Today, I realized it took longer than usual to start my car. Usually I would turn the key for 1-2 seconds and the car would start. This morning, it took 4 seconds while I had the key turned...I was just wondering what this could be a sign of.

If was pretty cold this morning though I'm not sure if this could be possibly related...

 

cold makes it very hard for fuel to atomize. there are fuel compensation tables for cold starts but its still tough

 

haha. Dont listen to this guy. Take a look at the battery. Do a load test on it. The colder the weather the more work on the battery.

 

i know exactly what Im talking about. i have my EFI 101 and EFI advanced. but who cares?

battery is a possible culprit though. take a look at that then go from there

 

I'm sorry if I'm being vague about what I'm about to type...but...

Ok, I read recently somewhere online, someone recommending not to simply turn your car on for a few minutes per week to keep your battery from dying out, because the person was saying carbon in your car will build up? It was something like that. I forget what the post said exactly, but it seemed like it was saying instead of turning it on for a few minutes then turning it off, you should drive around for a while at least.

I'm hoping the above makes any sense...I just don't want this to happen to my new car, even if it's a slight gradual deterioration of some sort.

Thanks for any help...

 

 

Your last post makes it sound like you rarely drive the car. How often do you drive it?

 

The hatch take s looooong while to start when it's near empty. Top it off and it starts right away.

 

Not a whole lot but I'll be driving it more when my break's over next week...can you answer my question though?

 

if you don't have a full tank of gas your pump won't build up enough presure in your lines.
If your battery voltage is low your starter won't have enough force to crank your engine and build compression rapidly.. stop asking questions and check either t he battery your gas something this thread been up for a wbhile and your still asking what to do. Check something pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee..
And its not carbon its hydrogen forming from electrolosyis (idk if that's spelled right) inside your battery no way to stop this except clean your battery terminals.

 

The best way to keep your battery charged if the car sits is with a trickle charger. Since you asked about that, I figured the car isn't driven much. Since batteries slowly discharge over time and all cars have a slight parasitic drain, slow initial startup is normal if the car hasn't been driven in a while. Cold weather makes it worse.

If the actual cranking was slow before the car started, I'd be looking at the battery and related components.

If the cranking was good and fast, but the engine didn't fire right away, I'd be looking at fuel or ignition components.

Most likely there is nothing wrong. Very cold weather is hard on batteries and fuel. Cars are harder to start when it's cold. If that isn't enough, you need to follow turbohatch's advice and start testing stuff.

 

Maybe, but youre way off base here. Learning something and knowing how to apply the knowledge are 2 different things....

 

QFT

 

My battery starts the car right up in the coldest weather.

 

Yeah but we are doing internet diagnostics. Given the OP's description of the situation,his battery is the most likely culprit....