Hi, son's felicia diesel has had starting issues for a while, and has just refused to start for a couple of weeks (he's away volunteering in Sri Lanka), and today i realised that he had RAC at home cover, so called them out - the guy tried everything to start it - easy start, plus some other spray, checked the fuse for the glow plugs, and then unscrewed one of the pipes from the injectors - no fuel when the engine turned over!

He thought it was either the pump or one of the electronic actuators...

So, it's at a local diesel specialist, for them to diagnose, and then, presumably, quote me for the work....

The car is a T plate, 105k miles,and has been looked after before we had it earlier this year - MOT was negligable cost, and it's taxed & MOT until next summer - without trying to be too daft, is it worth spending cash on? Any idea of what a new pump might cost? (assuming that's all it is)

Any ideas gratefully received.

I've seen second-hand pumps typically ranging from £75-£150; another Felicia would probably cost less than a brand new one.

I'd also only consider changing the pump after definitely ruling out the fuel cutoff solenoid itself and the possibility of an immobiliser fault - the fuel cutoff valve won't open unless the immobiliser is happy, and something as simple as a worn-out battery can cause it to not read the key properly and prevent starting.

I've seen second-hand pumps typically ranging from £75-£150; another Felicia would probably cost less than a brand new one.

I'd also only consider changing the pump after definitely ruling out the fuel cutoff solenoid itself and the possibility of an immobiliser fault - the fuel cutoff valve won't open unless the immobiliser is happy, and something as simple as a worn-out battery can cause it to not read the key properly and prevent starting.

Robin, thanks for replying - I'm awaiting the diagnosis from the garage - I did find a new pump on ebay yesterday for £1,149!, so secondhand will be the answer.....

I didn't think it had an immobiliser key, may be I'm wrong - the key has a light bulb & battery in it, doesn't look big enough for a chip as well.

i'll update as I know more...

On a T plate it will have an immobiliser - they've been mandatory on new cars since 1998 - it's easy to miss if you're not looking for it but the transponder chip is the little black lump glued into the key opposite the bulb. I'd expect to see VAG fault code 17978 ("Engine start blocked by immobiliser", generic code P1570) logged if it had failed to read the key properly.