Does advanced timing make it harder to start?

L

Lance

Loner
Joined
Nov 4, 2007
Messages
293
My timing isn't excessive, probably about 16.5*. Any temperature below 60 degrees its difficult to start when cold. Anyone else deal with this?
 
I had to get a new battery to get mine to start at 27 deg.
 
check to see where your idle is set at. from what i have seen this is the most popular cause of hard starting. Idle should be around 700rpm to 750rpm.
 
What do you consider 'hard' starting? Mine is around 18-19 degrees, and at -30C, I would call it a hard start. At -10, it started up without any throttle at all.
 
Tate said:
What do you consider 'hard' starting? Mine is around 18-19 degrees, and at -30C, I would call it a hard start. At -10, it started up without any throttle at all.
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like it won't start at all. Turns over slow too.
 
How old are your batteries? Do you let the grid heater cycle fully before cranking on it? Do you have an aftermarket fuel pump that runs all the time even when your trying to start? Things like that will contribute to a hard/slow start especially in colder weather
 
If your batteries, connections, etc check out good...a bad starter can and will cause it to turn over slow.
 
got mine at 18 idles at a thousand and interstate marine duty batteries starts good till 10 or below
 
x3 on the batteries and starter condition. Higher timing won't make it crank slow.
 
Buds pull truck with 32* of timing and no grid thats been sitting in cold storage since nov. got 2 squirts of ether and 8 secs of cranking the other day... fired up and idled like it was summer
 
I fired up my puller today. Timing at 35* ,no ether at all. It took maybe 10 seconds to start.
 
I have 2 optima red top batteries, I have moved them down on the frame under the front of the bed. They are probably 2 or 3 years old. I used 2/0 gauge welding cable for all the wires, Soldered every ring terminal too. The starter is probably original but I have replaced the contacts with those larger ones about a year ago.
 
My Junker Drag Truck at 26* timing will sometimes stall the starter when I fire it up. I'm running just one battery, so that's half the problem. I've never not had it start, but I did have to wait 5 minutes once before it would fire up because it kept stalling the starter. I noticed this immediately after bumping the timing. It's almost like the burn starts to happen before top dead center when it's first starting up and it fights the starter's rotation of the motor and stalls the starter. Keep in mind, this is at just 26* BTDC timing.
 
Yes fast timing is hard on the starter. On the old pontiacs I used to run we put the ignition on a toggle switch, get the motor turning over and then throw ignition to them.

I noticed my 95 at around 18 bumps the starter hard. I'm thinking the starter is original so once it's running again a new starter is next. I put both batteries on the drivers side and also plan on running a hot and ground wire from both of them to the motor. Every little bit helps.
 
i would say your starter is junk. My truck was doing the samething put a new starter in and it works great know.
 
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