Cold starting issue solved

[5l32v4c]

My '85 was running fine when I took it out for an evening drive a few days ago. When I parked it in my garage, I popped the hood slightly to help her cool down. I then locked the car (activating the alarm). After a few minutes I thought I'd check the oil level so lifted the hood, tripping the alarm.

Next day I went to start the car and it would not fire. I cranked it over a few times and she was just not interested. My son read something in the owner's manual about using an "s" (illuminated) ignition key if the alarm had been tripped, so I tried that. The car started, ran like crap for a minute or so and then settled down into a smooth idle.

I thought the starting issue was related to the alarm being tripped. The following day, it would not start again.

After a bit of Googling I came across an article that suggested a cold start condition, possibly related to the temparature sensor. I checked the connection for the temparature sensor and it was loose. After plugging it back in securely, the car started immediately.

So, if your car runs fine and then suddenly won't start from cold, this is something worth checking.