Very hard to start when cold, perfect when warm

[nismo1534]

1984 Chrysler Laser, non-turbo, TBI

When cold and sitting for a few days the car is very hard to start.

I have to hold the ignition on and crank the engine for several seconds until I can eventually hear one cylinder fire. After one cylinder fires, it immediately cuts out and doesn't continue to fire. I then stop and wait a few seconds and repeat the process, holding the ignition on until another cyclinder fires and then waiting a few seconds and trying again. I repeat this process for several minutes. Eventually it fires and will run for a few seconds and die. I have to fight with that a few times and then it warms up enough to stay on by itself. Once warm, it runs perfect. I can turn it off and the second I turn the ignition the car immediately starts up.

Where do I start to troubleshoot? Thanks!

[4Daytonas]

Delete--sorry advice for a turbo

[nismo1534]

No love for a non-turbo?

[Jakecs]

I don't know much about the TBI cars. But try pumping the gas like it is a carb'd car.

Check your vac lines, as I've had to deal with cars with bad vac lines, that would refuse to start in cold weather.

[4Daytonas]

A bad AIS motor will also cause this.

[NAJ]

84 uses a high pressure TBI system.

First you need to verify if this problem is related to fuel/ignition or both.

1)You will need to check for spark when the problem is present and you will need to check fuel pressure when the problem is present.
2)Are any fault codes stored in memory?
3)Did this problem start after ambient temps got cold?(Below 32 degrees F)

[nismo1534]

Thanks guys for giving me a few starting places. I did notice that the large vacuum hose running from the vapor canister to the throttle body was not hooked up - not sure if that would cause this problem? The next opportunity I have to fire it up when cold and troubleshoot I'll see if the problem persists. If it does I'll investigate the fuel/ignition systems and report back.