trouble starting in winter

[violent31601]

hey guys,

so its winter time and the part of the year my Eclipse hates the most.

Anyway my car starts and runs Perfect in the summer but when it starts to get cold I can almost garentee it will do the following

turn the key: Starts/dies instantly (giving gas does nothing)

turn the key: Starts/dies instantly

about 3-4 times

then do it again and it starts perfectly

any ideas why it would do this?

[rock0134]

Mine did that the one year I drove it in the winter. It could be you have too heavy of an oil weight that makes it start rough. Or something to do with the car being a turbo. Get a beater and put it away not worth getting into an accident in it IMO

[MazdaX]

May have something wrong with the choking effect for fuel delivery and sensors not picking it up. Does it throw CEL's ? Have you recently changed anything that would effect its operation ? Check and make sure you have enough anti freeze as well , if the block is iced over it will cause yo uagreat deal of trouble.

[david-b]

Mine does bad too starting up. It takes a try or two, and then idle will get low like it's chugging, shoot up and be fine for a little. Just have to let it sit and warm up for alittle. At least your battery doesn't drain itself for no reason during the winter... even with a brand new battery.

[MazdaX]

Originally Posted by david-b

Mine does bad too starting up. It takes a try or two, and then idle will get low like it's chugging, shoot up and be fine for a little. Just have to let it sit and warm up for alittle. At least your battery doesn't drain itself for no reason during the winter... even with a brand new battery.

Are you using the plastic battery tray ? Batteries can 'ground' themselves out sitting on metal and dirt.

[gthompson97]

Originally Posted by MazdaX

Are you using the plastic battery tray ? Batteries can 'ground' themselves out sitting on metal and dirt.

That's an old myth. Batteries of today won't discharge themselves any faster no matter surface you put it on.

[david-b]

Ya that's not true at all, and yes I am though. If the car doesn't move in a week when it's cold, the battery will die though. Car can sit for month in the summer and be start right up. And it's a brand new (last year) Die Hard with the max cranking power. Good times.

[MazdaX]

Originally Posted by gthompson97

That's an old myth. Batteries of today won't discharge themselves any faster no matter surface you put it on.

Then not a myth just an outdated mishap :P My optima used to go dead in my MX-3 without the battery tray made me extremely mad after paying 200.00 for it.

[david-b]

Originally Posted by MazdaX

Then not a myth just an outdated mishap :P My optima used to go dead in my MX-3 without the battery tray made me extremely mad after paying 200.00 for it.

Well mine is on the plastic tray so it's not related.

[violent31601]

I have an Optima battery and never looked back, however I doubt that makes a difference to your problem

[gthompson97]

It used to make a difference when they used glass insulators in the batteries between the plates because they would break and cause the battery to "leak" everything out through the floor, but now they use paper insulators so it shouldn't have gone dead faster one way or the other.

[93EclipseGSKo]

Batteries can lose 2-3 volts just from sitting in the cold. If not you may have a parasitic load that is draining the battery a bit over night, like a glove compartment light that stays on. Or like someone said above, it could be the type of oil you use. If it has a high viscosity it can make it hard for the starter to turn the motor over.