Hi,

I have a lovely felecia 1.3 magic 1999

untill last year no problem at all but now cant trust it it ocasionaly wont start twice in last 12 months and ocasionaly when starting it drives like its missing for a couple of miles then ok.

the plugs i am told are fine and its serviced regularly, the aa man said the other year there was a pipe on the top of the engine with a diaphragm in it the diaphrsagm was sticking

any ideas pls

Bob

I hear the coolant temperature sensor can lead to rough starting on these - it's the four wire plug on the thermostat.

I have exactly the same problem with mine (2000 1.3 LXi), I have re-adjusted the valves, cleaned the throttle body and checked it for fault codes with VCDS and it still does it, I changed the coolant temp sensor the other week and it seems to be getting about another 20-30 miles to the tank but the starting problem is still there. It's bl**dy annoying to say the least.

It will usually start fine from cold but sounds really rough for the first minute or so (like the exhaust is going "chug-chug-chug") but if I turn it off or stall it within a few minutes of starting it, it won't start again unless I start it in gear and give it some gas.

At the moment I'm getting round the problem by letting it warm up for a good five minutes before driving it and using the accelerator to keep the revs up at junctions and in traffic until the car is warmed up then it stops doing it... but shouldn't have to do that!

If anyone has any suggestions of anything I haven't checked yet I'd be grateful. The guy I bought it off has a friend who's an ex Skoda tech and they've offered to have a look at it.

^^ I bought about cheapo 5 temp senders in a row which never really ever worked right before it did my crunch in and I went and bought a genuine one for about £40.... aftermarkets ones are crap... End of..

What do the measuring block readings tell you in regards to temp on yours? also next time it cuts out try simply unplugging it and see what happens.

The one I've got in at the moment was from Jorily I think. I'll give a genuine VAG one a go in the near future.

Unfortunately I borrowed someone elses VCDS at a Briskoda meet so was only able to do a quick fault code scan, if I can get someone to lend it to me again I'll do some temp measuring.

I take it if you pull the plug on the CTS the ECU has to assume the coolant is at a certain temperature and fuel accordingly?

Yes, if you pull the plug it will assume a generic setting for a warm engine.

Swapped mine for a genuine CTS and the problem still remained.

Also agree with 'just let it run until it gets better' on cold starting. Once warm, it doesn't seem to have a problem - I'd put this directly down to the CTS as well???

Either that or something is expanding once the engine is hot and working as it should be.

I was wondering whether the exhaust manifold gasket could be leaking and once it's warm the expansion of the manifold seals the gap. Something to look at when I've exhausted all other possibilities.

Something to look at when I've exhausted all other possibilities.

If there's a tiny little airleak, your idle will be lumpy. Mine is the same now, I'm going to change the lambda and check all pipes and the inlet.

I don't know whether these have an AFM or MAP sensor, but if there's a difference in air flow between that and the inlet, it'll cause all kinds of trouble.

I've had this before on another car, it does fix the problem if that's what it is!

Edited 27 January, 201214 yr by Violet