nissan sentra hard to start in hot weather

hello i've got a routine fuel-injected car, a 2004 nissan sentra.

it usually has the trouble-free starting -- you turn the key, no accelerator pumping, in fact the manual tells you NOT to pump.

however, i found as hot weather encroached these last 2 years, that if i leave the car out where it's hot, then it becomes hard to start. in fact, i have to pump the accelerator as if i still had a carburetor.

is there a reason in hot weather for starting to be difficult, and if so, a remedy? thanks.

Reply to
john.1.clarkson
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snipped-for-privacy@spamgourmet.com wrote the following:

You never have to pump the accelerator in a fuel injected car to start it, not ever! There is no carburetor float bowl holding gasoline, so there is no reserve fuel to inject into the engine. You claiming that pumping was needed to start the car in hot weather was false. While you were stomping on the gas pedal, the fuel was being pumped up from the tank. It would have started whether or not you touched the gas pedal. If, when starting the car, you pause at the run position for a second or so on the ignition switch, that will give the fuel pump time to get the gas to the injectors. Then you move the key to the start position.

Reply to
willshak

sounds just like the famous honda hot weather starting problem. check out:

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further wisdom here:

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Reply to
jim beam

jim beam wrote in news:H_GdnZEKMYLooSvQnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@speakeasy.net:

An easy test to see if the fuel pump is being energized is to remove the gas cap,have an assistant turn the key to 'start' but NOT crank the motor,and listen at the fuel filler for the whine of the fuel pump. the pump stops after a few seconds,so you can't just turn the key yourself and run back to listen.

Reply to
Jim Yanik

Not the full story. While rare, it's possible for a fuel injected car to flood. Could be one or more leaky injectors. The FI system is designed so that if you push the pedal ALL the way to the floor it will reduce whatever the normal fuel amount would be during a start to allow it to start while flooded. So depending on whether his pumping of the pedal might activate that system it is possible his pumping helped start the car.

Reply to
Ashton Crusher

Check your fuel pressure. I had that problem and it was the fuel pump going bad.

--Vic

Reply to
Vic Smith

ok thanks for all the advice. it sounds like something centering around the fuel pump. i'm not ready to rush in for a big repair bill, but in response to the first person to reply, it definitely is harder to start on a hot day than on a cold one. it cranks without igniting.

Reply to
john.1.clarkson

Well, measure the fuel pressure at the rail and see if it matches what the manual says.

Did you change your fuel filter when the manual said to?

All kinds of things can reduce your fuel pressure, from a clogged filter on up. But until you hook the gauge up, you don't even know if it's a fuel pressure issue.

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

I have a 2005 sentra and was having hot starting issues, it turned out that the crank position sensor was having problems.

Reply to
Striker

The engine coolant temperature sensor can also cause this behaviour. It may tell the engine it is cold and supply more fuel than needed, flooding the engine. A friend had a corolla with this problem. He would crank sometimes up to 10 minutes for the car to start. The ECT was the culprit.

Fuel pump could be a problem but as someone else suggested, fuel filter is a starting point.

Flooring the gas pedal will cut the fuel supply and will help start a flooded engine.

Good luck,

AS

snipped-for-privacy@spamgourmet.com wrote:

Reply to
AS

AS wrote in news:67udnTRhtth0uZzTnZ2dnUVZ_q- snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.com:

You have to have the pedal floored BEFORE turning on the key for that to work. KB

Reply to
Kevin Bottorff

On Monday, April 25, 2011 1:16:34 PM UTC-7, snipped-for-privacy@spamgourmet.com wrot e:

ly has the trouble-free starting -- you turn the key, no accelerator pumpin g, in fact the manual tells you NOT to pump.however, i found as hot weather encroached these last 2 years, that if i leave the car out where it's hot, then it becomes hard to start. in fact, i have to pump the accelerator as if i still had a carburetor.is there a reason in hot weather for starting t o be difficult, and if so, a remedy? thanks.

I've been having a similar problem with my 2004 Sentra 1.8L. If it sits awh ile in hot weather (Arizona), it takes several seconds cranking the ignitio n before it starts. I thought the battery was dying from the heat, so I rep laced it, but still have the same problem. I've also noticed that if I go s tart it every 2-3 hours for a few seconds, it will start right away. This i s a tough problem to diagnose because it won't have this problem when I tak e it to a mechanic because it starts fine if it has been running. If anyone has any advice, I'm open. Thanks!

Reply to
gtowne8

has the trouble-free starting -- you turn the key, no accelerator pumping, in fact the manual tells you NOT to pump.however, i found as hot weather encroached these last 2 years, that if i leave the car out where it's hot, then it becomes hard to start. in fact, i have to pump the accelerator as if i still had a carburetor.is there a reason in hot weather for starting to be difficult, and if so, a remedy? thanks.

in hot weather (Arizona), it takes several seconds cranking the ignition before it starts. I thought the battery was dying from the heat, so I replaced it, but still have the same problem. I've also noticed that if I go start it every 2-3 hours for a few seconds, it will start right away. This is a tough problem to diagnose because it won't have this problem when I take it to a mechanic because it starts fine if it has been running. If anyone has any advice, I'm open.

You need to thoroughly explain the problem and then leave the car at the shop for a few days. That way they can be ready to check for fuel and spark, before/when the problem occurs.

GW

Reply to
Geoff Welsh

has the trouble-free starting -- you turn the key, no accelerator pumping, in fact the manual tells you NOT to pump.however, i found as hot weather encroached these last 2 years, that if i leave the car out where it's hot, then it becomes hard to start. in fact, i have to pump the accelerator as if i still had a carburetor.is there a reason in hot weather for starting to be difficult, and if so, a remedy? thanks.

awhile in hot weather (Arizona), it takes several seconds cranking the ignition before it starts. I thought the battery was dying from the heat, so I replaced it, but still have the same problem. I've also noticed that if I go start it every 2-3 hours for a few seconds, it will start right away. This is a tough problem to diagnose because it won't have this problem when I take it to a mechanic because it starts fine if it has been running. If anyone has any advice, I'm open.

Not an uncommon problem. After shutoff the fuel pressure rises in the injector lines due to the heat, causing the injectors to leak into the manifold. Try fully depressing the accelerator as you would a flooded car. Some cars still have a direct control of the throttle plate in the air intake. There should be an over pressure valve in the injector circuit to drain off the overpressure. To reply to this message please remove the AT after the kgs1 in the reply to address.

Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday. -- John Wayne

Reply to
KG

has the trouble-free starting -- you turn the key, no accelerator pumping, in fact the manual tells you NOT to pump.however, i found as hot weather encroached these last 2 years, that if i leave the car out where it's hot, then it becomes hard to start. in fact, i have to pump the accelerator as if i still had a carburetor.is there a reason in hot weather for starting to be difficult, and if so, a remedy? thanks.

awhile in hot weather (Arizona), it takes several seconds cranking the ignition before it starts. I thought the battery was dying from the heat, so I replaced it, but still have the same problem. I've also noticed that if I go start it every 2-3 hours for a few seconds, it will start right away. This is a tough problem to diagnose because it won't have this problem when I take it to a mechanic because it starts fine if it has been running. If anyone has any advice, I'm open.

Interesting. I was thinking just the opposite, that the pressure regulator is bad and allowing fuel pressure to drop to zero after the car sits a while.

Reply to
Paul in Houston TX

That happens too. Turn the key to ON, wait about ten seconds, then start the car. If it's the regulator leaking, it will start right up given those ten seconds to build pressure up. Usually it only takes a couple seconds actually.... this is a very different symptom than the one your car is presenting.

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

fuel pumps don't just run indefinitely with the key "on" as you imply here. They usually run one or two seconds only. It's in the logic of the ECM/PCM

GW

Reply to
Geoff Welsh

True. Rather than the regulator however it was usually the accumulator in old VWs... my '84 GTI was like that. I actually bought the replacement part but never swapped it because it was just easy enough to leave a brief pause and let the fuel pump relay cycle out before cranking the engine.

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

I used to do that with my Ford Taurus. Either I'd hear the fuel pump running or I wouldn't. If I didn't, I open the hood and hit the black box of relays. It was very thoughtful of Ford to stick that right in the front so that I could easily whack it with a monkey wrench. After a while, I just bought a used one from eBay for a few bucks.

My friend's 2.5L Sentra had a problem starting for years until he changed the coils on his car. It works just spiffy now. OTOH, the OP should make sure that it's not the fuel system that's the cause of the problem first.

Reply to
dsi1

I've had a few of cars like that. I believe accumulators were used to keep the gasoline from boiling in the lines after the engine was shut down. They made opening the fuel lines more involved because you had to disconnect the fuel pump and run the engine until the pressure in the line was normalized. I wonder if they still use them?

Reply to
dsi1

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