Good afternoon, folks!

The title kinda says it all. My 99 PA will start up with barely a full crank of the engine when she's cold, but struggles to fire when warmed up. Once it does fire, it runs great. No engine light, fuel pump is bout 10 months old, all gaskets and seals (excluding head gaskets) are new within last 6 months, and the AC Compressor is currently removed (bypass pulley). If anyone has any ideas on this, I'd love o hear them!

Thanks

Joe

 

If the starter cranks slowly when hot , it may be time to replace it. Some things should be checked first, however, like battery cables and connections.Start with the connections right at the battery, especially under the positive cable where it bolts to the battery. They have a habit of growing corrosion there out of sight. If all the connections check out as clean and tight the starter may be alerting you to a future problem.

 

No problem at all with the starter crank speed. Battery and all cables are less than 6 months old. The car cranks just fine, it's like it's somehow being starved of fuel...

 

A crank sensor that is on it's way out will behave like this.

If you have access to a fuel pressure gauge leave it hooked up and compare readings when cold and when the hard starting problem shows up.

 

Well about a year ago I had replaced the crank sensor, so I was pretty confident that it was ok... The day after I initially posted this, the car began to surge at stoplights and randomly stall. I found that the vacuum harness that connects the fuel pressure regulator and evaporator module to the throttle body had rotted away... Got lucky and found one in town for $35. This improved the issue but did not cure it, so I grasped at one final thought and replaced the fuel pressure regulator. BOOM! Runs perfect, now. No stuttering, it starts fast, and runs great.

Thank you all for your suggestions!

Joe