help my car won't start!!!! (sometimes)

[mkalle1]

this has happened a couple times now and they seem to be happening more and more often. and this time it was pretty bad.

ok, sometimes when i turn my key on my 97 318is the car tries to turn over but i have to hold the key for a couple seconds before she actually turns over. well this time i tried and held the key to start and tried again and again. it seemed like she wanted to turn over but she just wouldn't, so i gave it a little gas and she started right up. i really don't know too much about cars, but being a fuel injected engine that shouldn't have worked or matter that i pumped the gas, should it????

i really don't know where to start to look to correct this problem??

my check engine light has been on for a couple weeks but when i got that scanned it gave the code that tells you a hose or vacuum is leaking or disconnected. is there a hose or vacuum line i should check that might be causing this problem or is this problem maybe related to something else maybe??

i hope someone can help me, it sucks when i look at my car and it looks and runs so well but the car hardly starts sometimes, kind of embarassing!!

thanx,
MATT

[richieio]

Not to be a dick or anything, but if you got a check engine light, ran the code, and it told you a vacuum hose was leaking or disconnected...thats a pretty good indication that a vacuum hose-was leaking - or disconnected.

didn't you already post this question? question about a check engine code??

anyway, i would check the hoses and seals around the airbox. specifically, like MMTuning said, under the intake plenum. if anything seems cracked or rotted it should seem obvious it needs replacing.

if you aren't sure what you are doing why don't you just take it to a mechanic to look at it.

[Matthew C Smith]

I'm not really sure what you mean. Does the engine turn over at the normal speed when you're starting it?

[mkalle1]

matt,
you know how older cars when you try and start them they want to turn over but they just need a little gas pump? that is want happened, or when your car is cold and you might have to hold the key a little longer before the car turns over and starts, that is what happens sometimes. but not always.

help, thanx,
MATT

[Matthew C Smith]

Alright, sounds like it's taking a few more rotations before it fires up.

Since you've got a CE light on, I'd get that fixed first. Then work from there. Vacuum hose or something right? I'd follow every vacuum line you can find. If it's brittle or cracked, replace it. An autoparts store should have the hose you might need.

[Agaru_Vala]

this was happening to me VW, and it was a wire gone bad, and a batt that needed some water.

[Matthew C Smith]

Are you cooking something? Pancakes perhaps?

If the car's turning over at the same speed, the battery's probably okay.

[Agaru_Vala]

Originally posted by Matthew C Smith
Are you cooking something? Pancakes perhaps?

If the car's turning over at the same speed, the battery's probably okay.

no it was just really fing late lol

[Matthew C Smith]

midnight snack?

[Agaru_Vala]

lol, yeah

[mikeyz325]

Yea, if you have the original battery, check that water...confused the hell out of me once when my car didn't start.