Any RX8 Knowledge - Cold Start

[poppopbangbang]

Does anyone knowledgable on RX8s know any reasons for why the one I have at the moment is a dick to start from cold but absolutely fine from hot? The direct opposite of how they are supposed to break basically.

The coolant temp sensor is working, it cranks fairly quickly (no idea what starter it is on) and seems to have a decent enough battery. At some point in recent history it has had coils, plugs and a cat which seems to be the three things that cause this usually.

All ideas greatfully recieved!

[stuthemong]

Mine benefited from.new coils and battery. Are yours Oem? If pattern, can.die VERY quickly and may want changing.

Does.it.crank fast?

Fuel pump OK?

[Duke147]

Mine does that if left for a while (more than a couple of days). I have my theories about this which revolve around the relatively thin oil draining away from the vertical walls of the engine. Not sure how valid a theory it is!

It also did it for a while last winter. It went away once I switched to using just 97+ RON fuel and a spot of premix once a month or so. My fuel pump failed last year and the roadside mechanic cranked it an awful lot while diagnosing the fault. It hasn't sounded the same since, but it still works. I don't think it's helped the cold start!

Do you use yours every day or just occasionally?

[lilwashu]

My first suspect would be the battery. Try jump starting it to see if it improves.

[Nickp82]

Are you allowing a bit of time between turning on the ignition and actually starting the car? The common method is to turn the ignition on and wait for the passenger airbag light to go out before firing it up as this , er, primes the fuel pump or summat.

Also are you engaging the clutch when firing up?

[Jakdaw]

Think there was a recall of the early cars and the replacement of the starter motor with a more beefy unit, if memory serves. Perhaps you missed this & you're left with something that's very sensitive to battery state?

[poppopbangbang]

Thanks for all the input. 2KW starter and the biggest Yuasa battery that will fit in the tray ordered. We'll see if that sorts it out!

The starter looks in a right mess from under the car (not in the best location is it!) and the diagnostics show it's only cranking at 170RPM so looks likely this may well be the issue.

[delta0]

Check the battery as well as the starter motor. Mine takes a bit longer to start if I've not driven it for a few days. I know my starter motor is wearing out as it was flagged during the last service. The battery generally has a bigger kick the day after a long drive. If either of those are having issues then they will cause cold starting to be a problem.

[poppopbangbang]

Hooky 70 quid Chinese 2KW starter fitted along with the biggest battery that will fit in the battery box and it now starts within a second from cold. Problem solved!

Thanks for the suggestions, much appreciated!