Fuel System Development to Improve Cold Start Performance of a Flexible Fuel Vehicle

This paper describes an investigation into a method of starting a spark ignition IC engine in cold ambient conditions, that normally operates on methanol or ethanol.

Hardware was designed and installed in two Volvo S70 vehicles which allowed the delivery of gasoline to the combustion chamber during starting.

The engine management system was modified to control the gasoline delivery and to manage the transition from the gasoline start back to normal operation on methanol or ethanol.