GSL SE start problem
 

1985 GSL SE. K&N Panel Air Filter. Running without air pump.

Today I left to go to basketball practice and the car started fine, drove to gym and stopped. (Engine was easily up to temperature before I turned it off)

Fast forward 1 hour and I'm in the car starting it. In gear and out of gear I would hold turn the key and the engine just sat and sounded like it was almost about to start (like 100-sometimes 400 rpm on the tach) and then I would stop. I did this in a pattern like I saw on some FAQ page. Hold the key in for 5 seconds then pause and try again. After like 4-5 minutes of this the car sounded like it was getting closer and closer to starting. I decided to press the gas pedal in the next time and it finally started (lots of white smoke from the oil, lol nothing major) and it ran completely fine all the way home. Once home, I turned it off and started it back up completely normal. (in gear, foot off throttle) and it just started completely fine. I just wonder if that was a random coincidence or something major.

Also, every so often when I turn the key the starter motor almost sounded like it would it bog down. It just made this "errrrrrrrr" sound. Someone might know what I'm talking about.

First guess; your battery's dying. A slower than normal spin on the engine doesn't build as much compression as a new battery spinning the flywheel, and can cause hard starting.

Second guess; your starter motor is dying. See above.

Third guess; possibly an injector leak caused the engine to flood when you stopped it. Was the oil smoke white (gas) or blue (oil) when it finally started? Typically, the -SE's are pretty good about not flooding, but an injector stuck open will allow raw fuel from the pressurized lines to spray into the intake which runs right down in to the engine, soaking the oil control rings, side seals and apex seals. This results in hard starting the next time you try to start it up. I carry a can of ether starting fluid for troubleshooting this. If you ever need to use it, remove the 2x12mm cap screws holding the rubber funnel to the throttle body (TB), along with the air bypass tube so you can see the TB butterfly valves. Pull the throttle cable to open the butterflies, and spray starting fluid thoroughly. I suppose you could pull out the air bypass tube and spray it in there, too - which might be faster. Reseal the intake and then give it a whirl. Anyway, this typically will start a flooded rotary 100% - as the ether has a lower flashpoint than gasoline, and will spin the motor right up, ejecting any raw gas in the process.

Final thought; the 13b -SE has a cold start sequence whereby you push the gas pedal to the floor ONCE, and then release it. This sets the fast idle cam and thermowax pellet to keep the throttle open a bit further until the engine warms up. Then, crank until it starts. The ECU uses the Air Flow Meter (AFM) to gauge how much air is coming in, and then runs injector pulse to match air/fuel ratio during startup. HTH,

I've had my GSL-SE since 1989. This is the CLASSIC flooding situation that occurs with these cars. Don't worry about it, it happens. Sometimes it will start without following the de-flooding procedure, but most likely not. If this occurs again (which it will), pull the fusible link on top that powers the fuel injection system. Turn the car over for a few seconds, then re-attach the fusible link and try again without touching the gas pedal. If that doesn't work, you will most likely have to pull and dry the plugs and blow the fuel out of the combustion chamber. To do this, pull the fusible link and the blue ignition spade connector. Re-attach everything after you've turned the engine over a few times, then start the car like normal. You may have to repeat a few times.

The battery seems to be good. The meter shows 12 volts when not running and around 14 when running.

The starter motor seems very likely. Sometimes the starter motor doesn't want to turn. It just makes a noise. Then the next try itll start.

It could be an injector leak but I don't know the way to really tell as this is first time in the 800 miles I've owned it this has happened. When it did start it was white smoke not blue.

It seemed like it was close to starting but I just put my foot down on the gas pedal and it started without a problem. It just was idling around 1100-1200.

Do you have any idea as to why the car was able to start this time? Because the car wasn't shutoff while cold. But I thought that the GSL SEs didn't have flooding problems as much as the 12a's?

I'm just going by my experiences. But, no doubt a bad starter aggravates the condition. I just changed mine to a new unit and it starts easier now. Pull it and check it. Most of the parts stores will check it for free. Easy to pull also.

You mean the starter motor? Because I could do that this weekend when I've got time.

Yes, starter motor. You also want to do a compression test with a healthy starter. They tend to flood more with lower compression.

My experience
 

I ended up having to drive my car into the start of winter, and during colder temps then I had ever before this past year...'84 SE, ~155k miles on stock engine, k/n air filter, racing beat exhaust, gutted air pump, pineapple insert sleeves, great battery, new starter ~10k miles ago. When I was driving it in the much colder temps, I have horrible flooding problems for the first time ever with my SE. Cold starts in the morning were fine, BUT if I parked it and came back 1-4 hrs later and tried to start it, it would horribly flood, and you could tell an incredible resistance to the motor wanting to turn over from all the uncombusted fuel/air in the engine. I've never experienced this before with my car, and the easiest "fix" was I pulled my driver's side storage bin and threw it in the back, Tnen anytime it wasn't a first start of the day, and the engine didn't start right away, I'd reach behind and unplug the fuel pump there, turn the key for a few seconds until it started(NO gas pedal depressions at all) and then reconnect the harness to the fuel pump. Worked great every time.

Just curious - hows your engine/starter ground and power wire looking? Have you cleaned it recently? My guess is starter motor going out, however I'd check the power feed and ground before swapping parts.

Pull the neg terminal of battery, clean it with terminal brush. Pull the strut tower ground point, clean it with brass brush and electrical parts cleaner (both terminal and strut tower and bolt). Then pull the engine ground, do the same. Then pull the starter power feed and do the same (MAKE SURE NEG TERMINAL DISCONNECTED! ask me how i know).

See if that changes anything. Sure is cheaper than a new starter motor, and can only help if you havent done this yet.