Cory Putnam

nunyas

iTrader: (2)

When you say "catch" do you mean "fire"? I had a situation with my RA a few years ago where it wouldn't start, and through troubleshooting I found i could get it to fire up if I unplugged the wires from the fuel injectors. It would then fire up, and quickly die after burning off the fuel in the cylinders. After that I'd plug the fuel injectors back in and it would start right up. This was on cold mornings like you described.

After much research, I found information on the Start Up Enrichment maps, and that a lot of the cars are just way too rich. I tweaked my enrichment maps, dialed them back like 30% and haven't had a single hard start since. Here's the caveat though, my car is modified. I have a BBX Lite, 1000cc injectors, DW65 fuel pump, etc, etc... So, I have a modified fuel system with larger injectors and fuel pump, and with the stock cold start enrichment values, it was basically flooding the engine on cold mornings.

At any rate a google search for " How the ECU Calculates IPW while Cranking ", might yield you some helpful information. If you're stock... I'm not sure I'd recommend messing with your ECU maps. If you've flashed in any tunes, then it might be worth a look into.

Cory Putnam

Thanks nunyas for the information I will google the terms you suggest. I think the issue you experienced may be different than mine because when we pulled the spark plugs it was bone dry...I had expected to see some fuel thinking the engine might have been flooded when I stared and stopped the engine quickly 2x in a row to pull out of the garage and then back in. For the area it was "cold" at the time but probably in the mid-50's, so not ACTUALLY cold.

In doing your research about did you ever come across which sensors and relays are involved in the Cold Start Process?
I have a feeling something hardware wise may be about ready to fail.

Oddly, the car has started fine everyday this week with 24 hour intervals in between. I have been just driving it long enough to get up temp and then heading back home.
Even had to wait 48 hour when a garage door spring broke and it still started fine.

I saw a ECU reprogram bulletin from Mitsubishi, so I suppose I will start there and hope the issue vanishes.

Thanks Again

Laza

I live in a cold climate (Finland) and I've never had any cold start issues. It has been up to -30'C but the car works just fine. When starting, I turn the ignition until the last "stop" before cranking, wait for ~4 seconds and then start. If I do this too quickly, i.e. as one would do with a "normal" car, and turn the key directly to start, the car won't start. I suppose it takes some time to get the fuel pressure up or such.
I do have an engine block heater that I use most of the time when it's below 5'C but there are occasional completely cold starts also...

Cory Putnam

nunyas

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, I assumed those would have been taken care of already. I replaced mine while it was still in stock form.

Raikiri

iTrader: (21)