Car struggles to start sometimes after driving around for a few why?

[bobbystang]

Guys, I know I've been asking a lot of questions lately and I appreciate the prompt replies from you guys it hasn't gone unnoticed. Now with my car situation when I start it up in the morning it cranks up beautifully and within one second and more powerful than ever. Once I drive it around for 20 minutes or so and turn it off and let it sit for say 20 minutes I will turn the key to start it and it fees like it's almost dead barely even feels like it's cranking or turning over and a lot of times I have to tap the gas pedal to get it started. This is been very frustrating because I want a strong crank and start like I have every morning when I start it. How can I get my car to crank right up strong or what do you think needs to be fixed? Thanks guys

 

[railroad]

It could be the starter getting too hot from headers. It could be injectors leaking into the heads, flooding the engine. It might be heat on the battery, but that would have to be extreme. Just doing the easy stuff, check
the ground, and battery connections. If you think the starter is getting cooked, might try wrap or a shield.
Make sure you are not loosing any water. That will be another issue.
Good luck,

 

[bobbystang]

Well the car has stock headers and I have had issues with my battery draining over the past few years and had to get it charged at local auto store and I know the battery is a good one but its not as strong as should be so wondering if this could be a issue? And if I had issues with the injectors leaking wouldn't that give me issues all the time not just what I mentioned after driving? N Read some things on google it could be fuel pressure regulator or possibly fuel pump and they said to turn the key on to off 3 times and it should fire right up whenever my car does have this struggle. HMMMMM

 

[railroad]

I agree except on the fuel injector leak down. Sitting till it cools down, would allow fuel to dissipate from a leaking injector. On a hot start, it would still be puddled in the engine. That battery pull down is definitely something to consider, though unusual that you are OK on a cold start. On some of my daily drivers, I turn off all accessories and turn the key to on and wait for the fuel pump to cycle before hitting the starter.
You said, sometimes you have to press the gas pedal to get it started. This makes me think you are flooded, inj leak, opening the throttle probably leans out the condition and allows it to fire. Just thinking out loud. Let us know what you find.

 

[01yellercobra]

When you say it's struggling to start do you mean like you have to crank it for a few seconds before it catches or that the engine turns slower when it's warm? Those are two different problems with different fixes.

 

[bobbystang]

It's kind of both of the things you said. on a coldstart like if I start it right now out of the garage it cranks right up beautifully and stronger than ever and I drive around for 20 minutes and park it and restart it 20 minutes later I'll turn the key all the way and it'll barely cranks and won't start And then I turn the key back off and then on and start again and sometimes it'll start but other times I will have to tap the gas pedal to get it to start fully.

 

[bobbystang]

Also how would I know if I have a leaky or bad injector ? Do I pull them each and look for something specific or?

 

[01yellercobra]

It's kind of both of the things you said. on a coldstart like if I start it right now out of the garage it cranks right up beautifully and stronger than ever and I drive around for 20 minutes and park it and restart it 20 minutes later I'll turn the key all the way and it'll barely cranks and won't start And then I turn the key back off and then on and start again and sometimes it'll start but other times I will have to tap the gas pedal to get it to start fully.

If you're just tapping the gas pedal it's not doing anything. The ECU has control at that point. If you hold the pedal on the floor then the injectors are shut off during cranking.

IMO you have a bad battery or a bad starter. When starting the battery has to turn the starter, fire the ignition, and fire the injectors. That's a big load. If the starter is bad and takes more power to spin when hot that takes power away from the ignition and injectors which will make it harder to start. Same thing with the battery, it could have a cell going out that only acts up when it's warm. I would drive the car around and then take it to a parts store and have the battery load tested. If it passes it's probably the starter.

FWIW, I've had two batteries cause no start issues in my life. The first was on my 70 Mustang I had put an electronic ignition in. The engine would spin all day, but it just didn't have enough to fire the ignition. Threw in a new battery and it fired right up. Had the same issue years later with my 01 Cobra.

 

[railroad]

I do not know an easy way, but you might try this,,, when you park, depressurize the fuel system at schrader valve. I do not know how much gas you are going to get or how much spray potential it has. I have done it with a rag over the valve, but did not have a hot engine with potential for fire. Anyway with no pressure, less gasoline leakage, if that is the problem.

If your starter is going bad, it will load the battery up and not crank or start good.
I know you went right out, cleaned and tightened all the battery, ground connections, right!

 

[po-po 5.0]

Problems with cranking:
Weak battery
Bad starter
Ground issue

If it's a weak battery, the problem could be the GEM. These are known for having a constant draw when they fail. Luckily: the most common failure is on a circuit that isn't used on a hardtop cobra, so you can just pull the wire out of the harness to fix the draw. This is better than trying to replace the GEM as, last I heard, you almost can't find them, and it requires a trip to the dealer to program one

Problems with hard starting
weak fuel pump
blown FRPS
leaky injector
missing PPRV

I noticed you said your car has a blower. What was done to the fuel pump to feed the blower? Was an '03 cobra tank and dual pump hat installed? A lot of these setups delete the PPRV (positive pressure retention valve) that keeps fuel in the lines. On cold startup you'll never notice as the ECU turns the pump on essentially full blast, but on hot start, it tries to go straight to attempting to pulse the pump juuuust enough to maintain rail pressure. Obviously, with no pressure retained in the rail, this means you have to crank while the pump pressures up the rail. Leaving the key in the on position for a second or two before cranking will fix this one.

 

[bobbystang]

When I installed the supercharger kit pro charger I installed the Walbro 255 lb fuel pump and from what I recall I did not take anything out. And I'm gonna try a few things when the weathers nice here over the weekend I'm gonna drive the car around and get the battery tested I had a lot of battery issues of drainage and the current battery I'm using right now during storage fully drained a few times and then I'll go get it recharged at the auto store and I'm sure I lost some cells or whatever you call it inside a battery and it's not as strong as it should be but it did test as a good battery. And then I will go from there thank you guys any other input please message away.and I am definitely buying a Noco battery tender with the adapter to plug inside the car in the cigarette lighter hole. Hard lesson learned

 

[01yellercobra]

Just a heads up, if you're having charging issues it can affect other things too. It might be part of your stalling issue..

 

[bobbystang]

Thank you I will definitely keep that in mind and I feel like my battery draining issue happened when I installed my viper alarm on my car professionally and then I uninstalled it because I did not like it and my battery still continues to drain even after I uninstalled it not as bad but still does But I wonder if I fully uninstall that which to my knowledge I did that it's left some after effect on my car to continue draining my battery?One person I believe suggested that maybe a part was left on car from the alarm which has continued to drain my battery maybe also

 

[bobbystang]

Well after taking it to O'reillys they tested the starter "good", battery "good but needs to be charged" and the alternator which said "failed" and I read all over online that my symptoms of battery drainage,car randomly shutting off and car struggling to start all are part of bad alternator. After the test you guys think this could be be the culprit after all?

5. Car stalls or has difficulty starting.

Your car isn't just running on gasoline; it also runs on electricity (even though it might not be one of those hybrid vehicles). The alternator provides power to the spark plugs that ignite the gasoline in your engine. When the alternator is failing, there might not be enough power in the spark plugs to keep the engine alive, which can cause it to stall for no reason while running, or to have trouble starting. Ignore this symptom, and your car eventually won't start at all.

6. Battery dies

Obviously, batteries sometimes fail on their own--but a bad alternator can actually cause the battery to drain because it's failing to recharge it. If your battery goes dead, have the alternator checked when replacing the battery so it doesn't happen again.

 

[po-po 5.0]

Cobras (moreso terminator, but broadly all 4vs) are notorious for eating alternators. Luckily, they're relatively easy to replace. Afterwards, if you still have a draw, suspect the GEM.