power. You'll know if you cat is clogging if your Tercel starts bogging down when it starts to get warm, or at high rpms it will hesitate and not go past a certain RPM. These engines have a tendency to need new valves, so it may need some engine work.

[89tercelEZ4efte]

Mike,
It honestly sounds like you have a clogged catalytic converter. If it runs fine after a while, you may not be too late to save it by replacing the cat; but if you wait, it will most surely self-destruct within the next 5000 miles like mine did.

[miker76]

Thanks for the very informative reply!
Ok, my car only has 70,000kms on it, and my friend's has about 180,000kms. They both exhibit the same problem. My friend's car has no catalytic, as it broke off and he replaced it with a straight pipe, so I doubt the problem is the cat.

Both cars now have FULL tune ups, including cap, rotor, wires, plugs, air and fuel filters.

I will be looking at the cold start switch, where exactly is it located?
Thanks!

[timmyd]

Originally Posted by miker76

Hi, I am having a pretty annoying problem with my 1990 Tercel, carb. My friend has the exact same car, and also has the same problem! Hopefully someone can help...

The cars run and start fine when the weather is warm, but now that winter is hitting, if you try to start either car, they do start but very poorly, running on what seems like 2 cylinders. If you hold the gas pedal steady at about 2000rpm, after a minute or two it clears up and runs fine. If you don't hold the gas steady, it eventually floods itself and dies.

Now my friend has tried a whole new tuneup and went as far as installing a brand new (rebuilt) carb, but no change at all in the condition.

Is this a common problem with these model tercels?

Thanks!
Mike

I have been trying to fix this problem on my girlfriends 89 carbed tercel for 3 weeks now! I did the plugs (bosch single platnum), spark plug wires (bosch) , air filter, and fuel filter. The car runs like a champ when it is warmed up after 2-3 minutes. But during cold starts it idles ruff and dies, but if you keep the RPMs up its ok (no tach so I don't know exact number of rpm but not much more then at warm idle).

My friend recently gave me a Haynes manual for the car, I believe it could be a matter of adjusting the curb or fast idle. Before I go out and attempt this, has anyone tried this before???

thanks
Tim

[bulldog]

I just fought with my gf's car again, 90 tercel, 3e...

Recheck your plugs and wires... I bought the wire/cap set at napa in august and the core seemed to be stranded carbon fiber or similar, not metal...

The car has been a hard start for a few weeks now, and I was forced to spend 3 hours in -22 weather diagnosing the problem. I almost choked when I found out the car was missing on cylinders 1 and 3. Wires were crap. Replaced them and it fired right up, first turn of the key.

[timmyd]

Found the problem, I had to adjust the fast idle....she runs great now