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Hey guys, been checking out the forum and have found it very useful, thanks! I just picked up a 91 colt last week for $200, and have been very pleasantly surprised with the driveability of the car, which has led me here because I now plan on keeping it.

This morning it got down below zero here in Montana, and for the first time the colt did not want to start. Normally, it starts right up with the first touch of the starter, although it probably hasn't been below 20-25 degrees out until now. I ran down the tank of gas that was in it when I got it, and filled it up and added some heet in case there was some water in the fuel. What would freeze up in my fuel system to cause it not to start? Would it be water in the lines? Is there anything I can do to prevent me from being late to work again?

Also, I just noticed yesterday, that the shift pattern on the knob only shows 4 gears, but I've been driving it like a five speed this whole time. Meaning there are 5 gears in it, so what tranny would be in there?

One more, I promise. My major qualm is the fact that there are no tunes in it. I've been trying to figure out the wiring to hook up a radio, but can't figure this thing out. I figured out the two power wires, white and green is the constant power, & I think it was black and blue is the other one. My question is: I have two red and black wires, and in the diagram I found, it says one goes to the front right, and the other is the back left; but when I put signal into the wire, both red and black would power the front right speaker. Also, what is the black and white wire? And I know everyone says the ground is behind dash, yadda yadda yadda, but where? Where the easiest place to ground it? Aaaahhh, it was driving me nuts last night in the subzero weather, outside trying to figure out this crazy wiring! Any help is hugely appreciated. Thanks

Quinn

I'd say the easiest way to fix the radio problem is to cut the ends off of the wiring in a colt in the junkyard, then buy a wiring adapter if you are trying to install an aftermarket deck.

the wiring is VERY confusing, and by wiring new ends on, I think that would solve some problems.

As for the ground, the easiest way to ground it is by screwing into the metal bracing that runs down the sides of the "radio hole". one spot is right next to the hole, the other would be to run your ground wire down to the front of the dash below the radio. If you remove the plastic that surrounds your heater gauges and your ashtray, you will find a couple screws on the side of the ashtray that can be used as a ground.


sorry for the long post...
hope it helps...

Shawn

1) what exactly is it doing? does it ever try to turn over? need more info
2) there could be a couple things, like the shift knob was replaced. or, like you thought, there could be a different tranny in there
3) i have the electrical manual at home for csm's, i can post that. i also manually looked at each wire while my stereo was out one time and posted that on here somewhere, but i still can't find it through searching. let's see if someone else has better luck.

Thanks for the replies guys. I never get to make it to the junkyard because I work until after they close. I thought about that, though. I've got to wire a few other things in, too, like the cigarette lighter and cruise control. So I would like to gain some insight as to what the hell these people are thinking when they design the wiring. Any help in that area would be greatly appreciated.

As for the cold starting, all it would do was crank over. It sounded normal, it wasn't in slow-motion. It ended up taking about fifteen minutes of cranking periodically before it ever so slightly started to fire. After another ten minutes of that it started to catch a low idle. It would lope along for 5 or 10 seconds and then die. If I even touched the gas, it would immediately die. Finally it started up, and I feathered the throttle until it started breathing. My initial diagnosis was the gas line was frozen up somewhere along the line.

wow, yeah, that was prolly it. i was thinking maybe injectors, but if it was running great before the temps dipped...

the first thought that flashed through my head was wiring because I was pulling my hair out until about 2 in the morning last night trying to make sense of that tangle. But I didn't touch anything that would screw with the ignition. The car was in the junkyard for a while, so I thought there might have been water in the fuel system somewhere. It was so cold last night my butt almost froze to the toilet seat.