Hard starting

Tiny
MICK NEW
  • MEMBER
  • 2001 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE
  • 4.0L
  • 6 CYL
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 120,000 MILES
My vehicle used to start instantly, over time it has became harder and harder to start. If you turn the key to the on position several times it will start. I took it to a mechanic and everything checked out.
Thursday, October 26th, 2017 AT 2:38 PM

4 Replies

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,916 POSTS
You did not actually list any symptom, but based on the clue of multiple ignition switch cycles, the best suspect is a leaking fuel injector. Fuel pressure needs to be up so fuel will spray from the injectors. When the engine is off, that pressure should hold for many days or weeks. A leaking injector will let that pressure bleed down within a few minutes. The symptom will be an unusually-long crank time before the engine starts running.

To get the pressure back up high enough for the engine to start, the fuel pump runs for one second when you turn on the ignition switch, then not again until the engine is rotating, (cranking or running). One second may not be enough time to get the pressure up high enough. The fuel pump will resume running when the engine is cranking, but the starter draws very high current, and that draws the battery's voltage down quite a bit. That lower voltage makes the pump run a lot slower than normal. That means fuel pressure will take a long time to build up. The pump runs at full speed when you turn the ignition switch on and before you crank the engine, but it only runs for one second. (You may be able to hear its hum). When you turn the ignition switch on, then off for a few seconds, then on again, the pumps runs for one second each time. Two or three seconds of run time will get the fuel pressure up to where it needs to be.

Once the engine is running, the leakage from the affected injector is too small to cause a problem. You can connect a fuel pressure gauge to verify the diagnosis. Watch what happens to the pressure when you stop the engine. With a leaking injector, the pressure will drop over a period of about ten to twenty minutes.
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Thursday, October 26th, 2017 AT 4:36 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,574 POSTS
Sounds like the fuel pump check valve may have went bad. It holds fuel in the line so you have good fuel pressure the instant the pump turns on with the key. Having to turn the key a few times is a sign of that. To see if that is the problem you would put a fuel pressure gauge on the fuel rail and watch the pressure after the pump shuts off. You ideally want it to not drop at all. But dropping 4-5 psi is not a big deal.

There are other items that will act this way as well, a leaky injector being the next most common. To determine which end of the system is the problem if the pressure drops is simple. Build pressure and clamp off the fuel lines to the tank. That locks the pressure in the engine side. If it holds, good, the tank end is the problem. If not it is an injector or the regulator.
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Thursday, October 26th, 2017 AT 5:12 PM
Tiny
MICK NEW
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Thank you for your responses, as I stated in the post the vehicle was taken to a mechanic and every test that could be ran was and nothing was found.
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Friday, October 27th, 2017 AT 12:52 AM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,574 POSTS
If it is all working properly it would not be starting like it is.
The symptom you have is a classic case of losing fuel pressure with the engine/pump off. The shop may have simply put a pressure gauge on and said, "yep pressure is good, not the reason" and moved on.
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Friday, October 27th, 2017 AT 2:19 AM

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