Fuel pressure regulator? Put a clear fuel filter a couple of inches from carb/efi. You can see if it keeps fuel pressure overnight. You don't have to use the clear filter for this but it's cheap and solves fuel questions right away. The fuel is probably just leaking back into the tank after the pump shuts off - creating long sputtering cold starts.

 

Thanks MrGaddy i will try this on thursday and see what i can find.. want to let it sit for more then a day... definitely think its fuel starved... so must be a fuel regulator i guess...

 

what is the ect reading in ohms? is it in range? test the iat as well. 5 minutes.

 

am i able to use a multimeter? its a smaller/cheap one... still acquiring gear as i need it.. so if i need something i can pick what i really need up..

 

Just an update the keep the thread relevant,

replaced the Fuel pressure regulator and fuel filter, doesn't sputter and knock on start up now but its only been one morning.. it did take 2 -3 turns of the key to get it going but it was 15F degrees here when i started it.

I will have to check tomorrow and see what it does. If it's still hard to start i guess i will try checking ECT reading.. i have been meaning to get a good meter anyway will come in useful for my other upgrades

 

is it mass air? i know "most" fords were mass air in 96 but i have seen many that are 93-95 with mass air, if it is, try cleaning that.

idle air control might be sticking since it's cold...???........have you tryed key on (not starting), letting the fuel pump prime up, turn key back off, then back on and prime up and them back off and then back on a third time before turning the engine over??????????? this will usually prime the fuel system up pretty good and make a cold start pretty easy or easier. if it starts easier after you primed it three times, then you know its fuel related.

 

I'll be honest i "think" its mass air.. its a 94 and has the electronics on the airbox.. so i guess it is.

i haven't tried to prime it after i did the replacements yesterday, the only time i have a problem with starting it is if it sits for 8 hours or so.. once i start it for the day it fires right up, but tomorrow i will try to start it and if it doesn't I will try the priming trick and see.

 

I also am having this exact problem. Starts up, coughs and slows down to almost a stall @ 200rpms then gets goin. It's definitely not getting that cold here in so cal, but I will give the priming trick a try. FWIW I replaced the cap/rotor, wires, plugs, and coil recently. At least the rough idle is gone. Ill post up if the priming trick works.

 

don't forget about the idle air bypass, this little unit is the only way it is going to idle w/o giving it a little throttle.

 

OK so i went out just now and started it.

1st try it turned over but didnt' start.

tried to prime the fuel by turning the key on 4 or 5 times then tried to start it. Same thing turned over but didnt' fire up.

tried to turn it on a third time and it sputtered and knocked for a sec then caught and fired right up.


I'm going to pull codes again today as well as cleaning out the IAC.

 

OK, so i started pulling the IAC off and the plastic came apart in my hand... so off to the auto parts store i went, bought another.. (they aren't cheap eh?) and installed it... cleaned and greased the throttle cables as well.. they seemed a little dusty..

anyway put it back together and took the negative ground of for 15 min.. hooked it back up and drove it around for 10 min...

read codes.. i got 33 / 33.. which is what i got before.. EGR valve opening not detected.

the order of the flashes was (with the given pause in seconds):

| 3sec ||| 2 sec ||| 6 sec | 3sec ||| 2 sec |||

i assume the one at the beginning of each series is for the code reader like the write up says.. or i'm misinterpreting them.. i didn't have a watch so my sec might be off slightly.. but they are close.

I have had that code since before this problem so i assume its unrelated.. i was told don't worry about it..

anyway I guess i will see tomorrow if i have a rough start again since like i said once it has started its runs perfect.

 

its got to be a sensor. even when i took my egr off, my cold startup was still good but im in texas and don't have temps like you, i think the coldest it gets here is like high teens and thats usually only for a day or two then its back up.

have you looked at your distributor cap and rotor? spark plugs? cleaned the fuel injectors? replaced the fuel filter? maybe the fuel pump sock is dirty? bad fuel pressure regulator? theres just so much, i don't know what a 6liter tune up is.

 

Yup replaced the distributor cap and rotor, new plugs, new plug wires, new MSD ignition when i did the sixliter tune up - about 5 months ago

link to sixliter tune up here

replaced the fuel filter and fuel pressure regulator last night...

replaced the IAC today...

have not taken the fuel injectors out.. if i even can.. and i don't know if the fuel pump sock is dirty cause i don't think i can get to it without cutting a hole in the back or dropping the tank.. which i really don't want to do right now if thats not the problem.

I looked over everything in the engine everything looks a feels tight.. checked allot of the wiring.. found some old wires from when it was a fire truck, removed them since they weren't connected to anything.. other then that everything looked good..

what i will do next is try to start it tomorrow.. if it gives me the same startup problem i will pull codes again and see if its changed.

It runs like a champ once it starts.. no problem on restarts even in the cold unless i let it sit overnight. Seems to be fuel related.. like the engine isn't getting fuel if i let it sit for an extended period of time. Maybe it is a fuel pump or seal in the tank going out? not sure.. I will keep trouble shooting...

 

maybe there is a tiny air leak in the fuel system that lets the fuel drain back into the tank......................or since it was a firetruck, maybe theres somthing spliced into somthing else and its causeing it to give wierd values to a sensor or something???? let us know what happens in the morning.

 

Fired right up this morning... but will try one more time to make sure it wasn't a fluke.. supposed to be REALLY cold the next two days so will be a good test!

 

Alright, well it seems i might still have a problem.. starts better.. but seems to be a bit hard to start this morning. It took two times to fire up.. almost wanted to knock and sputter for less then a sec it seemed then started.. it has been VERY VERY cold so I will probably leave it for now and see how it goes this week.

I'm all ears as to other possibilities...

 

mine use to do that some times, have you checked throttle position sensor? my truck did that with my speed density system sometimes but when i switched to mass air, its an instant 1400rpm or so, nice and steady.

 

i haven't checked the TPS but i will as soon as the temp rises later this week.. its just too cold out there about 0 right now...

i have a garage built sometime shortly after the turn of the century and its only a one car... the bronco doesn't fit in there with the tire carrier on... and even then its really really tight, so i will put that on my list for wed or thur... so when i work on it i have to pull it in half way which isn't the warmest with the garage door open.

 

landshark--- as far as your garage issue... buy a nice heavy canvas tarp and some walmart eye hooks, and a cheap $20 tiny room heater (or larger depending on your budget), and a few bungies. i installed the eye hooks above the garage door sill and then hung the tarp over the ass end of my trucks and bungied the bottom corners down to a brick or even low mounted eye hooks.. it works failry effectively for helping trap temps in the garage. and then you also have a good tarp for emergencies when wheelin. The little heaters warm the area you are working in, just most of the time not the entire garage. Just a thought on creature comforts for shop repairs.
I live and work in Windy Wyoming, so we do anything that we can here to "help" make it easier to repair.

 

Todays update:

Well it still sputters and knocks on start up, even when i prime it a few times.. I will have to get out there and check the TPS this week for sure, but besides that I will have to read back through this thread and see what other suggestions i can use to solve the problem...

 

I think that Bri_Guy5's suggestion of testing the ECT is a good one.

Here is a link that shows the temperature and resistance values: http://www.fordfuelinjection.com/?p=28

The ECT tells the computer the engine coolant temp which is critical to a proper air/fuel ratio, especially when the engine is cold.

 

Yup I will test the ECT as well... still cold out there, and snowing now.. hopefully get to this week...

thanks for the link!

 

what's snow?

 

frozen rain.. he he.

i have started looking at the injectors... going to test out cleaning them and starting tomorrow to see if they are the cause.. if so i will replace them

 

i have this same exact problem on f150. ive been looking everywhere for a thread of this. i still havent found the issue yet but, i havent tried everything to fix it. ive had a few suggestions of checking the fuel pump which youve done already and the TPS aswell. im ganna change the fuel pump since it seems like you had some change with a new one and now the next step seems to check out the TPS.

 

Quote: "once it has been started it will run fine, same goes for warm days about above 50-60F..."

If it was the injectors, fuel pump, or the TPS, they would consistently perform poorly, not change based on outside temperature.

Buy ($10 Sears, less at Harbor Freight) or borrow a cheap volt-ohm meter if you do not have, get some ice, some cool water, and some hot water, and test your ECT. I just did this for my ODBII BMW and it worked. If your ECT ohms-out within spec, then continue troubleshooting by testing when you can rather than throwing parts at problems.

 

well i have a sneaking suspicion it might be a bad injector, leaving it over night allowing the fuel to empty through the bad one not keeping the line pressure allowing for a easy start.

I'm going to run a test in the morning to see if my theory is correct... if not then i will move to the next two things which are testing the ECT and ACT.

I have a volt meter, just been cold so haven't been staying out there very long..

 

Alright pulled the air intake up and sprayed some starter fluid in there.. fired right up.. so.. letting it sit 10+ hours means the fuel is leaking back into the tank or i have leaking fuel injector...

I guess what I will do next is go ahead and test the sensors anyway, and let the injector cleaner run through the system the next few days as I don't drive that much anyway.

if that clears i then i know, if not then I guess i will take the injectors off and test them, if they are bad i will replace, if not i will clean them up and put them back in.

then start cutting a hole in my floor to get to the fuel pump to inspect that...