V5 Cold start issue

[rowlers]

Had a searched and found a couple of relevent threads but nothing with a conclusive "fix".

So my 2002 V5 has a little trouble starting now the weather is getting cooler. I need to give a little throttle on cold morning to stop the engine dying straight away.

VAG-COM shows no faults.

Is this a MAF issue of temp sensor issue?

Car runs great once started and start first time if ifs warm.

thanks

 

[Slimy]

I've had this trouble for a while now. The definitive, all-singing all-dancing fix to this is...

...to give it a little throttle on cold mornings.

I'm sorry I can't be any more specific, but that's it really. I've also found the posts you refer to, and a whole load on the V5 forum, all sorts of parts have been replaced (not just MAF or temperature sensors, all sorts of odd things), cars have been back to the dealers, independents, etc. Some get cured, but most just get used to the throttle blip in the morning.

You can start throwing money at, replacing half the engine parts, with no definitive fix in sight. Or you can just get used to giving it a little gas. Its not going to do the engine any harm.

 

[kewe]

Yep I can back up Slimy on this one too, just got used to giving a little throttle when starting and caused no other problems in the past 2 years.

 

[rowlers]

cheers fellas, thats good enough for me then!


Cheers

 

[pocket]

Replying to an old thread i know, but i assume this still has the answer to the V5's cold start problem?

ie, there isn't one.

 

[cozmeister]

With EFI you shouldn't ever need to touch the throttle to start the engine - usual culprits for poor starting when the ambient temperature changes are coolant temperature sensors which read wrong values (but are still connected, so will never cause the ECU to log a fault), and sticking idle control valves/throttle steppers. The reason it won't start without the throttle open is usually because there's insufficient air being pulled into the cylinders to cause a decent combustion.

What you end up doing long term is constantly starting the car from cold with a way too rich mixture. Any unburned fuel that doesn't escape through the exhaust clings to the cylinder bores, which leads to bore-wash, which contaminates the oil with fuel, which does no good for the engine as a whole.

Personally that kind of thing would wind me up too much to not fix it!

 

[Slimy]

Wow, this is an old thread!!

Yes I did get a permanent fix for it, I had a split crankcase breather hose that was allowing un-metered air into the engine and leaning out the mixture. Fixed the pipe, no more trouble starting.

There are still a whole load of things that could be causing it, as you say various sensors and valves could be at fault. Luckily mine just needed a bit of glue and tape.