4x4white03 Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Have a nice long story, but will stick with the specifics: A month of so ago, the Pathy was difficult to start and would idle really rough for a few minutes, gas mileage was affected. It eventually gave me a CEL code was misfire cyl #1. Replaced the spark plug and coil, ran fine for a few weeks no more CEL. Now on and off the Pathy is difficult to start again, really rough idle, but no CEL. I have also changed the fuel filter, but with no results. It only happens every now and then..... any ideas or things to check? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonianwalk Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Clean the MAF sensor? Also, check the plug wires for arcing? For @!*%s and giggles, loosen the 12mm lock nut on your dizzy and rotate it (advance, retard) the timing a bit to see if it runs smoother? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkorahil Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Yeah kinda sounds like a timing issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 (edited) So it's hard to start, doesn't run well, then clears up? Sounds like moisture somewhere, burning off once the truck's warmed up. If this was a VG engine I'd say dizzy, but I don't think the VQ actually has one. Edited November 6, 2012 by Slartibartfast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonianwalk Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I thought the VG series ran through the '03 model year? VQ's came in '04? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towncivilian Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 VQ is distributorless. CKPS maybe? See component inspection in FSM and check both sensors' resistances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4x4white03 Posted November 6, 2012 Author Share Posted November 6, 2012 (edited) It will happen all times of the day and I can have a fine start, cut it off and have a starting issue again..... this time gas mileage seems unaffected, it's just the starting issue and rough idle. I originally thought I had water in the fuel, ran some seafoam through it and have been through a few tanks since. Oh, and it is distributorless and uses individual coil packs instead of wires. Edited November 6, 2012 by 4x4white03 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towncivilian Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 Measure the resistance of the ECTS - reference values are on EC-236 Do the same for the CKPS - EC-356 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferrariowner123 Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 Have you scanned for codes? I know you said there wasn't a CEL lit, but they can hide (some REALLY like to hide) -Kyle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4x4white03 Posted November 12, 2012 Author Share Posted November 12, 2012 Ok, checked for codes..... none. Checked the crank, cam, and coolant sensors.... all check good. When it decides it doesn't want to start (which is now happeneing more frequently) the only way I get it to start is stand on the gas. Could I be missing something from the fuel side?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 clean the throttle body Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Mine had starting issues a while back that ended up being a gunked up fuel pump. I ran it real low (the light was on for, like, three days of commuting) and then sloshed the fuel around, which apparently got some crud into the pump. It wouldn't start unless you floored it, and it would run like absolute crap if you did. We didn't keep it running long enough to see if it evened out. A shop cleaned out the fuel pump, and it's run like a top since. I think it was somewhere around $100 including diagnosis, but you could probably do it yourself. Again this doesn't explain how it would start running properly after a while... maybe check the wiring to the pump first, maybe there's crud built up and it's holding water? Wouldn't hurt to check your fuel filter too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 you could try some gas line antifreeze to remove any water that may be in the fuel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towncivilian Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 (edited) Ethanol in gas prevents most cases of water in the fuel. Also swap the fuel pump relay with another of the same color, maybe fog light or A/C relay. Could be a faulty relay. Edited November 12, 2012 by Towncivilian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4x4white03 Posted November 13, 2012 Author Share Posted November 13, 2012 Thanks everyone for the replies. I changed the fuel filter about a month ago, and didn't get any noticable improvement. I have run some Seafoam through it and some alcohol and didn't see any difference either. I will check the fuel pump this weekend and see if that turns anything up.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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