what does it mean when your car takes long to start up...
 

it happened to me today. i turned the key, and held it there for about 3-4 seconds before the sparks came in...

what are some things i should check?

Fuel pressure....? Does it happen on an almost empty tank?

that always happens to me when i am low on gas

im low, but ive driven with it even lower than what it is now before. my car was on a slight decline, maybe it was that and the low gas.

im going to check my battery, and replace the rotor and cap soon. its due time anyway. :)

Same here.

cap rotor distributer plugs wires etc

mine does it sometimes....usually because the fuel pressure drops momentarily.

Mine does it when I'm low on gas and the car has been sitting for over an hour or so. Just turn the key to the II (run) position, wait 2 seconds, then try to start the car and it should start like normal. The fuel pump just needs time to get the fuel flowing.

Good call, Weston - I tried that tonight, and it worked 100%.

If that works you are a genius, that will probably take a lot of stress of the starter.

Thank you !!!!!!!

i gotta try that.

I've also heard that turning the key to on and waiting a few seconds (ie. till you hear the abs finish powering up) allows the starter to 'prime up', then turn it to start. Seems to 'start quicker'. Just another thought.

You can't "prime-up" a starter. Its an electric motor. What's probably happening is you're letting the fuel pump run for a second & getting fuel flowing in the rail. If your problem is plugs/wires/cap/rotor or anything like that, then running the fuel pump won't make any difference.

I haven't messed with that yet on the Integra, but on my former '89 Saab it worked like this...
1) Fuel pump had a check valve, to prevent gas from flowing back into the tank when you shut off. That might be leaking.
2) Fuel pressure regulator isn't closing completely, so fuel-rail pressure is leaking down thru the FPR.

Ok, then why is it said, that you can burn out your starter by leaving the key in the 'start' position, with the engine off (ie. lights on your dash are lit up); while say, listening to the radio at the beach? I'm not making this up, I've read it somewhere... perhaps a domestic owner's manual? But, I can't imagine a domestic starter/ignition system being any different from an import.

Again, maybe this is a Canadian thing? To aid in cold weather startup?

I do agree with the need to build up fuel pressure. This probably has a lot to do with it.

why not just check battery? :dunno:

I believe it's the ignition coil that's supposed to burn up when you leave the key in the ignition position. I think the reason was that it would be charging up the whole time, but because the engine isn't running, it would never discharge. I'm not sure if that's a concern with our cars or not though.