Hi all

I just bought a felicia 1.3 MPI 1999 as a runaround to supplement our main car (Fabia VRS) and I seem to be experiencing the notorious papershop syndrome. I popped down to blockbuster the other day and when I cam back out and tried to start the felly, it would not start (spinning over fine and firing occasionally but no joy).

I ended up calling up a local garage who sent someone out to assist. After half an hour of head scratching and fiddling, they got it to start by:

1. Unplugging the Crank Position Sensor

2. Spinning the engine over and whilst doing so...

3. Plugging the sensor back in

I have tested this a number of times since and it never fails but it is a two man job so is far from an ideal solution.

The felly is a lovely little car so I want to get to the bottom of the problem.

So far, I have replaced the timing chain and sprockets (which were really noisy and needed doing anyway), replaced the temp sensor on the thermostat housing, replaced the crank position sensor. I have not changed the lambda sensor as it looks to have been relaced recently and looks brand new.

The car starts perfectly when cold and also when fully warmed (say after half an hour's driving).

My latest attempt to cure has been to leave the battery disconnected overnight in the hope that the ECU resets itself.

Do any of you long term felicia owners have any ideas?

Much appreciated.

PS Please do not suggest changing HT leads, distributor, rotor arm etc. as it doesn't have them.

Thanks again

My 1.6 also has a problem in that it tends to cut out when coming to a stop unless fully warmed up. It's not full papershop syndrome because it restarts first time. However, it doesn't seem to matter what is replaced or tweaked there's no improvement. You just part with lots of money. There's stacks of posts and information on the forum but nothing really helps.

What I have noticed is that the situation is worse on those typically British damp miserable days. I forget about it when there's a spell of really good dry weather. I had some 1100/1300 series British Leyland cars in the 70's and they had problems with damp as the electrics were right behind the grill. Mind you they just refused to start in the first place. There were accessory kits like a plastic sleeve for the distributor cap and a plastic shield to go in front of the electrics. Could it be something simple like that perhaps with an area hyper-sensitive to damp or condensation which is greatest soon after startup?

Seems like a strange problem and having already replaced both things I can think off (temp. sensor and crank sensor) I don't really know what to suggest.

Other than check all electrical connections. This could potentially be a coil pack problem or one with the crank sensor as unplugging it and plugging it back in is obviously then triggering it off. As far as I know the ECU will not produce a spark from the coil if the crank sensor isn't working or providing a signal while cranking.

Hope that helps and sorry I can't be of any more assistance. Also have you had a diagnostics check on it? Check the VAG-COM owners map to see if anyone is near you as I'm sure they would be willing to get it plugged in and have a look for you if you provide the tea and biccies!

As far as I know the ECU will not produce a spark from the coil if the crank sensor isn't working or providing a signal while cranking.

spot on phil:D

my guess is that there is possibly some corroded contacts in the wiring loom somewhere, the main places to check and at the crank sensor, and on the left hand inner wing there is an earth terminal. make sure these aren't crusted up with ****

Syndrome (maybe mild variant) shows up both in my Felicia and SWMBO's Octy. If I press down the accelerator just a little bit they start up fine, however. But maybe you've tried that cheap trick already.