STILL chasing hard start....

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ztarleton

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Had posted a while back about what was assumed to be fuel pressure regulator issues.... turned into now having replaced fuel tank, pump (twice, did it myself then took it to a shop for same issue and they said pressure was low so had them do it 8 months after I did), rear fuel lines(that run along frame), filter, and the spider injector upgrade. Today after only having sat for a couple days, once again hard start. It's hard to reproduce and seems random- any ideas before I lose my mind?

edit: forgot to mention that there is also a ticking/tap noise during the long cranking, coming from the rear (sounds like from the tank area, but could be exhaust) that happens every second or two- not quickly
 
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east302

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If you have a scanner, there are a couple of sensors that you can rule out (ECT and TPS) that can make for extended cranking.

The only time I ever had an issue with a coolant temp sensor was on a Bronco and only during hot starts. A temporary workaround for a faulty signal from the ECT is to hold the gas to the floor while cranking. That puts it in “clear flood” mode, temporarily stopping the injector pulses.

Otherwise, here’s what the General wrote about hard starts, maybe something will help...

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ztarleton

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If you have a scanner, there are a couple of sensors that you can rule out (ECT and TPS) that can make for extended cranking.

The only time I ever had an issue with a coolant temp sensor was on a Bronco and only during hot starts. A temporary workaround for a faulty signal from the ECT is to hold the gas to the floor while cranking. That puts it in “clear flood” mode, temporarily stopping the injector pulses.

Otherwise, here’s what the General wrote about hard starts, maybe something will help...

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Would checking those be dependent on actually catching it while it struggles, or do you think they'd show themselves any time? I haven't figured out how to replicate it quite yet... hit or miss after a few days.

Also, on occassion it seems to stumble a bit on startup- just for a couple seconds then smoothes out. Don't know if it's related or not...
 

Powerhour

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My truck just had a hard start issue, it would just crank and crank and crank. I had good fuel pressure. The truck would eventually run but like a bag of hammers and smoking bad. Changed the coolant temp sensor and she fired right up and has ran great since!
 

MRAJB

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My truck just had a hard start issue, it would just crank and crank and crank. I had good fuel pressure. The truck would eventually run but like a bag of hammers and smoking bad. Changed the coolant temp sensor and she fired right up and has ran great since!


What led you to determine the temp sensor was bad?
 

JoeySS

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I had a bad e.c.t. once. It died driving down the road. Had a hard start, kicking, bucking and back firing. I replaced the e.c.t. and the broken electrical connector.

To diagnose, plug your blue tooth scanner into the truck when it's cold. If its reading something different then the actual outside air temp... it's bad. I use the Torque free app with a $20 blue tooth scanner from Amazon.

I've also had "long start" issues before. Thought it was my starter or alternator. When the truck did finally start... the transmission was kicking like hell. I took my battery to the auto store and had it tested... turned out to be a bad battery.
 

JoeySS

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A bad cap and rotor also acts like a bad e.c.t. $40 for a new AC Delco cap and rotor (no aftermarket junk). It's a simple swap, I prefer to install a fresh one every year. It's difficult to diagnose a bad cap and rotor just by looking at the internals.
 

ztarleton

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A bad cap and rotor also acts like a bad e.c.t. $40 for a new AC Delco cap and rotor (no aftermarket junk). It's a simple swap, I prefer to install a fresh one every year. It's difficult to diagnose a bad cap and rotor just by looking at the internals.
^ seems to be the winner. Truck finally acted up for a shop and they tracked it down to cap and rotor. Although every now and then she stumbles at start (had the press the throttle to start at one point and ran rough for a few seconds), almost like there's water in the fuel... running a bottle of an ethanol treatment through it
 

NickG80

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Check the injector for leaks, fuel sitting in the intake can cause the same hard start issue, you almost have to clear flood it right off the bat.
 

honkon

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Had posted a while back about what was assumed to be fuel pressure regulator issues.... turned into now having replaced fuel tank, pump (twice, did it myself then took it to a shop for same issue and they said pressure was low so had them do it 8 months after I did), rear fuel lines(that run along frame), filter, and the spider injector upgrade. Today after only having sat for a couple days, once again hard start. It's hard to reproduce and seems random- any ideas before I lose my mind?

edit: forgot to mention that there is also a ticking/tap noise during the long cranking, coming from the rear (sounds like from the tank area, but could be exhaust) that happens every second or two- not quickly
All that and it turned out to be ignition related.
To assume makes an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me'.
 
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