Today was my first sub-freezing morning with my 2007 Ranger (it was under 20 degrees), and it took a LONG time to crank it over for the first time. It was so long that it seemed like the fuel wasn't even flowing. The alternator and battery were completely fine (brand new truck!) but man did it take a while for the fuel to get there.

Anyone else's Ranger do the same? For the remainder of the day the truck had no problems turning over. I figured I'd get feedback from other owners before bothering the dealer...

Thanks all,

-Sean

 

the battery may have been weak from the cold

 

That's what I thought too, but it didn't do that really slow and laborious crank over like a weak battery does. It started cranking immediately, but just took it a while to finally catch. It felt exactly like a car trying to turn over with the fuel pump disabled. Maybe there was some condensation in the fuel lines that froze up overnight, I don't know...

 

never had that happen, ive had long starts but no more then 4 seconds.... ill let you know tom though, were sitting at 15 degrees goind down to single digits so tomorrow will be fun....

 

A quick and simple fix for this is to follow this procedure on cold days:

Turn the ignition switch to the "On" position (right before the "Start") and let it sit until you hear the fuel pump stop running. (quiet humming sound)

Do it once more for good measure, then fire it up normally!

By doing this it pressurizes the fuel system to operating pressure, and puts fuel right behind the injectors, ready to go!

Since it was cold, your battery was "Mushy" and didn't provide proper voltage to your fuel pump. Your fuel pump couldn't provide proper pressure to ignite the cylinder's, so it took longer to fire, along with the general mushiness of the engine from the extreme cold weather.

 

Whoopdee doo! Someone throw this kid a cookie! He know's JACK ****!

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question74.htm
DIRECT QUOTE:
Reason 3 - Batteries have problems in cold weather, too. A battery is a can full of chemicals that produce electrons (see How Batteries Work for more information). The chemical reactions inside of batteries take place more slowly when the battery is cold, so the battery produces fewer electrons. The starter motor therefore has less energy to work with when it tries to start the engine, and this causes the engine to crank slowly.

All three of these problems can make it impossible to start an engine in really cold weather. People either keep their cars in heated garages or use "block heaters" to get around these problems. A block heater is a little electric heater that you plug into the wall to keep the engine warm.


http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/blbattery.htm


Now what else would you like to contradict me on, smart guy??

 

This is very good practice when starting any FI vehicle in the cold! The only thing I would add is to try running some fuel additive with your next tank, Make sure it is something that replaces water. If you did get some condisation in your tank, this should be able to resolve this problem.

My truck went though 3 batteries the first winter I had it. It is very possible he has a bad battery. Normaly the battery in a new vehicle has been run dead at least once. This could be enough to cause this problem.


Good Luck, Keep us posted how the next cold start goes.

 

My truck kinda did a slow start this morning, newish battery and new alternator. It's a cold battery thing..

 

Alot of computer controlled cars/trucks have to see a signal from the oil pressure sensor before the fuel injectors will spray, or the coils will fire. Cold morning = thick oil + new engine = slow pressure buildup. Once the sensor feels pressure it sends a signal to the ecm to start the injectors and coils firing and it starts.

 

Well if that's the case... ASE Certifications don't mean crap! If you make a comment like that about a cold battery after all of that "training", you must not have paid any attention in class.

Bottom line is you argued my point, which was indeed factual and is just plain common sense.

I despise when someone tries to contradict my point with an opinion or false information....

 

That's what happens in the cold, it always has with every vehicle I have had, I agree with the above posters, it is all of those things. Leaving the Key on until the system is primed has worked well for me, it only takes a second so try it....

 

Today I tried priming the fuel pump a little before cranking the truck. It definitely started a lot quicker than it did yesterday, though it still had the typical (and expected) cold-morning-crank. This morning was actually a good deal colder than yesterday, so I'm pleased that the truck was fine.

The only reason I raised concern in the first place is that all my previous vehicles have never had any trouble with starting on cold mornings, including my 15 year old Miata. Oh well, live and learn.