[Shotimes] Three Basic Reasons for Hard Starting....was: Re: My Nickle and Diming Sho

[George Fourchy]

On Thu, 12 Dec 2002 10:28:58 -0500, Ron Nottingham wrote:

> It would take it a couple
>tries to get it going.  Starter seemed to be fine.  This went on for 2-3
>weeks, then the starter died.  I replaced the starter, and it stopped the
>hard starting.

The SHO engine needs to be spun faster than most car engines to start easily.  There

are three basic things that will cause a SHO to be difficult to start on a regular
basis.  (Not including the SHO specific things that often happen...CPS, CKP, DIS,
oil in plug wells, etc.)

1.  A weak battery or high resistance in the primary battery cables will deliver
less amperage to the starter, causing it to have less power, thereby turning the
engine slower.

2.  The starter itself can be on its last legs.  If there is too much buildup of
carbon on the armature, or the brushes are too small due to wear, or the starter
drive begins to come apart (I had this happen recently, and just replaced the drive,
for a few bucks), then the starter will not have the torque necessary to spin the
engine up.  One of the '89s suddenly just spun and spun when I turned the
key.....the drive was not being extended out to the flywheel....the lever that the
drive solenoid is fastened to (the part that sticks out from the side of the starter
and has the little metal cover over it) was broken, and so there was no way the
flywheel could be engaged.  

3.  Weak fuel pumps can prevent the fuel pressure to immediately build up to the
required pressure for the injectors to provide enough flow for an enriched (choked)
mixture required for a cold start.  The 'patch' for this situation is to turn the
key on and off several times before trying the starter, to allow the in-line
pressure to build as high as possible.  The fix is a new fuel pump

As always, there are millions of other things that will cause a SHO to start hard,
but these are probably the three most common.  (In my experience...)

George