car difficult to start after short trips, or when warm

[Benjy]

If your sure the battery is O.K. the first sensor I would go for is the crank.

 

And it's not often he's wrong. The man's a genius!

[Suprab1]

Well, any update on this?

 

Normally if it was crank sensor acting up when warm you need to let it cool down before it will start again. Still i have never came across this with a toyota so i suppose different symptoms maybe.

[Lude]

I put a new water temp sensor in.

 

It seems a lot better now. May take a little pedal to get it going but thats ok.

 

 

Will post if problem persists...

[Lude]

Ye its still doing it.

 

I find if i just keep the key turned the starter will turn and turn and turn then eventually it will hunt then catch

Would that sugguest its not getting fuel, then finally when it hunts its nerly getting fuel then funally catches?

 

 

Il get a new crank sensor and see then

Edited September 21, 2012 by Lude (see edit history)

[mellonman]

did you check the condition of the plugs when it does this ????

if they are wet then its getting fuel simple as

so then it can only be timing or spark related best go back to basics and tick all the boxes and work from there owh wait its already been said

[Lude]

Will check em on the weekend when get my tools :-)

[charleshmlee]

Can I suggest you to take a look with your fuel pressure system, such as leaking injector/faulty fuel pressure regulator/faulty fuel pump can also be your problem since these components can go funny in reaction to heat, that make it difficult to start with warm engine.

[tina n paul]

right have you got an na or tt , if its a na and has main lead coming from dizzy cap to small coil fixed to wing its that coil , ,, 36 pounds ish from eurocarparts , , my friend came to me a while back with an na supra , , my wifes got one now also but long story short ,

 

symptoms , from cold car would start on the button everytime ,

but after a short distance driving could tell the car wasnt burning all the fuel , even smellt like unburnt fuel in the exhaust ,

, when he got to any destiation even 10 mins drive away ,

after returning to the car ,it took ages to start , , the longer he drove it,,

the longer he would have to wait untill it would fire up again ,

 

It was the coil , all along ,as it would heat up and spark would weaken the hotter it got , as soon as you turn it off it wouldnt fire properly again untill it cooled ,

 

i looked at the coil to see white powder residue , in the plug connector lead to dizzy cap and the coil itself , classic sign of arching , electrical term for the current not getting to where it needs to ,

 

changed the coil and car now runs perfect and all issues gone , no fault codes were ever logged either , hth paul

Edited September 27, 2012 by tina n paul (see edit history)

[Lude]

right have you got an na or tt , if its a na and has main lead coming from dizzy cap to small coil fixed to wing its that coil , ,, 36 pounds ish from eurocarparts , , my friend came to me a while back with an na supra , , my wifes got one now also but long story short ,

 

symptoms , from cold car would start on the button everytime ,

but after a short distance driving could tell the car wasnt burning all the fuel , even smellt like unburnt fuel in the exhaust ,

, when he got to any destiation even 10 mins drive away ,

after returning to the car ,it took ages to start , , the longer he drove it,,

the longer he would have to wait untill it would fire up again ,

 

It was the coil , all along ,as it would heat up and spark would weaken the hotter it got , as soon as you turn it off it wouldnt fire properly again untill it cooled ,

 

i looked at the coil to see white powder residue , in the plug connector lead to dizzy cap and the coil itself , classic sign of arching , electrical term for the current not getting to where it needs to ,

 

changed the coil and car now runs perfect and all issues gone , no fault codes were ever logged either , hth paul

 

i am TT, so just check the condition of the copil packs then yea to see if any residue on there,

 

i havent checked the plugs yet as been working flat out, will check the coils same time as i check the plugs...

[tina n paul]

yes its worth a look even the coil packs same syptoms can occur ,

look for any white powdery substance and or bits missing from the spark plug connector end of the coil pack like small spring , etc hth

[Ian C]

Next time you know it's going to do it, try this:

Key to position II to fire up all the electrics

Wait a good 30 seconds

Try and start.

 

Seems to help mine

 

-Ian

[Guest pcbl]

Did this issue get resolved? I have the same problem, starts easily when cold but 1 or 2 cylinders misfire for 1 minute then all fires up. Hesitation when I put the foot down on the gas pedal but drives ok. After the engine warms for 5-10 mins, it won't start again as the engine floods. Checked the coil as suggested and I get decent spark of it. I must add that it idles too fast at 1500-2000 rpm and hunts a little when the engine has warmed. Checked and cleaned throttle body and IAC.

 

Installed new O2 sensors, new water temperature sensor, new spark plugs, new rotor arm and distributor cap. Symptom is still there as if I had not done anything.

 

Checked plugs after failing to start, it's definitely wet and I smell petrol everywhere. Engine must be flooded. New spark plugs soot up quickly, black, like it has been burning really rich.

 

Things I haven't done, check fuel pressure, and clean the injectors. Cannot rule out leaky injectors purging fuel after engine is run. Also not done compression test, as I don't have the tools. Just about to throw the towel and bring it to Toyota to diagnose.

 

Any other thoughts? Any will be helpful. Thanks.

 

Peter.

[paulj1]

I had this same problem after hks ecu and injectors where fitted it went back to the garage the re mapped it but to no different on some advice I changed the battery for one with much greater starting amps according to halfords a UK SPEC battery never had an issue since :-)

[Guest pcbl]

I had this same problem after hks ecu and injectors where fitted it went back to the garage the re mapped it but to no different on some advice I changed the battery for one with much greater starting amps according to halfords a UK SPEC battery never had an issue since :-)

 

That's interesting. I should check that. My battery is Bosch installed last year. Since then I've started to get cold start misfires on 1 or 2 cylinders. I wonder if it could be the fuel pressure regulator combined with a couple dirty or leaky injectors. How long do these parts last? The car is 19 years old and done 105k miles.

[Guest pcbl]

Finally fixed the problem. As it turns out, should have sent the ecu to be tested earlier. Solved all the problems. No more misfire, cold or hot start is now a doddle. The tow truck driver was right.