Old Celica having problems with cold

theraflu...

On a seventeen year old car it could be many things, but you can do some basic checking and maintenance to eliminate some possibilities. First, the battery cables, check for corrosion, fraying, breaks, ect., and clean both ends of both battery cables. Remember that grounds are very important. Second, make sure you have a fresh battery, with clean terminals. If you accomplish those two basic items and you still have starting issues, your problem may be the starter itself. The starter can be checked for excessive amp draw that would create your problem. I would suggest to do the cheapest fixes first to save some money IMHO.

By "enough power to start" with just one click the engine starts but idles rough and dies? Or the car has a hard start meaning you have to crank along time before the engine starts?

The best battery terminal cleaners is a can of coca-cola. =)

No, I mean I can hear a noise as if contact has been made but no "starting action"; the battery indicator shows just on the edge of the

12V mark. The only way it starts then is by either doing the exercise in the manual whereby you turn the key and press the accelerator pedal for a few seconds, then let go and wait for a minute then turn the key without pressing the accelerator pedal; or if this does not work, then leave it for 15 minutes and try again.

And this only happens on cold starts?, there's no problem starting up when the engine is already warm, right? I remember reading a similar post here, or maybe in camry groups, regarding a defective cold start injector, you may want to search old post or wait 'till our resident experts give you more tips. good luck. For the mean time, I suggest you you load up a bottle of fuel injection cleaner before filling up with a tank of gas, top-tier gas that is.

Yes the problem is there only on cold starts

Thanks for the feed-back so far

When you say that there is no starting action, I assume you mean that the engine is not turning over. If the engine is not turning over, the cold start injector is not the cause.

Check the condition of the battery cables and clamps, check the condition of the battery, and check the starter solenoid.