BA falcon hot start problem - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

Rookie-xh · 12-23-2011, 18:50

I have a 2003 ba falcon ute.

My problem is when the car is warm and has been left for about 15min (like going into the shop) when i go to start the car again it cranks over for a couple seconds and wont start try again and after another couple seconds it will start.

However in the morning or when the engine is cold it will start perfect hardley cranks over and starts and runs fine. the problem is only when it is warm.

when i put my foot flat to the floor it will start alot quicker or even straight away. and if i turn the car off and turn it back on within a few seconds it will start fine, it only happens when it is hot and been sitting for a period of time.

other then that the car runs perfect no other engine problems just starting.

it is really annoying me any help would be great( the mechanic has no idea and just keeps on charging me money for doing nothing)

thanx james

**Big Block Ford** · 12-23-2011, 22:43

Hi James

Thats a tricky one. Do you know what the mechanic has done so far. When the car starts does it start and run smoothly or is it a bit choked up for a short time and run rough then come right again.

Has it done high kms?

Rookie-xh · 12-24-2011, 01:11

once it has started prob 80% of the time it will run rough for a couple seconds, slight misfire but kick in and run fine.

it has done 195000 Klm's.

it is dual fuel but we have worked out that there is nothing wrong with the gas side of things. it wont change over to gas until a higher rev range. and if i drive around just on petrol it will still do it, so nothing to do with the gas.

the mech has only done a service oil/ fuel filter that sort of thing. not plugs but they seam fine and so does the leads. but he has cleaned the throttle body. and put it on the diagnostic with nothing showing up other then rear demister and silly little things..

**R.S.LOGAN** · 12-24-2011, 12:46

Could have a check on the engine coolant temperature sensor which lets the ECU know how much fuel is needed .

Rookie-xh · 12-24-2011, 16:59

cheers i will have a look at that today sometime,

But if there is any other ideas keep them coming :)

Thanx for your time

**R.S.LOGAN** · 12-25-2011, 14:28

The crank angle sensor / camshaft sensor ?

backlash1 · 01-01-2012, 20:11

Hi James. It's a tricky one alright...so I'll just give my 2 cents

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rookie-xh

I have a 2003 ba falcon ute.
My problem is when the car is warm and has been left for about 15min (like going into the shop) when i go to start the car again it cranks over for a couple seconds and wont start try again and after another couple seconds it will start.
However in the morning or when the engine is cold it will start perfect hardley cranks over and starts and runs fine. the problem is only when it is warm.

There is a known heat-sink issue with BA PCMs, failing to start when hot only, lots of cranking but nothing else until they cool down a bit, but that doesn't seem to be your case. If you want to be 100% sure, take a bottle of cold water with you and pour it over the PCM when the problem is happening to see if it makes a difference, but i don't think it will

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rookie-xh

when i put my foot flat to the floor it will start alot quicker or even straight away. and if i turn the car off and turn it back on within a few seconds it will start fine, it only happens when it is hot and been sitting for a period of time. other then that the car runs perfect no other engine problems just starting.

When you put your foot flat to the floor you are effectively cutting off injection completely. If this makes it easier to start the car, it suggests your car is over-fuelling. You could be looking at a leaking injector or excessive fuel pressure (blocked filter or regulator?), or even a faulty CHT (coolant temp) sensor as someone suggested, but this should give a definite fault code when scanned.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rookie-xh

the mechanic has no idea and just keeps on charging me money for doing nothing

Yeah we do that all the time

One last thing. If the Throttle body was cleaned you SHOULD disconnect the battery for a couple of minutes to reset the KAM learned values & allow the car to re-learn new ones, preferably when it's at normal operating temp.

Rookie-xh · 01-02-2012, 01:53

thanx mate i will have a look sometime this week. i am getting a work truck shortly so i wont be driving it as much, so it might just be one of those quirky things you have on your car. lol

thanx for ya help.

if i ever find out what the problem is or what fixed it i will post it on here.
cheers

**Big Block Ford** · 01-13-2012, 16:37

One of the common problems these have is the throttle position sensor (TPS). It doesnt sound quite right for this issue but that is the most common problem that can cause all sorts of strange stuff. I'm not sure of its worth but if you had another you could test on it then that would be handy rather than just paying for a new one on the chance it is causing the problem. The crank angle sensor is sometimes an issue. The tone wheel on the crank can get dirty and give poor signals so this could be worth giving a clean.

If you get to the bottom of it then it would be great to know the answer. It helps others out in similar situations.

Cheers