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cold weather no start??

Old 01-25-2004, 05:22 PM
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Default cold weather no start??

Hi everybody.. hope someone can help.. along with my 88 Bonneville sse.. I also have an 89 olds Delta 88.. same car.. different body style.. I'm experiencing a problem starting the car when there is extremely cold weather..2 days now.. after the car sits over nite the motor turns over.. but will not fire.. later on in the day and after numerous tries, eventually it will start up and once running seems fine for the rest of the day. I experienced a similar problem years ago with my Bonneville .. at that time and suggested to me now it might be the ignition coil pack that needs to be replaced. Apparently this is a regular problem with these models??? Or does anybody have any other idea of what might be up with the cold weather start??? Thanks in adavance!!!
Old 01-25-2004, 07:16 PM
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Having a guage, first thing I would check would be the fuel pressure - pump may not be reliably starting. Besides that try turning the key off-on several times (to get extra prime shots) and see if that makes a difference.
Old 01-25-2004, 11:39 PM
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My car has been starting pretty hard lately in the cold weather and I finally found out that the fuel regulator is shot. After turning the key off and back on a couple of times it primes the system and it starts just fine.
Old 01-26-2004, 08:28 AM
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thanks for the suggestion.. I just came in from trying to start the car this morning and it started right up.. first try..although it'* not minus 20 like the last couple of mornings it'* still pretty cold.. about minus 10. so I guess i'll have to wait til it happens again??
Old 01-29-2004, 08:31 AM
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Hey every one. I had the same problem after leaving the car outside for the night and the temp where drpping to about - 25 C (its Canada after all) the car wouldnt start for two days and it had to sit in the garage till it unfroze. Apperantly it wasn't the fuel freezing but the fuel injectors. But i guess in this weather pretty much everything will freeze.
Old 01-29-2004, 02:09 PM
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Originally Posted by valerka
it wasn't the fuel freezing but the fuel injectors.
Hi Valerka and Welcome Aboard. I'm not the resident Gearhead here but logic says that if your fuel injectors froze up, it was because the fuel in or near the injectors was frozen as well. I would throw in a can of gas line antifreeze(I believe the best type is the ones that contain isopropyl alcohol). Also try not to let the fuel in your tank go below 1/4 during the winter months.
Old 01-29-2004, 02:36 PM
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Spark plugs can also factor in to cold-weather starting, but fuel problems are probably more likely.
Old 02-03-2004, 03:25 PM
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I have a similar problem. My 88 Bonneville does not start when the weather is extremely cold, engine does not revolve. Jump-start does not work.

Last time I got the battery checked at Autozone, it appeared that the battery is good but has low charge. After I got it charged, the car started. But the following morning it did not start again. I tried afternoon and it started. :? :?:

The voltmeter reads above and around 13.5 V.

Is buying a new battery solve this problem?
Old 02-27-2004, 11:07 AM
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Default cold start

My 90- SSE recently had a no start problem around 0Deg.
It turned out to be one of the platinum plugs that was shorted out when cold and eventually started skipping a week later.
It also could be moisture in the fuel. Did you try isapropal dry gas?
The coil or crank sensor could also cause a hard start.
You could easily check the coil with an ohm meter across each pair of banks
anything less than infinity or one bank that is less than the rest - you should replace the coil.
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