Car has a hard time starting if sitting more then few hours?

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

can someone help? my car has trouble starting when sitting for more then an hour (any less it starts right back up no problem) It takes about 4-5 seconds of cranking then it finally starts, almost sounds like it has no power when it finally fires up, but then it runs fine after a few seconds.

i will say the car smells like gasoline, but that could be because of the code im getting for my gas cap.

I have an exhaust leak that i patched up with permatex and tape a week before this started happening- maybe the permatex got into the cat and clogged it lol?

i also thiink im losing coolant and have a gasket leak. white smoke from the exhaust leak when hot but maybe thats just condensation? because it gets worse when i turn the AC on and it starts dripping a lot of water from that area.

i did notice when i turned the ignition to ON for 5 seconds then turned it off then back on, it started a little better, so could this be the starter?

i cleaned the terminals on my battery but honestly my battery is real old and the negative terminal wont tighten all the way. But if this was a battery issue then why does it start right back up after i turn the car off ?

My air filter is somewhat falling apart (the plastic surroundings are corroding) so maybe??

Checked the fuel pump relay and fuse as well.

SOOOO to conclude this from looking up online, it could be from- MAF- fuel pump relay- fuel pump fuse- starter- fuel pump- air leak in fuel lines- clogged cat- coolant sensor- fuel pressure regulator- leaking injectors (there is burnt oil covered on engine) - or dirty throttle body and or carberatuer. OR MAYBE JUST THE BATTERY?

Obviously i got a lot going on here but would love to hear thoughts, i thought id be as thorough as possible, My two CEL codes are p0456 and p0431 but ive had those for a while.

Will post a video of the car starting tomorow.

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It sounds like you have several issues to deal with there OP, but my guess for the difficult to start when the car has been sitting over an hour is the fuel pump check valve has failed and is allowing the fuel rail to depressurize as the gasoline drains back into the tank. A fuel pressure hold test would confirm or disprove that guess. That would also be consistent with you finding it easier to start if you turn the ignition on for a while first, as that often turns the fuel pump on briefly, sometimes enough to recharge the fuel rail.

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how much does it cost to get one of these checked?

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I’d guess $100-$200 if that’s all the testing they do.

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ok just curious. y dont you think it might not be the battery or something else electrical?

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If it cranks robustly, then starts but runs poorly, the battery isn’t likely the starting problem.

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nope its completely fine once it starts. still think thats the problem?

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If it cranks ok, whether it then starts and runs well or not, the fact that it cranks ok means it is almost certainly not a battery problem.

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i will say the crank sounds weak. its definitely not a powerful crank my man

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ive also been allowing the tank to run on E recently

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Get the battery changed first of all, It’s difficult to diagnose other problems when the battery is bad.

then attack the fuel problem as George_San_Jose1 mentioned

Meanwhile, keep at least 1/4 tank of gas in it as a minimum. And replace the air filter.

1 Like
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here thes video of me starting it up after sitting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJRKJJLJ1yM

When the belt squealed is when it actually when it fired up completely. Only squealed because it rained.

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UPDATE- my car is leaking gas like crazy! i believe its a broken fuel line. could this be why my car is hard to start?? not enough fuel reaching the engine?