Very Random Intermittent No Start

gixxer1kr

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Car is an 02 v8. As stated every once in a while it will crank and not start. Battery is only a year old and the car just hit 100k. Only seems to happen in the winter and I wanna say more so on the colder days. Usually when it does it it will fire right up. Sometimes it's a bitch. Fuel pump does prime. Once it's starts it will not replicate. I notice it sometime with my remote start on a cold day. It will turn over and not start. Then when I redo it with the remote start it'll fire on 2nd try. It's not the remote start . And it does that crazy high rev upon starting. Always has. I was questioning IAC but wanted opinions.....
 
When you say "fuel pump does prime," do you base that on hearing it run, or have you checked for fuel pressure?
What do you mean by "crazy high rev?" Please give the RPM that it goes to.
 
I just listen to hear it prime. I have never checked fuel pressure. If it did it all the time it would be a little easier to diagnose. When I first start it cold it revs to about 2k then slowly comes down. I thought crank sensor too but seems to do it in the colder weather. No CEL either. I just hit my remote start and it turned over and didn't start. Redid the remote start and it fired right up.
 
I just listen to hear it prime. I have never checked fuel pressure. If it did it all the time it would be a little easier to diagnose. When I first start it cold it revs to about 2k then slowly comes down. I thought crank sensor too but seems to do it in the colder weather. No CEL either. I just hit my remote start and it turned over and didn't start. Redid the remote start and it fired right up.

That's normal... It's part of the emissions system.
 
I just listen to hear it prime. I have never checked fuel pressure. ...

You really need to check for pressure to be sure.

... When I first start it cold it revs to about 2k then slowly comes down. ...

Why do you call that "crazy high rev?" This is exactly what it is supposed to do. It's a strategy to reduce cold start emissions, this is common to the majority of cars.
 
Just seems to rev higher then any car I've ever had when I 1st start it. I'll have to check fuel pressure when cold first thing in the am after it sitting all night. What should fuel pressure be. 40 psi or so. The once in a while when it does it and won't start I've tried priming the pump key off and on multiple times and still won't start. And other times it can't be replicated.
 
Anything 30 and up (probably can be lower) is enough to start it.
I am going to guess that you never had a carbureted car or even one of the early CFI cars...
 
Anything 30 and up (probably can be lower) is enough to start it.
I am going to guess that you never had a carbureted car or even one of the early CFI cars...
You sir are correct lol ...Only FI . Only carbs I've had were on dirtbikes and motorcycles.
 
My fuel pump and filter was only a couple of years old, battery was less than a year old and I had issues starting the car in the cold. I could hear the fuel pump prime every time but it would not start. Replaced fuel pump and it started without issues. I also changed the fuel filter because of all of the dirt that was in the fuel pump canister. See below for my reply.


I replaced the fuel pump and pump filters tonight and it runs and starts so much better. I think the dirty/clogged filters on the pump and canister caused issues pulling in fuel in the cold. I don't think it will get really cold any time soon to test it out but at least it runs better. I still need to replace the fuel filter in the wheel well. There was a slight hesitation at high rpms when stomping on the gas that I contributed to possible coil failure but that hesitation is gone now.

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Yeah... I was gonna suggest replacing the fuel filter,,, but wanted to see what the OP meant by "priming the pump key off and on multiple times". Next suggestion AFTER replacing the fuel filter,,, would have been to check fuel pressure... and if low,,, replace fuel pump.

Either way Hawk... you give good advice.
 
Yeah... I was gonna suggest replacing the fuel filter,,, but wanted to see what the OP meant by "priming the pump key off and on multiple times". Next suggestion AFTER replacing the fuel filter,,, would have been to check fuel pressure... and if low,,, replace fuel pump.

Either way Hawk... you give good advice.
No I haven't replaced the fuel filter. And buy priming the fuel pump I did mean by cycling the ignition off and on a few times. Other then the no start car runs fine and never hesitates or runs rough. So I just let it be.
 
Then I suggest replacing the fuel filter. You will probaly see brown crap run out of it when you do. If that doesn't fix the problem,,, then I sugget you do a fuel system presuure test.

Again... Hawk gave good advice.
 
So Motocraft fuel Filter and are the Carter Fuels Pumps decent???? Should I do just the pump or whole assembly if fuelpressure is the issue
 
I'd try the fuel filter first. You'd be surprised how brown the crap will drain out of the filter in only 50k miles. Motorcraft, Wix, Napa... and a couple others are good filters. Only after changing fuel filter... would I worry about fuel pressure if your vehicle doesn't start properly. If you still have starting issues... then I would check fuel pressure.

No sense tearing out the back seat... and changing a couple hundred $ in pumps if you don't have to. Start with simple/cheap fixes first.
 

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