[&o]I have a '98 Mazda Protege that runs great except for one thing, it takes forever to get it started in the morning. The colder it is outside the worse the problem is. The check engine light is not on. It will only start if I hold the gas all the way down to the floor and crank on it continuously. I'm afraid I'm going to burn my starter up so I stop and go back inside the house for a few minutes and then go try it again finally succeeding. Changed plugs, wires, dist. cap, rotor button, air filter, and air charge temp sensor. Also cleaned the mass-air flow sensor. All the things I've done have made it run better and still gets great gas mileage. It's just the cold starting problem that I can't figure out. I've owned the car for 6 years and never had this problem before. It has 136k miles on it. I am now running some injector cleaner through it in hopes of curing the problem. Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated.

 

Have you ever changed the fuel filter??? If no, do so now. The car is acting like it is starved for fuel. Does it blow black smoke when it starts???

 

I haven't changed the fuel filter, but I will. As far as smoking when it starts I haven't noticed any but it does spit and sputter before finally smoothing out with my reving the engine.

 

It could possibly be the Fuel pump, but start with the Filter, it's the cheaper way to go.

 

[:@]I changed the fuel filter. $15.00 I will post my results later after I see if it will start on a cold morning. WOW! That was one of the most tedious nerve-racking jobs I've ever done on a car and I've always done my own maint.

 

The 1.5L isn't too bad, but the 1.8L is a royal pain in the ***. The only way to get to it is from underneath. A trick I use, (probably a little late but keep in your memory bank for later) When you put the new one in, remove the screw from the bracket and use a couple of wire ties. Makes the job easier next time.

 

[8D]Fuel Filter didn't fix the problem, still very hard to get started and now the CEL is on. I will take it to Advance and get them to read the trouble codes and go from there. Does anyone know if the '98 has Fuel Injector Cold Start Valve ?

 

could this be the fuel pump going bad?

 

If you are sure you are not getting spark. It is likely. I would get checked by a pro.

 

1997 Mazda Protégé is starting very very hard on cold mornings, (Basically same problem you have described)Not a battery problem, plenty of cranking. It has done it on rare occasions on mild days, and the worst case scenario was on the coldest Morning. (Yes check engine light is on)

PS have also tried Heat to verify no water in fuel, and replaced Coolant temp sensor. I Used an Ohm Meter on air temp sensor 7 ohms at room temperature and 30 ohms after removing from freezer. Oil is 10W30 and has recently been changed, also recently replaced are spark Plugs.

11-20-05 New Rotor, Cap, PCV valve and Spark Plug wires in 2005

Two days agoas I was putting the air temp sensor back in I noticed the battery was pressing against sensor. I moved battery back and retightened, leaving room for comfort of sensor wiring.

In an unrelated event I disconnected each fuse verifying each has not been blown.

Result Check Engine Light off. Cold weather start fine the next morning. After driving 75 miles light came back on.

This morning was very cold and when I attempted to start cranking and cranking and cranking finally it started.

Tonight I have removed and replaced each fuse (In the Cab) to again get the CEL off. This worked to get CEL off, but what will itstart relatively easytomorrow morning?