having problems starting car when its cold
 

hey guys... i need some help. my 2nd gen is having problems starting whenever its cold outside. (i live in soCal so cold to us is like 50 degrees.) i know its not the battery or the alternator since they have both been replaced just recently. i can start the car fine when the air is warm but when the temperature starts to drop, its another story. i notice when i push start the car by popping the clutch, a lot of smoke comes out of the exhaust. (almost like smoke screen) i had this problem before with my older engine but i was hoping i wouldn't run into this problem again since i just got the engine replaced. i have no clue what it could be but any help would be appreciated.

hhmm..
any oil in antifreeze?
rx7's normally have lotsa smoke coming out for 5-6 minutes if its a cold day and u start the engine
something about ecu making rich fuel mixture when its cold...
its also why all rx7's flood when u start on cold day, and turn it off w/o letting it warm up
cuz there's too much fuel the nxt time u try to start
... if u have oil in antifreeze, an apex seal mighta blown.. so oil leaks into coolant, and coolant leaks into combustion chamber, where it mixes w/ ur fuel and makes it harder to start..
thats all i can think of cuz i'm a newb hah

thanks for the input! but i dont think there is oil in the antifreeze. this is a new engine so the seals are good. the smoke that is coming out isn't the type of smoke you see when its cold... its actually a big ball of exhaust smoke that exits once the car has been started and lingers around for about a minute or two. its kinda like the car is letting out a big fart of white smoke. when i can start my car on a normal day, i dont have this type of problem w/ the smoke... it just starts like normal. i only experience this when i can finally get my car started after it sitting out in the cold.

My friend's car would always do the same thing with the smoke... I came to the conclusion that it was just all the gas burning off. I'm assuming your car won't start because its flooding; gas leaks through the injectors into the combustion chamber where it washes all the oil out. This causes a major dent in your compression, new motor or not. Try opening the fuse box in the engine bay, drivers side, just forward of the strut tower. theres a fuse in there labled "egi," this is your fuel inj. fuse. Yank that, and turn over the engine for a couple seconds. Hopefully, this will blow all the excess gas out and hopefully give you some better compression. Then pop the fuse back in and start the car. This isn't a very permanent solution, many have wired in a switch to either that fuse, or the fuel pump relay under the dash. Me, im too lazy :) What year is your fc? the 89+'s you can just hold the pedal to the floor while turning the motor over, that shuts off all the fuel.... heard that somewhere here :) For us guys with the older model fc, its time to yank that fuse, or wire in a switch. Incidentally, the car being hard to start is generally caused by low compression... whether its a blown seal, or just a chamber stripped of oil, thats the tricky part. You say its a new motor, so its probably safe to assume the latter. If u really want to be sure, get a compression check. Good luck, and happy rotoring!

~Jesse

blue 86 na, minor mods

thanks for the input skibum9199. i will definately try that out. my fc's an 86 so i know your advice will be worth a try. i'll let you know if it works. :)

yo.

its flooded. when it gets cold. the inlectors leak, and drip into the plentum, then it gets your plugs wet. also when its cold oil runs down the rotor housing and gets on the plugs. thats what the smoke is...