hard starting after sitting extended periods

[86rader]

Since buying it 3 years ago, my 22RE sunrader has been slow to start if it sits for a week or more.

If it sits a few days it starts fine, but after extended sits, it takes a number of attempts. What happens is it sounds as if each cylinder fires once, then it just cranks. so i just crank it a moment, numerous times so i get quite a few fires in a short period and eventually, there is enough heat build up that it starts. when it does start, it sputters along on a low idle.

i suspect the problem is that the fuel injection is never going to a cold start condition. kind of like trying to start a carbed engine without a choke.

is there a way to check this? is there a cold start injector that i can check for voltage when it is cold?

once it is warmed up and running, it runs beautifully.

[WME]

There is a cold start injector on the intake manifold, you can use a NOID light to check the voltage or just remove it and see if it squirts when your cranking.

ALSO there is a pressure accumulator/regulator that keeps fuel pressure in the fuel line.

If its leaking down then the fuel pump may have to pump an air bubble out of the fuel line. This would take some cranking.

WME

[86rader]

There is a cold start injector on the intake manifold, you can use a NOID light to check the voltage or just remove it and see if it squirts when your cranking.

ALSO there is a pressure accumulator/regulator that keeps fuel pressure in the fuel line.

If its leaking down then the fuel pump may have to pump an air bubble out of the fuel line. This would take some cranking.

WME

thanks for the response. the air bubble idea makes sense.

[Diesel_Aggie]

Since buying it 3 years ago, my 22RE sunrader has been slow to start if it sits for a week or more.

If it sits a few days it starts fine, but after extended sits, it takes a number of attempts. What happens is it sounds as if each cylinder fires once, then it just cranks. so i just crank it a moment, numerous times so i get quite a few fires in a short period and eventually, there is enough heat build up that it starts. when it does start, it sputters along on a low idle.

i suspect the problem is that the fuel injection is never going to a cold start condition. kind of like trying to start a carbed engine without a choke.

This is not making sense to me. If it sits overnight it's a cold start. If in sits a week it's still a cold start. So it seems the cold start system is functioning fine or this problem would occur on any cold start. What is sounds like to me is that fuel pressure is bleeding off somehow.

I've never troubleshot this situation on a 22RE so what I'm giving here is general fuel injection info. Sometimes there is a check valve on the electric pump in the fuel tank. They can leak fuel back to the tank. A pinhole leak or loose connection somewhere in the system may might bleed off pressure and such air. When it stays wet, it stays sealed. When it sits and drys it leaks. After cranking for a bit it gets wet and seals again. This would be most likely at a section where rubber is used or at a threaded fitting.

A weak fuel pump or restricted filter may also limit fuel pressure on startup. When you turn the key to the "ON" position and not "START" do you hear the fuel pump run for a few seconds? What if you cycle the ignition switch to "ON" several times before starting to make the fuel pump run and build pressure? Any change in crank time? If so that is a real good indication of fuel pressure bleeding off. When was the fuel filter last changed? It's cheap to try. I like to dump the full contents of the old filter out on the concrete to see how clean the fuel is and to check for signs of tank rust.

It's possible that an additive like StaBil would help, particularly if you have ethanol in your local fuel. The shelf life of gasoline has declined as the government meddles in its formulation. It's possible that the fuel in the lines is rapidly aging and you are having to crank this poor fuel through the lines to get to something better.

You may also want to take the free training provided by Airtex, a large make of fuel pumps. Hope this helps, let us know how it goes.

http://www.airtexproducts.com/Technicians/trainingprograms.html