Car won't turn over cold - Help

[herk402]

Car wont start when its been cold soaked over night, let it warm up & in the afternoon.. no problem. I have cleaned all POS & NEG connections, even on the starter. I did borrow a code reader and get a 70 or a 94 (sometimes both).

Dead spot in starter, cam sensor, EWS ????

Hope someone can help....

[Bluebimma]

O2 sensor or possible coolant temp sensor? I dont know codes off the top of my head and i doubt others do as well, maybe posting what 70 and 94 mean will yield more help.

[herk402]

70 is "camshaft position sensor" & 94 is "EWS Input". The cold weather, intermittent nature didn't make sense with the codes.. to me.

[bmvw]

What shape is the battery in?

[THAT318]

id rule out battery and dead spot on starter. it is unusually weird that your getting a ews and cps code in cold weather but car starts fine when not so cold...

[herk402]

Battery is in great shape. 12.6V checks useing various grounding points after I cleaned them. Gained about .5V.

[FredrickII]

does the vehicle run while cold if you give it a little gas? if so it is more than likley your IAC. the best fix I have found, if this is you problem, is to take it off and clean it with a cotton swab and rubbing alc.

[herk402]

When it starts & it does most of the time, it runs great. When it dosn't it wont crank, no click, no nothing, just lights on the dashboard. I do get an "EWS Input" code 94 on the reader. Come back an hour later or more (random time really) it will start & run great. Frustrating.

[FredrickII]

code 94 is a drive away protection code associated with a car alarm, that said I don't know too much about this particular issue.

[Habeas]

Hello, all. My 1998 318Ti has 110K and is a bear to start on most cold mornings. I've tried a new camshaft sensor, O2 sensor, coil, wires, battery and turned down one not-quite-authorized BMW shop's offer to bore out/replace the cylinders/head for $1,800 to "stop the oil from dripping into the cylinders and flooding it at night." I pulled the plugs and confirmed cylinders were dry. Replaced plugs, let sit overnight, pulled plugs: No "dripping." Checking it out myself: Priceless.

Then my lady friend reminded me that last fall I had the same problem, and it went away after I ran a couple tanks of HIGH-test. So far I've used about 1/2 of the new tank of high-test and starting is getting (dare I say it?) easier.

I read an article explaining that increasing octane retards firing of the fuel-air mix. Low octane can fire a cylinder on the way to TDC, and combustion takes place BEFORE the spark plug can ignite the fuel, which is anti-productive. Anyway, I'll let you know whether I've discovered anything other than that my Alzheimer's is getting worse.

BJ

[bullmand]

Have you checked the vacuum hoses that run to the fuel injectors? You can't fully access them without removing the upper half of the intake manifold. If you've never changed them then they're most likely the source of your problem. The hoses crack with age/heat exposure. I'm sure they must affect the starting/running when the weather's warm but it's much worse when it's cold out. On really cold days mine would barely start and when it did it felt like it was running on three cylinders. The stock replacement part is less than $20 IIRC. Check your hoses and let us know what you find. There's a really good write-up on here on the replacement procedure.

[StealthBimmer]

I would change the camshaft position sensor and the vacuum hoses while under the upper manifold per bullmand posting.

[mhl03]

Hi,
I am also having the same problem with start up in the morning. Needs to cranked for 30 sec or so to a rough idle, and smells flooded. But when it warms up it runs fine.

I have read numerous post on this and I still have yet to find a posted solution (if ones out there, I have not found it yet).
I do find a lot of great suggestions, but I hardly want to replace everything to widdle away at all the possibilities.

If someone out there has had this issue and fixed it, please let me know.

[bullmand]

Originally Posted by mhl03

Hi,
I have read numerous post on this and I still have yet to find a posted solution (if ones out there, I have not found it yet).
I do find a lot of great suggestions, but I hardly want to replace everything to widdle away at all the possibilities.

If someone out there has had this issue and fixed it, please let me know.

Since there are numerous possible causes of your symptoms, there is not going to be any one definitive answer. At some point you're going to have to physically get in there and try a couple of things to see what works. It's no great secret that the vacuum lines I describe in post #11 are often at least part of the cold start problem, if not the actual source. It's either air, fuel, or spark that's missing from your starting equation and it makes sense, at least to me, to start with one of the known weak points of the system especially since it's so cheap and easy to repair. So, check the vacuum lines under your intake manifold. If they're not cracked you can move on to more complicated and expensive things. And I think you meant whittle.

[herk402]

Guess I wasn't clear about my problem. When I say it won't start I mean it won't -- turn over, crank, roll over.... I mean it won't do anything. The dash lights light up and that's it. If you hold they key in the start position it may start anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes later, it varies, no particular pattern. Or you just leave the car sit and come back & it fires right up. It is not a vacuum issue if it is not turning over.