Rough start? - air con related? - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

03-12-2003, 06:03

hey i was wondering if any body else's eb2 has suffered from this

it was a really hot day i drove the car prob 2 hours ago ..so the engine wasnt stone cold ..its auto, i cranked it started as usally but then the revs dropped so much that it stalled ... so then i started it again it didnt stall this time but came close to kept shuddering and stuff so i kept revvin it to keep it from stallin and my mate said when i was revin puff's of smoke came out of the exhaust ...
i drove the car it was fine then i started it again cause it got me all paranoid only to find it did it again ...i popped the bonnet checked oil and everythin seemed ok ..then i released the climate control was on high .. i turned it off and it start perfect everytime .. im just wonderin how the air con could effect the engine that bad ? .. the car had a rebuild not that long ago and is regulory serviced etc... never gets drivin to hard.

crYnOid · 03-12-2003, 06:41

mine did that too a couple of time exactly as you described it. I had driven it about 15min with the air-con on and made a brief stop. Started the car 10min later and the engine kept trying to stall, got it onto the road and drove it normally and it was fine. Since then I have made sure the the air-con is off when starting the car, then i turn it on 100m down the road when everything is happy. I'm guessing the engine doesn't like the strain of air-con when starting hot. Someone else should have a better answer tho.

Jamie · 03-12-2003, 07:13

mine usually starts better when it is warm (not hot mind you)

but I never use the Air Con.. too much power loss..

any power loss is too much

SiX_iN_a_RoW · 03-12-2003, 13:48

dont start your car with the aircon on, its always a good idea to have a minimal amount of electrics on when starting a car, headlights, air con, big assed stereos etc

old_mate · 03-12-2003, 18:30

Have you had the battery disconnected recently? My car does this all the time until I reset the computer properly, its like the computer forgets to lift the idle when the aircon is on.

But yea, good way to get around it is to simply switch it off then start it up

Jamie · 03-12-2003, 19:56

is it good to reset the computer everynow and then? I've never actually done it.

Is it just disconnecting the ground and putting on the lights or break pedals to remove the remaining current?

TopGhia · 03-14-2003, 00:11

Shouldn't really need it. Best to leave the air-con off when starting, less strain on the motor. Just get into the habit of turning it off just before you get home.

VanGelder · 03-14-2003, 01:12

Yeah, my ED did the same thing, it didn't quite stall, but it did shudder and almost stalled. It was definately the aircon, as when it's engaged it lowers your idle, because it puts more strain on your pulleys. One thing you can do is put your idle up, or just start the car with the airco off.