[Shotimes] Polling List.......I am curious

[George Fourchy]

On Wed, 19 Jan 2005 09:38:58 -0600, Donald Mallinson wrote:

>The car should start without touching the gas pedal, and it 
>should start within just a few turns of the engine (one second?)

It has to rotate enough for data from both sensors (CKP and CID) to register with
the PCM.  How many compression strokes that takes depends on the number of
cylinders.  

The T-Bird, with 4 cylinders, would start after a couple of compression strokes
every time, cold or warm.  It seemed as if it was starting instantly, like in the
old days when there were real distributors.  On the other hand, any of the 5.0
engines in the Mustangs of the '90s would need to crank over at least 6 cylinders
worth of movement before anything would happen....maybe more than that.  After a
while, I found that I could get them to start faster by planning on using two hits
with the key....the first one about 5 or 6 comp. strokes, then out of start with the
key, then back again.  It would start after one compression stroke....so quickly it
was hard to count.  If I cranked til they started on the first twist, it would
definitely take more battery energy to get them running.

Six cylinder engines are somewhere in between....maybe 4 or 5 strokes before they
will hit.  In Lowrider's case, the fuel pump is 150K miles old...changed in Atlanta
in 1999...and it might take 8 or 9 strokes to finally hit.  If I let go of the key
too soon, then it has to deal with the extra fuel that is there, along with a new
shot.  If I don't wait long enough, it will lock up.  If I think about what I am
doing, and prime the fuel system several times before I crank it at all, it will
start in 5 or 6 strokes every time.  Getting old!!!

The Lexi do the same thing, except they don't lock up...they are both 6 cyl, and
take at least two full revs (6 strokes or more) to get enough data sent to start.

The truck starts on one stroke, as long as the carburetor bowls are full of fuel.

The old days aren't so bad....!

George