Starting issue, now with video!

[Kirtsky]

I've bitched enough that most have see my issue. The car starts, then drops to nothing and then sputters for aa few seconds.

Car did it yesterday, not as bad, but you get the point. The deler said it barely did anything this morning, but did miss twice, but not to the near stall I experience.

The tech did say that there have been reports of sticking valves, so they are trying it again in the morning...

http://www.we-todd-did-racing.com/we...EzZGZkMzF5NTQx

[SilverRedLine04]

ouch

THAT SUCKS

i hope they fix it soon bro!

keith-

[pclear9061]

and didnt you have all that black shit all over your driveway?

[Kirtsky]

yep, what looks like carbon deposits on the driveway. This started happening @13900 miles. There was an issue before, when they replaced the plugs and injectors. around 11,000 miles if I remember right.

The tech believes me, but saturn says they can't do a damn thing until he can duplicate it. I had hoped the video was enough.

Also asked about the stages, he said saturn doesn't do those... I wish GM would get the word out to all the dealers that these will be online soon...

[pclear9061]

did you ask them to look at the cat and see if it was all ok in there?

[WopOnTour]

Great job on the video. I'm surprised that they have not been able to duplicate.
I think they should check if the fuel pressure drops off after the car sits a while. That farting/slobbering right after startup indicates an excessive rich, that can often be caused by dripping injectors after you shut the car off. The fuel gets absorbed into the deposits on the back side of the intake valves and is released into the engine just after startup.It can be somewhat intermitent.

Your fuel pressure should not drop down by more than 8psi after 5 minutes of sitting,(pump off) otherwise
a) you have a fuel leak (doubt it)
b) it's getting past the check valve at the pump (possible but wouldnt cause this, usually an extended crank )
c) the injectors have become contaminated with deposits that are allowing them to release fuel from the pressurized system when the engine is OFF (my suspicion)

* Sometimes these deposits can be eliminated by a thorough injector flush as per GM Bulletin# 03-06-04-030A (usually Step 1)
Otherwise they may need to perform an injector balance test or even remove the fuel rail and observe the injectors under pressure in order to see which ones are leaking (assuming that IS in fact the problem) and replace them.

HTH
WopOnTour

[Kirtsky]

I have been videoing every start since I got it back last time. I tried to swing the camera to hear the exhaust, but turns out you could hear it fine just pointed at the tach and seeing how the RPM coincides with the choke.

Thanks WOP, that is a good bit of info, and I have been suspecting the injectors again, as they replaced them once already.

There is a strong smell of gas when it does this choke. Yeah, it sucks that can't duplicate, but the tech does believe me, without seeing the video. Saturn told him to turn it over and if it does it in the morning, stop it as soon as it does it and check compression for stuck valves. Not sure that will help...but this is, well, at least I am keeping my cool about it and not yelling at anyone...

Thanks for looking, I know limited and not easy todiagnose from a video, but any thoughts on the matter help.

-Kirt

[Big Knight]

My car does a similar thing and has for quite a while (as seen below, I have a SL2 with 166K). If I just turn the key to start, the engine will start, then either drop real low in the rpms or stall. I have found that if I turn the key to "on" (get the fuel pump running) for about 2-3 seconds, then start the engine, it starts like a champ with no rpm dip or stall. I figure a check valve leaks and alows the fuel pressure to drop causing the problem. A friend also with a SL2 has the same problem. The short on before start fixes it for him also.

Try it to at least see if it it helps, that may narrow down the possibilities.

[Aeain]

I turned on my car today and the RPMs dropped to about 500rpms and it sounded bad.

Of course I couldn't really tell cause I just had put it in neutral let out the clutch and stepped out of the car to get the ice off.

[Kirtsky]

Dang, haven't iced yet this year. I wonder is that something. Maybe getting power on pressurizes the system or something? At this point, they could tell me they found something, anything and fixed it and it will work fine now...

Wife likes the L300 in the drive a little too much...