Car cutting off after remote start

[GAD]

Only happens on a cold start. It's been <40degrees for the last few weeks and I'm wondering if the tune is having issues with the cold weather. No check engine lights. After the car is completely warm remote start doesn't have an issue. Also, this mornings start up was very rough idle and smelled more rich than normal until she got a little warmer.

Any ideas without bothering the tuner?

[romcjr]

Something doesn't seem right . Is it shutting off immediately or after a few minutes . I've had a few 20's cold starts and it has run it's full time (@ 10 min.?) .

[gtstorey]

Sounds like a tune problem to me.

[NOT A 45]

Originally Posted by GAD

Only happens on a cold start. It's been <40degrees for the last few weeks and I'm wondering if the tune is having issues with the cold weather. No check engine lights. After the car is completely warm remote start doesn't have an issue. Also, this mornings start up was very rough idle and smelled more rich than normal until she got a little warmer.

Any ideas without bothering the tuner?

Are you running E85 all the time? If so it could be a volatility issue. There are 4 volatility classes for E85 based on the season so if it's not the right one, it can definitely cause a cold start issue. Even the correct class of E85 doesn't like cold temperature.

[1JEWLDSSRS]

This was happening to my friends ZL1 and it was in the tune for the cold starts, the AFR was off on the e85 tune.He went and had it "tweaked" and never had it happen again. He is running e85/93. He switches out from time to time.

[NOT A 45]

Originally Posted by 1JEWLDSSRS

This was happening to my friends ZL1 and it was in the tune for the cold starts, the AFR was off on the e85 tune.He went and had it "tweaked" and never had it happen again. He is running e85/93. He switches out from time to time.

That was going to be my suggestion to this guy. Run it out and refill with gasoline and see if the problem goes away. Cold weather, hard starting, rough idle/misfire leads me to look at fuel first. Also, flex fuel components or not, I wouldn't be leaving E85 in the tank for a extended period of time.....that fuel degrades quickly!

[Badbubba]

Guessing you have a flex fuel sensor. If so, put a tank of 93 in it and see if it makes a difference. Usually in the low 40's and below, I'll have some extended cranks and sometimes stalls after a start until it heats up alittle. This depends on the blend of E85 though. For winter, it's usually about E60 out of the pump. But I'll add some 93 to get around E50 or less. Different car, modded STI, but same principle. Do you have the ability to read the ethanol content from the flex fuel kit? If not, there are small test kits. It's just a graduated vile. You add water and fuel to it. Shake it and a level of separation will appear. Then just read the percentage.

[1JEWLDSSRS]

Originally Posted by NOT A 45

That was going to be my suggestion to this guy. Run it out and refill with gasoline and see if the problem goes away. Cold weather, hard starting, rough idle/misfire leads me to look at fuel first.

Yes sir. My buddy said it only happened when he was on e85, didn't do it with the 93. I think he said the tuner had to add more air, or something like that because of the e85 not being as easy to "light off" as fuel. I could be wrong on that though as it's been a while.

[NOT A 45]

It's been a while but I attended a GM drivability class when we first came out with flex fuel vehicles. The whole term "E85" is really misleading. The 85 isn't the percentage of ethanol. It must contain 2% hydrocarbons to make it not drinkable alcohol. So the maximum it can ever be is 83% ethanol. Originally the lowest it could be is 75% to be sold and labeled as E85. About 10 years ago they changed that, now the fuel you buy out of a E85 pump can contain as little as 51% and still be legal. Anyhow, whatever the percentage is it is the gasoline part that it's blended with that determines the fuels volatility. Mixing 93 with your E85 reduces the octane but substantially increases the volatility.

[1JEWLDSSRS]

Originally Posted by NOT A 45

It's been a while but I attended a GM drivability class when we first came out with flex fuel vehicles. The whole term "E85" is really misleading. The 85 isn't the percentage of ethanol. It must contain 2% hydrocarbons to make it not drinkable alcohol. So the maximum it can ever be is 83% ethanol. Originally the lowest it could be is 75% to be sold and labeled as E85. About 10 years ago they changed that, now the fuel you buy out of a E85 pump can contain as little as 51% and still be legal. Anyhow, whatever the percentage is it is the gasoline part that it's blended with that determines the fuels volatility. Mixing 93 with your E85 reduces the octane but substantially increases the volatility.

Great info sir!! Thanks for sharing that with us..

[GAD]

Thanks for the replies. So once it gets to 50 degrees I no longer run e85. So I haven't had E in it since Octoberish. So it sounds like I need to hit up my tuner.

[GAD]

Originally Posted by romcjr

Something doesn't seem right . Is it shutting off immediately or after a few minutes . I've had a few 20's cold starts and it has run it's full time (@ 10 min.?) .

It shuts off after about 10-15 seconds.

[NOT A 45]

Originally Posted by GAD

It shuts off after about 10-15 seconds.

Yep, sounds like you have something else going on. What happens if you jump in the car and start it normally?

[GAD]

Originally Posted by NOT A 45

Yep, sounds like you have something else going on. What happens if you jump in the car and start it normally?

Nothing. Starts normal. No CEL or anything. Yesterday I jumped in and started it like normal and it was a rough start and idle for 20-45 seconds. That's the only thing I've noticed different.