Trouble Starting, Sort of

[BGBronco]

302, Fitech, Duraspark.

Bronco is running well but not starting immediately when I turn the key, especially on a cold start. It's tolerable (maybe a 3 second delay before firing) but I'd like to get this dialed in a bit better than it is. Any thoughts on where to start looking into this? Thx.

 

[MikeCon]

Carburated? If so that's what they do.

 

[DirtDonk]

EFI with FiTech.
Not sure how to tune it differently, but you might start with a priming test. Hit the key two or three or four times to make sure the pump is keeping the lines pressurized.

If it starts easier after that, then it’s probably not a tuning issue. If it doesn’t make a change, then hopefully somebody’s got some tuning tips to shorten that crank time.
But two or three seconds even with EFI does not sound all that horrible. Even the factory EFI sometimes takes that long. Not very often perhaps and usually much quicker. But it’s not unheard of either.

 

[armynavy17]

I'm sure you've already thought of it, but how old's your battery? Is it cranking slower in the colder temps (more than expected)?

 

[armynavy17]

Or maybe I read your post wrong, are you talking cold engine or cold weather?

 

[BGBronco]

Cold engine, not cold weather. Battery is good and doing its job. Thank you.

 

[armynavy17]

Fair enough, 6 degrees this morning, cold weather is on my mind, haha.

What color of duraspark?

I'm no duraspark expert, but some (blue grommet for sure) retard the timing 4 degrees during cranking if they're wired correctly. I'd have to check my notes to see what wire that is...

I know nothing about fitech, does it control timing at all? What's your base timing set to?

Edit: referenced viperwolf's diagram I have saved on my computer. Timing is retarded electronically on blue grommet modules 4 degrees when 12V is supplied on the red-blue wire. Easy enough to check if this is working, put a timing light on the engine while it is running and jump 12v to the red-blue wire, timing should retard 4 degrees while jumped.

 

[omureebe]

There are different parameters to adjust for cold cranking with FiTech, and I'm assuming other injection systems. There's a FiTech "Tech Tuesday" on it, and a few YouTube videos as well. It's an iterative adjustment!

 

[BGBronco]

Here is the fitech tech tuesday.