What's your engine "cold start" routine?

[expatriot98]

Anyone that's been around these cars knows they have individual quirks...a personality. That may be one of the things that's endearing about a 911. I thought it would be interesting to find out what your "cold start" routine is, and see if there was some consistency in like cars or if all are different. Please include the year of your car and if it is stock or modified. I thought it was funny that the PO's of both of my 911's gave specific startup instructions.

I'll kick it off with my experiences.

1970 911 E 2.2 with Webers -
pump the pedal three times
foot off pedal
engage starter
feather in gas as engine catches

1979 911 SC stock -
Stay off pedal during process
engage starter
engine starts, runs 5 seconds and dies
engage starter
engine starts, coughs a couple times
fast idles up to 2K rpm
settles back in to smooth idle at 1K

[RarlyL8]

Your SC should not do that.

My '78:
Tranny out of gear
Hit key
Motor starts and runs at 1500-1800rpm for a few minutes, then settles down.
Sometimes throttle may need to be applied lightly until rpm rises to 1500-1800 due to warm weather conditions.

'73T w/Webers & Headers:
Tranny out of gear
Pump throttle lightly as quickly as possible while turning over starter.
Keep doing this after car starts until idle is maintained by lever between seats.
The sound of that motor was soooooooooooo cool! Like an Indy car. It would rev quicker than you could pump the gas.

[Jdub]

For the SC, do either of you turn the key to pressurize the fuel and wait, then turn the key to start?

John

[wckrause]

I agree, your CIS car shouldn't start like that.

My 79 SC at -15 F

Engage starter. It will fire up after a second or two, idlez smoothly at about 1800 rpm. watch oil pressure come up, put on seatbelt, drive conservatively till the temps come up.

You've got a problem with your SC that you've just been living with. I hope you have a pop-off valve in your airbox!

[Leland Pate]

My SC has had the little fuel cutoff switch unplugged because it is not working,. so when I turn the key on, the fuel pump starts running.
I usually turn the key and wait for about 2 seconds before cranking it.
When the car is cold, it acts almost identical to yours Expat. stumbles and dies... turn it off, try again... fires up reves, then drops and stumbles... then catches itself and revs again up to about 2500 rpm and stays there for a few minutes... then in steps... it drops back down to normal idle.

I know it's not right, but I've been living with it.

Maybe someday I'll sort it out.

Jdub

I do that, but I don't think it's necessary

My DME 3.2 idles at app. 1200 rpm when cold and quickly settles to app. 1000 rpm. When warm it's just under 900 rpm.

[Targa77]

My car had similar cold-starting issues until I adjusted the timing. Now, no matter how cold it gets, it fires right up, idles about 1800 for a couple of minutes and then settles down to 900 RPM.

[gregk1]

Mark my 76S does almost the same starts then almost dies then goes to about 2000 then settels down to 900

[rstoll]

Hit the key starts, 1800-2000 rpm for a couple minutes and then down to about 900.

[Jdub]

Mikkel:

My car is pretty well-behaved, but it is headed in the direction of Lee's I am sure. Over time (and this is a daily driver so it gets started cold every morning) I am finding that I am getting the "dip" when starting. So the process is start, jumps to 1600rpm, dips low, struggles for a second or two, then idles up around 1600rpm for ~2 minutes, then back to 1000rpm (cold now, around 30degrees).

I think it is only a matter of time before it gets to the heart-stopping state where it must be restarted. So I have tried turning the key, waiting a bit, then turning the key to Start mode. Seemed to work just fine this AM, but mixed results.

If we can figure this out we will have helped a lot of folks I am sure.

John

[9XI]

Anyone with early MFI cars chime in?

I'll start.

1. Depress clutch pedal.
2. Engage hand throttle to top.
3. Crank for about 10 seconds until it is turning over fast enough to catch.
4. Usually idles at 1200-2000 working out its bugs for about 10 seconds, and then pops up to 2500-3000 once it smooths out.
5. Reduce hand throttle to 1200 until it warms up.

[jrdavid68]

'86 3.2L Carrera

1) Tranny out of gear, clutch out
2) Crank the key - starts immediately
3) Idles at 1000 for about 2 seconds, surges to about 1300 for about 2 seconds then settles around 900+
4) Take off, stay under 4400 RPMs for at least 5 - 10 minutes
5) Try to avoid hitting the rev limiter the rest of the drive

JrDavid68

[RoninLB]

stock '77 2.7 CIS
-netural
-clutch out, don't want to load eng. thrust bearing without oil psi.
-routine start
-eyeball CHT first, then oil temp...adjust driving to ga. readings

[wckrause]

On an SC, if your fuel pump comes on when you turn the ignition to ON, then your airflow detect switch is disconnected. Besides bypassing a safety feature of the car, you are also applying power to both the WUR and the aux air regulator before you are starting the car. If you wait too long, then you may be missing the enrichened cold start mixture that the WUR provides. I also think that the extra couple of seconds that the engine cranks before firing helps to get the oil flowing.

It is kind of cool to have the engine fire up that fast though.

[gaijinda]

Originally posted by 9XI
Anyone with early MFI cars chime in?

I'll start.

1. Depress clutch pedal.
2. Engage hand throttle to top.
3. Crank for about 10 seconds until it is turning over fast enough to catch.
4. Usually idles at 1200-2000 working out its bugs for about 10 seconds, and then pops up to 2500-3000 once it smooths out.
5. Reduce hand throttle to 1200 until it warms up.

Dont quote me on this, but I learned it from an excellent mechanic who learned this after years of trying to start MFI cars:

before step 3. (above) turn ignition on. Wait 5 seconds for electric fuel pump fill up system.. then on to step 3. (cranking)

This should prevent a lot of cranking.. It always worked for me, my baby would start within 2-seconds.

Now I have webbers : - ( my MPG has been cut by a third, and I am back to the old pump - 1/4 throttle - turn key routine.. And drive it as soon as you can, slowly, this will warm you up the fastest.

[Leland Pate]

Very good point Mr. Krauss.

My old mechanic (before I hired myself) unplugged it because it was malfunctioning.
When I rebuilt my motor, I plugged it back in and tried to start it.
No go... so I unplugged it and just reverted back to the old way of having the pump running in the on position.
I know it is also a safety device...

Any ideas of how to fix the switch???

[expatriot98]

Now I'm curious. Where is this airflow detect switch and what does it look like? Pics would be helpful. It sounds like mine may be disconnected as well.
Mark

[78silversc]

78 SC :

Get in
Turn key ...foot not on gas pedal
Motor starts immediately.
Idles @1800 RPM for a minute or two depending on outside air temperature
Then settles down to 900-1000 rpm idle

wckrause:
My SC's fuel pump does indeed run when I turn the ignition key
although the PO's said nothing about disconnecting the airflow detect switch. What would be the benefit of doing so?

[tobluforu]

72 mfi. Put in neutral, pull hand throttle up 2 inches, turn key to on position, listen to fuel pump and all those bubles being pushed out, start car which takes about 2 seconds of cranking. Leave hand throttle at about a half inch until car is warm.

[82SC]

wow...very elaborate rituals
i just turn my key and back out of my parking spot...baby it till the temp needle is out of the thick white block at the bottom then off we go!!!