Starting in cold weather

[Books]

I noticed this recently and could or could not be related to the weather, but I noticed it during the colder days.

So, the other week or so, I noticed that the car would not start right away. I would try turning the key all the way to start the engine, but nothing. I learned that by having the key turned 3/4 of the way and leaving the power on, after about a few seconds, I could start it.

Now today however, this would not work. It was pretty damn cold in the morning (Toronto). I left it in there for a while and still nothing. Luckily my brother is out of town, so I borrowed his car. My buddy thinks it might be a fuel pump issue?

What do you guys think?

Cheers

[gotak]

More details? (although I think you should just take it to the dealer and tell them to fix it) Like does it crank normally? Or are does it do nothing at all?

[mazdaskit]

More details? (although I think you should just take it to the dealer and tell them to fix it) Like does it crank normally? Or are does it do nothing at all?

if its nothing at all then its your battary

[Books]

No crank. I thought it would be battery, but everything else lights up (deck, lights, etc).

I got home about an hour ago and tried it, it started with no problem. So, what do you think the cold weather is affecting here?

[mazdaskit]

maybe a weak battary because it takes alot out of it to crank in the cold maybe bring it into parts source or canadian tire to get a battary test done

[gretzky]

just went outside right now, havent drove in 4 days, car wont start, not enough battery to turn or do anything just enough to lock and unlock. longest i have ever left it before just cause of exams...hopefully tomorrow when its warmer it will work if not i guess i will need a boost....fml

[froggy]

can you get a trickle charger?

[gretzky]

i think im going to get the solar panel trickle charger...im afraid of getting a boost, i dont want it harming my audio or viper system..i dont need the car right now ill just let the battery charge

[gretzky]

if i buy a trickle charger, like the solar panel ones, will that give me enough power after a couple days to start it

[TheMAN]

if you're short on money then just go get a jump and buy a new battery for now... a trickle charger will either get the car started or won't... that's a 50/50 chance
your battery clearly isn't holding a charge, which means the cells are now bad... time to replace!

if you get a group 26R battery, it will fill the tray completely and give plenty of cranking amps!

[froggy]

if i buy a trickle charger, like the solar panel ones, will that give me enough power after a couple days to start it

trickle charger won't do much like said if the battery isn't holding a charge. what it will do is keep the battery from running down to a point where it wont start the car at all

[gretzky]

trickle charger won't do much like said if the battery isn't holding a charge. what it will do is keep the battery from running down to a point where it wont start the car at all

it wont start right now. maybe a new battery, ughh more money on a student budget...at xmas time too lol

[bluemazda3]

No crank. I thought it would be battery, but everything else lights up (deck, lights, etc).

I got home about an hour ago and tried it, it started with no problem. So, what do you think the cold weather is affecting here?

pretty sure it is the battery... like ppl have said get it tested..

[Rapster]

If you have a good battery (12.3-12.5V) sitting, and after a week of sitting it's still around that reading then it's more than likely not a bad battery.

Cold weather can cause condensation issues in fuel tanks if you leave the tank near empty. Hopping right in and trying to crank it over may not be working because you're not letting the fuel pump kick in long enough. Since you're saying that it'll start after leaving it in the ON position longer, you'll get a full fuel pump run/pressurize before start up.

Simple thing to try to see if it's a fuel/moisture issue is go out and get a bottle of gas line anti-freeze. Also keep you tank above 1/4 in cold weather.

I've left my tank 1/8 - 1/4 full over night when it gets below -10 and have had issues starting in the morning. Tossing in a bottle of gas-line anti-freeze when filling the tank has help me a lot.

[TheMAN]

if the engine won't crank, then the fuel pump or condensation is the least of his worries

[gretzky]

oh i forgot to update, on sat my engine started but my factory alarm went off and i didnt have the FOB with me so ihad to disconnect and go get it

[W1CK3DD3M0N]

possible starter issue?

[Donutz]

Possibly, but likely just a cold battery. My car hasn't been started in a week. I went to start it tonight and it was no go, even with it hooked up to the charger set to boost at 75A. After an hour on trickle charge it fired up no problem.

[Rapster]

My bad, I didn't notice his other post about no crank at all, just thought it was a very rough/no start after cranking.

How are your battery post connections? If you've got alot of corrosion take the leads off and clean everything, put on some dielectric grease to help with getting good connections.

[Books]

Update!

So, I think it might be something to do with the clutch? It's a MT, so the clutch needs to be pressed when I start the car. I noticed that if I press it down a few times, I get a start. Does this sound about right?

[froggy]

i'm not sure if the sensor that tells the ecu the clutch is down wasn't working it wouldn't start even in cold weather. It might be having some condensation in it or the wiring to it could be loose so that it's only in contact sometimes

[TheMAN]

it could be the clutch safety switch (it's at the top of the pedal)... it is plastic and crappy so it's no surprise if it breaks
there is also a TSB for frozen fuel pump relays for the 04-05s... a new $15 relay and ECU update will fix it... the symptoms only occur in very cold weather (past -20)

[olgeezer1]

+1 for TheMAN's TSB as a possible. Bullletin # 01-018/07 lasted issued in '07, "No start due to frozen main relay".