Wonder if anyone has had this problem.

When I park up, leave the car for an hour or so, then move it a few metres (into garage say) then leave overnight, its a b*tch to start in the morning.

It turns over for ages speeding up then slowing down, finally it gets going but puffs loads of smoke out the exhaust.

If its simply parked and left it starts fine, if its parked then goes for a long run its fine, its just a short run that seems to cause the problem.

Any ideas of suggestions gratefully received.

Thanks
Ian.

We had something similar with our V6 and it seemed to be a combination of cold damp weather and grotty old spark plugs. New plugs now, no problems since, even in this weather....

mine does exactly the same, i think its something to do with battery charge coz it takes a substantial amount of power to start it, and for a put-it-in-the garage run it dosent have time to recouperate the power loss from the alternator.

could be wrong but ive studied electronics long and hard at work....

jamie

I've heard of this problem b4.

Battery problem?

I forgot... lol

[color=blue]Or perhaps the way the engine is set up when its turned off, especially when cold? Think I remember reading about a certain Audi model where when this bloke started it from cold to move it and then switched it off, that when he went back to it it wouldn't start.

I think the problem there was that the ECU was tricked in some way so that it flooded the engine or it received data that the engine wasn't flooded when it was, - sorry can't be of more use, my memory is like a goldfish!!

Can't remember what caused it either, but [i]I think[/i] how it was started was by flooring the accelerator and cranking it..... [/color]

Sounds a bit like my problem, only with me it's more intermittent. After 3 years of this happening once every couple of months or so, I have come to the conclusion it's something to do with the fuel injection system getting confused - i.e. it's pumping fuel for full throttle when the throttle is almost closed (which floods the motor). I usually fix it by removing the relay for the fuel injectors (in the switchbox by the battery) and then turning over the starter for a couple of seconds. Then put the relay back and she starts like a charm ...

I'm not sure how valid my theory is, but the fix works ....

Oh yeah - if you're on a hill, bump-starting works (i.e. roll down the hill till you get some momentum, then put her in 2nd and drop the clutch !)

The only times I get a problem with mine struggling to start is if I realease the key, just before it fires and then try again - this is probably because it's flooded. I don't generally do such short journey's anyway - it's bad for the engine. Even with my old Panda, the engine didn't go off until it was in the garage. If I [i]did [/i]leave it outside the garage I'd push it in later without starting it up.

Mark

Here's the relay (in the fusebox by the battery - the big black one) you remove to reset the Fuel Injection ...

[img]http://www.geocities.com/smotter.geo/Temp/PowerBox.JPG[/img]

323's have a "clear out" function to start a flooded engine (I think it is in the owners manual). If you floor the throttle and hold your foot down then crank the engine, fuel injection is cut so any fuel in the cylinders is cleared out. You can try it yourself. If you try and start the engine with your foot on the boards, it will not go

[quote="Roadster Robbie"]323's have a "clear out" function to start a flooded engine (I think it is in the owners manual). If you floor the throttle and hold your foot down then crank the engine, fuel injection is cut so any fuel in the cylinders is cleared out. You can try it yourself. If you try and start the engine with your foot on the boards, it will not go [/quote]

I'll give that a bash - sounds much easier than removing the relay ...