Car breaking up in cold weather

[pony23]

I took the Viper out the other day with a bunch of buddies to hit the last show of the year. It was a very cool morning when we met up. Probably around 40 degrees at 6:30am. I have a 10 minute ride to the highway. When I got on the car started breaking up pretty bad at low rpm till about 2500 then it ran fine. That was in every gear. After a good 30 minute ride it ran fine. No more problems. It was pretty embarrassing with all the cars we were driving with.

The car is an 03 with 22k miles on it. All it has are mufflers and K&N's on the stock intake (no tune on the car). Should I get a tune with an Xcal? Should I just do a full tune up on the car (plugs, wires, etc)? Any input? They car is done for this year do to weather so I have plenty of time for project work on it.

I did get some redemption on the way home though!!! Felt much better after that.

 

[Sonoman]

I wouldn't shotgun a bunch of fixes on the car without knowing more about the problem. Does the roughness come back if you drive the car again in cold conditions? Could have been water in the fuel or some other temporary issue. Most ignition/electrical problems don't 'get better' as things warm up-- they often get worse.

 

[pony23]

The car didn't throw a code. It would have been great if it did. It happened twice that morning. First heading to the meeting spot then again when we left. Both times it cleared up. It sat for 20 minutes in between. When we left the show in the afternoon it was fine and ran great.

 

[Steve-Indy]

Age of battery?? Voltage at battery?? Sounds as though you may have charged battery while driving.

 

[pony23]

The battery is 6 months old. It was replaced just before I bought the car.

 

[Bobpantax]

Discuss with the Wizard - Chuck Tator. He is in New York.

The car didn't throw a code. It would have been great if it did. It happened twice that morning. First heading to the meeting spot then again when we left. Both times it cleared up. It sat for 20 minutes in between. When we left the show in the afternoon it was fine and ran great.

 

[ipetrov]

The battery is 6 months old. It was replaced just before I bought the car.

How long did the car sit before the last drive? Do you keep a battery tender on it? Did it take longer to crank up on cold start?

It doesn't take long sitting in cold weather for a viper battery to get discharged to the point of causing issues (without necessarily throwing any codes whatsoever). Don't ask how I know

 

[plumcrazy]

im thinking wires but before you do much driving get it checked out or talk to chuck tator.

 

[viper vince]

What about the thermostat ?