Bryan Canter wrote:
>
> "Sean Donaher" <nospam@nospam.ca> wrote in message news:<AQlLb.54733$IF6.1263959@ursa-nb00s0.nbnet.nb.ca>...
> > That's perfectly normal when it gets really cold. I live in Nova Scotia and
>
> It did not happen last year (that was the only real winter this car
> has seen) but the temps were not as low AFAICR.
>
> > won't fire up the instant you turn the key. Most cars take 1-2 seconds to
> > start in the middle of summer. If your car started in 1-2 seconds in the
>
> Well, during summer it starts the moment I turn the key. But I agree
> that I should not worry as long as it starts. However, I am worrying
> about the odd chance that it does not start and if there is any thing
> I can do to avoid that situation. I try to remember to press the gas
> pedal to floor before attempting to start every morning. And I try to
> keep the fuel tank more than half full to keep the fuel line from
> freezing. Are there any other things I should keep in mind?
>
> Hopefully the temps will improve in the next few days and it will not
> get any worse.
==================

Bryan,

Inless your manual is completely different from the CRV and Odyssey
manuals, it doesn't say to 'press the pedal to the floor'!

It says: For Cold weather / high altitude starting: Turn off all
electrical accessories (to reduce battery drain) HOLD the gas pedal
half-way to the floor, turn the key to START position for up to 15
seconds (no longer).

When the engine is not running, pushing the pedal to the floor and back
does NOTHING (except maybe free up a stuck throttle plate, but that's a
different thread). Your car is fuel injected. There's no mechanical
choke that needs to be 'loaded', and no accelerator pump to piss fuel
into the venturi.

We should really start calling it the air pedal, not gas pedal. Your
manual is telling you to hold the pedal half way to the floor because
the engine needs a little extra help getting air when it can't crank at
full speed, and because that position sets the computer to the optimum
fuel and ignition timing for cold starts.

I don't think it's really suggested in the manual, but in winter I
always perform the 'lamp check' to give the puel pump time to charge up
the system, before I start to crank it.

I hope this will clear up some confusion for some who don't understand
cold weather starting. I had some preconcieved notions about Fuel
Injection before I read my manual(s).

'Curly' On the chilly Canadian Prairies.