cold start issues (carb)

[jacobrjett]

got a starlet daily with a 1e motor and a caburetor

in the early mornings i have to turn it over for a good 10 seconds before i can get it to start up. once its warm it starts first pop. literally faster then any other car ive had.

is this likely to be a carb tuning issue?

It does have a manual choke. I usually pull it out to the halfway click when first starting. I dont think the choke is sticking.

I have replaced the spark plugs, the spark plug leads look to be in good condition, and I just took the dizzy cap off and cleaned up the contact points. problem still persists so i dont think its a weak spark problem or anything.

does anyone have any pointers on where i should start. should i get my carb professionally tuned?


i have mucked around with the two screws, so I may have made it worse myself. When the car is cold, it cuts out on power too. so if I first start driving the car, sometimes the power is there but if i put my foot down the whole way it just bogs down. once its warm its mint.

Its not a major issue, but its the only thing holding back what would otherwise be the tidiest and most mechanically sound car ive owned so far so I would like to sort it out.

(I doubt there is a compression issue btw, I havent checked under the rocker cover for signs of overdue oil changes but the motor is only 110,000 kms old, but i can do a compression test if recommended)

[AE82 FXGT]

I would be going over the basics and checking the position of the intake (on most carbs there is a little lever to direct the intake from the exhaust manifold [hot air] or to the front [colder air]).

Then check ignition timing, make sure the points are good and clean, set the gap, make sure the rotor and distributor contacts are clean.

Then set the mixture and idle screws on the carb, if you don't know how to do this, find someone that does, or take it to a mechanic. Like you said, messing around with these settings can make your situation worse.

You may have made the mixture richer or leaner causing you power delivery problem.

[rollaholic]

havent those E series motors got some silly CV carb or something? i vaguely recall them having some common issues that a good disassemble and clean sorted out

i would say dont take it to a mechanic, unless you are sure they know what they are doing with carbs. i've been in the trade for going on 10 years and i can count the number of carbs i've fiddled with on one hand

[GDII]

I've got a 2E EP81 with manual choke. When it's cold I pull the choke right out and pump the gas pedal once before starting (as the owners manual says) then maybe a small amount of gas pedal if it doesn't start quickly. Half choke is pretty useless for starting from dead cold. Try that and see how you go.

Also when driving from cold it bogs down abit but I leave the choke out full until I've driven at least 1km then push it in half way until the temp gauge is about 1/8th up. Then smooth sailing from then on. Warm engine starts fine without choke and will start faster than a car without ECU, I think it's because an ECU car needs to figure out CAS sensors a full engine rotation before it will fire. At least that's what I gathered from working with my brother on the LINK ECU on his SR20 KP61.

[phoenix]

When it's cold I pull the choke right out and pump the gas pedal once before starting (as the owners manual says) then maybe a small amount of gas pedal if it doesn't start quickly. Half choke is pretty useless for starting from dead cold. Try that and see how you go.

I'd agree with the above, it sounds like a temperature/fuel symptom, which requires a change to your starting procedure. The colder the air temperature, the more choke you'll need. Pressing the pedal before starting will engage the accelerator pump to get some fuel at the ready, and/or open the throttle progressively as you start the cranking.

[Leon]

the E series carbs are somewhat of a giant piece of crap.

[jacobrjett]

meh, straight swapped the car for something with less kms, fuel injection and electric windows today anyway (and a 5th gear)


thanks for your input guys.

[jacobrjett]

by the way, i found that half choke and half throttle starts the car much faster then full throttle and full choke like before.

I guess it just comes down to the carb and its tuning and getting to know it...