Hard starting Cadilliac

GMC
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BOLEY
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Our 1996 Eldorado with 67k miles has been hard to start recently.Only the first start of the day,does fine otherwise.Is it the fuel pump?Thanks,Boley
Jan 12, 2006 at 1:52 PM

What to check next

Diagnostic guidance. Suggested checks and possible repairs are separate from the owner's reported results.

Ask for diagnosis during the first-start condition and provide the technician with the overnight-versus-later-start pattern before authorizing a fuel-pump replacement.

Guidance references and applicability

Source: Original question and visible replies. Owner reports and other participants' experiences are distinguished. Next steps are editorial guidance for obtaining diagnosis or clarifying the reported findings; they are not a verified repair procedure or an independently confirmed component diagnosis.

Read the replies · Discussion summary and reported outcome

AI-ASSISTED GUIDANCE · REVIEWED BY 2CARPROS
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DARRYL
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Hello: Ok, first start of the day all is ok, what happens after that. Does the engine seem to crank at its normal speed later in the day. If so, does it just take longer to start later in the day? All the info you can supply helps, won't start is difficult to help you out, could be a ton of things
thanks
Darryl..
Jan 14, 2006 at 12:41 AM
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BOLEY
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The cranking speed is always the same,normal.The first start of the day takes a lot of cranking,after that first start,the engine barely turns over to start.Thanks
Jan 14, 2006 at 10:35 AM
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DARRYL
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Hello: Hmmmm!! I don't know that much about a 96 Caddy but here are my thoughts. Earlier GM cars had 2 fuel pump energizing paths. One was from the fuel pump relay and the other was from an aux oil pressure switch. The idea was that if the fuel pump relay failed, the oil pressure switch would allow the fuel pump to run as long as there was I think greater than 4 pounds of oil pressure. On earlier fuel injected GM cars when you first turn the key on you could hear the fuel pump run for approx 2 sec or so then shut off until the engine was started. Possibly yours does the same, you have to listen very closely, possibly have someone listen in the gas filler for the pump running when you first turn the Ign switch on. Possibly also after sitting for some time the fuel pressure bleeds off to 0 or the fuel pressure sitting on the injectors for some time is leaking past the injectors and dumping a lot of fuel into the intake manifold causing a very rich first start mixture. If the pump relay is bad, then cranking the engine until oil pressure builds to the point to close the aux oil pressure switch before the fuel pump runs??? These are the things that comes to mind, seems like a fuel delivery problem at first thoughts.
good luck
Darryl....
Jan 14, 2006 at 3:02 PM

Discussion summary

Hard starting Cadilliac

A 1996 Eldorado required prolonged cranking for its first start of the day but started promptly afterward. The owner clarified that cranking speed was normal.

Reported outcome: No confirmed cause or successful repair was reported.

The reply discussed fuel-pressure loss, injector leakage and an older GM fuel-pump circuit as possibilities. None was tested or confirmed for this car.

Read the original discussion

AI-ASSISTED SUMMARY · REVIEWED BY 2CARPROS
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