Van will not start after it sits

Hey Gang,

Has anyone ever had a problem starting their van when it is has not been driven for a while? If I drive my van every day it starts and runs great but if it sits in the driveway for 1 day it does not start the next morning. I crank it and pump the gas and it sputters and pops out the tailpipe for a while then it starts. It will then cut out if I press the gas to much so I baby it for a while and it clears up and runs great for the rest of the day. It has 155k on it and I have had the plug's,wires, air filter,cap and rotor replaced. I also tried running a bottle complete fuel system cleaner in the tank but no luck. If you could give me some advice that would be awesome!

Thanks,

It could be several things, but sounds a bit like a fuel starvation issue........but then again ??? To troubleshoot something like this it's a process of elimination. I'd probably rig up a fuel pressure gauge, then let it sit a day, then monitor fuel pressure while you try to start. If fuel pressure is okay, then I'd check out the cold start injector circuit.

It could also be a stubborn coil or igniter, or maybe even a sticky air flow meter. Intermittent electronics can be hard to diagnose, so often you're reduced to swapping out parts. If the fuel system checks out okay, then I'd let it sit, then pull the distributor cap and check resistance on the coil. There is a test for it in the manual. If that's inconclusive, then it's time to start swapping these items out. If you don't have a parts van, salvage yard parts can save lots of time, money, and effort when it comes to troubleshooting. Good luck. Tim

Tim,

Thank you for your help. I will report back when I find out what was causing the problem.