1987 323 1.6L with fuel injection, no turbo, 5 speed manual trans, 157,000 miles, purchased new in USA. Never wrecked. The car is not kept in a garage. Registered today for this forum.
I do have other vehicles, thus the relatively low accumulated mileage.
Searched for previous posts about my problem and found no exact match. My car runs very well and starts well so long as the temperature is about 45 F or above. At 35 F or below, it will not start from cold-- and since it does not start from cold, I do not know what it would do if the engine was warm and the ambient temperature quite cold. The battery is about 1 year old, the starter ALWAYS spins the engine well, cold or hot. But when cold, it does not go beyond the starter spinning the engine.
Only recently has the temperature here dropped low enough for the problem to be evident. Perhaps the basic problem has existed for a time, a few months perhaps, prior to just recently.
So the problem is not the battery nor the starter and apparently not in the ignition switch near the steering wheel. Not moisture accumulated in the distributor nor a problem with the rotor, as best I can tell. No codes or Check Engine light displayed.
The nearest dealership is not known for honesty and I suspect that no one working there now in the service department was there when this car was popular. It might take them days to find the problem- and present a bill for more than the possible sale price of the car. But the car serves me well except for this problem.
So I need your help with diagnosing this problem and am hoping that someone has helpful suggestions. Thanks for your help.

 

Hi Leztuick:
I had an '86 with the same engine, but I never had this problem. In fact I hardly ever had a problem with it. So I have to refer to general tech knowledge.
It is completely temperature dependent. We know it works when warm but we need to find out what's missing when cold.

This engine uses a Coolant Temperature Sensor. It may be faulty.
I believe it also uses a Intake Air Temperature Sensor it may be faulty or in need of cleaning.
Are you sure it gets fuel when it doesn't start? An electrical contact to the fuel pump may get to weak when the temps drop.

Also check for spark when it doesn't start.

Even though it doesn't give you a code it may be a good approach to generally check for vacuum leaks, hardened hoses, corrosion at harness connectors and such things.

Try a few things and report back.

 

Thank you for taking the time to respond. Apparently only a few people frequent this forum.
Your response triggered some thoughts. My car will not start when the temperature is about 35, as it has been several mornings lately. But it will start an hour later with the temperature at 45.
A physical characteristic of materials is "Specific Heat" It refers to the amount of energy required to be added or lost by that material in order to change the temperature. Air (the gases of which it is composed) has a very low specific heat-- just a little energy changes the temperature significantly. Water has very high specific heat-- one of the highest, greater than that of steel or iron. So in an hour of morning Sun, the air temperature changes-- and that it what is changing from 35 to 45. But the coolant in the car does not change temperature much in that time period-- even though it may have absorbed quite a bit of energy.
My conclusion is that the sensor for the air temperature probably is the problem in this case-- since the coolant sensor does not "see" much change in the same time.
So I plan to explore that.
Any additional ideas or suggestions are welcome.

 

Excellent explanation!

Another thought: let's say an electrical contact is not up to snug. When it is cold the connecting tabs shrink and cause a voltage drop. When it's warm the tabs expand and it works just fine.

 

Dear Leztuick,

I have the same car, and I want to tell you a few things here.

1. make sure both your air intake and air flow sencers are very very clean. use a mass afirflow sencer cleaner (Do not use anything else to clean this).

2. make sure you really clean the throttle body with carb/ throttle body cleaner.

3. when you put you spark plugs in, make sure to apply Dielecrical Grease to the tips of you plugs where it meets and connects to the wires. This grease keeps moisture and dust away from these all importand areas.

4. have you ever timed your engine? if you haven't use a timing light to make sure it is timed to no 1 cylinder.

5. Make sure your fuel line is very clean as well, replace your fuel filter every year. Pay special attention to your fuel injections make sure they are real clean.

Good luck friend

 

Sorry to trouble you mate. I have a 1988 323 bf with exactly the same fault as yours. Did you get to the bottom of it ? My car has only 83000km on it & runs perfectly when it starts. Yesterday cold, no start till the ambient temp. warmed up at 1100 am. Today, not too bad, so starts immediatly. I've done coil, battery, leads, dizzy cap etc etc. After reading your post, checked my plugs, good spark but no fuel getting to them untill warm.

Cheers Paul

 

That's a 25 year old car, Mr. Rockfordpiles. Nothing should come as a surprise. I would take a fuel pressure reading and change the fuel filter.

 

Thank you for the response Mr Protégé.
May have solved it. Crossed fingers.
Turns over but absolutely no fire when cold. Ambient temperature rises , car starts & runs perfectly.
The Igniter within the distributor was failing. The oil seal on the distributor shaft was seeping, no more, and hence oil was running onto the electrolyte paste attached to the igniter. This deterioration was exacerbated by the contraction of metal when cold. replaced the whole distributor. Works ! So far. I've had a few false dawns but this seems a very probable cause.
Thanks again.

 

You are welcome!
I tlooks like I have the same problem with the '98 protege. These things are pricey!

I like your avatar.

 

Good luck with your problem. A whole distributor for a 5 cents seal, but mine had been replaced at some point with an incorrect one so perhaps all for the best.

The avatar ? That's the blighter that sold me the car . . . . .