cold/semi cold start stumbles. revisted

[babowc]

seems like many people had the same problems with any kind of older cars like my 90' 240sx. (yes i've searched)

so i was wondering, what the possible problem could be?car stumbles, and sometimes stalls on cold starts. in georgia, its getting a bit chilly lately and this is not a good thing for my daily commuter...

i'll be going out to get my battery replaced today (from walmart, prev. owner had the 2yr warranty thing). ill post how it starts after the battery change. i thought the battery might be dieing.. somehow, maybe it doesnt have enough cold cranking amps? what do i know

[s14 2510's]

Look up a few posts. (ok whats going on here) I might be your IACV

[babowc]

iacv is the box next to the exhaust mani, yes?if it is, mine is removed.i've searched and all the answers were mostly based on hypothesis.. basically guessing.

i went out to local autoparts store and got my starter and batt. tested out, they said both were fine, but i went and replaced the battery just in case, now it starts a little better, however, still rough in cold weather.

i've noticed something though..on my ka(de), the first sparkplug hole is leaking oil very minimally, maybe that could be it?but it doesnt do that on warm startups :/

[87supramart]

I had the same problems with my car recently up untill i changed all of my fluids, put new plugs in it, and advanced the timing a little. Now it never does it.

[babowc]

oo, alrightywhat oil did you use for this weather? (colder)i used 5w30 before.. should i go thicker now?

[DjPantsSpecR]

once again, just like phil said a few posts up, this is almost obviously an IACV problem

no, the box by the exhaust manifold is the pair valve, i dont know why everyone calls is an IACV

its on the lower intake manifold, search the fsm or the forum for two seconds and youll find it

i plugged mine when i made my intake. its just plugged, so it acts like a malfunctioning unit, not a removed unit.

every cold start it wants to die immediately, you need to kick it about three or four times, then it idles fine. it doesnt fluctuate or anything, but before i did this it would always jump around, all day.

either clean it, remove it or plug it. however most hot starts need to be done at WOT and cold starts will alwyas cause the car to die unless you help it

[babowc]

iacv eh.. but its so hard to reach..., if im talking about what you're talking about..

[DjPantsSpecR]

certainly it is. if you want to clean it, you have to pull off the upper intake manifold. thats very time consuming if you havent done it before, but if you have its still like a 15 minute deal, depending on your luck with the bolts closest to the firewall

however, i was merely just noting the extreme similarity between your "problem" and my plugged aicv valve, so that sounds like a good place to start

[babowc]

hmm, ill leave that to my last alternative..i changed the batteries and its starting -okay- now, tomorrow, ill be changing out the plugs.. see what happens.

i dont want to remove the intake mani bc i dont know what im doing / etc..i have a fsmthough.

[JDMEnthused]

DjPants, how did you plug your IACV??

[DjPantsSpecR]

Yes, removing the upper intake is kinda a bia, but really you just need to know how to remove four studs, and then the bolts are child's play. i hope your problem was just your car need a lil tuneup, but who knows.

as for how did i plug my AICV?

this is quite ghetto, and its ghettoitivity was discussed earlier, but i had plans that i never followed through with so...

The largest rubber tube that comes off the stock intake tube (besides the breather hose and the resonator... so i guess its the third largest, shut up...) anyways, i simply just removed that bad boy and stuck an old spark plug in it, then i tucked it under my intake and never saw it again.

i recommend plugging a spark plug in this tube just to see if it cleans your idle up any, but obviously i was happy with the results so i just kept with it. Just remember that you have to kick it to keep it from dieing during cold starts, like four times, and during hot starts often your foot needs to be held to the floor during starting

[NateDogg]

If you don't have ABS it's possible to remove the IACV without removing the intake manifold. You can go from the passenger side or from under the car. This is for a KA24DE though, not sure about the KA24E.

[JDMEnthused]

damn ABS ...

i fixed my car's idle.. turns out it was an ignition problem.. 3 of the cylinders werent firing right.. i grounded them to the valve cover and the 4th, 2nd and 3rd cylinders werent firing like they should so.. i took the spark plugs out, got them cleaned a a nearby shop, bought a new rotor cap and some wires and.. my idle went back the stock idle of 700-750 with no stumbling or bogging down.

[babowc]

my car's idle is fine, everything on my car is fine

itsjust the cold start thats a bish..seems like its gottena little better though.. who knows

[dickie]

i just got my car back from the shop. after it was complete the mechanic test drove it and told me it was dying at lights and stopsigns so he adjusted the tps so it would idle higher. i dont think thats what the problem was. now it is slow to start, like the actual "cranks" before the engine starts are in slow motion, and it smells of gas. i think its running a little rich? im headed back to the shop tomorrow.

[babowc]

tps? the idle valve?thats all you have to adjust to get the idle to be higher..normal idle is 700-750 or something..mine is just around 750-800..

just the cold start..

[dickie]

i know what it does and where my idle is supposed to be, but if i set the idle to 700-800 rpm my car dies at lights. the tps set higher is a temp solution to a problem im trying to solve. and my start is messed up too. it sounds horrible like the battery is dying. ill get it tested but i doubt thats the problem

[babowc]

i see.. mehhhh i need to get these little things fixed before i get some suspension goodys..

little gremlins are a headache!

[dickie]

couldnt have said it better myself. i may end up keeping the extra motor i have as a security measure and for readily available parts.