Cranky Civic in Canada

My 2001 civic has always been a wee bit slow to fire. Even in the middle
of the summer if it has sat all night it would turn over a raw times
before catching.

I bought the vehicle used about this time last year. It fired every day
last winter without a problem. A couple of cranks and bang.

Now it's starting to take more than that. In fact this morning I was
afraid it wasn't going to catch. It was to the point where I was worried
that I might begin wearing the battery down.

I don't have the full history on the vehicle, but since I've owned it
I've had the oil changed regularly and did the big tune-up at about 100
Km. My mileage is quite constant at about 13.5 Kms per Litre. ( sorry
but I'm Canadian). The car runs well and I'm putting on almost all
highway miles. I have 110,000 kms on it and I believe that it's the
original battery and alternator.

Lately, for unknown reasons to me, I get the odd whiff of raw fuel from
the vehicle, but my mileage hasn't changed.

I would normally just change out the battery at this stage, but I'm not
sure that that is the problem. It cranks fine and at good speed. Also
the slow firing has been habitual, just getting worse.

Any ideas from the experts. Could there be a fuel leak somewhere causing
a vapour gap and slow starts?

tia

Peter H

 

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Peter,

Tomorrow morning, try holding the gas pedal half-way to the floor (per
the Owner's manual) to determine if your engine is flooding overnight.
If it starts way better, it's probable that (one) injector is sticking
open and draining the fuel rail's pressure into the engine.

A couple tanks of Gasohol, or a bottle of good injector cleaner might
fix it.

Our Odyssey did it and was a bear to start after sitting overnight.
Mohawk PLUS gas fixed it right away.

'Curly'

 

Not an expert, but... I suspect the two things are related. The symptom you
have (delayed start) is often caused by loss of residual pressure in the
fuel rail (the part that feeds the injectors). When the pressure restores
and the ECU figures out what happened the engine starts. This is easily
confirmed by connecting a fuel pressure guage to the fuel rail - it probably
has the fitting already. Another common DIY test - although not definitive -
is to bump the starter an instant, then try to start it. If it starts
immediately, that's a pretty big yes.

A common cause is the check valve for the fuel pump, but with the smell of
gasoline I'd start looking for a leak. If 'Curly's' suggestion doesn't do
the trick, look carefully around the surface of each injector and the ends
of all the fuel hoses under the hood for damp spots after the engine has
run, even for a second. If you still smell gasoline and can't find a leak, a
professional might be a good investment. I had a car that had an engine fire
from a leaky injector (external leak), and it was no fun.

Mike

 

Thanks Curly. I picked up some injector cleaner and it seemed to make a
big difference.

Peter H