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Hard starting '01 S60

My '01 S60 (51K miles) has a curious hard start problem. If the engine is cold (as in overnight cold) or left for less than about 5 min, it'll fire right up. If left for more than about 5 min up to all day, it takes 5 to 10 sec of cranking to get it to fire - sometimes longer but I'll shut it down and retry if goes too long. Once started, it runs fine and it's not throwing any codes. The car is maintained by the book so the plugs (my first thought) are fairly new.

Any pointers about where to start would be appreciated.

Reply to
Lloyd Wells
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Lloyd...

Sounds like a starter motor issue if you want my two cents. Can't really explain the whole cold start works, semi-cold start doesn't scenario, but could be related to moisture in the distributor as well. Did the problem start shortly after the plugs were replaced? I'd look at them and make sure there's not condensate getting in some where.

G
Reply to
glull

Thanks for the reply but I doubt there's an issue w/ the starter. It began some time after the plugs were replaced and I'm not sure about the condensation idea as it's been going on all summer in hot, old Wash. D.C. so it wasn't favorable to condensation.

Lloyd

Reply to
Lloyd Wells

Try this: When you think it is going to be a hard start, turn the key to PII and wait about three seconds. Turn to PI, then back to PII for three second then turn to PIII to start. This will "boost' the fuel pressure in the system. If that is the cure, then there is a problem with the fuel system not holding pressure.

Hey.. it's a start. ;-) Myabe not!

__ __ Randy & \ \/ /alerie's \__/olvos '90 245 Estate - '93 965 Estate "Shelby" & "Kate"

Reply to
Randy G.

I, too, thought it might be the fuel pump check valve so I tried that little trick to no avail. This was the prime culprit except it starts OK when cold.

Thank you anyway.

Reply to
Lloyd Wells

Could be electrical. The symptoms suggest a poor connection that comes and goes with heat/humidity. Start with the fuse box. Pull the fuses and check them to see if there's any sign of corrosion. If so, replace all of the fuses.

I struggled with a similar problem for some weeks until, by chance, I wiggled a fuse in its socket and the car started.

TKM

Reply to
TKM

Perhaps you had the wrong plugs installed.

Reply to
Mike F

And in keeping with the electrical theme, it could be the ignition switch. I have seen wonky ignition switches that will crank but in the P-III position the ignition contacts get disengaged so the ignition is not getting current. I am not sure if that is possible with your car or not, but it might be worth checking out. Maybe find the ignition feed that goes from the switch and put an LED on the line so you can see if it stays hot when cranking.

__ __ Randy & \ \/ /alerie's \__/olvos '90 245 Estate - '93 965 Estate "Shelby" & "Kate"

Reply to
Randy G.

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