Hi, my Cadillac with 98,000 original kilometres has issues hot starting. First time getting in the car starting from dead cold it starts right up. After driving and the engine heats up, turning the engine back on just cranks and cranks and cranks. Leave it for half an hour, once it's cooled down a bit it still takes a few cranks but will eventually fire up. I replaced the coolant temperature sensor but no luck. Any suggestions?
I have also checked for coolant leaks, and replaced the spark plugs but nothing has worked so far
I'm looking at your distributor.
You have a lot of electronics there that can be affected by heat when they're faulty.
Your ignition coil is mounted right on top of the distributor cap. That's #1
Your pickup coil is mounted inside your distributor. That's #2
Your Hall Effect switch/sensor is inside your distributor. That's #3 and that's the guy I'd suspect.
Why? Because even though faulty coils can do that, (work when cold, not when hot, work again when they cool off), hall effect sensors are notorious for it.
Here he is:
ive got a new ignition coil and distributor cap, ill give that a try and if no luck ill replace the hall switch (i hope i dont have to! those things are expensive since i can only find them in complete distributor kits)
also, if i do have to replace the hall sensor, is there any video you can point to on safely disassembling the distributor? ive had a look but cant find any information on my specific engine (L26 4.9L) and all the general installation guides on other models really glaze over the timing of a distributor.
Leaky fuel injectors?
Could very well be that, which is flooding out the engine when warm..
in my research some people said it could be vapour lock, what do you guys think the possibility of this being the problem is?
Vapor lock is rare with fuel injection. If you want to explore a possible fuel starvation issue then maybe a defective fuel pressure regulator. (leaking back through the fuel tank return line) But, it wouldn't just be after the car was warmed up.
A - Fuel pressure regulator
B - Vacuum line
C - Fuel inlet and return lines.
Here's a thought. Get a fuel pressure gauge and an adapter for the schrader valve on your fuel rail (Amazon/Ebay sells them).
Hook it up for a few trips and when you have a "no start", you can look to see if you have adequate fuel pressure at the fuel rail.
