Hesitation/Struggle during 1st start up of day...solutions?

misuracaf10 · Aug 16, 2016

I notice on mine it cranks once or twice , hesitates then starts up just fine. I can't remember how it sounded before the tune tho. I think about the same tbh
I have 22k miles I'll get a video soon

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Kytow · Aug 16, 2016

Other morning started mine. 23k. Had a tank of 93, on 93 tune also had a bottle of redline sl1. The normal morning start that is a tad longer/rougher than the rest. That doesn't bother me.

It was the strange lag/hesitation/bog in gear for a minute. Has not done it since.

Sent from somewhere with confusion.

ginag623 · Aug 16, 2016

whetrick1 said:
Could this be caused by fuel leaking past the injectors when the engine is off and putting gas in the cylinders when it's just sitting. I had a Chevy that if you let it sit a couple of days it was hard to start and found out gas was leaking through the injectors when sitting. Replaced the injectors and it fixed the problem. Just an opinion.

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Dealer won't change anything without duplicating issue to be sure.
Such a PIA!!!

Sir John · Aug 16, 2016

ginag623 said:
Dealer won't change anything without duplicating issue to be sure.
Such a PIA!!!

Duplicating or having an engine code telling them EXACTLY what's wrong.

ginag623 · Aug 16, 2016

Sir John said:
Duplicating or having an engine code telling them EXACTLY what's wrong.

Either!!

All 3 times, nothing shows up, therefore they won't change or replace anything.

I guess my issue/concern is...is this an issue or is it normal? I thought it was just me til I found this forum and it confirmed I'm not crazy after all. But is this something worth fighting for? I mean I'm paying on this truck and hope it's 100%, nothing less.

Tach_tech · Aug 16, 2016

ginag623 said:
Either!!

All 3 times, nothing shows up, therefore they won't change or replace anything.

I guess my issue/concern is...is this an issue or is it normal? I thought it was just me til I found this forum and it confirmed I'm not crazy after all. But is this something worth fighting for? I mean I'm paying on this truck and hope it's 100%, nothing less.

Mine has done it intermittently since new, couple of the other techs I work with have 1500s that do it intermittently as well.

I posted awhile back about the "Dynamic Crankshaft Fuel Calibration" which basically means whenever the PCM decides it's a good time, it will begin removing fuel during a cold start until the lean limit is reached or a rough idle is detected.

I can't say for sure that's what it is because we don't have access to anything on the scan tool that would say when this is happening.

Honestly, I don't worry about it on my truck, seems they all do it.

Kytow · Aug 16, 2016

It's not like old big cam Pontiac I used to drive! If it was 50 or colder break out the ether lol

Sent from somewhere with confusion.

MANual_puller · Aug 16, 2016

Kytow said:
It's not like old big cam Pontiac I used to drive! If it was 50 or colder break out the ether lol

Sent from somewhere with confusion.

Right? I used to drive an '86 chevrolet 3500 with a 350 sbc. Had a transplanted '70s carburated engine in it. The electric choke on the holley was broken and we rigged it up with a cable. PITA. Most winter days we had to start it 4 or 5 times before it would get warm enough to keep running on its own :roflsquared:

You should hear my coworkers 7.3L powerstroke start on a winter day.....sounds like a jackhammer.

I'll take a slight hesitation at startup any day over these problems. It smooths out almost as it gets oil pressure. No knock sensed. I don't see any issues. Now that I started looking specifically for it I noticed that mine does it too about once a week. Not worried about it in the least.

Kytow · Aug 16, 2016

MANual_puller said:
Right? I used to drive an '86 chevrolet 3500 with a 350 sbc. Had a transplanted '70s carburated engine in it. The electric choke on the holley was broken and we rigged it up with a cable. PITA. Most winter days we had to start it 4 or 5 times before it would get warm enough to keep running on its own

You should hear my coworkers 7.3L powerstroke start on a winter day.....sounds like a jackhammer.

I'll take a slight hesitation at startup any day over these problems. It smooths out almost as it gets oil pressure. No knock sensed. I don't see any issues. Now that I started looking specifically for it I noticed that mine does it too about once a week. Not worried about it in the least.

Agreed lmao. I miss/don't miss holding throttle to get it warm enough to survive lol. The 79 Chevy cranked and ran every time that was crate "performance" 350. My "fuel injected" 89 f250 stroker, that's a whole 'nother story lol

Edit: and the Pontiac still had the quadricrap carb

Sent from somewhere with confusion.

Hemi395 · Aug 28, 2016

Started my truck up for the first time in 10 days and I honestly thought it wasn't going to start. It cranked for a good solid 3 seconds before finally starting. By far the worst it's ever started (I have tip start). It was 61 out and humid.

What I don't get is I let it sit for 3 weeks in February when it was 20 out and it started right up with problem at all.

I'm thinking humidity as something to do with it....

kibosh · Sep 9, 2016

Just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents for statistical purposes . . . I also have the slight hesitation at start up and also use 91 no ethanol fuel (V-power Shell). I am going to try the 87 next time and see if it goes away.

Numnutz · Sep 10, 2016

I've had a 2012 Express and a 2014 Express, both Hemi's and never had a starting issue with either one. Stick the Fob in, barley turn it and they both started. They both would idle at about 1250 RPM's for a minute or so and gradually idle down to 750 RPM's.
I really never held the fob, basically turn it and let it go. Never have I held it in the start position. I have had great luck with both of my Ram's and wouldn't even consider buying anything else. Seems to me Tach_tech is on top of his game and has the most educated reply.
I'm hoping in 2018 Ram comes out with a Hellcat version, that will be my next purchase.

Hemipower95 · Sep 14, 2016

It is worse after sitting in the sun for hours, i started it on a really hot day and it almost failed starting up the first time. Does ANYONE have a updated answer on a fix

CaptainPowTown · Nov 10, 2016

after having this issue on and off for the past couple of months ive decided to bring my 2015 into the stealership to see what they have to say. hopefully they will have some sort of answer that will shed some light on it. hopefully i will get it back this afternoon.

my cold start issue is a little different than everyone else's and if it persists i will definitely get a video for further evaluation. sometimes it will struggle to start then completely stall, other times it will struggle to start then rev up high to 2300 and then maintain a high idle around 2k. this only occurs at the first start of the day usually after a cold night.

i will keep you updated this afternoon.

CaptainPowTown · Nov 13, 2016

well, the first time i brought it in the tech didnt have a good connection to the diagnostic tablet

. i dropped it off the same night for them to check it out the next morning and they said it didnt throw a code (as expected).
they think that it is a malfunctioning throttle body. they ordered the part and should be in wednesday. im pretty skeptical that it would be a TB or MAF issue or this issue would be cataloged by the dealership. its worth a try since its covered under warranty and theres no $$ coming out of my pocket.
has anyone tried this solution? thoughts? ill let ya know what happens next week.

Tach_tech · Nov 13, 2016

Honestly your particular scenario sounds like a failing fuel pump or fuel rail pressure sensor. We have seen a few faulty pumps on 2015s that cause an extended crank/stall first thing in the morning. I kinda doubt it's a throttle body issue. Your truck doesn't have a MAF sensor, it uses a speed density system which uses a MAP sensor.

CaptainPowTown · Nov 13, 2016

Tach_tech said:
Honestly your particular scenario sounds like a failing fuel pump or fuel rail pressure sensor. We have seen a few faulty pumps on 2015s that cause an extended crank/stall first thing in the morning. I kinda doubt it's a throttle body issue. Your truck doesn't have a MAF sensor, it uses a speed density system which uses a MAP sensor.

Thanks for that input, i will definitely keep this in mind especially if replacing the throttle body doesnt help.

CaptainPowTown · Nov 16, 2016

New TB and the issue persists. From the start i thought the problem stemmed from some sort of fuel issue. I suggested checking the fuel pump and fuel rail pressure sensor as Tach_Tech had suggested but it seemed like they didnt take my suggestion too seriously. They are going to look at it again tomorrow.
Its quite the pain in the ass having to drop it off and pick it up on a daily basis, but i want this fixed. Hopefully I will have good news soon and this can prevent the same headache for someone else going through the same problem.

UDCentaur · Feb 18, 2017

Ok, never took truck to dealership for issue. Now I have over 16,500 miles on it and I've not noticed any hesitation in the past several months. I've stayed away from cheap gas and stuck to 89 at "top tier" stations i.e. Valero, Shell, Exxon. Not sure if that helped or just coincidence.

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Jwrigh12 · Feb 22, 2022

For for what it's worth, I'll add my 2 cents in here as well! I know this is a very old thread, but it seems that not much of a resolution was ever reached.. I have a 2014 1500 with the 5.7 and 150k on it. Bought at 147k. Since the day that I got it, I have put 91 octane In it. Usually from Costco. Almost always has the hesitation to start 1st crank of the day. It is somewhat worse if I leave for several days, but not by much. Again, forgive the thread revival... but the more imperial data the better, yeah? ?

Hesitation/Struggle during 1st start up of day...solutions?

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