Sluggish Starter

[Big Nugget]

My wife's 1996 1.9 petrol automatic is very sluggish from a fresh start, especially up hill or after waiting to join the main road a few hundred yards (down hill) from home. I thought the problem was related to cold damp mornings, but it behaves the same during the current heatwave, regardless of the time of day. Once warmed up it runs OK, but becomes sluggish again if left to cool for an hour or so.

 

The problem existed before it was last serviced by a local Ford dealer in March '06 and has gradually got worse since then. Dealer wasn't much help ("don't have the diag unit for a car of that age")

 

Where should I start to look? Thanks.

[funbus]

plugs, air filter, maf sensor, oil level - I'd start with all the obvious stuff. Then I'd take it to a decent dealer, if such a thing exists, and tell them what is going on and ask them to plug it in. I'd also request to be there when it is plugged in so u can see the results yourself. Ideally you would do 2 tests, one when cold.

[Big Nugget]

plugs, air filter, maf sensor, oil level - I'd start with all the obvious stuff. Then I'd take it to a decent dealer, if such a thing exists, and tell them what is going on and ask them to plug it in. I'd also request to be there when it is plugged in so u can see the results yourself. Ideally you would do 2 tests, one when cold.

 

Thanks funbus. Oil was a bit low and was topped up, but made no difference. Where will I find the MAF sensor on the 1.9 petrol auto? There's loads of references here to the diesels, but I can't find any for the petrol models.

[funbus]

good question, not sure where the maf is on petrol, sorry. Somewhere on the air intake tubes or throttle body I would imagine.

 

Thinking about this it would seem to be some sort of choke problem. Remember the olden days when u had to pull out the choke when cold, and if you got it a bit wrong your car wouldn't go right? Maybe a fuelling/air issue - which could only really be located by plugging in diagnostics. I think that is the key to it.

[seatkid]

Maybe the problem is the missing 0.4L of engine...

1.9L Petrol?

Is it a Hyundai special edition?

[Big Nugget]

Maybe the problem is the missing 0.4L of engine...

1.9L Petrol?

Is it a Hyundai special edition?

 

Obviously, I'm no expert, but I'm fairly certain it's a 1.9 Ford DOHC petrol engine. I'm out of the country at present, so can't go & check.

 

 

funbus wrote "Thinking about this it would seem to be some sort of choke problem. Remember the olden days when u had to pull out the choke when cold, and if you got it a bit wrong your car wouldn't go right?"

 

Spot on! Exact same symptoms displayed by our old manually choked Renault 5 auto many years ago.

 

Appreciate any helpful suggestions.

[Andrew T]

A 1996 Petrol four cylinder petrol could only be a 2.0. The MAF is a different type to that used on the Diesel and I recall a thread on here suggesting that it's possible to clean it. I a MAF for a 2.3 is about

[Big Nugget]

Well, after running with no MAF for a month and seeing a slight improvement :D , I bought a new MAF (same part number) and installed it at the weekend and noticed no difference in performance at all - still sluggish from cold start :ph34r: . Should the improvement be immediate? Or do I need to reset something, disconect the battery or anything like that?

 

I noticed two inverted cone shaped nozzles in the base of the air filter pan (which was well clogged with sand & bits of insects). One of these cones (furthest away) appears to be blocked. Is this one actually a nozzle? Or is it sealed off on purpose? Should I probe around and try to clear it, or will I damage it if I make a hole where there shouldn't be one?

 

Thanks as always for any assistance.