Brilliant, thanks Jules. Will try that tomorrow.

Marcus97 wrote:

gasman wrote:

Have you checked to see if it's getting the correct amperage. You can get 12 volts on a single strand of wire but it won't carry the required amps. I can't remember what it should be but that is why I changed the main cables. Internal damage causing lack of amps.

Gasmam, I'm thinking this is exactly what my problem is. The new starter and extra ground cable (4 AWG) help (I've gone from no crank to crank+slow start), but I probably have damage inside the positive cable. I'm thinking of replacing it with a 2 AWG or even 1/0 AWG cable...do you remember which you used? I'm seeing wildly different current capacities for each gauge.

UPDATE

So after going through all the steps suggested by the members of this forum, the vehicle has reliably cranks 100% of the time. I've put on around 12,000kms since then. However, the crank time has always been a bit long, and occasionally the engine fails to actually start (maybe 1/10 times), altough it then always starts on the second try.

However yesterday, after the second crank, the check engine light came on.

Code P0300, P0304, P0305, P0306.

Could the PCV valve be failing? My engine oil smells like gas...

Aside from that, no issue. Fuel consumption and performance seem fine (10.2L/100kms, mostly highway).

Thanks again to everyone - your knowledge is appreciated!

Correct

The PCV feeds the crankcase vapors to cylinders 6 5 4 3 2 1

And you have misfiring in 6 5 4

The PCV should be replaced with a genuine part or an aftermarket part that is marked FOMOCO

Good luck

Paul

PS I recommend that you get a scan tool that can check Mode $6 data and then you can see the actual misfire counts instead of just waiting for the counts to be so high that they set a code

The tool that I bought cost less than $100

Thank you!

Is it advisable to start by simply cleaning out the oil trap under the valve, to see if that helps in any way?

The part isn’t that expensive

I would just replace it.

https://www.freel2.com/forum/topic32107.html


You can buy just the membrane and cover but removing the old cover is a challenge.

?si=5Wb7rjMCJLeBYpZh

Good luck

Paul

Thanks Paul, you're a life saver. I'll change the membrane and cover (220$ difference seems worth the challenge) and will report back.

Alright, the new part arrived and has been installed without issue. The car starts up much faster now.

Upon inspection of the old membrane, I noticed a very small tear on the outermost edge. Probably just enough to cause a vacuum leak during startup.

Time will tell if the check-engine comes back on (I cleared it with my OBD2).

Thanks again!