NC Tom

Where abouts in the Piedmont?

@pizzaman09 You get the award for, "The One Answer I Really Didn't Want to Hear!" Usually, I am a big fan of "random." Not in this case! Ugh!

Thanks for all the replies. I have not touched the thing in almost a week. Too cold!!!! Warmed up to 40+ today. Plugged in a batt charger and have been letting that sit all day. Tried to start and got turnovers only. Cycled the ignition 3 times and still no start. Let her sit 10-12 minutes and she started! Let her idle for a while I read about Cruiser's posts about the distributor and other mentions here too. I really have not spent any time on that.

What's really interesting is that it seems like if I do not start her every day, this happens. Miss one day and all bets are off. It is cold! Especially for NC! I really need to invest in a garage. I don't mind the work, just not so much when there is snow on the ground.

Sure, checked all the above. I checked the fuel pressure at 30+. It may be a little low. I don't know when it's low enough to be an issue.

Ok, I'll check the NSS. I have not, intentionally, adjusted idle screw. I do not know idle numbers. BTW, I just looked through your videos and such. I gotta say, I am truly jealous of your mechanical talents. And that Eagle is sweeeeet! I'm 58 and I remember when they first came out. I've always really liked the SX4!

Yes. Auto.

Happy New Year! It's been nearly four weeks since my last post about this ongoing issue. But, that's okay, because I have collected some additional data/symptoms/etc. Here is a video of the engine turning over, but not starting, as requested by @89 MJ This video was taken a few days prior to Christmas 2024. After this video I let the MJ roll forward a bit and it started. It's done that before so I didn't question it. Just glad it started. The next day, it started fine and I drove it to work. Leaving work, it wouldn't start. The parking lot is sloped, so I tried letting it roll backwards a bit, but no luck this time. At this point, I was in the middle of the parking lot. I put it in Neutral and a couple guys helped me push it out of the way. During the pushing, one of the guys said, "try it now." and it started. Drove home. The next day, the same thing. Turnover, no start. I primed the fuel pump three times and it started. I started thinking about the conditions under which it would and wouldn't start. At home, it's parked on mostly flat ground with a slight nose-down incline. At work, it's parked with a solid nose-up incline. When I got to work, I backed in, so I had a good nose-down incline. Started fine at end of day. Found an area at home to park nose-down too. Also started fine. Up until yesterday, it has been starting and running well for several weeks as long as it's on an incline, nose-down. The only thing that has changed now is that the outside temps have a dropped a lot over the past couple of days. Wouldn't start yesterday. 13 degrees this morning and no starting. It's still parked nose-down. The only other oddball thing is that it will occasionally stall when sitting in traffic for a good while. However, if I put it in Neutral while sitting, it won't stall. I'm not the gear-head that so many of you guys are, but I'm thinking it's fuel delivery. Likely, my brand new fuel pump is not so good. Thoughts?

This was interesting. Usually, I turn the key, hear the pump, and proceed to cranking. This time, I did not proceed to cranking after hearing the pump. Just turned key off, waited 10 or so secs, turn key on, but did not hear pump. How long should I wait? When I try to crank and then turn key off and back on, I can hear the pump. After the pump test, I moved on to cranking and it started. Any idears here?

You're saying turn the key, listen for the pump, turn key off. 3 times. What would that answer? I'm not following.

Have you ever heard or seen a TV show called "Mountain Men"? If so, those clowns live near me, only they are closer to civilization than I. However, I did go by Advance Auto today. Battery test was solid, Alternator was good and because those two were good, he didn't see any reason to test the starter. We talked a bit and he seem to think that it's a fuel delivery issue. He also suggested a vacuum test. I need to find the best way to do that. He suggested I check the secondary fuel filter as well. I picked one up while there in case he's right. For today, after the initial several tries, it ran fine. Went to lunch, started and ran fine. Trouble starting at end of day. It actually started only after I tapped the gas pedal. Could be a coincidence.

Started and ran good yesterday, except for one stall out. I had gone to the dump, stopped short and she cut off. I tried several times to repeat the stall with no luck. This morning she started after several attempts. It's damp and 50 degrees.

Do you recall the specs of that bolt? Size, thread count, etc.?

Maybe a little quicker. Certainly smoother. Not firewall, my goof. I had cleaned that ground previously. Didn't think to check it. No. Not too cold. It's 40+ currently. I removed the positive and gave it a visual inspection. Cleaned and the polished the connections. The neg looked ok for what I could tell since I didn't remove it. Not yet. Winter advisory tonight. Will probably try the parts store Mon.

Okay. Here's the latest update: Changed the oil with Rotella T4 10/30 and a Wix filter Battery Cables in good shape. At the battery, Neg was good. Pos. was loose and rusty. Cleaned both and tightened it all down. Cleaned and polished the Pos. connection to the firewall. Neg. to block was loose at the stud going into the block. I could not get the connections apart, so I just re-tightened the stud. The nut on the stud seemed to be seized. I was not able to get my hands and a wrench in that tight space to break it. Any suggestions? Re-cleaned the C101. I also have an oil pan heater that I turned on. Again, crank no start. Had my son come out and turn it over while I made a video and, of course, it starts. WTF? Drove it around a bit, no issues. I guess I'm back to "try again tomorrow and see what happens." I am leaving the oil heater on overnight this time.

Ok. Because I said I would test it, while cranking, readings were 10.3 to 10.5. No lower then 10 after four attempts.

Not sure, but it does have an electrical system "designed" by the French. They can't do anything right.

Got home late, it's dark and raining and I'm a wuss. Test and video later.

Sure. 47 degrees and damp this morning and no start. This is nuts! My son will be "voluntold" for battery testing and video.

If you haven't seen this: It's looks like a great conversion!

Definitely going to miss his Renix comments. BTW, I love the irony of the Toyota logo behind him in the pic!

Didn't have a helper. Let it idle for about 15 mins. No stumbling or shutoff. Assuming she starts in the morning, I'll try to get by parts store tomorrow.

Thanks. Here is where I am now. Battery check cold read 12.97. Battery while running read 14.5. After the stumble, I noticed an active leak at the fuel rail. I replaced the rings, etc. Fuel pressure now at 33. It's running nicely at the moment. Going to let it idle a bit to see what happens.

@89 MJ @gogmorgo @Eagle_SX4 @GonzoTheGreat @eaglescout526 and anyone else. 53 degrees and she started on the 2nd try. Go figure. About 5 min in, stumbled and shut off. Started back up with a little hesitation. does this change anyone's theories? Or things I should check?

15+. Nothing sub-zero. In case it's the starter, do you have any suggested brands for a replacement?