Right, so this morning was really cold, i went to start the car and it would just crank and wouldn't fire up, so i tried again and same thing, i repeated turning the key to start it another 4 times until i could hear it starting to make an effort to fire up and eventually it started, it began spluttering when i left it to warm up, i let it warm up for a few minutes and took off where it decided to stall, i got it going again pretty easy after that. This happens to be a regular occurrence when the weather is cold, though isn't as tough to get it started like this time was. Theres a 24 year old Ford Telstar that sits next to the Magna that hardly gets driven and it starts flawlessly on cold mornings.

Friend said it sounded like a Fuel delivery system like a blockage or the injectors were clogged, i initially thought it could have been the spark plugs being old, but i know they are relatively new. Gonna get some opinions from you people, I'm really hoping its not a major mechanical issue

How old is the battery? Batteries more often fail in cooler weather.

I've heard that if the battery is weak, the ECU protects it's self and wont let the car start,....or something along those lines.

I think the battery is about 3 or 4 years old, i will probably replace the battery regardless, its pretty worn

Need more info. When it starts, what is the cold idle speed? If you bring the cold revs up to 1,500 rpm with the right foot, does it run smooth?

If your asking what it sits at when its cold its i think 800 and 1000ish, just a guess as the car is warm right now because it was just driven so i cannot check for you. I'm going to take it to a mechanic and see what they can do. Not keen on winter time spending 20 minutes trying to start my car

3 to 4 year old battery - that is past it's best before date, the voltage drop on cold cranking is probably dropping the engine computer to a voltage that makes all the air temp etc sensor read garbage.

If the Telstar batter fits try that - P.S. my first car was a Telstar TX5 Ghia and it always started in cold weather - 2nd gear was another matter....

Sounds like the idle speed control valve is not allowing enough air through to fast idle the engine. It may require cleaning of the throttle body and valve to allow more air through. Could also be not working. An easy to tell would be to turn the aircon on at idle and see if the revs on the engine go up or wether they they drop.

Do what Max said and try starting it with a very small amount of throttle.

AFAIK low battery voltage issues generally cause the engine to stop a second or two after starting normally. The ECU kills the engine if the correct voltage is not present, this won't result in low idle or rough running. If ambient air temperature is the issue (and that's a big 'if', the cold weather might have nothing to do with it [correlation does not equal causation]) my first check would be the coolant temperature sensor, if the ECU doesn't know the engine's cold it can't adjust air/fuel mix to compensate. Alternatively, the MAF could be dodgy (mass airflow sensor just after the air filter). This sensor pack includes air temperature and pressure sensors along with airflow sensor, if it's cactus it could potentially upset the air/fuel mix. Check for any error codes and full component testing procedures are laid out in the manual.