E85 and Cold weather startup

redfire03 svt

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This is my first winter with the corn, is it normal for a car on E85 to struggle starting in cold weather? Should the injector pulse width be adjusted on cold start?
 
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MICLO50

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E85 burns quite a bit cooler than regular fuel. It takes the o2's longer to heat up, in turn the car doesn't run or idle the best in cold weather until warmed up.
 

04sleeper

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Adjustments in the tune are necessary.

I was able to tune all the issues out by adding fuel at startup and heating the O2's longer.
 

redfire03 svt

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when you say heat the o2's, turn the ignition on but dont start the car. do you know how much fuel you added, percentage wise. 5 cranks is nothing, my e55 takes at least 10_15 cranks.
 

me32

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Mine will turn right on in cold weather just a little rough idle at 1st I let it idle for a few min an its good. But for the most part I don't run the corn in the winter mostly car the car sits in the garage during the winter.
 

safado

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mine cranks 3-5 times then fires rough but within 6 seconds its all good... but the coldest here is 45°
 

Radar Doc

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I think I'm seeing a trend here...

You guys in the South are firing up on true E85, while the guys up North(like me) are most likely on E70 in the winter. E70 makes it easier to light up when cold. That may be why some of us are saying we have no problems while other guys are.

Some folks are using the same tune all year 'round, which makes their E85 tune rich on E70, making starting/warm-up easier.

We also have different definitions of what "cold weather" is...:D

Edit: Meant to add that regardless of blend, tuning can make a world of difference.
 
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04sleeper

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My car fires right up first shot just like stock.

So did my Cobra. Both cars took multiple cranks before the tune adjustments.

There is a setting in the tune where you can adjust the time the O2 sensors warm up. Also there are setting for Crank Lambda and other settings as well.

These make the car crank like stock.

For the 2013 I used the logic from the F150 Flex Fuel CPU. Thanks to Shaun at AED for the help on the new stuff. The old stuff I just figured out on my own but the same principles are used.
 

VenomSVT03

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My car used to idle really rough for the first few minutes before it warmed up. Turned out my 02 sensors weren't getting hot and were dumping a bunch of fuel and the car ran really rich and idle would be terrible. My tuner turned off the 02s for the first 3-4 minutes and now it runs much better, and no matter how the weather is it always takes 2-3 tries to start.
 

c6zhombre

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My car fires right up first shot just like stock.

So did my Cobra. Both cars took multiple cranks before the tune adjustments.

There is a setting in the tune where you can adjust the time the O2 sensors warm up. Also there are setting for Crank Lambda and other settings as well.

These make the car crank like stock.

For the 2013 I used the logic from the F150 Flex Fuel CPU. Thanks to Shaun at AED for the help on the new stuff. The old stuff I just figured out on my own but the same principles are used.

:rockon:

about the only other thing I've noticed is it seems to fire first try every time...but I do "key" the pumps a couple times before attempting to fire. My neighbor, who's mister ethanol hater...can't believe it when he knows I let this cobra sit for days and then he sees me fire it up first try. LOL. He's like "no way...you can't really be running E85...just e10 kills my lawn mower.." :nonono::lol:
 

redfire03 svt

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Interesting, I am am going to see if adding some more fuel on startup will help. I still have the fall blend in my car, and the temps here have been in the mid 40's. I will take a vid for you guys of it trying to start, the first 10 tries are useless:(

04 Sleeper, what did your 5.0 make on the corn?
 
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04sleeper

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:rockon:

about the only other thing I've noticed is it seems to fire first try every time...but I do "key" the pumps a couple times before attempting to fire. My neighbor, who's mister ethanol hater...can't believe it when he knows I let this cobra sit for days and then he sees me fire it up first try. LOL. He's like "no way...you can't really be running E85...just e10 kills my lawn mower.." :nonono::lol:
Amazing, Isn't it? LOL. :thumbsup:

Interesting, I am am going to see if adding some more fuel on startup will help. I still have the fall blend in my car, and the temps here have been in the mid 40's. I will take a vid for you guys of it trying to start, the first 10 tries are useless:(

04 Sleeper, what did your 5.0 make on the corn?
If it takes 10 tries, it sounds like something else may be off as well. (Ie. tune)

My 5.0 made 373/373 through the auto. 100% stock except for fuel. Stock the auto's make around 350/330. So around 20 RWHP and 40 RWTQ increase.
 

turbov6joe

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I still have E85 in my tank, and with the correct cold weather adjustments made to the tune, the car starts and runs like a stocker all year around....it's 15º here.
 

redfire03 svt

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Update guys, since the temps have risen to 60*, the car starts on the first crank now. Nothing else has been changed since winter.
 

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