My 1985 won't start on cold mornings. When I get home from work and the temp. has gone up, the cars starts right up. I have replaced the throttle air duct, fuel pressure reg., in tank fuel pump, distributor, new plugs and a few other things. Could it be the alternator?

Same thing used to happen to me when the temperature dropped below -25...

It turned out that my battery was freezing. You can test this by measuring the voltage output. If it is the battery the only thing you can do is either bring it inside every night (a pain) or jumpstart it in the mornings. Keeping your tank full and adding gasline antifreeze to every tank would also help.

If it cranks but just doesn't ever fire, you might have a similar problem to the one I've been trying to solve in my Toyota for several months. I think I finally found the answer. A small head gasket crack. I put some radiator stop leak in it and it solved the problem. I was getting a severe rich condition when I cranked the engine. The computer said the FI was fine and I knew I was getting spark. Then I remebered I had been smelling coolant every now and then and theorized that it was getting coolant and/or moisture in the cylinders on shut down and it was condensing as the engine sat overnight and cooled down. I tried the stop leak to see if there would be any improvement before I tore the engine apart and I haven't had a problem since.
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The Breadbox - 1989 740 GL Wagon in White

Some more info would help. Check for either no fuel or no spark. You have a possible bad engine wire harness year car. Could be bad fuel pump or injector relay solder joint. Is it just temp related or is it damp also?

Have you put a voltmeter on the battery after it sits in the cold??
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Post Back. That's whats makes this forum work.

I have the exact same problem.

We have had a relatively mild winter, but when the temps drop to the single digits, it runs rich, so rich that it floods VERY easily. Once it floods, it will not start until we can bring it into a garage and warm it up.

I have replaced the secondary fuel pump in November and did the plugs and distributer in September.

Right now, the car is at my wife's employer's parking lot. I have removed the plugs and dried them, reinstalled and tried restarting. It fires and chugs as if clearing the flood, then quits firing. While trying it, I had the jumper cables running to it from another running vehicle.

The last time that it happened, I had it towed to a shop and they warmed it up and dried the cylinders out and it ran fine. The mechanic said that if it happened again, that he suspected a sensor, but did not say which sensor.

The last time when it did happen, I had pretty much blamed it on my daughter's inexperience at starting an FI car (this is her 1st car and a friend was trying to coach her during the starting process which flooded the car.)

I owned a 240 with the same motor and never had a problem, even in -20 temps. This one has me stumped.

Tom B