I noticed that its becoming harder and harder to start my car. This only applies to the first startup, after that If i'm running erands it starts fine the rest of the day. Can anyone tell me why?

Also, I am faithful about checking my fluid levels. Two days after I bought the car, my coolant light lit up on the dash. I pulled into a gas station, read the manual to figure out what the indicator light was telling me. Figured out it was for the coolant, so I bought some (50/50, just like it said). The reseviour has a dipstick, never seen that before for coolant, it indicated that it was slightly low. I poured about 2cups into it, I didn't want to over fill since it was barely below the 'operating range-hot' line. My indicator light has never turned off now. I've rechecked the coolant when cold and hot and the dipstick indicates the level is fine. The car never operates hot and never shows any sign of overheating, period. The car does not leak any fluids, nor do any of the hoses look bulgy, etc.. I am very concerned because both issues, the coolant light and the car being hard to start, seem to have coincided with each other.

I would appreciate any feedback you guys can offer. BTW, I posted more about my car here https://camaroforums.com/forum/new-members-area-95/socal-gal-38892/. Thanks

 

are u sure its not the low solvent (better known as windshild washer fluid) level light? try adding fluid to widshild washer tank and see if thats it. if not wait till the car is cold and take the radiator cap off and make sure its full. then add another 2 cups of fluid to the res. and see if that does it. if not then it most likely wireing or the water level sending unit. hard starts when cold could mean it needs some new spark plugs. so u know when they were changed last? changing plugs is not easy on these cars. if u have skinny arms then its easier but still a pita. could be y they dont get changed very often. same with the spark plug wires. do u know when the the fuel filter was last changed? thats another one that can make it run werd. these are a few things that arent to costly that could be the cause of your problem.

 

i have a similar problem, the first start of the day always take atleast 3 cranks
im in southern california, so weather not a problem...

I have replaced my spark plugs, the wires r new, i always check the radiator because i have a leak, but the first start is harsh...

i have a chevy 350 in a 74 camaro lt...

 

i will top off the windsheild wiper fluid today and see if that helps. i looked in the owners manual to match up the symbol and it said coolant, but i am human i could have mixed it up. since i have no idea about the spark plugs or wires or fuel filter, its probably best that i find a shop and have them replace them all. if anyone can recommend a decent repair shop in socal, please let me know. its not fun being a chick and needing your car fixed. they never listen to what i have to say. for instance, my mustang spewed water all on my floor boards and under the car one day. had to have he car towed to the nearest dealer. it doesn't take a genious to figure out that might be the heater core, right? even the tow truck guy told them about the puddle under my car when he picked me up. the ford dealer guy didn't even acknowledge what i was saying... all in all, you know what they fixed? My stinkin' tie rods!

BTW, not sure if this matters or not, the tip of my engine oil dipstick is broken off. I bought a generic one to replace it, but it just keeps popping out of the dipstick tube so i put the origional back. My oil level is fine right now. I have no idea if the tip broke off inside or not. Should I worry about this? Would an oil change give me piece of mind? I've only owned the car now for about a month. I bought it from custom car shop and I think they are the ones who put the headers on. I also know that the previous owner had a new alternator installed because I found the service order in the glove box. Other than that, I know nothing of the history. When I take it in, I will ask them to change my oil, fuel filter, spark plugs & wires. That should cover it for now, you think? Thanks for your help, craby!

 

if the tip of the dipstick is gone and you cant locate it
it may be in your engine causing some crazy chaos in there...

i live in socal too but ive done my oil, spark plugs n all that on my own..
Just look out for some coupons, Express Tire was going to do my oil, filter, and lube my chassis for 10.99
but they were going to use some generic 10w-30, i asked them if they could put in a thicker oiler and the price of the oil change went to $32

 

The coolant level sensor is attached to the radiator. It could be bad or just gunked up. You can try to remove it and clean it up or just replace it. Or, you could just connect the 2 wires going to the sensor to each other, and that will keep the light off forever. The hard startin may be due to the FI system not holding pressure when the engine is turned off. Try to prime the system by turning the ignition key on & off several times before attempting to start.

 

thanks for the suggestions. i went ahead and posted some pics here https://camaroforums.com/forum/general-tech-5/i-have-no-idea-what-im-looking-here-39060/.

i had the oil changed yesterday, but they did not find the tip of the dipstick. they told me to come back tomorrow and they would, i guess, put a magnet down in there to see if they could find it. the mechanic seemed very concerned about finding that tip. yikes. btw, the car starts much easier after having the oil changed. still working on that coolant light, though. turns out that i'm not the only one with this problem. a faulty sensor seems to be the consensus.