Hi all,

Well, my fit is giving me problems for the first time ever today. Went to crank it over this morning and it wouldn't start. It is cold today, but has started in colder temps recently and is kept in a garage. It will crank over and fire maybe once or twice, then die. The check engine light hasn't been on, nor has it given me any hint of problems until today. Any off the top of the head ideas as what it could be?

 

When did you last fill it with gas?

How many miles does it have? How old?

 

spark plugs if over 50k

 

Thanks for the quick replies. Last filled with gas probably 3-5 days ago. It is just over 5 years old and has 93k miles on it. I have never replaced the spark plugs on it but I thought they were good to 100k?

 

Battery and/or charging system.

These items raise their heads when the mercury plummets.

 

It seems to be cranking over pretty easily and the lights are fairly bright. It is the original battery but it is not acting as if the battery is drained. Should I get the battery tested anyway?

 

well... the old saying goes it's either fuel or spark. (is that the old saying?) I guess it could be valves but that wouldn't change overnight.

Plugs should be good for over 100k. Valves should present other problems if an issue (they're due for adjustment the same time as plugs).

If you know anyone with an OBDII reader it would be useful to know if there are any codes stored even if the engine MIL didn't turn on.

It could be old fashioned flooding. Hold the accelerator pedal to the floor while cranking. This opens some kind of purge valve.

If it only ran a short time the last time it was running, it may not have warmed up enough and fuel condensed on the plugs. Step 5 and 6 should get it going even in this case. I always let it run a few minutes even if I'm moving it around the driveway.

 

Thanks! I will try this when I get home. If it still won't start I'll try to purchase an obd2 scanner and see if there are any codes.

 

This did the trick. Yesterday I actually backed it out of the driveway, turned it off, washed the car, then put it back in the garage. Wasn't running more than 30 seconds. When I got home today I put the accelerator to the floor and started cranking. Took 10-15 seconds, but it finally did start!

 

Great news. I used to use the same method on my 1975 Dodge Coronet. It was always flooding.

 

holy crap. I remember mid 70s chryslers. It seemed they had it in for their owners. At least they still made that cute whinny as they cranked (do they still do that? I think Mercedes killed it...)

 

I forget the sound. I drove that car for 13 years. If you touched the gas pedal after it had been run in the past couple of hours when trying to restart it would flood. I was adept ar reaching under the breather and taking choke off wearing a white shirt -). Heck I could not start it the day I picked it up at the dealer. But that 318C.I. could wind the speedo all the way around to 0.

I could fit luggage for a week in the trunk for 6 of us along with golf clubs and cart and hang 4 bikes off the back.

 

My first car was a 1958 Ford 4 door hardtop, bought used. Had a big ol' "police interceptor" engine. You know that old saying: it'll pass anything but a gas station.

 

I would have to look this up but if this vehicle has a clear flood mode then it wont spray fuel from the injectors when you hold the gas pedal all the way down to the floor. There is no actual valve that opens. Clear flood mode electronically turns off fuel injectors.

 

Glad you were able to get your Fit running. Since you asked about testing the battery you might find this useful (not my video):
If you don't have a fancy multimeter with a logging feature you can still do the test by having someone else start the car while you watch the meter.

 

Thanks! That's cool. I have been debating on getting a new battery just so I don't get stranded as I drive a lot for work. This will give me peace of mind and help me decide on whether I really need to pony up for a new one.

 

Batteries can gradually lose capacity (sulfation mainly) or they can fail overnight (usually after a temperature snap).

They're not known for lasting more than 5 years. 2 years is about average (no I don't have stats to back that up). Yours performed well with the starting issue so I'm not sure I'd be running to replace it, but I'd be watching for sales.

NAPA has them all the time for $92.00 (with core).