Cranks but wont start sometimes

[mndiep]

Hey guys, I just bought this car 2000 I30t with 100k miles on it. I am having problems with car not wanting to start sometimes. The previous owner replaced the starter a few months ago. About 70% of the time the car will start on first crank. But, the other 30% I would have to crank 2-3 times before it starts. The starter seems to crank just fine, batteries are good I checked the voltage at idle and under load. There is no SES light or codes.

I read the owners manual & it says to apply the gas pedal before starting in cold/hot weather if car has a hard time starting. This doesn't make sense for a fuel injected car. I've never had to apply pedal to start a fuel injected car. Does anyone know what is causing the hard starts?? thx

[MinisterofDOOM]

Pressing the gas pedal in this case serves a different purpose than on a carbureted car. In this case, it signals the car to CUT fuel. For use in flooding/excess fuel situations.

Your issue does sound like a fuel problem. But the question is whether it's too much or too little fuel. Does pressing the accelerator before (while) cranking make a difference?

Try this next time the car has trouble starting:Turn the key to on (don't crank the engine, but turn ignition fully on). Let it sit that way for a few seconds (to allow the fuel pump to power up and build fuel pressure). THEN crank. See if it it starts okay then. If it does, I'd suspect your fuel pump.

[mndiep]

Thanks MinisterofDOOM. I'll give your suggestions a try tomorrow and update. It sounds like to previous owner decided to sell the car for this reason.

[mndiep]

Today was a lucky day or the two things I did differently solved my starting problem. I had a spare key so I used it instead. I thought maybe the security chip on the old key was not always working, and it was setting off the security to cut the gas to the car during starts.

I also tried Dooms suggestion. I allowed 10 seconds after ON position before starting the car. All 9 times the car started on first crank the whole day hot and cold weather.

Hopefully one of these two things I did permanently solved my problem. It was a fuel issue.

[MinisterofDOOM]

It's possible that your fuel pump is on the way out. Fortunately, it's not a terrible ordeal to replace it: just requires removal of the rear seat cushion.

[mndiep]

If the fuel pump is starting to go out, wouldn't a ses for it turn on?

[loystock]

Not necessarily. If you could hear a louder than normal humming sound at the back, the fuel pump is on its way out.