"Plug Swap"

[spikeygg]

So I've been trying to troubleshoot my car's cold start issue. It cranks and sputters sometimes but then goes back to cranking. When I get it to fire up, and let the engine warm up I can shut it down and it'll fire right up again, no problem (when it's hot).

I read about the "plug swap" procedure, from what I gather it goes like this:

1. Take the beige/gray electrical plug from the control pressure regulator and plug it into the blue cold start injector.
2. Turn the engine over and see if it fires up.
3. If it fires up quickly disconnect the CSV and put the plugs where they normally go.

I took a picture of my engine to show what I think I need to do to try it, is this correct?
PlugSwapTest.jpg

[David T]

The "plug Swap" is mainly intended to start the motor if you have a hard hot restart problem, not a cold start problem. If doing the plug swap helps fix the cold start problem that means you have a wiring problem or a bad TTS switch in the cold start valve system. When cold the cold start valve is supposed to be opened during cranking by the Thermo-Time Switch. Doing the plug swap bypasses the TTS and the wiring, running the Cold Start Valve directly. Once the car starts you must quickly put the plugs back or you will flood the motor with excess fuel. The plug to the TTS has a polarity and MUST be installed correctly or you will burn up the TTS. The TTS MUST be grounded, installing it with Teflon tape is a bad idea.