Problems starting the car when it is hot
 

Hi I have a 1990 and have been having problems starting the car after running it for over 30 minuets in warm temps - mid 80's. The rpm's drop to around 300 and you need to hold the peddle down when cranking to start the car and get it rolling. Until recently it would run after starting under these conditions and return to normal driving conditions soon after starting so it was just a pain starting. Now after you get it started it stalls and when running on the road sputters and will only reach 40. Wait two hours and all is fine until it heats up and then it will start sputtering again and.max speed 35/40. Last time I turned it off some smoke and a smell like some type of oil on hot sections in the engine bay. Any suggestions

Regards

Don

I was having a similar issue. The car sat in the sun for a few hours while I was working on the brakes. I took a test drive to test the brakes and it was fine. I parked the car for a few minutes. And then it would barely crank. It actually stalled completely in my neighborhood. I managed to get it home by gassing it aggressively. I parked it in the shade for about 45 minutes, fired it up, and it ran like a top.

Thanks Sainmatt - any suggestions??

Also do you know a good jag guy to work on these cars in or around the Asheville Greenville area?

Does your fuel rail have the thermo switch that is connected to the vacuum lines? It'll be on the left side of the fuel rail. This device (if working properly) is supposed to sense fuel temp and adjust things accordingly so hot starts are not such a problem.

If any of the vacuum lines are cracked/broken, it'll compromise the functionality of the system. Might be time well spent to make sure the switch is there, that it works, (you can hear it click on and off if you put it in a pan of hot water) and that the vacuum hoses are intact.

Good luck with it!

John
1987 XJ-S V12
64,000 miles

Thanks John, it was hot the last few days and the car would only drive about 20 minuets before it would start acting up. I was able to get it to a jag guy to look at it. I should know more early next week however I will pass on your suggestion