1.9 TD Cold Start Issues

[Ash J]

Went to start my car on Saturday, and it would not turn over for anything.

I assumed it was out of fuel, so filled a can with diesel, put it in the car and attempted to turn over. Still nothing. Primed the bulb on the engine and then tried starting, still to no avail.

Had a quick look on the forum about previous cases like this, and most obvious problem was possible glow plug failure. One guy suggested allowing the orange light to go out, then turning ignition off and back on again three of four times waiting for the light to go out each time to get plugs really hot then try.

After trying that, it did fire up once and was running ok. Turned it off and did a few things, tried to start it again, using same methods and nothing.

So I bought some new plugs and fitted them yesterday. Seemed to do the trick, has been starting fine since on the button soon as the orange light goes out.

But tonight when I went to leave work it would not start again (after sitting for about 8 hours or so). Primed the bulb on the engine for fuel thinking that might help, still nothing. So on the off chance, I turned the ignition on and off three or four times waiting for the orange light to go out and it kicked into life.

Considering they are new plugs, could it be something else that is causing this problem? As soon as the engine is warm, I can turn the car off, turn it back on, wait for orange glow plug light to go out and it kicks over instantly, which suggests that it isn't glow plug related, perhaps something else to do with cold starting?

I'll keep an eye on it to see what happens over the next couple of days but any suggestions would be welcomed.

Cheers

[Ricky]

So are you saying the engine isn't turning over when turning the key? Or it's turning over just not starting?

[Piggy]

what make of plugs did you fit??

[Ash J]

Yeah it turned over fine tonight just would not start for anything after letting plug light go out.

And Denso ones, got them from Euro Car Parts.

[Piggy]

my money would be on air into the fuel lines....doesnt quite fit, but likely...leak off pipes, filter housing etc...do you have a clear fuel pipe to the pump to check for air bubbles??

have you got a multimeter to check the plugs in situ?

[Ricky]

Ignore the plug light, when the light goes out, keep your eyes on the handbrake light, after about 10 seconds you will hear a faint click and the handbrake light/any other light on the dash will get brighter, that's when the plugs actually cut off.

Is it getting fuel to the injectors? Have you tried cracking off the unions and cranking to check?

[ozonehostile]

could be the plug relay not staying on long enough or possibly air getting into the fuel/

and just because the're new it doesn't mean the plus arn't at fault

[Ash J]

Still got problems.

Started fine this morning. And I waited for that click which the guy mentions above and started on the button first thing this morning.

During lunch at work, it wouldn't kick over, after a few attempts eventually started. And then trying to start her when leaving work to go home, took about 5 minutes to actually kick into life.

[Mattcheese31]

Still got problems.

Started fine this morning. And I waited for that click which the guy mentions above and started on the button first thing this morning.

During lunch at work, it wouldn't kick over, after a few attempts eventually started. And then trying to start her when leaving work to go home, took about 5 minutes to actually kick into life.

i'd bet my balls you're getting air in mate, the major culprit is the fuel filter housing, squeeze the primer bulb til it get hard them squeeze it real hard and you should see fuel leaking somewhere round the housing, this is where air is getting in . . .good luck, it can be a pain tracking it down . .

[londondan86]

Could be the glow plug relay staying on too long and it's just cooked your new plugs. Get a meter on the glow plug rail and check the voltage goes to zero after about 20 seconds.

If it's not that then air getting in the fuel system

[Ash J]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I'll check possible solutions on the weekend.

It is strange because the car is sat for about 12 hours over night when it is parked up at home, and when I go to start it in the morning, it kicks over on the button.

But when I'm at work and go to start it at lunch or when I finish work, I get problems. But cold starts from where I park at home seem to be fine.

Only thing I do remember, is that the ignition was on before I disconnected the battery to change the plugs.

Once I changed all the plugs and put the rail back on etc, I connected the battery back up and instantly heard a burning type noise and saw a bit of smoke from the plug area, so I disconnected it for a few seconds. Then I connected it back up and it was fine. Only when I went to start the car did I realise the key was in the ignition in the 'on' position so as soon as the battery was re-connected the ignition would have been on.

Would that have caused any problems?

Starting to think it wasn't glow plugs that needed changing in the first place and perhaps it was something else.

Cheers

[Seb_Ryan]

You know you say at work being diff to home, is it always parked flat?

[Ash J]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys.

Managed to find my problem today... no power (or not enough) getting to the glow plugs.

For the time being, I am using a lead with clamps at each end (like jump leads), one end to the battery, the other on the glow plug. Go to start and it kicks over fine.

When I can be assed to, I will look into it further for a more permanent solution! But could this be a faulty glow plug relay?

[Ash J]

Total depressed with all the problems I've had with my DT I bought not long ago.

As I said above, it seemed the other day that when you connected some leads to the plugs (one side to glow plug, the other to positive terminal on battery) it seemed to instantly kick over, therefore I thought it was power not getting to glow plugs.

Have since been using this method and it is still proving a bugger to start.

Could it possibly be the glow plug relay? How could I tell if this is not working and not giving the plugs any power?

When I connect a lead from glow plug to positive terminal on battery, there is no spark from battery terminal. I thought there would be? Does this possibly mean no power to plugs? Could this be glow plug relay?

Sometimes it will eventually kick into life after many attempts.

I am at a complete loss, and frankly right now just feel like torching the fucker.

[bolthead69]

[quote='Ash J' pid='220453' dateline='1361303852']
Not saying this is the problem, but i was having trouble with fuel weeping from check valve on the bottom of fuel filter housing. The car was also very hard to start on occasion. I've since changed the O rings in the check valve 2of ( on advice from workmate) and it does seem to have made a difference. It was also a lot cheaper 11$ versus 306$ for the filter housing.

[Ash J]

Just an update to let everyone know that I managed to sort my starting issues!

I was also having a problem with the alternator at the same time (was not charging battery therefore would die after couple of days and battery light was always on dash) which I knew about, but I didn't think this would cause me any starting issues (which it did even when I had a fully charged battery).

Anyway, changed the alternator this weekend, and then planned on checking relay and wiring to glow plugs etc once that was fitted. But it has started on the button ever since the alternator has been replaced, so I guess that was having a negative effect on starting aswell!

But as always, one problem fixed and then I have another... leaking radiator! A job for next weekend.

Cheers for all the suggestions guys

[Pepper]

Brilliant, I'm so glad you've fixed it. I feel awful that its given you problems. It had always started on the turn of a key in my 4 years of ownership, even when I thought it wouldn't with cold weather/standing parked for long periods of time.