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2000 VS Ute struggling to start when cold

Andyp3

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Hey all,

I’ve got a VS Ute that’s struggling to start when cold. It can take 1-2 minutes of cranking when cold to start. Once it’s been running for a few seconds, if you turn it off and on again it fires up immediately. The engine runs perfectly once it starts.
I’ve replaced the plugs and leads, run injector cleaner through it, and done some long trips with premium 98 in it. Car has done 180,000kms.

Any suggestions what it could be? I’m thinking fuel pump, but not certain. Any tests I can do to check?
Thanks lads
 

losh1971

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Could be a battery issue if its a V6. Mine did a similar thing, not 1-2 minutes though as that would have flattened the battery. Try charging the battery overnight and see if it improves.
 

commodore665

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try cleaning the terminals on the battery , or as above charge over night .
 

Immortality

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Check the fuel pressure. Does the fuel pump prime when you turn the ignition on?
 

Andyp3

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Battery is fully charged, and issue is still persisting.
It’s thrown some error codes, which are 46 and 49.

I don’t suspect fuel pump as it runs perfectly once it’s started. The pump primes when the ignition is turned. I did a trip from Sydney to Melbourne in it last weekend - no issues there.

I’m thinking crank angle sensor, coil packs or dfi. Any suggestions to rule each of these out?
 

losh1971

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Cam sensor and or crank sensor. Crank sensors can have some intermittent problems before failing altogether. Could also be a problem with DFI as code 46 is sometimes related to DFI. I'd be inclined to start with replacing the crank sensor as they eventually fail regardless and its only a matter of time before it does fail. It would be worth cleaning the DFI plug and checking the harness.
 

Immortality

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Probably should have led with the fault codes...
 

Trevor loves holden.

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When was the fuel filter last replaced? Try turning the key on and off a few times without starting it first, then start it and see if it starts quicker when cold.
 

Trevor loves holden.

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I’m thinking crank angle sensor, coil packs or dfi. Any suggestions to rule each of these out?

You can test the leads for spark with a tester when cold to see if they are sparking..
If it was any of these then it would play up while driving too, CAS fail when hot most times so I rule that out, could be a bad earth but sound more likely fuel pressure related.
 
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