Cold Starts!

[Christopher Mende <csmende@bayern.me.iastate.edu>]

Howdy all! Happy Halloween, and hopefully there are some of us who are
managing to avoid the approaching cold weather!

Speaking of... here is my question:

As with many older cars, cold weather plays havoc. My '84 8v fires right
up, just a soon as I touch the key as long as the weather is in the 40's
or above.

Once it gets below that, I have to crank it for a few seconds, and it
doesn't sound pretty. At that initial crank, it's as if the engine WANTS
to start, but something seems to slip up and and the cranking speeds up
until the engine finally putters to life.  What would be a couple of the
key things to look at which might be specifically affected by these temp
ranges.

All the VW's I've ever owned always seem to run the strongest when outside
temp is near 40 degrees (F).

What about preventive measure? (No, I'm NOT gonna hook up a heater to it!
:-) Would turning the key to engage current and letting sit there for a
number of seconds help anything? I should try that...


Lastly: NO matter what the temp, the car kicks in at roughly 1000rpms,
shouldn't it be stepping up to a cold-idle for a minute or two??


I really appreciate any info you guys can give me on this...

~C
'84 8v from the soon-to-be-frozen lands

--                                                                 --
     Christopher Mende             ICEMT         O: 515-294-6738 
     www.icemt.iastate.edu           @           F: 515-294-5531  
     bayern.me.iastate.edu    Iowa State Univ    H: 515-294-6658

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