Chalk this up to Halloween spookiness or does someone have an idea?!?

[nb::]

It WAS Halloween, after all... So maybe this was just my car's idea of a good trick or treat gag. Started her up and it cranked for longer than usual. When the engine caught, it was running really rough, barely getting the tach needle to move. Dash lights (battery, etc.) were flickering and bluish "oil smoke" was billowing out the tailpipe. Tried to gently rev it out of trouble, but it was very lethargic and didn't get better. I shut it down pretty quickly. I sat there deciding what to do for a minute (with my wallet breaking out in a cold sweat) and then thought what the hell and started it up again -- hoping it was all a bad dream. It fired up instantly and ran perfectly. Heh heh (nervous laugh) pretty funny, girl. You really had me going there... Ran great this morning, too. Ummm... Haunted?? What the hell was that about? thanks :: nick

[CARSNPLANES]

All it needed was a REBOOT!!

Could the cold-start-valve have stayed on longer than it should have?. CSV temp sensor? CSV only stays on for a few seconds for the start and usually doesn't come back for the second start which is probably why it ran ok the second time.
Also, the start of leaky injectors flooding the cylinders overnight.

[Nick86]

I had a similar "Possesion" in an older Japanese car I owned.

I would start it up, and periodically the car would idle like hell, and all the electrics would go funky. After some testing, I found that the car had bad engine grounds.

Make sure that they are all intact and clean! They are cheap to add new ones as well, so it may be a worthwhile maintenance thing. If this happens again, grab a set of jumper cables and clamp one side to the engine and another to the body - and see if that improves anything.

In the meantime, make sure that the grounds that are there are good, and also make sure that the battery to body connection is solid and corrosion free as well!

[nb::]

I definitely know that I am getting some injector leakdown... I have the classic symptoms. Most of the other fuel components (FP, accumulator) are pretty new, so I'm thinking injectors. This was terrible, though -- I've never had more than a 5-6 second hard start and little puff of smoke. Interesting thought on the CSV. Hopefully it was just a one-time glitch. When in doubt... hard reboot.

I've been trying to go through the engine bay lately and clean up all of the electricals. Found some crappy connectors, brittle wiring. Removing grime and debris from connectors, etc., and the engine grounds are pretty good.

All's well that ends well, I guess. It ran great today. Still, I'm avoiding black cats...

late :: nick