I suspect I know the reason for this, but advice and confirmation would be appreciated. I went to start my Yaris this morning and it seemed to fire as normal. However, it died almost immediately. Attempting to restart it and the starter seemed to be turning fine but it only sounded like it was attempting to fire occasionally. I finally got it started by pumping the throttle and it has run and started fine since.
My only thought is that last night I pulled it forward about 6' to allow a friend to get parked behind me. As the car hadn't been out all day and was only turned on for about 10 seconds, might this have been the cause? Something like overfuelling or the computer not having had time to start up properly?
I noticed the battery voltage seemed a little low - 12.4V after I'd tried to start it twice, dropping to 10.5V while I was turning the engine over, but it did seem to be turning OK. It's only a small battery, so I'd assume there would be quite a drop under load? How is battery condition tested anyway? I assume voltage is no real indicator unless under load, but how much load do you need?
TIA!
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From the information you've given you have already conducted a battery test and it checks out fine! The standard test for a 12v system is that the battery voltage when cranking the engine should not drop below 9.6v,so your reading of 10.5v is excellent.I'd say you fell into the trap of starting the engine and then quickly switching off.It seems this is a very bad idea on modern injection systems.I heard recently that the failure to restart could be caused by moisture condensing in the cylinders and on the plugs so making ignition impossible.It's best really to let the engine warm up anytime you start it.
David Davies (Tune-Up Raglan)
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Thanks, David.
You say the battery checks out fine, but surely the 'off load' voltage should be more than 12.4V? I thought closer to 13 was more usual for a lead-acid well charged? ISTR from when I was having charging trouble on the Tipo and was taking the battery off each night to charge up, it ended up sitting at about 13.5V with a full charge. (The system voltage with the engine running is about 14V BTW)
What is the best approach if this happens again? As I say, I got it going eventually, but would I have been better to have the plugs out and check them for moisture etc? Maybe clean them with a rag?
When you say let the engine warm up, do you mean until the temperature light has gone out? If so, is this wise? The handbook for my old Tipo said that you weren't supposed to sit and let the engine warm up but should drive away as soon as possible after starting.
Lastly, is this likely to have caused any damage? The car seems to be running OK but I suspect I must have been pushing a lot of unburned fuel through the system which I believe is a bad thing?
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OK,to answer these points,firstly the voltage reading of 12.4 volts was taken after attempting to start the engine,thus removing the surface charge of the battery and so would be an expected value.If you measure the voltage after the car has run a few miles it will be around 13v and will gradually taper off down to about 12.5v (the ideal reading is 12.8v)
Secondly,if this happens again:find the fuel pump fuse on the Yaris and remove it then crank the engine until it fires then stops.Put pump fuse back in and engine will then start up fairly normally.
Thirdly,its not a good thing to let the engine warm up before driving off every time you start it,but on the few occasions when you need to move it a few feet and the engine is cold I don't think letting it warm up a few minutes would be a problem.
And lastly the engine oil may have excess fuel in it from this episode so an oil change would be a good idea.As far as I know this is the only bad effect.(The spark plugs will self clean as you drive)
David Davies (Tune-Up Raglan)
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