I have a 1997 Mazda Protege. From last winter it started giving occasional starting trouble, especially on the not-so-cold days. Here is what happens:
When I turn the ignition, say early in the morning, it cranks and sounds like spark is delivered, but does not turn over. If a little gas is applied briefly the car will turn over and idle like it should , but this happens only rarely. More often, I have to hold down the gas pedal for a while (sometimes ~ 2 minutes or so) before it can idle on its own. This kind of behavior happens ivariably on mildly cold days (e.g. a mild winter or a rainy day in boston). If the car has been resting for less than a couple of hours it will start normally even on a cold/wet day. On warmer / dry weather days it starts normally even the first time in the morning.
Any ideas whats going on ? Battery is less than 10 months old.
The first thing I would do is replace the spark plug wires. Old wires can cause starting troubles, especially in wet weather. You say the car starts fine on warm, dry days.
yes it does start at the first attempt on warm, dry days, thanks for the response