And yet, another clue!

So today I finally re-did my Plugs, and went after the ground straps. I put in new champion plugs that came OEM with the car. No more misfire on idle. Super smooth now. While doing the plugs, I found a broken vacuum line near cylinder six that goes to what looks like a one way vacuum valve sitting near the heater core hoses (im assuming thats what they are). So I fixed that.

I cleaned the ground strap that goes from the battery to the body, and cleaned the strap from the rear of the engine to the firewall. I was not able to get the big nut off to get the strap off completely but I did what I could.

I also went ahead and replaced the fuel filter. I wanted to wait a bit before I did the fuel pump, and I am glad I did.

I wanted to try something. If you guys remember, my car wont start until the battery light turns on. I would crank for a minute, the light would turn on, and it would start. So I decided to leave the ignition ON but not START. I left it on for about 20 seconds, the battery light turned on, and I went ahead and went to START. The car started on the second crank.

What, the, ****? I am guessing it has something to do with the ECU., maybe Battery to ECU or what not. I did get a code once after cranking for a few minutes that power was lost to my ECU. Whats my next step?

EDIT: This is what I want to check tomorrow. When cranking before battery light is on, I want to see if I am getting SPARK or FUEL. That might help a bit.

 

If it runs, you're getting spark and fuel. Don't crank that long or you will burn out the starter motor (they aren't made for extended cranking). I'm thinking grounding is the most likely culprit but you have to remember that you changed a few things before your magic key on trick. One of those changes, ground strap, vacuum line, fuel filter, plugs, moving stuff around in engine bay, may have accidently "fixed" your problem.


I always wait a second or two after turning the key before going to "START". That allows the fuel pump to prime the fuel rail ensuring good pressure for start.


Up here, I wouldn't consider 70F a really "cold-start" LOL.

 

What about the ground from the ECU to the engine bay?

 

I'm not sure if this has anything to do with your issues, but replacing 3 capacitors on the ECU board itself solved my 95 Sport's cold start/rough run problems entirely. Here's what the board looks like (not my picture). It's pretty easy to remove from the plastic housing. On my ECU, I could tell before I removed any of the silicon covering that at least 2 of the 3 caps were blown. Might be worth looking at yours.

 

So, I have not solved the issue but am using a work around. Instead of cranking endlessly until the batter light pops on and the car starts, I simply leave key in the ON position with everything running. As soon as the batter light comes on, I crank it and it starts right up. Really really odd.

I am thinking it might have something to do with a security system that was previously installed, or maybe something with the ECU. Simply don't know.