the car has had this problem since i got it earlier this year in February. the car will crank but will not start when it has been outside in cold weather for a while (mostly overnight). it is not the battery, i had autozone test it. there have been times when i would put it on a overnight charge and spent 30 minutes to an hour cranking it, sometimes it will start after an hour of constant cranking. but when it warmed up it was good, except a few times on nights when a bad cold front has come through. now it is getting cold again and it is having trouble. as of right now the car will start up fine, today was a warm today and luckily it started. i forgot to mention, when it does start it will start right up the rest of the day, granted it is not really cold and has not been sitting for a while. it actually does not have to get that cold for this problem to occur, if it even gets in the low 50s overnight this will happen. earlier this year when it was cold it would be fine and start up the next day if it was parked in a garage. well that is not a option now. i really want to figure out and fix the problem before, well, there is no more warm days. the past couple weeks i have been researching and i found that condensation may get in the distributor cap overnight which may be causing this problem, but i took the cap off and there is no condensation on the cap? i tried wiping it off with a towel and that didn't seem to work. the main relay is good, i can hear the fuel pump turning on. and this distributor has to be good since i drove it today? any help would be appreciated.

 

You need to test for fuel and spark when this is happening.

I know you stated that you hear the pump but still verify.

 

From the post title, it sounds like the cold start systems that tell ecu to push more fuel in the engine when cold don't work. If the car is fuel injected that would be the coolant sensor and manifold air temp sensor if you have one. I'd check connector for coolant temp make sure it's plugged in and tight, and the sensor with an ohm-meter.

 

Also is the ses light on? If so retrieve the codes and look in the diy section and post here, good luck.

 

changed coolant temperature sensor, still doesn't start when cold.

 

Ok good, but you still have not answered the ? of the ses light being on. That could hold the key to the issue. If the light is on, get the codes, have you checked fuel pressure?
Spark?

 

ses? you mean srs? also i thought you could only get codes from 96 or newer cars. and i am suspecting it is spark, but have not confirmed. when it does start it stays on and on times where it does not start i can smell alot of unburned fuel, meaning it is getting plenty of fuel? i am pretty sure it is spark, something is happening where when it gets cold there is no spark. i found a person with a similar problem found when it got cold and it wouldn't start up, he heated up the ecu and it started. i tried that the other day and it didn't work.

 

Check-engine light on?
With older cars (OBD-1) you get the codes by shorting the SCS connector under the dash & turning the key ON. The check-engine light will then flash the code(s). No computer hookup needed, but somehow the story gets screwed around into "you can't read the codes".

There's instructions somewhere - search the DIY section & I'll look also.

 

Check the tach signal. If it is weak replace the ignitor. The other potential for weak spark that is temperature dependent is the coil pack. You can also do a simple test with the PGM-FI removed. Test resistance while it is at room temperature then throw it in the freezer overnight and check again. They should test the same, if not then that could also be the cause. Anyhow, there are many more potential causes but those are some of the more common.

 

i thought of something. whatever is preventing spark when it is cold works when it is warm. so that means troubleshooting should be easy? just warm up each part that might be the cause until it starts in the cold? for example, heat up the distributer, or coil pack? then put it back in and see if it starts? i already tried this by warming up the ecu but that didn't work, also tried heating up the inside of the distributer. what else should i try warming up?