Hello all I have a '95 outback Imprezza with a 2.2 engine. It is very hard to get started on the first start of the day. It acts like it's not getting fuel. After about 5 tries it will fire up, but idles rough and slow for just a couple minutes then smooths out and goes right up to cold idle. After it warms up it runs great and starts right up. Let it set for 5 hours or so and it's the same thing. I'm thinking that the fuel pump is not holding prime and has to reprime the system after sitting. I guess my question is ,, has anyone else ever experienced this??    Thanks

 

More probable the CTS, coolant temperature sensor, needs replaced.

next time it has sat and you feel confident it would 'fail' , don't start directly; cycle from Off to On, wait for a 3-4-5 count, then back to Off, immediately back to On, count, Off - On. 3-4 times and THEN go from Off to Start. That should pressurize the rails if they have lost pressure.

 

 

Thanks for the replies. I replaced the temp sensor with no change. Today I cycled the switch like Lucky Texan suggested, still wouldn't start. It does eventually start, but it takes many times of cranking , and cycling it off. When it does start it is barly running about 4 or 500 rpm. It dies if I hit the throttle. If I just let it run like that for about a minute or min and a half it will smooth out and sit and idle at about 1g till it warms up. Drives good at that point. I have two cars and have changed the maf, coil, wires plugs, all new. temp sensor new, I was going to swap pumps, but they are different. one car has three lines, and the other has two.  I'm stumped.

hmmmm, doesn't seem to be fuel-related. you could try some starting fluid as an additional test

 

coupla not-great suggestions; inspect the large tube from the IACV - maybe it's cracked or partly loose. dunno why it would be worse when cold though.

clean the throttle body - check into the SeaFoam can with the nozzle. again, maybe gummy when cold....????

inspect spark plug boots for oil/moisture on those cold mornings? how old are the plug wires? is it dew-y on those cold start events?

Crank sensors have sometimes been known to fail at warm temps, maybe yours is flaky at low temps?

Edited March 19, 20197 yr by 1 Lucky Texan

with a shot if start fluid it will start right up.  Also as I said I have two cars. Both are '95 imprezza outbacks. one runs great and is an automatic, but has serious rust issues. The one with the start problem is a 5 spd. both are 2.2's. The thing is the throttle bodies are completely different. The 5 spd car has some sort of speed control deal on top of the TB, the automatic has none of it.  is whats on top of the TB the IACV??

 

well, starting to seem like something is seriously allowing leak-down of the fuel rails. Before the next cold start, maybe pull the plugs to see if one is wet with gas - could be a leaky injector?

 

ever smell fuel underhood?

no It's never smelled flooded. these cars don't have a fuel pressure test port do they?? since it starts so quick with start fluid I'm thinking it's starving. it's getting 25 mpg and plugs look like it's burning good. I'm going to take a couple pics to show how different the two engines are.

 

this pic is my original cars throttle body

 

When was the fuel filter last changed?

just changed it.

Have you checked the codes?

When I had starting issues with my EJ22 up in the snow country I swapped in a new knock sensor, temp sensor (fans will run all the time if the temp sensor is dead) and a cleaned up throttle position sensor (tps).

The tps was set correctly, ecu reset (removed neg battery for half an hour) then I fired her up without any issues. 

The Oxygen sensor could also be worth changing out for a new one too. These typically won’t throw a code, but they’re also not used in initial start up until they’ve got some heat in them so they operate properly. 

Cheers 

Bennie