Hard to start

JSWAY5

MEMBER
1999 CHEVROLET CAVALIER
92,000 MILES

When the outside air temperature is above fifty degrees it takes five to seven seconds to start and runs great once it starts. When the outside air temperature is in the forties or colder the car starts right up with no hesitation or problem and runs great. What could my problem be?

Saturday, November 4th, 2017 AT 10:17 PM

1 Reply

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
54,144 POSTS

This sounds like a typical engine coolant temperature sensor issue. What happens is the sensor becomes a little off but not enough to trigger a check engine light but still cause engine start up problems.

Here is a guide and some diagrams to help you see what you are in for and how to get the problem fixed:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/coolant-temperature-sensor-cts-replacement

and

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/engine-cranks-excessively-before-starting

Below is the location of the engine coolant sensor for your car I got the location for both engines just in case.

Tighten the ECT sensor to 25 N.m (18.5 lb ft) .

Please let us know what happens.

Cheers, Ken

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